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Related resources...
Summary on the Attributes of God
Spurgeon on the Attributes of God
Israel of God - Is God "Finished"
with Israel in His prophetic plan?
Off Site - Table
Comparing/contrasting Israel & Church
Off Site - Does the Church Fulfill
Israel's Program? - John Walvoord
The Jewish People, Jesus Christ and World History
- S Lewis Johnson
Are you confused about God's plan for Israel?
Then I highly recommend Tony
Garland's
12 Hour Course on Romans 9-11
in which he addresses in depth the question of What
Will Happen to Israel?
(click)
or see the individual lectures below)
Romans 9:1-5 Paul's Sorrow Concerning Israel
Romans 9:6-13
Children of the Promise
Romans 9:14-24
The Potter and the Clay
Romans 9:25-33
A Remnant Will be Saved
Romans 10:1-13
The Righteousness of God
Romans 10:14-21
Has Israel Not Heard?
Romans 11:1-6
God Has Not Cast Away The Jews
Romans 11:7-15
Life from the Dead
Romans 11:16-24
Two Olive Trees
Romans 11:25-36
The Salvation of Israel
Note that when you click the
preceding links, each link will in turn give you several choices
including an Mp3 message and brief transcript notes. The Mp3's
are long (avg 70+ min) but are in depth and thoroughly Scriptural with
many quotations from the Old Testament, which is often much less well
understood than the NT by many in the church today. Garland takes a
literal approach to Scripture, and his love for the Jews and passion to
see them saved comes through very clearly in these 12 hours of teaching!
Take your home Bible Study group through this series if you dare. Take
notes on the tapes as the transcripts are a very abbreviated version of
the audio messages. This course is highly recommended for all who love
Israel! I think you will agree that Tony Garland, despite coming to
faith after age 30 as an engineer, clearly has been given a special
anointing by God to promulgate the truth concerning Israel and God's
glorious future plan for the Jews. Garland has also produced more than
20 hours of superb audio teaching in his verse by verse commentary on
the
Revelation (in
depth transcripts also available) which will unravel (in a way you did
not think was possible considering the plethora of divergent
interpretations) God's final message of the triumph and return of the
our Lord Jesus Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords! Maranatha!
William Newell
summarizes this chapter as follows...
1. That God has not cast off Israel,
a Remnant being always preserved—this Remnant now, “the election of
grace.”
2. That all but the election were hardened,—to let the fulness of the
Gentiles come in: for the purpose of provoking Israel to
“jealousy,”—that they might discover Jehovah’s mercy.
3. That although broken off from the stalk of blessing, they will be
grafted back into “their own olive tree.”
4. That this will be at the coming to Zion in Jerusalem of the Lord
Jesus Christ; and that then a New Covenant will be made with Israel.
5. That the Gentile will be cut off from the present privilege-place,
for not continuing in God’s “goodness” (His grace to sinners); and the
place of direct Divine blessing again be taken by Israel, who will
return from their unbelief.
6. That this most solemn fact should warn Gentiles against individual
self-confidence, and especially against the fearful delusion that Israel
has been “cast away” forever, and that the Gentiles have taken their
place! God has made no covenants with any nation but Israel; and that
nation He will restore, the Gentiles becoming then dependent on
blessing, through Israel, throughout the future.
7. That instead of being unfaithful to His promises to Israel, God has
simply exercised His sovereignty (1) in cutting off Israel for the
present; (2) in calling in the fulness of the Gentiles on the principle
of mercy only; (3) in taking away from Israel, whom He exalted and to
whom He gave His law, all claims upon Him either by national descent,
personal righteousness, or any covenant commitments (for they rejected
their promises and crucified their Messiah) : thus shutting them up to
the one great principle of mercy. (Romans
11)
I SAY THEN GOD HAS NOT REJECTED HIS PEOPLE HAS HE: Lego (1SPAI) oun, me
aposato (3SAMI) o theos ton laon autou: (1 Samuel
12:22;
2 Kings 23:27;
Psalms 77:7;
89:31-37;
94:14)
Rejected (683)
(apotheomai from apó = from + othéo = push, thrust,
drive) means literally to push aside, thrust way (from) or push off.
Figuratively as used here it means to reject, repudiate, refuse to
listen to, to cast away or to put away (from).
Why this question? Read Romans 10:21
(remember there were no chapter breaks in the original Greek
manuscripts)...
But as for Israel He says, "ALL THE
DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE
PEOPLE."
