“I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’ Regarding the gospel, they are enemies for your advantage, but regarding election, they are loved because of the patriarchs, since God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
With Paul’s help, we have established that the designation “Israel” does not mean what it has traditionally been understood to mean. It was never intended to refer only to a genetic tribe of people. It was always intended to refer to those people who by faith lived in pursuit of a covenantal relationship with God. The confusion here comes from the fact that one of the major covenants God made was with a genetic tribe that was made up of the descendants of the men to whom God gave the name Israel. Yet not every member of that tribe abided by the covenant such that not all of Israel was God’s Israel. Still, though, God put that tribe through a lot in using them to reveal Himself to the world. Does He have any plans for those who rejected Him? Paul seems to think so. Let’s explore this next part of chapter 11 as we draw near the end of this section of the letter.
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The Nexus 