OUTLINE OF ROMANS 11:1-10
a. The evidence supporting this (11:1-6)
i. Paul himself (11:1)
ii. There is a remnant of
Jews just as in the days of Elijah (11:2-5a)
iii. This remnant is chosen
by grace, not based on works (11:5b-6)
b. Right now Israel, by and large, have been hardened (11:7-10)
i. An
elect remnant has been saved, the rest were hardened (11:7)
ii. This hardening has been indicated by the Scriptures
(11:8-10)
Historic Israel was founded approximately 1000 years before Christ was born. Its territorial integrity wavered from 20 000 square kilometers to about 150 000 sq km at its peak, under David and Solomon.
In 63 BC the Roman general Pompey conquered Jerusalem, reducing the region to a Roman province. Following the suppression of many Jewish revolts, and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD by the Roman general Titus and the defeat of the Bar Kochba revolt (135–138 AD), Jewish political sovereignty completely ceased.
The land was ruled successively by the Byzantine Empire- an extension of the Roman empire, Arab caliphates, the Crusaders, the Mamluks[1], the Ottoman Empire[2] (1517–1917).
Lastly, it was administered by Great Britain under a League of Nations Mandate from 1920–1948, after which the modern state of Israel came into being.
The ancient Jewish kingdom had no territorial identity
for about 2000 years, until the establishment of the modern State of Israel on
May 14, 1948. The Jews as a people, have existed as a cultural / religious identity for 3000
years, scattered almost everywhere in the world. Even in China there are Jewish
communities[3].
Today, this little nation occupies a mere 22,145
square kilometers. South Africa by comparison, occupies 1,219,090 square
kilometers. For perspective: Israel fits 56 times into South Africa!
From a biblical perspective, the Jews became the most
privileged people on earth (see Romans
9:4,5). God, the Creator of all things chose to reveal Himself to them and in
them and through them in a most profound way. He gave them His law and then He finally gave them His Son. He was the supreme
offering for our sin. He is the Way back to God. With respect to Jesus, born in the line of David, the Jews developed
a huge problem. They rejected Him and consequently, God removed His candlestand
from them. Their temple has
been gone for nearly 2,000 years. No king from David's line has sat on a throne
since the Babylonian exile.
All this raises a massive question: Have God’s promises to Israel failed (9:6)? The modern state of Israel certainly does not match the vision that Isaiah and all the prophets spoke about. Today, only around 2% of Jewish people believe in Jesus. It is believed that there are around one million Jewish believers in Jesus worldwide; perhaps 30 000 live in Israel today[4]. According to the latest population census 10.15 million people live in Israel[5]. This is a drop in the ocean.
So, what do we do with that?
How do we explain the promises God gave to Israel with what we see in reality, not just today, but throughout her history?
In Romans 9, 10, and 11 Paul gives three
answers to this question.
In Romans 9
Paul answers that God’s salvation always has had to do with the sovereignty
of God in choosing His people- even from among the Jewish people. Not
all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of
Abraham because they are his offspring, but the children of promise are counted
as offspring (9:6-8). God knows who the children of promise are, not
only from among the Jews, but also the gentiles.
In Romans 10
Paul deals with our side of the story. Not knowing who the children of promise
are, we are called to preach the good news to all – Jew and gentile. In Paul’s
day the Jews, to whom these spiritual privileges had come, and who were the first recipients of the gospel, they displayed a profound
lack of faith in God’s promises.
In Romans 11 Paul speaks of the rejection of the Jews, but not in a total sense. The gentiles in Paul's day, by way of contrast were much more responsive to the gospel. Nevertheless, Paul indicates that there
will come a time in which many Jews may yet be gathered into the
great final congregation of God, the number which is known only to God.
This is the big picture. Now let us consider the details of Chapter 11
ROMANS 11:1-10 GOD HAS NOT TOTALLY REJECTED HIS PEOPLE
11:1a “I ask, then, has God rejected his people?” This KEY question is similar to the statement in 9:6 and it follows his discussion in Rom.10 where Paul showed that Israel’s forsaking of God was a result of her conscious rejection of the salvation that God had offered the Jews in Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah. So, does that mean that God’s promises to the Jews have failed? Does that mean that God has no further dealings with the Jews?
11:1b – 2a Answer: “By no means” – or ‘emphatically no’! Paul will spend the rest of the chapter explaining why this is not so.
