All scripture references are from the New King James Version

1. Romans 9:1-3 — Paul’s intercessory calling and ministry to Israel and the gentiles
   1. Paul was called by God to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, to the seats of influence, and to Israel; however, even his ministry to the Gentiles worked to bring Israel to salvation. Though he referred to himself as an apostle to the Gentiles, he is perhaps the single greatest apostle to Israel, having a deep connection, and understanding of God’s heart and plans for his people. Not only this, but he had direct experience on what Israel as a nation was facing.

      But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake. (Acts 9:15)

      For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. (Rom. 11:13-14)

      If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. (Phil. 3:4b-7)

   2. Paul’s intercession for Israel was so violent that he wished himself accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of their salvation. This kind of intercessory anointing was only before seen in Moses (Ex. 32:32) and, of course, in Jesus who died for their salvation. Paul’s describes his connection to God’s heart over Israel in intercession as “great sorrow and continual grief in my heart” (Rom. 9:2), even unto wishing himself accursed.
   3. Paul’s intercession was for Israel’s national salvation, whom he described as “my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh.” (Rom. 9:3) It is clear that Paul was in intercession for the physical descendants of Abraham, because it was unto and through them that God’s salvation came, yet they tragically did not receive their Messiah. (Mt. 23:37-39; Rom. 1:2-3)
2. Romans 9:4-5 — Israel’s call and election
   1. Paul begins to unpack Israel’s call and election, that through Abraham and his descendants, Israel, came “the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the services of God, and the promises,” and not only these, but also the fathers of the faith and Christ himself. (Rom. 9:4-5)
   2. The whole biblical storyline follows a series of promises and revelation God gives concerning the Messiah and the redemption of all things. The storyline of this redemption begins from the Adamic Covenant (Genesis 1-3) through the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12-17) and unto the Davidic Covenant, all fulfilled, and to be fulfilled, in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, all intricately related to the nation of Israel. (Rev. 21:1-8)
   3. These covenants lead up to the Messianic Kingdom and the age to come; the covenants were all made, re-confirmed, and found (and will find) fulfillment in Abraham’s children and land, Israel.
3. Romans 9:6-13 — “for they are not all israel who are of Israel”
   1. Israel’s fall (as a nation) from grace does not mean that the Word of God is ineffective or doesn’t work. As Paul previously proved that salvation through faith alone is throughout the Scriptures and even in the lives of Abraham and David, so now he reveals that there is a spiritual Israel and a physical Israel. The children of Abraham are the children who share the faith of Abraham, not mere physical descendants, though they had the advantage of having the Law and a direct call to serve God. (Rom. 9:6-8)
   2. Paul draws on four passages to elaborate spiritual Israel. First, “But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.” (Gen. 21:12)
      1. This passage juxtaposes man’s work to attain God’s promises according to the flesh (by Hagar who gave birth to Ishmael) with God’s fulfilled promise according to the Spirit (by Sarah who supernaturally gave birth to Isaac). When Sarah demanded that the bondwoman be cast out with her son, God affirmed that “in Isaac your seed shall be called.”
      2. In Galatians, (wherein Paul distinguishes spiritual Israel as “the Israel of God”) it is revealed that these two (Hagar and Sarah) are symbolic of the two covenants God made (Old Testament dispensation vs. New Testament dispensation). (Gen. 21:10-12; Jer. 31:31-33; Gal. 4:21-30; Heb. 8:6-13)

         “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jer. 31:31-33)

   3. Secondly Paul quotes Genesis 18:10-14, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” This passage, which is an account of a theophany in which God physically appears to Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 18), reveals that the promised son would be miraculous in nature and would come specifically through Sarah, according to God’s divine promise. This prophecy came as a re-instatement of God’s former promises to Abraham (Gen. 12-17) and after the birth of Ishmael, as if to drive the point home that the salvation of God is not by man’s work but by God’s power and require’s man’s faith and trust in God to do the work. (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 9:8-9)
   4. Third and fourth, “And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” (Gen. 25:23) and “I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.” (Mal. 1:2-3)

