Tag: Israel and the church

Digging in Deeper: Romans 11:1-5

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“I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he pleads with God against Israel? ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life!’ But what was God’s answer to him? ‘I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal.’ In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Mike Tyson is famous for saying “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Having things all worked out in theory and being able to adapt quickly to obstacles that come along with the goal of completely disrupting if not outright derailing our plans are two very different things. God had a plan for what He wanted to accomplish in and through Israel. Yet even for us to hear that sentence calls to mind things that God may not have meant. This is important for us to understand because trying to make sense out of what we understand God’s plans to have been and how things actually went can be tricky. Let’s join Paul in thinking through some of that here.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 9:6-13

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“Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants. On the contrary, ‘your offspring will be traced   through Isaac.’ That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring. For this is the statement of the promise: ‘At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.’ And not only that, but Rebekah conceived children through one man, our father Isaac. For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written: ‘I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Who is Israel? Today, of course, Israel is a modern, Western, democratic nation sitting in the midst of a region that is otherwise largely premodern, intensely tribal, and decidedly democratic in its general outlook on the world. But is that what the New Testament authors had in mind when they spoke of Israel? Obviously not. But then what did they mean. We see a whole lot of promises made about Israel in the Scriptures. Who were those for? Who is the Israel of the Bible, and are they still around anymore? Paul unpacks some of that here in a passage that absolutely must factor into any Christian’s thinking about Israel today. Let’s explore what he has to say.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 9:1-5

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“I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises. The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent,  came the Christ, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever known someone who had every opportunity in the world, and yet couldn’t manage to accomplish any of the best things they had the potential to do? That’s an experience that ranges from frustrating to maddening. In some particularly egregious circumstances it can be downright depressing. As we begin our look at Romans 9 today, we find Paul starting a new section. The next three chapters of Paul’s letter answer a question that has been nagging at us over the last few verses. What about Israel? Let’s dive in here and see what Paul has to say about God’s plans for Israel in light of the Gospel.

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