Has God thrust away Israel from Himself (middle
voice =
reflexive). The form of the question in the Greek text expects a negative
answer. God did not permanently reject Israel even though they
repeatedly rejected Him (Isa 30:12 "you have rejected this word") God did reject them for a while,
the prophet Hosea recording...
My God will cast them away Because
they have not listened to Him; And they will be wanderers among the
nations (Hosea 9:17)
Paul is
not raising a question to cause one to doubt God's faithfulness to
fulfill His covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is driving home the fact that God did not
cast Israel away permanently.
Israel is God’s elect nation. He foreknew them. He chose them, and they
are His. The fact that most of the nation rejected the Messiah is not
proof that God is finished with Israel although sadly this is what is
taught by many, especially since about 100AD and rejuvenated in 400AD by
Augustine's teaching in the City of God that the church had replaced
Israel. At stake is whether God can be trusted to keep His
unconditional promises to that nation.
MAY IT NEVER BE: me genoito
(3SAMO):
Far be the thought. Certainly not!
Of course not! By no means! May such a thought never enter our mind!
Perish the thought! Once again Paul uses the strongest form of negation in
the Greek grammar. Israel's rejection is to
be neither total nor final.
In Jeremiah God emphasizes
that the order of of the moon and the stars for light will have to cease
before He rejects His people...
"If this fixed order departs From
before Me," declares the LORD, "Then the offspring of Israel also shall
cease from being a nation before Me forever." Thus says the LORD, "If
the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth
searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of
Israel for all that they have done," declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:36,37)
And again in Jeremiah God
says that...
"'If My covenant for day and night
stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not
established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My
servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will
have mercy on them.'" (Jeremiah 33:25-26)
In Amos God reiterates His promise
declaring...
Behold, the eyes of the Lord
GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of
the earth. Nevertheless (a very important qualifier!), I will not
totally destroy the house of Jacob," Declares the LORD. (Amos 9:8,9)
FOR I TOO AM AN ISRAELITE A DESCENDANT OF ABRAHAM, OF THE TRIBE OF
BENJAMIN: kai gar ego Israelites
eimi (1SPAI), ek spermatos Abraam, phules Beniamin: (9:3;
Acts 22:3;
26:4;
;
Philippians 3:5)
An
Israelite is a descendent of Jacob (Israel) and thus
an heir of the promises God gave to that nation.
Paul is also a descendant of
Abraham (Covenant:
Abrahamic), the one to whom God gave the
covenant promises.
Tribe of Benjamin (see
note)
In Acts Paul defends
himself before the Jews testifying...
"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of
Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly
according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, just as you
all are today. (Acts 22:3)
"(before Agrippa) So then, all Jews
know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was
spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem (Acts
26:4)
Writing to the Corinthians
defending his apostleship Paul asked...
Are they (his distracters, who were
false apostles, deceitful works, who were disguising themselves as
apostles of Christ) Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are
they descendants of Abraham? So am I. (2 Corinthians 11:22)
Paul is clearly an Israelite
descended from Abraham and of the tribe of Benjamin and if God saved
him, He could save other Jews.
This chapter gives a beautiful illustration of the interweaving of God’s
providential arrangements. The circumstances under consideration are
seen to be to one another as cause and effect:
(1) Israel’s downfall has
resulted in the carrying of the gospel to the Gentiles (v11, 12, 15,
30)
(2) but this present mercy to Gentiles will lead to the obtaining
of mercy by Israel (vv. 26, 31)
(3) the mercy thus shown in the
restoration of Israel will result in universal blessing (v15)
Scofield summarizes Romans 11 as follows...
Israel has not been forever set aside is the theme of this chapter.
(1) The salvation of Paul proves that there is still a remnant of Israel
(v1).
(2) The doctrine of the remnant proves it (v2- 6).
(3) The present national unbelief was foreseen (v7-10).
(4) Israel's unbelief is the Gentile opportunity (v11-25).
(5) Israel is judicially broken off from the good olive tree, Christ
(v17-22).
(6) They are to be grafted in again (v23, 24).
(7) the promised Deliverer will come out of Zion and the nation will be
saved (v25-29).
That the Christian now inherits the distinctive Jewish promises is not
taught in Scripture. The Christian is of the heavenly seed of Abraham
(Ge15:5,v6 Ga3:29) and partakes of the spiritual blessings of the
Abrahamic Covenant (Ge12:2, note); but Israel as a nation always has its
own place and is yet to have its greatest exaltation as the earthly
people of God.
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