      When Rebekah inquired of the Lord, he revealed to her that the elder (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob), and so it was that Esau would later despise and sell his birthright to Jacob for a single meal and Jacob would later use deception to gain the blessing of his father. This shows the great difference between a dead profession of faith and having real faith in the heart. Advantages of the flesh do not mark a child of God, who is born of the Spirit, and a simple word search through the Bible of “Esau”, who symbolizes carnal man, can prove this. (Oba 1:18; Mal:2-3; Heb. 12:16; Rom. 9:10-13)

      1. God’s election of Israel was not according to the flesh or according to good or evil actions which Esau and Jacob both committed, but according to God’s call and man’s response of faith. Esau was unspiritual and carnal but Jacob was spiritual and desired the call of God on his life. It follows that throughout Scripture Esau’s downfall was his lack of faith in his carnality; he would become the nation of Edom, and Jacob (who was named Israel, by God) would become the nation of Israel. (Gen. 32:28)
      2. Yes, Jacob used deceit in obtaining his father’s blessing, but could it have been in desperation and by inspiration in the full knowledge of his brother’s vile activities? The risk Jacob took and the price he paid for the blessing cost him his father’s house, his inheritance, riches, and ultimately led him to be a vagabond in the similitude of his grandfather Abraham.
      3. Likewise, Rahab, though she was a harlot, took hold of the covenant of God and entered the lineage of Jesus through her faith and the good work of receiving the spies, which involved treachery to the adversaries of Israel. Such examples throughout the Old Testament should prove man’s need to approach salvation through faith, and prove the difference between Abraham’s children of faith versus his physical descendants.(Heb. 11:31; Jas. 2:25)
4. Romans 9:14-23 — God’s character and leadership over the nations upheld
   1. Israel’s national fall from grace did not show the Word of God as ineffective, and there is no unrighteousness with God in their fall, either. Paul uses two scriptures to prove that Israel’s fall in part does not make God unjust. The use of these Scriptures is in order to show that God will execute his plans regardless of man’s sin and regardless of whether or not man resists his will. (Rom. 9:14)
   2. First, Paul quotes Genesis 33:19, “Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
      1. Following the episode on Mt. Sinai with the golden calf Israel made, Moses entreats the Lord to continue with Israel and to be gracious to them. The Lord agrees to do so, not on account of Israel’s works, but, because of his own will. God’s mercy over Israel’s election is extended in response, regardless of merit. (Rom. 9:15-16)
      2. However, even in this context, of God upholding Israel’s election, people were killed and God released a plague against them because of the calf. God dealt with Israel’s election differently than he dealt with the faithless.
   3. The second Scripture Paul uses to defend God’s character is Exodus 9:16 where God speaks to Pharaoh, “But indeed for this 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.”
      1. Whereas the maintenance of Israel in the midst of apostasy is used as an example of God’s unmerited mercy on the nation of Israel to pan out his purposes, Pharaoh is here used as an example of God’s ability to use the wicked to display his glory and expand his salvation to the nations. Though Pharaoh would not repent, and was found to be so proud and arrogant, God raised him up in leadership over the Egyptians, and when finally faced with the very power of God, instead of repenting, he grew more and more hardened. God was pleased to raise up Pharaoh in order to declare to the nations his Godhead, judgments, and power in the world. (Rom. 9:17-18)

         In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. (Daniel 1:1-2)
         
         And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. (Daniel 2:21-22)

         Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. (James 1:13)

         Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live? (Ezekiel 18:23)

      2. God did not have to directly harden Pharaoh’s heart to reveal his judgments, nor did he; he simply had to raise up a vile man who would be sure to resist his will, even to the greatest degree, though he declared his heart, glory, will, and power plainly.

