Romans 11:1-6
Paul poses the question, "Has God cast away His people?" This is a logical question in light of the previous two chapters. Because we've learned that Israel's rejection of the gospel was both of their own choosing and consistent with the election of God, and since that is the case, is Israel's fate sealed?
Paul's answer is very emphatic in the 'certainly not!' He then presents himself as proof. Paul was from the same lump of clay as many of them; from father Abraham and of the tribe of Benjamin. While they had repeatedly rejected God, He has not rejected them, they remain His chosen people, called to His purpose. He made promise to them that He has kept and will continue to keep.
God is not done with His people and therefore has not cast them away, in spite of appearance; an appearance offered by Israel's rejection. Paul presented himself as the first proof and then presents the story of Elijah's confrontation of the prophets Baal as the second witness. This is from 1 Kings 18-19. Elijah had just had his showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. There were 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah believes he is the only prophet of God left (1 Kings 18:22). The prophets of Baal took one bull and prepared a sacrifice offering and Elijah did the same. The offering was to be offered by fire, but the fire had to come from their respective god. The god that answered by fire would show Himself as THE GOD. In the end, Jehovah God burned up the sacrifice that Elijah offered. The people, at the direction of Elijah seized the prophets of Baal. They took them to the brook Kishon and killed all 450 of them there.
When King Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done, she intended to see him dead just like her prophets of Baal. Elijah made a run for it. The Lord sustained him when he was ready to give up and accept death. He ended up at the mountain of the God in Horeb hiding in a cave. Elijah went from this great spiritual experience with the Lord on the mountaintop where God showed Himself mighty against any other supposed god, to hiding in a cave cowering in fear. That's when He heard the voice of the Lord ask, "Elijah, what are you doing here?"
Elijah thought he was the last prophet and if he hadn't run fast enough, somehow that would have been it. He would have been captured and killed and there would be no one to spread the word of the Lord. Elijah thought all was lost if he was killed, as if the Lord would have been helpless. He fell into the trap of thinking that the Lord was at the mercy of Jezebel and the power she wielded.
In many ways, Paul probably identified with Elijah. He probably felt like the lone Jew that believed in Jesus Christ. He gave himself as an example and as proof that God is not done with His people. He basically said, "Look at me, I'm a Jew and I believe!" And because of that, he had been chased down, persecuted and threatened. However, just like Elijah found out, Paul knows that the message and plan of God doesn't rely on the plans of men or the mercy of tyrants.
Elijah found out on the mountain of God that a strong wind blew breaking away rocks on the mountain and the Lord was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake and the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then there was a fire but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a gentle breeze and the voice of the Lord came to Elijah. While God sometimes works through the wind, earthquake and fire we often find these things preceding His presence or announcing His coming. There is no doubt God works through elements and through nature. Yet, He also works through the stillness of the breeze.
The works of God are not always perceptible. We look for them too many times in ways we define, as a show of strength that gives us comfort and makes us feel better in our weakness. We want to see sure and absolute moves of God. We want to see divine acts that we understand. We want a sure plan with a sure outcome.
When Elijah thought all was lost, God announced to him that there 7000 others that had not bowed the knee to Baal. Imagine how Elijah must have felt right then? He wasn't important as he thought, he was merely one among thousands. This wasn't to put Elijah down but to lift his eyes to a higher view of God. God wasn't held captive by Jezebel. Elijah didn't know the plans of God as well as he thought. He had made some grand assumptions. He had quickly forgotten the plans of a sovereign, almighty, all-powerful God are not always readily available to us. We don't always understand what's going on, even when we are standing in the middle of it.
Paul gives this story about Elijah as an example that God, in His sovereignty and by His plan, has set aside some in Israel as a remnant. Even then, when it seemed all of Israel had rejected Him and cast God off. There was a remnant of which Paul stood as proof.
Paul reminded them again that this was God's mercy and grace at work. One became part of the remnant by the grace of God and nothing else. According to the election of Grace there is a remnant. And if it is by Grace then the remnant isn't of those who are doing works and seeking God in the law of righteousness. This remnant won't be found working and worrying about the keeping of the law in order to attain righteousness. If this remnant was found among those of the law of righteousness doing works then grace isn't grace. Works is works; and Grace is grace. You can't mix the two.
Israel was judged, reduced, beat up, hauled off, exterminated in gas chambers, threatened by tyrants and on and on but it will never be destroyed. There will always be a remnant chosen by grace. Israel's existence today, is no accident. Even today Paul and Elijah's words need to be meaningful to us; maybe even more so today since we have become much more efficient at exterminating humans. Yet, the same message given to Elijah is for us; God is working even when we don't see it.
