1I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
At the close of the previous chapter, Paul cited God’s words through the prophet Isaiah: “All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people” (Isaiah 65:2). In consideration of Israel’s failure to receive Jesus as the Christ, Paul asks, “Hath God cast away his people?” The Greek text expects a negative answer: “God hasn’t cast away His people, has He?” Paul first says, “No.” Then he gives himself as an example of proof. He, who is an apostle chosen by God and the author of this epistle, is himself a Jew who belongs to the Israelite tribe of Benjamin.
2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Paul states clearly that God has not cast away His people which He foreknew. The word “foreknew” in this statement is probably not used as in 8:29 to refer to individuals whom God would save. Rather, Paul is affirming that God will not push aside Israel as a nation despite its disobedience and opposition to the Gospel. The word “foreknew” in verse 2 probably refers to God’s intent in His words to Abram in Genesis 12:1-2: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation....” God foreknew as His people the nation that He would make of Abram’s descendants. Later in Israel’s history when they sinned by asking for a king, Samuel said to them, “For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people” (I Samuel 12:22).
In verse 1, Paul gave himself as an example to prove that God has not cast away His people. In verses 2-4, Paul gives another example from the experience of the prophet Elijah. Elijah prophesied during the time of Ahab, who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel. Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Sidon, and began to worship Jezebel’s god, Baal. Jezebel put to death most of the prophets of the LORD and broke down altars of the LORD in the northern kingdom (I Kings 18:4,30). After Elijah successfully challenged and slew the prophets of Baal, Jezebel tried to kill him. Elijah fled from Jezebel all the way to Mount Horeb (Sinai). In discouragement, he said to God, “I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (I Kings 19:8,10).
Elijah was complaining to God against Israel and thought that he was the only person left in the northern kingdom who was still faithful to the LORD. But God answered Him, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him” (I Kings 19:18). God assured Elijah that He had kept for Himself 7000 men who had not worshipped Baal.
5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Paul said that there continues to be a remnant of the nation of Israel who believe the Gospel of Christ, though most of the nation is in unbelief. The existence of that remnant proves that God has not cast away His people. That remnant is chosen by God on the basis of His grace. In the time of Elijah, God did not say that He took a count and there happened to be exactly 7000 men in the northern kingdom of Israel who remained faithful to Him. He said, “I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.” In the same way, a believing remnant of the nation of Israel existed at the time of Paul’s writing of his letter to the Romans, and there is such a remnant today. As at the time of Elijah, this remnant exists because God has chosen them and reserved them for Himself. Believing Jews today are part of the church, as they have been since the church was formed. God’s choosing of this remnant is not based on their works, good or bad. All Jews and all non-Jews have sinned. God’s choice is based on His grace alone. Grace would not be grace if it were partly earned. Likewise, something earned by works would not be counted as earned if it were partly given freely.
In I Timothy 1:12-13, Paul said of himself, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” God did not choose Paul because Paul was doing good works, and He did not reject Paul because Paul was doing bad works. He chose him on the basis of His grace. Yet, Paul’s response was important. Paul said that God showed him mercy because his opposing of the message of the Gospel was done ignorantly in unbelief. All descendants of Adam are responsible for their sin. But when a person comprehends the Gospel message, that person also becomes accountable for his or her response to it.
7What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8(according as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
Israel sought to gain righteousness by keeping the Law. No one has ever met God’s standard of perfect holiness by efforts to keep the Law. When the Jews heard the Gospel, however, a chosen remnant then and now have believed. The rest are hardened (the word translated “blinded” in verse 7 is the Greek word “hardened” or “made calloused”). That is the effect of being offered and refusing truth. When any person, Jew or non-Jew, hears the truth of the Gospel, their heart must respond in some way – either to say “yes, I want this” or “no, I don’t want this.” Every “no,” even spoken silently in the quiet of a person’s heart, brings hardening against the truth.
In verse 8, Paul quotes from Isaiah 29:10 and then makes reference also to Deuteronomy 29:4. He says that “God hath given them the spirit of slumber.” Yet, we know that God wanted Israel to see and hear and believe because Isaiah also wrote, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). The failure of most Israelites to respond with desire and in faith to the message of the Gospel brought to them spiritual dullness and hardening.
In verses 9-10, Paul quotes the words of David in Psalm 69:22-23. The previous verse in that psalm speaks of the adversaries of Christ: “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69:21). Paul says that David’s words then describe the judgment to come on unbelieving Israel.
11I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
Paul begins his question in verse 11 with the words, “I say then...,” just as he did in the first verse of this chapter. In verse 1, he asked whether or not God had cast away His people. Paul’s answer to that question was that God had not cast away His people but had kept for Himself a chosen remnant. Now in verse 11, Paul terms Israel’s failure to believe as a “stumbling” and asks whether or not this stumbling was a permanent “fall.” As in the case of his earlier question, Paul answers with a definite, “No!” Rather, God has used Israel’s disobedience to bring salvation to the Gentiles, which will in turn make Israel jealous.