         But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. (Exodus 3:19)

   4. Man is at fault, not God’s will — Paul uses the imagery of a potter making vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy. In pottery, the potter would take the blood from a tick and mix it with clay and make a paste to fix cracked vessels. However, vessels of destruction refused to be mended and each time the crack would grow worse and worse, until finally it had to be thrown out. It is also interesting to note that Judas hung himself in the potter’s field, the very same one the chief priests bought with the money Judas used to betray Jesus, which was a fulfillment of prophecy. This analogy should point the reader to the need of allowing God to complete his salvation work, to receive the blood of Jesus. (Jer. 32:6-9; Zech. 11:12-13; Mt. 27:7; Acts 1:18; Rom. 9:18-23)
      1. Can God be guilty of sin when man does not repent?, The answer is no, all men left to their natural abilities have free will to only conclude that the cross is foolishness.
      2. There is a heavy weightiness to the free will of man to cooperate with God in order to avoid becoming a vessel of wrath. Giving mankind free will (in order to obtain an inheritance of voluntary lovers in Christ and his Church) at the risk of also obtaining many enemies who would choose Satan instead, was the risk God took in creating mankind and indeed predestining the Church.
5. Romans 9:24-33 — God’s will to call the gentiles is revealed of old
   1. Paul uses four Scriptures to show that the remnant of Israel, or “The Israel of God” and the grafting in of the Gentiles was known of old. Although the grafting in of the Gentiles was revealed throughout the Scriptures, it is clear that this remained a mystery, or a secret in the heart of God until it was fully revealed in Christ. This is known as “The Mystery” in Ephesians 3:3-6:

      “. . .how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, . . .” (Eph. 3:3-6)

   2. Paul quotes Hosea 2:23 and 1:10 to show that God had been faithful to keep a remnant in Israel and had a plan to graft the nations into God’s salvation. (Rom. 9:24-26)

      Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ” (Hosea 2:23)

      “Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’ (Hosea 1:10)

      1. The book of Hosea is God’s dealings with a backslidden Israel. In the first chapter, God has Hosea name his third child “Lo-Ammi”, which means “not my people”. God is speaking to apostate Israel that they are not his people, yet in the following verse upholds Israel’s calling saying, “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea. . .” Those who were “not my people” may very well be referring to both the Gentiles and backslidden Jews alike, as God plans to graft both in through his son Jesus.
      2. The number which cannot be measured or numbered is not only God’s salvation of the Jews, but also through the grafting in of the Gentiles, who were strangers to the covenants of promise. In turn, Israel is immeasurable and innumerable; this greatness and expansion of “the Israel of God” should be seen as the building up of Israel, not the replacement or tearing down thereof.
   3. Paul quotes Isaiah 10:22-23 and 28:22 to show that though Israel could not be numbered, which was just stated in the passage in Hosea, only a remnant would be saved. This should support the concept that the greatness of Israel would be through the grafting in of the Gentiles, and perhaps even through Israel’s various dispersals and mingling with the Gentiles. (Rom. 9:27-28)

      For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord God of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land. (Isaiah 10:22-23)

      Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts, A destruction determined even upon the whole earth. (Isaiah 28:22)