We see the winds of politicians blowing lies and we can't find God in them. We feel the effect of the economic earthquake and we can't find God in it. We feel the heat from the fires of hell as evil runs rampant in the world. We feel lonely and sometimes panicked because we can't find God. Elijah would tell you, "God can still be heard the still breeze." His promises and plan are intact and working; gently blowing always in His direction.
Romans 11:7-10
Once again Paul anticipates the questions of his invisible objector, asking questions he'd probably heard numerous times. If you notice these last few chapters that Paul is really quoting the Old Testament scriptures a lot. He is showing that his teaching is not at all inconsistent with the Scriptures as they knew them. In fact, the scriptures support all that he is saying. The elect got grace; the others were blinded.
Paul adds 'just as it is written' to provide scripture they knew and were aware and that they respected, in hopes of breaking through the rejections. This spirit of stupor is quoted from Isaiah 29:10-13. The verse in Isaiah says a "spirit of deep sleep." This stupor is a spiritual deadness; it's being asleep at the spiritual wheel. The Eyes that don't see and ears that don't hear is quoted from Deuteronomy 29:3. These are judgments from God for being hardhearted. God gave them over to their hardheartedness. The truth never got through their eyes or ears and made it to the heart.
Paul then quoted David. This is adapted from Psalm 69. The table was a place of safety and security, where one might relax and enjoy good food and fellowship. You can picture these people sitting comfortably at their banquet table enjoying the blessings. However, they were so secure at their table, they let down their guard, the enemy came in right in among them. David said their table would become a snare and a trap. The very place they find safety and security in God would be the thing that would bring them down. Their table was their land; the city of Jerusalem; the temple; their religion and zeal would be a stumbling block and recompense.
Romans 11:11-12
Israel clearly stumbled; but they have not stumbled to the point they are beyond recovery. Paul emphatically rejects that idea. They have not fallen completely from God's grace. God still has plans for them as a nation and as a people.
The gospel could have come to the gentiles by a nation of Jewish evangelists preaching of their messiah who saved them. Their rejection of God did not harm God's plans. The gospel came to the gentiles and He used this to provoke them to Jealousy. Paul is referencing Deut 32:21:
They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God;
They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols.
But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.
We see this repeated in Acts, the Jews go to great lengths to silence the gospel; not by debate of the scriptures or seeking the truth, but by violence and brutality, murder and acts of wickedness. God used their blindness, stupor and stumbling to make Israel envious. He offered His message of grace and mercy to many other nations; a message the Jews thought they alone possessed.
If the failure of the Jews brought riches to the world, how much more would their fullness bring riches? This is one of Paul's 'much more' statements. It's saying, if you think this is good wait till you see what's coming next. If you think it's awesome that a whole world of gentiles might be saved because of Israel's rejection, then just wait until they believe.
Romans 11:13-15
Paul was called to preach to the gentiles but his hope is that through this he might bring some of his own to Christ. If you think it was pretty incredible that the world was reconciled to God by their rejection, when they accept Christ, it will be like life from death. Think of the dry bones of Ezekiel 37:1-14; then imagine Israel as a Christian nation.
Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it," says the Lord.' " (Ezekiel 37:11-14)
Israel has a future. Not only will Israel live in the sense of the nation coming to recognize their messiah, but also when the resurrection comes and those who believed by faith will live again. Use caution here. No person, Jew or gentile, will be saved by any way but faith through the atoning work of Jesus. There is no salvation through nationality, the law, good works, or any other way.
Romans 11:16-18
The term 'firstfruit' was a common and know idea to them. The first portion of the harvest was the best, a blessing and representative of the remainder of the harvest. The firstfruit was an offering to the Lord. It was a way of indicating that it all belonged to God, it came from His hand and was His provision for them. In this case, it is a metaphor, of the first Jewish believers in Christ. If the firstfruit is holy, the lump they came from is holy also.
The root of Israel would be Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If they were holy, set apart for God then so are the branches. Of course, at that time, Paul is speaking of the Jews of that day, but there is no reason to believe anything has changed. The Jew of today is still a branch of the original root. They are then considered holy, set apart for God's purpose.
These early Jewish believers in Christ were the first fruits of the harvest for the Lord. They were a representative lot of all of Israel. They were the holy branches that came from a holy root and they were the first fruits of a larger harvest to come. They were the link to their heritage of the past and they were linked to the heritage of the future.
