DRAWING NEAR
In this study we will look at Israel’s part in God’s plan. Many professed Christians through the centuries have fanned the flames of anti-Semitism, leading to horrendous persecution of the Jewish people. Other Christians have been Israel’s biggest supporters. What do you think is the reason for so many conflicting responses over the centuries to the Jewish people?
THE CONTEXT
Romans 9–11 is one of the most fascinating passages in the New Testament, filled with essential and very practical doctrine and focused on Israel, God’s chosen people. Some people have argued that these chapters are a parenthetical body of teaching, largely unrelated to the rest of the epistle. Clearly if Paul had left out chapters 9–11, the overall argument and flow of the letter would be unbroken. His beautiful song of praise, hope, and assurance at the end of chapter 8 flows naturally into chapter 12.
This Jewish apostle to the Gentiles, however, needed to clarify some truths regarding Israel, as well as contradict some prevailing falsehoods that many early Jewish believers accepted as truth. Paul addresses the question of whether, in light of Christ’s offer of salvation to all Gentiles, the Jews have been forsaken by God as a people. Did they still have a unique place or purpose in God’s plan of redemption? Why, if they were God’s chosen people, did they so stubbornly reject His Messiah?
With profound wisdom and holy reason, Paul demonstrates that our sovereign God will be faithful to keep all His promises and that Israel still has a future in the purposes of God.
KEYS TO THE TEXT
Covenant: A covenant is a legally binding promise, agreement, or contract. Three times in the New Testament the word “covenants” is used in the plural (Gal. 4:24; Eph. 2:12). All but one of God’s covenants with man are eternal and unilateral—that is, to the end of time, and God promised to accomplish something based on His own character and not on the response or actions of the promised beneficiary. The six biblical covenants include: (1) the covenant with Noah (Gen. 9:8–17); (2) the covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3); (3) the covenant of law given through Moses at Sinai (Exod. 19–31); (4) the priestly covenant (Num. 25:10–13); (5) the covenant of an eternal kingdom through David’s greatest Son (2 Sam. 7:8–16); and (6) the new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 37:26; cf. Heb. 8:6–13). All but the Mosaic Covenant are eternal and unilateral. It is neither, since Israel’s sin abrogated it and it has been replaced by the new covenant (cf. Heb. 8:7–13).
God’s Sovereignty: A theological term that refers to the unlimited power of God, who has sovereign control over the affairs of nature and history. The Bible declares that God is working out His sovereign plan of redemption for the world and that the conclusion is certain. The story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation is possible only because the sovereign God loves the created world, fallen though it is, and is able to do something about it. Without the sovereign love of the Father ministered to us through the Son and the Holy Spirit, there would be no real human freedom and no hope of everlasting life. God’s sovereignty is not the sovereignty of a tyrant, but the loving providence of a gracious God. The believer who doesn’t live in the confidence of God’s sovereignty will lack God’s peace and be left to the chaos of a troubled heart. But our confident trust in the Lord will allow us to thank Him in the midst of trials because we have God’s peace on duty to protect our hearts. (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
UNLEASHING THE TEXT
Read 9:1–11:36, noting the key words and definitions next to the passage.
Romans 9:1–11:36 (NKJV)
1 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,
2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,
accursed (v. 3)—The Greek word is anathema, meaning “to devote to destruction in eternal hell.”
4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;
glory (v. 4)—the Shekinah, a cloud signifying God’s presence in the Holy of Holies or among His people
covenants (v. 4)—legally binding agreements or contracts, used here of the promises between God and His people
5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
fathers (v. 5)—Israel’s patriarchs
6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,
7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.”
8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
children of the flesh (v. 8)—Abraham’s children through Hagar and Keturah
9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”
10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac
11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
not of works, but of Him who calls (v. 11)—God chose Jacob before he was born and apart from any possible human merit to demonstrate that election is the prerogative of God.
12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”
13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
who wills (v. 16)—Salvation is not of human initiative.
17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?”
20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
vessels of wrath (v. 22)—those allowed to incur the just penalty for their sin
23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.”
26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved.
28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”
29 And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”
Lord of Sabaoth (v. 29)—Lord of hosts or armies, a reference to God’s all-encompassing sovereignty
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;
31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.
32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.
33 As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
zeal for God (10:2)—fierce attempts to live out God’s law; fervent opposition to Judaism’s opponents
3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Christ is the end of the law (v. 4)—That is, trusting in Christ is the end of the futile quest of trying to fulfill the law in hopes of being seen as righteous in the sight of God.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”
6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above)
7 or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
confession (v. 10)—literally, “to say the same thing,” thus to agree with God the Father’s declaration that Jesus is Savior and Lord
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?”
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
the word of God (v. 17)—more accurately, “the word of Christ”—that is, the message about Christ, the gospel
18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”
19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: “I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.”
20 But Isaiah is very bold and says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”
21 But to Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.”
11:1 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
cast away (11:1)—to thrust away from one’s self
2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,
3 “LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?
4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
remnant (v. 5)—Though the national leadership had spurned Christ, thousands of individual Jews had believed in Him (Acts 2:41 and 4:4).
6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
8 Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.”
9 And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, And bow down their back always.”
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.
15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
root (v. 16)—the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
branches (v. 16ff.)—the patriarch’s descendants, that is, the nation of Israel
17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”
20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
goodness and severity (v. 22)—God’s attributes are not at odds.
23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
the gifts . . . are irrevocable (v. 29)—God’s sovereign election of Israel is unconditional and unchangeable.
30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,
31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
God has committed them all to disobedience (v. 32)—God is not the author of sin, but He allows sinful inclinations so that He can receive glory in both mercy and judgment.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?”
35 “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?”
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
1) What is Paul’s tone in this passage? What is his feeling about his own people?
2) What main characters and events in Israel’s history does Paul mention?
3) How does Paul argue in chapter 9 that Israel’s unbelief is consistent with God’s plan?
4) What agricultural imagery does Paul use in chapter 11 to demonstrate that God’s setting aside of Israel is not a permanent condition?
GOING DEEPER
Notice how this passage in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah foreshadows the theme of chapters 9–11—that God is sovereign and can do as He wishes with His creatures (without violating His goodness or mercy).
Jeremiah 18:1–10 (NKJV)
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:
2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.”
3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,
8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.
9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it,
10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
EXPLORING THE MEANING
5) What does God want Israel to know about Him? Why?
6) How does Jeremiah express the concept of God’s sovereignty? Does this help you understand it better? Why?
7) Read Revelation 7:1–12. What does this suggest about the future relationship between Jews and Gentiles?
TRUTH FOR TODAY
God cannot be finished with the nation of Israel—for the obvious reason that all of His promises to her have not yet been fulfilled. If God were through with His chosen nation, His Word would be false and His integrity discredited.
REFLECTING ON THE TEXT
8) Given what you’ve seen in these chapters, what should be the modern-day Christian’s attitude toward the Jews?
9) Paul’s love and concern for his countrymen was such that he wished he could trade places with them, literally that he could go to hell so that they might be saved. How can you develop more compassion for those who do not know the good news of Jesus?
10) Paul ends his reflection on God’s faithfulness and mercy with a magnificent doxology. If you were to write a four-sentence tribute of praise to God for including you in His eternal plan of salvation, what would it say?
PERSONAL RESPONSE
Write out additional reflections, questions you may have, or a prayer.
ADDITIONAL NOTES