      1. Isaiah 28:16-22 speak of God laying a “precious cornerstone, a sure foundation”, which of course, was Christ and the dispensation of the New Testament.  The final verse, and in both of these passages point to a “determined” “destruction” and “end”, which speaks of the end of the age, “even upon the whole earth”. However, this “destruction decreed” actually works to “overflow with righteousness” and therefore must point to both the first and second coming of Christ to bring in the remnant and then all of Israel, respectively.
      2. Israel is exhorted to be aware and look to a future “end”. The end of the Old Testament dispensation, or at least some kind of epic change, should have been realized even upon the destruction of the temple in 70 AD which was prophesied by Jesus, even during his Olivet Discourse in which he discusses the end of the age (Mt. 24:2; Mk. 13:2). Israel should also be pointed back to these things by the fact that they have not had a temple in 1,948 years since that destruction. Their hearts should consider what God was saying, as they had to return to a way of worship as was done in exile. Though a blind eye may be turned, 70 AD (the destruction of the Temple) and Jesus are inseparable. However, the Jews understand that Jesus was a “false messiah” and the worst of all of them because of how influential he was. They understand that the true Messiah would bring in the Messianic Age and because Jesus died before such promises were fulfilled, he could not have been the one.
      3. After WWII and the Holocaust, the United Nations established in Israel the Jewish State on May 14, 1948, a fulfillment of prophecy and a necessary component for the fulfillment of end of the age prophecies and the bringing in of the Messianic Age. Judaism understands that the return of Jews to Israel and the rebuilding of the temple are in connection with the return of the Messiah. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, all look for the end of the age marked by the coming or return of the Messiah. Interesting enough, Muslims, though having a very false Christ in mind, understand with Christians that the Messiah is Jesus. In any case, through biblical prophesies it becomes clear that Israel as a nation will accept the antichrist as their messiah. Of course, the antichrist breaks the covenant he makes with Israel and will persecute them and upon Christ’s return, all of Israel will mourn in view of their true Messiah, along with the whole earth. (Mt. 24:15-22; Jn. 5:43; Dan. 2:31-45, 7:1-8, 24-28, 9:24-27; Rev. 12:6, 13:3, 11; Rev. 1:7)
   4. Paul then turns to Isaiah 1:9 to reveal that, indeed, unless the Lord upheld a remnant all of Israel would have been utterly destroyed and made waste. (Rom. 9:29)

      Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah. (Isaiah 1:9)

   5. Paul concludes that the Gentiles, not even seeking after righteousness, attained the righteousness of faith and Israel failed because of their pursuit of righteousness, in working to attain it through the law. This was ultimately manifested in their inability to accept their Messiah and believe on the provided righteousness of God in contrast to the Gentiles who, in some respects, widely received Christ. (Is. 8:14, 28:16; Rom. 9:30-33)
      1. Paul quotes Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16 to show that Israel’s fall from grace was predicted, yet the Jew who has (or had) the faith of Abraham and “believes”, will/would be careful in their estimation of Jesus. God’s purpose in his revelation of Jesus was to draw hearts in genuine and voluntary love and devotion. The revelation of his wisdom is easily grasped by the humble but perhaps impossible to be seen by the proud who do not approach God in faith.

         “He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” (Isa. 8:14)

         Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. (Isa. 28:16)

         At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. (Mt. 11:25)

         But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6)

6. Romans 10:1-17 — Israel’s fall from grace
   1. Paul releases an Apostolic Prayer for Israel that is simple yet profound; that Israel would be saved. When we partner with God’s vision over Israel, that they would be saved, we are sowing into a greater vision, as Paul will later discuss, even the resurrection, the Second Coming, and the end of the age. Prayer for Israel is throughout the Scriptures and Christianity is Israel-centric. The very second coming of Christ itself hangs on Israel coming to faith. (Ps. 122; Mt. 23:39; Rom. 10:1)
   2. What causes Paul’s heart to have such pity and concern in his heart, in part, is the absurdity of Israel’s fall from grace, and yet Paul, one who so violently persecuted Christians before conversion, must, of all people, understood how painful it is to have such a zeal for God but miss it altogether, and instead rack up sin and wrath in unbelief. (1 Tim. 1:15; Rom. 2:1-5, 17-29)
   3. Their zeal is “not according to knowledge”, which will roll into Paul’s point later in this chapter, that these truths must be preached to confront Israel with God’s provided righteousness as seen in the Scriptures so that faith in the Scriptures and the provided righteousness, even leadership of God, may be born. (Rom. 10:2, 14)
      1. Israel’s main point of failure was to discern and believe on God’s provided righteousness in Jesus, and instead, fall into self-righteousness, which surely cannot profit anyone. By receiving the gift of Jesus and believing on his perfect work, in which he fulfilled the Law and died on behalf for humanity (a perfect image of the full manifestation of Israel’s Law and sacrificial system), the believer is dead to the Law and alive to God, the Law now being written in their hearts. (Rom. 10:3-4)