Some sources say it was somewhat normal to graft domestic branches onto a wild olive tree as a way of making the wild olive tree productive. It was rare, even unheard of, to graft wild olive branches onto a domestic and productive tree. Some sources say it was done to reinvigorate a once productive tree; some of the old branches were broken off and wild olive branches were grafted in. In the end, the tree was reinvigorated with new life.
In this case, the grafting is metaphor for bringing the gentiles into the kingdom of God. The branch broken off represents the rejection by a Jew. When that branch was broken off a gentile was grafted in. The gentile, a wild olive branch, began to grow, taking life and sustenance (root and fatness) from the tree. New life came through the original tree.
Paul warned the gentiles not to boast, as if they were special or had risen to superiority. They had no right to claim they were better than the Jews. Their life as a born-again believer came to them by Israel. Jesus was a Jew and the fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham that all nations would be blessed though him. As gentile believers, we ought to humbly explore our new-found heritage and association with the Jews.
Romans 11:19-21
It's as though Paul's objector clarifies his point. Some natural branches were broken off because of unbelief and a gentile was grafted in by faith. Unbelief led to those being broken off, those branches, in a sense, separated themselves; the breaking off is a picture of what had already occurred spiritually. The gentiles were grafted in by grace, through faith, not by any worthiness or works.
Paul gives a stern warning not to be haughty, snooty or conceited about your standing, but fear; that is to be respectful and reverent. Because if God cut off his chosen (the natural branches of Israel) for lack of faith how much quicker will He cut us off (the grafted). If God would cut off the chosen natural branches because of unbelief, how much quicker will he cut off the unnatural that is boastful and irreverent? The offer of salvation came at a great cost and to treat it as cheap and easy could result in being pruned.
Romans 11:22-24
How do you tell the difference between a good branch and one about to be broken off? One is bearing fruit consistent with the source of its life and sustenance. To continue in goodness is to stand steadfast in the faith. It is to abide in God in a continual relationship. The word used for 'goodness' is only used 8 times. It is used as a description of an attribute of God and also an attribute of those bearing fruit, which fits nicely with the analogy of being a branch. A good branch bears fruit.
God shows His goodness to you if you continue in His goodness. If you don't continue in His goodness, you will be cut off. This is a taste of the severity of God. It may feel like God is calling us to 'do' something to maintain our existence. However, He is calling you to faith and the realization that your existence isn't of you or by your, it is through Jesus. It is faith in Jesus. Paul will then explore what a right response to this looks like when we get to chapter 12. For now, let's at least consider the bold position of 'once saved, always saved'. I say bold because God will never be indebted to man. God will always be faithful to His goodness, but He is also just and righteous and this is severe to us. Far too many have claimed their spot in heaven by a onetime act and went on with their life as they saw fit, never yielding to the Lord, never being sanctified, never bearing fruit for the kingdom, despising fellowship with the saints and setting aside the bible as outdated.
There seems to be a certain minimum expectation; and I want to be clear, this is not to say we have to work to keep our faith. Our grafting in is a relationship and living and abiding in that relationship. This minimum expectation is not works, but relationship maintenance. What would a marriage be if you got married and then never talked to your spouse? Would it still be a marriage? I think this is very similar. If you are grafted in then the things of God should be nourishment in your life. That nourishment should bear fruit. These things would be a very natural out flowing of the relationship and grafting.
The Jews who fell away and were cut off, experienced the severity of God due to unbelief. If they became believers by faith, God is able to graft them back in. If the unnatural branches can be grafted in it is so much easier for the natural branches to be grafted.
Romans 11:25-27
Humans don't like mystery. When we encounter these things, we often develop our own theory or explanation. Our theory rarely condemns our position or stance. Our theory almost never calls for us to change or grow. Sometimes mysteries need to remain mysteries; tools to keep us on our toes, roots of reverence, acknowledgment that we don't know it all. Lets lean forward into this new life with keen interest and enjoy the mysteries of our God.
Paul summarizes this section; telling the Romans and us that we need to be up to speed on this so they don't get the wrong opinion. God is not done with Israel. God's dealing with Israel is a mystery. The word for 'mystery' means concealed or hidden; secret things which men cannot understand. This word is used 27 times in the New Testament speaking of the things of God which we can't wrap our minds around. The mystery of God is working all the time whether we know it or understand it.
