Paul concluded yesterday by telling us that Christ was found by people who weren't even looking for Him: the Gentiles. These words might make Paul's readers wonder if God has rejected Israel. He is going to discuss this subject and once again bring up the fact that the true Israelite in God's eyes is the person who honors Him.
"But concerning Israel He says, 'All day long I have held out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.'" (Romans 10:21) This quote is from Isaiah 65 which says, "All day long I have held out My hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations---a people who continually provoke Me to My very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick, who sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil; who eat the flesh of pigs, and whose pots hold broth of impure meat." (Isaiah 65:2-4) In Isaiah's day idolatry and occult practices were rampant. This is why the Lord gave Isaiah the message that the people must repent or be conquered and taken into captivity. A large number of the citizens were worshiping pagan gods and were trying to communicate with the dead and had given up the dietary laws.
But not all the citizens were unfaithful to the Lord. As we move on into Chapter 11 we will find that there has always been a faithful remnant. At this point Paul's readers might be wondering if God is finished with Israel. He is quick to assure them God is by no means done with His people. "I ask then: Did God reject His people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin." (Romans 11:1) Paul says, "If God has rejected His people, that would include me, for I am an Israelite. Does it seem to you God has rejected me? Has He not instead chosen me to share the gospel of His dear Son?"
"God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Don't you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah---how he appealed to 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 kill me'?" (Romans 11:2-3) After Elijah's showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, Queen Jezebel vowed to take his life. Elijah was a wanted man. He was discouraged and afraid, so he said to the Lord, "You know my enemies aren't making empty threats. They've killed other prophets and they've torn down Your altars and put up their own altars to false gods. I am the only man left who is faithful to You!"
"And what was God's answer to him? 'I have reserved for Myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.'" (Romans 11:4) God answered the weary prophet, "You're not alone! I know it seems like the whole nation has gone after other gods, but there are seven thousand souls in the land right now who serve Me. There are others just like you who love Me with all their hearts. I know you feel alone, but you aren't alone." If we look around us at the world today we could easily become as discouraged as Elijah. We could start believing that nobody loves the Lord anymore, but that's not true. Everywhere the gospel has been preached, God has a remnant that is faithful to Him. He never said every soul of every nation would turn to Him. He makes the invitation to every soul, but it is up to each individual person to accept or reject the invitation.
Again we find Paul preaching on the foreknowledge of God. He told us previously in the book of Romans that God knew long ago who would come to Him and who would reject Him. So Bible scholar William Barclay says we must make a distinction between "Israel" and "His people" in verse 2. Paul says God did not reject His people whom He foreknew. God has always had faithful ones in Israel. He knew them before they were ever born. He will never reject anyone who comes to Him in faith. But in verse 2 we also find the prophet Elijah praying against his own people Israel because he believes they are all out to kill him. In the same verse we find the faithful---"His people"---and we find the enemies of the Lord, those of Israel who were seeking Elijah's life. This demonstrates to us the principle Paul has already stated in Romans 9:6, "Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." The true Israelite is the man or woman who serves the one true God. So God has not rejected His people, His people being those who have remained faithful to Him.
There are some promises regarding the nation of Israel as a whole that God will not break because they do not depend on Israel's performance. He promised to send them a Messiah and He did. He promised they would never cease being a nation in His eyes, and we find He has kept this promise in spite of everything that has ever happened to them, for Israel is again a sovereign nation in the world today. He has promised that the King of kings will someday rule the world from David's throne, and this promise still stands. But most of the promises God made to Israel, and to all of us who believe, depend on faith and obedience. These promises still belong to the true Israel: to those who are faithful to God.
As we've said before, just as not all of Israel is Israel, not everyone who attends church services is a Christian. I am a member of a pretty large church, or at least what constitutes a large church in East Tennessee. We tend to have around seven hundred or so at our Sunday morning services, a thousand or more at Easter and Christmas. In a crowd that size, does everyone belong to Christ? It's possible but not likely. I could waste my time gazing around the crowd trying to figure out who is saved and who isn't, but I can't see into anyone's heart. God is able to gaze on the congregation and know the heart of every individual. He knows who belongs to Him. The promises of His word belong to those who belong to Him, in the same way the promises He's made to Israel belong to those who belong to Him. God has not, and never will, reject the faithful. So although to Paul's readers it may look as if Israel has lost her place as a special people of God, Paul reminds them that Israel in God's eyes is not so much a nation but a faithful people. Yes, many in Paul's day had turned from the Lord. But not all! King David understood this, for he joyously said to the Lord in Psalm 18:25, "To the faithful You show yourself faithful."
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