         “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jer. 31:31-33)
         

   4. Scripture after Scripture, Paul brings to light the plan of God’s salvation through Christ and the necessity of faith in God’s work, throughout the Old Testament. Quoting two sections of the same book, Deuteronomy, Paul shows that Israel became stuck on the Law, which was only part of God’s heart for Israel, to obey his judgments and recognize their sin; however, the heart of faith that was required, Israel as a whole has missed throughout time and ultimately in their rejection of their Messiah. (Rom. 10:5-8)

      You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. (Lev. 18:5)

      It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. (Deut. 30:12-14)
      

      1. Paul quotes Leviticus 18:5 referring to the righteousness that is of the Law and Deuteronomy 30:14 referring to the righteousness of faith.The righteousness of faith and the fulfillment of the Law was prophesied of in the Scriptures and fully realized in the person of Jesus.
      2. To believe from the heart and confess with the mouth the atonement and resurrection of Jesus is to be saved. The Law and the sacrifices should have pointed Israel to see the holiness and requirements of God, man’s need for forgiveness, and the impossibility of salvation without divine intervention.
      3. Believing on Jesus’ work is to come to an end of one’s self-righteousness through the Law and to accept the Law as accomplished in and through Christ who’s victory we receive through his atoning sacrifice on our behalf. In Christ, the Law is implanted into the believer’s heart and thereby can be accomplished. Paul brings to view some of the Scriptures in the Old Testament that spoke of this posture and necessity of faith in God for salvation, in Isaiah and in Joel. (Rom. 10:9-13)

         Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. (Isa. 28:16)

         And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls. (Joel 2:32)

   5. The Great Commission in Romans — I would call verses 14 and 15 of Romans 11 “The Great Commission of Romans”. In response to turn Israel from their unbelief, Paul calls on the preaching of the Gospel to all nations. Preaching the Gospel is the answer to the world’s salvation, first to the Jews then to the Gentiles and in turn, back to the Jews. Israel is the beginning and end-point of Christianity and missions. (Rom. 1:16, 11:11-29; Mt. 28:19-20)

      He will even write in 1 Corinthians 1:21, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (Rom. 10:14-15)

      Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7, which is a passage that prophesies of the Messiah (“My Servant”), “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

      1. When Christ is preached it is as if a mystical window of grace and salvation is opened for the hearers. Preaching the Word is the arena in which faith may be born in the hearer’s heart.
      2. Paul even quotes Isaiah 52:7 to show that the preaching of good news was also planned in the heart of God, even in direct relation to the Messiah. Proclaiming the Gospel and sending missionaries is not only a noble and beautiful action; it is a necessary aspect to bring the nations to Christ. (Rom. 10:15)
   6. Paul then quotes the first verse of Isaiah 53, a chapter that describes the Messiah so perfectly that it makes one wonder how Israel missed to see Jesus as their Messiah; however the first quote of this chapter is “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” (Is. 53:1) God knew that not all Israel would listen to the Gospel even though many worked to obey the Law.
      1. The kind of preaching Paul is calling the Church to is not only of the life and death of Jesus, but also the expounding of Scripture to reveal the Messiah, and through the hearing of Scripture one may come to faith. (Rom. 10:16-17)
7. Romans 10:18-21 — It’s not new news, it’s good news!
   1. Quoting from Psalm 19, Paul shows that when the church proclaims the Gospel, whether to an unbelieving Gentile or Jew, they are speaking the truth to someone who already has witness of the truth within them. A person’s revelation of God merely needs to be confronted, exposed, and confirmed. (Rom. 10:18-21)

      “Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world.” (Ps. 19:4)

      1. This verse speaks of the knowledge of God being spoken to all the inhabitants of the earth through creation; however in this verse, I imagine Paul saw how in his own day, Christianity was turning the world upside down and fulfilling this Scripture. (Rom. 10:18)

         But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. (Acts 17:6)

         And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 19:10)

   2. Paul then quotes Deuteronomy 32 and Isaiah 65 and affirms that Israel should have recognized through Scripture that salvation would come to the Gentiles in order to bring in their own fullness.