What did Paul mean when he said, “salvation is come unto the Gentiles”? Couldn’t Gentiles be saved in the Old Testament also? Yes. Abraham was the grandfather of Jacob (Israel) and thus was not born of Israel. Abraham was justified by faith and was not circumcised until after he was justified. In chapter 4:11-12, Paul said that all who follow in the steps of Abraham’s faith, whether they are circumcised or not, are justified as was Abraham. That principle was true throughout the Old Testament.
However, God said to Moses, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations” (Exodus 3:15). God made a covenant with Abraham and his son Isaac and grandson Jacob. Later, the Mosaic Law, which prescribed the way of approach to the LORD, was given only to Israel. Access to God’s revelation through the Law and the Prophets and access to the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant was only through Israel.
Thus, a Gentile in the Old Testament who wanted to worship the LORD in accord with His revealed word had to recognize Him as the God of Israel. Ruth is a clear example of a Gentile in the Old Testament who was saved and made partaker of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. Boaz said to Ruth, who was a Moabitess, “The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust” (Ruth 2:12). Ruth put her trust in Yahweh, the God of Israel.
Today, Gentiles do not have to approach God through Israel, and believing Gentiles have full access to the eternal blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. How did this salvation come to the Gentiles? The Old Testament prophets foretold a New Covenant which God would make “with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” In the prophecy of this covenant, God said, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31,34). Thus, there would be a final and complete payment for sins. This New Covenant was a restatement and amplification of the Abrahamic Covenant. The New Covenant was inaugurated at Christ’s death. At the moment of His death, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom (Matthew 27:50-51), indicating that the Covenant of Law had been annulled. Still, the New Covenant also was a covenant made only with Israel. But with the giving of the Holy Spirit in this covenant, God spiritually baptized all believers, both Jews and Gentiles, into Christ. Since Jesus is the true Heir of God’s promises to Abraham (Galatians 3:16), believing Gentiles became heirs, too.
Today God is using those who are in Christ as His witnesses in the world. Those who are in Christ form the church. Though there are some Jews in the church today, most believers at this time are Gentiles. It is God’s plan that this fact make Israel jealous in order to draw them back to Himself.
12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 13For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: 14if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 15For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
The world is rich today because in Christ any person in any place can be a full partaker of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant without looking to Israel as a mediator nation. Paul says that if God extended this wealth to the other nations of the world in response to Israel’s stumbling and failure to believe, surely God will bring even greater blessing to the world when Israel is made full in a right relationship with Him.
Paul was sent by God to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the Gentile nations. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, he said that God revealed to him “that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6). That is, God revealed to Paul that all believing Gentiles would be heirs of God’s promises to Abraham as were Abraham’s physical descendants. Believing Gentiles would be part of the people of God just like believing Jews. Paul said that he wanted to draw attention to his ministry in order to make his fellow Jews jealous, in the hope that some of them would be saved.
In verse 15, Paul again contrasts the results of Israel’s having been temporarily set aside with the results of a future restoration that he anticipates for them. In response to Israel’s disobedience, God has reconciled the world to Himself. That means that today anyone who is in Christ, regardless of their nationality, can worship God without going to Jerusalem. It is as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman: “...the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father....the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:21,23). Paul says that if such reconciliation has come to the other nations of the world as a consequence of Israel’s being put aside, then surely the restoration of Israel will bring God’s promised resurrection of the dead. This will indeed be the case. The “first resurrection” referred to in Revelation 20:5-6, began with Christ’s resurrection and is to be followed by His receiving the church to Himself. It will culminate with the resurrection of the Old Testament and Tribulation saints after Israel is restored to faith and fellowship with God.
16For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
When the firstfruits of the harvest in Israel were brought as an offering to the LORD, whether by an individual (Deuteronomy 26:1-11) or by the nation at the yearly Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9-14), the offering carried an implication that if the first and best belonged to the LORD, then so did the rest. Thus, if the first harvested grain was set apart to God as holy, then the rest of the harvest, the flour made from the grain, every lump of dough made from the flour, and every loaf of bread that was baked were also to be accounted as holy. Similarly, if the root of a tree is set apart to God as holy, then the branches of the tree are holy, too.
In the context of Romans 9-11, the firstfruits of Israel are the fathers to whom God gave the promises – that is, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Isaiah wrote, “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him” (Isaiah 51:1-2). If the first ancestors of Israel were set apart to God as holy, then the nation formed by their descendants is also holy. Moses said to Israel, “...thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).
In the next verse of this chapter, Paul will speak of the Jews and Gentiles as olive branches which “[partake] of the root and fatness of the olive tree.” In this metaphor, the root is not the ancestor of the branches but a source of blessing for them. The root likely symbolizes the Abrahamic Covenant. Since God’s covenant with Abraham was holy, all who participate in the blessings of that covenant are also holy.
17And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 20Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 24For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
In verse 13, Paul said, “For I speak to you Gentiles....” In verses 14-24, Paul is still speaking to Gentiles – that is, Gentile believers. At the focus of Paul’s illustration is an olive tree whose root is the covenant that God made with Abraham. Thus, this olive tree pictures access to the blessings of that covenant. The original branches of this olive tree were the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those Jews who failed to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have been removed by God from their place of privilege and blessing in the olive tree. In their place, God has grafted believing Gentiles among the believing remnant of Israel. Today, the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant are enjoyed by both believing Jews and believing Gentiles.