Israel suffers from blindness that was a judgment upon them. But the blindness is only in part until the fullness of the gentiles has come in. This 'fullness' is related to a maritime term for a full ship. It's like there is a set number of gentiles to come to Christ. This 'fullness' might mean that all the gentiles have heard the gospel. Or the time of the church is completed in some way. This, too, is a mystery.
Regardless, the Jews will be blinded until the fullness of the gentiles and then God will turn His focus back to His people. The blindness this nation suffers from will be lifted and Israel will be saved. This salvation may be the supernatural protection by God for this nation during the tribulation period. It is God breaking through the blindness, when they will see Jesus for who He is. The nation will be characterized for their faith and belief. This doesn't mean that every Israelite will be saved. It means, in general, that Israel will become a nation that is saved. Israel will be a Christian nation and at that time, they may be the only Christian nation.
In verses 26 and 27 Paul uses the scriptures to point forward to this time, first quoting Isaiah 59:20 to speak of the day they came to Christ by faith. These are the words of the suffering servant and redeemer. Isaiah 59 starts by stating God's ability to save and the brings the charges of Israel to show why they were suffering judgment. It then speaks of confession of sin and the redeemer coming out of Zion.
Romans 11:28-32
This is pretty amazing that Paul goes so far as to call Israel enemies of the gospel. But, in reality, they were. They resisted it in many ways by refuting and denial but also by physically beating, killing and imprisoning those that spoke the gospel. This is documented in Acts among other places.
God's gifts and calling are irrevocable. Paul said that each believer was once disobedient and that irrevocable calling and election brought mercy to you. Some of us were pretty bad before we believed. But that didn't change the election and calling of God. Likewise, the election and calling of Israel hasn't changed. No matter their level of disobedience. It says God committed them all to disobedience. This was possible because He called them to obedience out of love. They are elect and have received promises to which God is faithful. God used their disobedience to extend His mercy to the entire world. It was always God's purpose that salvations went out to the entire world through the Jews. God will have mercy on all because all have sinned and fall short of his glory.
Romans 11:33-35
Is it even possible to fully grasp these things? Paul taught the concept, but the purpose and understanding as God orchestrated it throughout the ages is beyond man. The thought brings Paul to worship, to say, "Wow, God, you are awesome!" As we pause to consider God's sovereign plan, we feel small and insignificant relative to the ages. This brings us to the though and question, "Who am I that you are mindful of me?" (Psalm 8) Yet, we are significant in the eyes of a God that loved us specifically and saved us. We are moved to worship. When we stand still long enough to examine our lives and all God has done for us and through us, we can gaze into the depth of riches we could never comprehend. The wisdom and knowledge of God is revealed to us yet we can barely perceive God's plan. Many times, I'm afraid, we completely miss it.
Like Elijah had to wait for the Lord through the wind, the shaking of the earth and fire to hear him in the gentle breeze. We also have to wait on Him; seek after Him; and listen closely for His word in our lives. God's ways, His judgments and decisions are unsearchable. We don't have the means or capacity to fully understand them. They are unsearchable in that all the searching in the world wouldn't bring us one step closer to a full understanding. We are mere men attempting to comprehend the mind of God. We should abandon the attempt to guess what His judgments are and to second guess His purposes. We should just believe, trust and have faith.
Can we know the mind of God and offer Him advice? Paul repeats the rhetorical question quoted from Isaiah 40. And who can offer something to God so that the Almighty owes him? This question quoted from Job. In both cases the answers are the same. No man measures up, no mere man can comprehend. We serve a sovereign and awesome God.
(See Ephesians 2:11-22)
Romans 11:36
Paul caps his worship with this doxology. We can learn from this. It seems many of the things we don't completely comprehend we just change the rules or science so that we can understand it.
There is nothing wrong with intelligence, but when we believe our own human knowledge and understanding is all there is, we are bowing to the idol of humanism. This is believing that we are all there is and we can be the answer to every problem. This has to be the biggest problem humankind faces today. We see the wisdom of man continually cause problems.
We can now return to the original question from the beginning of chapter 9; what about Israel? At the end of chapter 8, Paul told us that nothing could separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ. It was as though Paul's invisible objector asked, "What happened to Israel then?" If nothing can separate us from the love of God what happened to Israel, why aren't they all saved in Christ? Paul then answered this in chapters 9-11. We can sum up those three chapters by saying, God is not yet done with Israel. Zechariah speaks of a coming day:
10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)
What about Israel? God doesn't save a people because of who they are. He saves individuals by faith alone, in Christ alone, and the work on the cross.
Amen
©2008, 2014, 2021 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater
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