      They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. (Deut. 32:21)

      I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; (Isa. 65:1-2)

      1. Even as far back as Moses’ words there was prophesied a time in which God would use a “foolish nation”, even “those who are not a nation” to show Israel how to walk rightly. There should be no issue to see the dispensation of the New Testament and the grafting in of the Gentiles as part of God’s salvation plan according to Scripture. (Rom. 10:19)
      2. The Gentile’s mass reception of the Gospel was a fulfillment of Scripture with a purpose. God is shown in Isaiah as being found by those who did not seek him, and being ignored by a people who did seek him; testifying of Israel’s fall and the birth of the Church. (Rom. 10:20-21)
8. Romans 11:1-6 — Israel’s Election Upheld
   1. Though Israel did not recognize the time of their visitation and missed what God was doing through Christ, God has not cast them away. This verse alone should assure us, as it assured Paul’s readers, that the Church did not replace Israel. Paul will begin to unfold God’s redemptive purposes in Israel. (Rom. 11:1)
   2. God’s call on Israel, despite her national fall from grace, still remains. Quoting from 1 Kings 19, when Elijah cried out to God and felt as if he were the only one of faith in an apostate Israel, God reassures him of his remnant. This should powerfully reveal the heart of God that throughout time until today, God is faithful to sustain and preserve “the Israel of God”. (Rom. 11:2-6)

      So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” (1 Kg. 19:10)

      Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (1 Kg. 19:18)

      1. Paul himself stood as an example of God’s call on Israel remaining and he quotes Elijah where God reveals that he kept a remnant in Israel. God has always had a remnant in Israel as it is to this day.
      2. This remnant is “according to the election of grace”; they are the children of Abraham who kept the faith of Abraham. Even the remnant of Israel had to come to faith through grace just as the Church did – through the Messiah and not through the man-made attainment of righteousness through the Law.
9. Romans 11:7-10 —“Israel has not obtained what it seeks”
   1. Israel sought righteousness by the Law, but did not obtain this promise of God because of their rejection of their Messiah. As a consequence, God gave them over to a spirit of “stupor”, or blindness. This blindness is in part, as God remains faithful to retain a remnant in Israel. This blindness is a national or corporate judgement in which Israel’s self-righteous pursuit and rejection of Jesus resulted in their inability to see Christ as their Messiah. As a result, they slave away according to their religious pursuit. (Rom. 11:7)
   2. Paul quotes three Old Testament passages to show Israel’s fall from grace was predicted and should give the believer perspective that God knows, is in control, and has planned accordingly. (Rom. 11:8-10)

      For the Lord has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, (Is. 29:10a)

      Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day. (Deut. 29:4)

      Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And make their loins shake continually. (Psalm 69:23)