Paul warns the Gentile believers of pride. He reminds them that they were formerly branches of a wild olive tree and thus that their presence in the olive tree of the Abrahamic Covenant is contrary to nature. Paul tells them that they are not supporting the root; the root is supporting them. If unbelief brought the cutting out of natural branches, then God would cut out wild branches for unbelief, too. Also, the physical descendants of Israel will be grafted into the olive tree again if they come to faith. In Paul’s closing words in verse 24, he says concerning Israel that the olive tree of the Abrahamic Covenant is actually “their own olive tree.”
It is important to recognize that the “you” (singular) that Paul is speaking to in these verses is still the “you Gentiles” (plural) that he was speaking to in verse 13. He is addressing believing Gentiles collectively, not as individuals. In other words, these verses do not teach that a believer who disobeys God can be lost again. Clearly, the Jewish branches that were cut off had never believed in Christ at all. Paul is saying that when most of the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, God removed unbelieving Israel from the place of blessing and fruitfulness. In their place, God extended kindness and gave place to Gentile believers. In the church, both Jews and Gentiles are together as one, enjoying the blessings of God’s promises and laboring together to bear fruit. If, however, the Gentile believers begin to proudly boast in their new place of privilege and do not continue in genuine faith in Christ, God will remove them just as He did unbelieving Israel. And, if Israel repents and comes to faith in Christ, they will be restored to privilege and blessing. This second “if” is the topic of Paul’s words in the coming verses.
25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
In verse 25, Paul speaks of a “mystery.” The word “mystery” as it is used in the New Testament refers to a truth that can be known only by revelation. The mystery that Paul speaks of in these verses is the truth that Israel’s hardness of heart is partial and only temporary. It is God’s plan that during this time of Israel’s spiritual hardness, those He has chosen from the other nations be saved, grafted into the olive tree of God’s promises, and made to bear fruit. When all of those Gentiles have “come in,” the partial hardening which has happened to Israel will end. Thus, Gentile believers today should not view themselves too highly.
In verse 26, Paul says, “And so all Israel shall be saved.” What does Paul mean and how will this salvation take place? He first quotes from the Septuagint Greek translation of Isaiah 59:20-21 but says, as in Psalm 14:7, that the Redeemer will come out of Zion, perhaps to emphasize that Christ will turn away ungodliness from all Israel, not just from Jerusalem. The second part of verse 27 is probably a reference to Isaiah 27:9 and Jeremiah 31:24. According to Zechariah 13:8-9, many, many Jews will be killed during the Tribulation period, but at Christ’s return, He will restore all who remain of Israel to holiness and to their place of blessing and fruitfulness as branches in the olive tree of His covenant with Abraham.
28As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. 29For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
These verses give us perspective as to how we are to view Israel today. As it was at the time of Paul’s writing of this letter to the Romans, most Jews today are in unbelief and opposition to the Gospel of Christ. Thus, they stand in enmity to all who have believed in Him. On the other hand, the Jews continue to be beloved of God as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom God chose to receive His promises and to be the progenitors of the nation of Israel. The Jews will always be beloved of God because His gifts and calling are “without repentance.” This expression “without repentance” means “without regret.” The gifts spoken of in this verse are not spiritual gifts such as have been given to the church. Rather, they are the things that Paul spoke of in 9:4-5.
30For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 32For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
The words translated “not believed...unbelief...not believed...unbelief” are in each case forms of the verb “disobey.” Paul says that Gentiles were in disobedience to God but have now been shown mercy because of the disobedience of Israel. It seems sure that Israel’s failure to receive Jesus as the Messiah is the disobedience spoken of here. Because unbelieving Jews were cut off from the olive tree of God’s promises to Abraham, God has grafted believing Gentiles in. God has allowed Israel to stumble in this way so that, because of the mercy He has now shown to the Gentiles, He may also show mercy to them. That is, at Christ’s return, He will restore all the remnant of Israel to faith, holiness, and blessing in the Abrahamic promises.
In eternity, neither group, Jew or Gentile, will be able to boast before God. Both will understand that apart from His grace, we all turn aside in disobedience. The statement “God has concluded them all in unbelief” [Greek: “disobedience”] does not mean that God has caused people to disobey Him. Rather, Paul has made clear throughout the book of Romans that all descendants of Adam have sinned and will disobey God unless He by His grace intervenes to change their hearts and behavior.
33O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
At the close of chapters 9-11 of Romans, all of us join Paul in his statement of wonder in verse 33. We recognize in wonder that the judgments and ways of God are far above our capacity to fully comprehend. In verse 34, Paul quotes the Greek Septuagint translation of Isaiah 40:13; in verse 35 he quotes Job 41:11.
In verse 36, Paul closes first with the words, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.” As in I Corinthians 15:27, a right understanding of “all things” does not allow a contradiction with the context. We understand that the things which are of Him do not include rebellion against Himself. As John wrote in I John 1:5, God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. Thus, darkness cannot proceed from Him. We say with Paul, “To Him be glory for ever! Amen.”
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.