THE EVIDENCE: Romans 11:1-6
a. Look at me! “For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.” Paul says, “I am evidence that God has not rejected His people! And remember, I am the unlikely of converts, having been a violent persecutor of the Christian faith”. But when the Lord Jesus Christ overpowered him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) this super Jew was a changed man – for good! And so, God’s continuing mercy to Israel is made manifest in Paul, who calls himself “the foremost of sinners” (1 Tim 1:15)!
b. Look at the example of Elijah (11:2b- 4) Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” (1 Ki.19:18). If ever there was a time in Israel’s history, to believe that God had abandoned Israel, it was then. Ahab the worst king in Israel's history sat on the throne. The Lord’s prophets had been killed. The nation was indifferent. No wonder Elijah thought he was the last faithful Israelite standing. But no! At the worst of times in Israel, God had an elect people, kept by His grace. Noah's family survived the flood. Joseph preserved Israel through famine. God has always preserved a remnant of faithful men and women.
c. Look at yourselves (11:5-6) So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. He says to the Roman Christians, “…can you not presently see all the converted Jewish Christians in your midst? They are evidence that God has not rejected His people”. There was a remnant of believing Jews in Rome, who were trusting in Jesus alone for their salvation. They were not trusting in their works- righteousness. And so, it has been in the entire history of the church. There have been Jewish converts to Christ in every age. God’s promise has not failed!
- “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” (Deut. 29:4)
- And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling
block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they
cannot see, and bend their backs forever.” (Ps 69:22,23)
Here is the explanation:
Israel as a nation pursued a legalistic righteousness, but they missed it. They failed to embrace God's way of justification, the Lord Jesus Christ, and thereby they spurned God’s way of salvation. Sadly, the nation by and large was hardened to the good news.
HOWEVER, in Israel there were those (the elect) who received the Lord
Jesus. They believed in Him. But
Therefore, the nation did not obtain what it was looking for, but within that nation, a remnant did. This is nothing new. This pattern is clearly observed in the OT Scriptures. Paul quotes
- Romans 11:8: From Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10, he observes, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”
- Romans 11:9,10 is quoted from Psalm 69:22–23: And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”
Paul's point is simple: God handed this nation, endowed with so much spiritual privilege over. He gave them over to what they wanted. He did not stop them. However, in this hardened nation, some people (here called ‘the elect’) were helped to see. This is because of God’s sovereign mercy (cf. 9:14-18). They obtained their salvation. This is the pattern of redemptive history. The Old Testament shows us that God in His mercy has always preserved a remnant (see Romans 9:29 cf. Isa. 1:9). If He had not done that, there would be no people of God.
And so, the question once again: Has God abandoned his people? The answer from
Paul's own life, from Israel's history is NO!
- A warning for
people who have many religious privileges and much exposure to the Bible, but who sit lightly on the claims of the Bible. These authoritative
words do not change them. God is not loved and sin is not hated. Mere exposure
to the Bible does not produce a Christian.
Religious communities, rituals and ceremonies do not save. A vital
personal faith in Christ ALONE saves.
- God is trustworthy and faithful. We have seen that God’s promises have not failed, but not in the way we expected. Make sure that you understand God’s way of salvation, and if you must do anything, then do this: Ask God to be merciful to you! Place your trust entirely in God and His Word. If you do this, you will not be disappointed.
- Remember that the ultimate basis of God’s promises is always God’s sovereign election of His people. The language of 11: 2- 10 is clear. There has been a remnant in all ages with respect to the Jews and even today there is a continuing Jewish remnant. Today there are a good number of Christian Jews in the world and in Israel They are part of the great church of God.
- This is all about the great eternal plan of God! Sometimes, when we face various problems of life, we lose the big picture in the details. At such times it helps to look at the big picture and find that history and the future of the world is in God’s hands. This takes enormous pressure off us!
- Above all, make sure that you yourself have not failed to find Christ.
[1] The Mamluks were a powerful military caste of non-Arab,
ethnically diverse enslaved soldiers and mercenaries who ruled parts of the
medieval Islamic world, most notably Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria from
1250 to 1517
[2] The Ottoman Empire lasted for more than 600 years, from
around 1299 until 1922. The empire was
named after Osman I, a leader of Turkic tribes in northwestern Anatolia
(modern-day Turkey).
[3] According to an oral tradition, the first Jews
immigrated to China through Persia after the Roman Emperor Titus's capture of
Jerusalem in 70 AD. Many Jews emigrated from Persia during the reign of Emperor
Ming of Han (58–75 AD). (Wikipedia)
[4] AI
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