      1. These three verses deal with apostate Israel even in the midst of their experience of the miraculous.
         1. Isaiah 29 speaks of a deep sleep poured out because of Israel’s hypocrisy and disobedience. Paul quotes this blindness being given in relation to the appearance of the Messiah, and even the picture of the potter appears in verse sixteen. The rejection of Jesus even after the massive fulfillment of Scripture, the great miracles performed, and display of his Godhead over man and nature, even following after the baptism of John, entails a greater issue of the heart – one of hypocrisy and a hardening of heart.
         2. Next, Deuteronomy speaks of the apostate Jews who saw the signs and wonders of God even all the way from Egypt to the Promised Land. They saw with their own eyes the signs, the wonders, were led by God himself for forty years through the wilderness, their clothes did not wear out, and they ate mana from heaven, and yet there was unbelief in their camp.
         3. Finally, Psalm 69, well known to be in reference to the Messiah speaks of the apostate Israel who crucified Christ, preceding verse 21-22, “They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them, and their well-being a trap.”
      2. It is very interesting to note that after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, which was also predicted by Christ, the Jews could no longer perform sacrifices as many leaders in Judaism believe that sacrifices should be done in the Temple and therefore cannot be continued until the Messiah comes and the Temple is rebuilt. Since the establishment of the State of Israel there have been plans to rebuild the Temple, which would be necessary for the fulfillment of end-time passages. This, however, is one of the most extreme examples of Israel’s disconnect from God’s salvation and sets the table for the abomination of desolations to occur and may very well be the fulfillment of Psalm 69:22, previously mentioned, “Let their table become a snare before them, and their well-being a trap.” (Mt. 24:15; Lk. 21:5-6; Mt. 24:15; II Thess. 2:3-4; Rev. 11:1-2)
10. Romans 11:11-24 — Israel’s Calling and election unto the salvation of the world
    1. Although Israel corporately rejected their Messiah and fell, their calling and election remains and through their fall the Gentiles received salvation. These verses do not refer to individual salvation, but to Israel’s national calling and promises in God. (Rom. 11:11-15)
       1. It was through Israel’s unbelief and fall that man’s need for a provided righteousness apart from the Law was proved. God took occasion of Israel’s fall to bring the Gentiles into salvation according to his divine purposes to bring Israel to her fullness, which will occur at the end of the world.
       2. If Israel’s fall brought the salvation of the Gentiles, their salvation will bring in the end of the age and the resurrection. Therefore, Paul’s ministry was with the goal of bringing Israel to salvation through the salvation of the Gentiles. It follows that all ministry in Christ in some way points to the end of the age and the salvation of Israel.
    2. Israel is holy unto the Lord — After having attributed salvation as coming to the Gentiles because of the fall of Israel, this segment deals again with Israel’s promises, that the Gentile’s were grafted into. Israel is holy, and not just the first-fruit, or the individuals of Israel who first believed. (Rom. 11:16-24)
       1. Replacement theology, in which it is said that the Church replaces Israel and takes their promises is incorrect in that it does not acknowledge the attached promises to the land of Israel, nor consider God’s promises and prophesies even on Israel’s unsaved inhabitants in the end of the age. Especially crucial and relevant in this understanding is the Gentile’s mandate to pray for Israel and to have rightly purposed missiology and the offense that may ensue without such knowledge. (Isa. 56:6-7; Isa. 62:6-7; Ez. 36:23-36; Mt. 23:39)
       2. Paul uses the imagery of a cultivated olive tree to represent Israel and the wild olive tree (that was grafted into the cultivated) to represent the Gentiles. The idea is that unto Israel belongs the priesthood, the full redemptive history (referred to as “the root [that] supports you” in verse 18), and a fuller understanding, whereas the Gentiles are (in fact) wild in their understanding that is often unattached or ignorant of Israel’s history, and indeed ethnically unattached to certain promises. Ideally, Jewish believers should mingle with Gentile believers to bring them to a fuller understanding.
       3. An aspect of this segment of Scripture is a rebuke to the Gentiles who are exhorted with the following phrases: “do not boast against . . .”, “Do not be haughty”. In the context of this chapter, it seems as if the Gentiles and Jews had tensions in which the Gentiles found reasons to boast and be disrespectful towards (or disregard) Israel.
11. Romans 11:25-36: The Future Victory of Israel: All Israel will be saved
    1. Paul quotes three scriptures to show the relationship between Israel and the Gentiles in God’s masterplan of salvation. Ignorance on this issue, Paul points out, would make the believer “wise in your own opinion”. This conclusion flows out of the previous verses in which Paul warns the Gentiles to consider and to fear lest they be cut off from Israel, just as the many branches of Israel had. It follows that ignorance on the relationship between Israel and the Gentiles may very well lead to falling away from the faith. (Rom. 11:25-27)
       1. First, Paul quotes Psalm 14:7, “Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.”
       2. Instead of a petition, Paul states that “The Deliverer will come out of Zion.” In the end of the age, all of the prayers of the Bible, all the prayers of Jesus and the Psalms, will be answered and fulfilled. The Deliverer, Jesus has come out of Zion, will return to Zion in the end of the age, and his government will rule out of Zion.

          Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isa. 2:2-3)

          Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. (Rev. 14:1)

       3. Perhaps Paul is more directly quoting in Romans 11:26-27, Isaiah 59:20-21, “The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the Lord. “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
       4. Jesus not only fulfilled this prophecy and came to (or out of) Zion, but he will come again and at that time will bring salvation, as Paul writes, “And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” Though restated, the idea is the same that at the Second Coming of Christ, all of Israel will be saved at once. 
    2. Israel’s end-time salvation is stated throughout the Bible. Here is a list of prophetic prayers and promises for Israel’s national salvation: I4:27-31 Israel’s end-time salvation Genesis 49:1; Deuteronomy 4:27-31:29, 33:26-29; Num. 24:14; Isaiah 11:10-16, 29:14, 17-24, 30:18-33, 32:15-19, 33:2-6, 17, 35:1-10, 42:10-17, 43:1-7, 44:1-5, 45:17, 22-25, 51:3-11, 4:1-17, 56:6-8, 59:19-21, 60:1-62:12, 63:7-64:12, 66:7-14, 66:18-21; Jeremiah 3:14-20, 16:14-21, 30:16-23, 31:1-14, 32:16-23, 32:37-42, 33:6-26, 50:4-5, 50:19-20, 34; Lamentations 1:9, 11, 16; 2:12-13, 18-20; 3:20-33; 5:1-22; Ezekiel 11:17-20, 16:60-63, 20:33-44, 34:11-31, 36:22-38, 37:1-28; Hosea 2:14-23; 3:5, 5:15-6:3, 11, 14:1-8; Joel 2:28-32, 3:17-20; Zechariah 8:2-8, 12:10-13:6; Haggai 2:6-9; 2:21-22; Zephaniah 3:8-20; Mal. 4:1-6 Isa. 63:15-64:12; Dan. 9:4-19; Mic. 7:7-20; Habakkuk. 3:2-19; Ezra 9:5-15; Nehemiah. 1:4-11; 9:5-38; Ps. 44; 45:3-5; 65; 67; 79; 80; 83; 85; 86; 90:13-17; 102:12-22; 110:1-5; 122:6-7; 132:11; Romans 10:1, 11:12-15, 11:25-27
    3. Furthermore, God did not replace Israel with the Church because his gifts and callings are “irrevocable”. God’s election has remained on Israel, which stood for some 2,000 years before Christ’s First Coming. However, unlike Jesus’ First Coming, Jesus will be received as the Messiah by Israel at the Second Coming. (Rom. 11:28-36)

       “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” (Mt. 23:37-39)

       Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. (Pslam 18:26)

    4. God has “committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all”. Israel proved man’s need for a provided righteousness apart from the Law to both themselves and the Gentiles; their failure proved all unable to attain righteousness with the Law.
       1. This image here, though poor in comparison, is like a classroom in which the teacher curves the grades. Because Israel failed utterly while having textbooks (the Law, etc.), the Gentiles who were expelled for refusing to have textbooks, are brought back into class. Instead of using textbooks, now, the teacher provides, for all, explanation on the textbooks through video lectures (the Law Incarnate in Christ and outpouring of the Holy Spirit). However, Israel likes their textbooks so much that they don’t see that they are failing and refuse the new system, so the teacher expels the Israelites who revolt. Those revolting Israelites go on in futility, studying their books at home having no teacher and are completely out of the accredited school anyway. The teacher then continually shows those revolting Israelites the illiterate Gentiles with straight A’s using the video lectures, and the Israelites will be drawn back into class. (Heb. 11:7; Mt. 12:42)
    5. With these final summaries, Paul concludes in praise. God’s work of salvation and his great mercy and faithfulness to Israel, both in judgment and mercy, should bring every believer’s heart to praise. Certainly, his salvation plan far surpasses the intellect of man. Amen!