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. Tony 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 proclaim 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!

AS HE SAYS ALSO IN HOSEA: os kai en to Osee legei (3SPAI): (Hosea 1:1,2) (Hosea 2:23; 1 Peter 2:10)

In this section Paul begins with some passages from Hosea to establish the acceptability of the Gentiles, then goes on to some from Isaiah to show that the call does not include all Israel.

He says (3004) (lego) speaks with a focus upon the content of what is said. God spoke and present tense indicates He is still speaking.

Paul quoted (Hosea 2:23) somewhat freely using it as a statement to indicate that God would turn (temporarily) from the Jews and call the Gentiles...

Hosea 2:23 "And I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion (corresponds to Hosea's daughter "Lo-Ruhamah = not compassion, without compassion or love), and I will say to those who were not My people (corresponds to Hosea's son named "Lo-Ammi"- Apostate Israel, God says, was "not My people" for they had lived as heathens and now they had become as heathens. But that was not God’s last word as the next clause shows!), 'You are My people!' (Those whom God wills to restore will be restored) and they will say, 'Thou art my God!'" (Comment: Interpreted in its OT context, Hosea 2:23 refers to Israel and not to the Gentiles. It looks forward to the time when Israel will be restored as God’s people and as His beloved.)

English translation of Hosea 2:23 in the Septuagint: "And I will sow her to me on the earth; and will love her that was not loved, and will say to that which was not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art the Lord my God."

Paul's point is that the call of the Gentiles should not have come as a surprise to the Jews.

God directed Hosea to give his children symbolic names—one son Lo-Ammi (not my people = Gomer's second son, his name symbolized the rejection of Israel, who, at Sinai, had covenanted to be God's people) and the daughter Lo-Ruhamah (not...loved or means "not pitied" or "not having obtained mercy," signifying that Israel will not find mercy when the impending judgment falls).

These names of Hosea's children represented God’s abandonment of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrian Captivity and Exile (Hosea 1:2-9). However, God was not permanently casting away the people of Israel.

In the verses quoted by Paul, God promised to restore them as His beloved and as His people. By ethnic heritage the Gentiles were not God’s people, so Paul was led by the Spirit of God to apply these verses to Gentiles—and Jews also—who were sovereignly chosen by God and called to be His people in Christ. The quotation of Hosea 2:23 is rather free with the order of the clauses reversed to fit the application to Gentiles. Paul was applying these verses from Hosea to the Gentiles, not reinterpreting them. He was not saying that Israel of the Old Testament is part of the church.

Dr S Lewis Johnson the respected former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary wrote...

Paul follows with a series of Old Testament quotations in support of the fact that God has called Gentiles to faith and left Israel with a remnant in the earth. In other words if Israel had read the Scriptures, they would have understood what might happen, if they should reject the revelation of God climaxed in the appearance of their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Ro 9:25-29). Oh! How many things become clear when we read the Scriptures! (Romans 9:14-33)

I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE 'MY PEOPLE': kaleso (1SFAI) ton ou laon mou laon mou:

Peter (1 Peter 2:10) uses the same passage from Hosea in his first epistle, but probably with a slightly different  desired "endpoint" (see comment after verse below)...

for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. (see note 1 Peter 2:10) (Comment:  In Hosea it is Israel who is not God's people. In Romans it is the Gentiles to whom Paul applies Hosea's words. Thus in 1 Peter the words could apply to both Jews before they met their Messiah and pagan Gentiles before the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. This is especially apropos in light of the difficulty to dogmatically label the recipients of Peter's letter as Jewish versus Gentile believers.)

Although Hosea was speaking of the remnant Israel, Paul (writing under the Spirit's inspiration) applies the same principle to God's calling of a remnant of the Gentiles as well

And the LORD said, "Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am not your God." (Hosea 1:9).

Marvin Vincent commenting on "that my people which was not My people" notes that...

The Greek is much more condensed.

“I will call the not-My-people My-people.” See Hos 1:6-9.

The reference is to the symbolical names given by the prophet to a son and daughter: Lo Ammi not my people, and Lo Ruhamah not having obtained mercy. The new people whom God will call My people will be made up from both Jews and Gentiles. Hosea, it is true, is speaking of the scattered Israelites only, and not of the Gentiles; but the ten tribes, by their lapse into idolatry had put themselves upon the same footing with the Gentiles, so that the words could be applied to both.

A principle of the divine government is enunciated

“which comes into play everywhere when circumstances reappear similar to those to which the statement was originally applied. The exiled Israelites being mingled with the Gentiles, and forming one homogeneous mass with them, cannot be brought to God separately from them. Isa. 49:22 represents the Gentiles as carrying the sons of Israel in their arms, and their daughters on their shoulders, and consequently as being restored to grace along with them” (Godet). (Word Studies in the NT)

AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, 'BELOVED: kai ten ouk egaphemenen (RPPFSA) egaphemenen (RPPFSA): (Ro 1:7; Ezekiel 16:8; John 16:27)

Beloved (25) (agapao) means to love  unconditionally, sacrificially which describe the love that God Himself is. It is not sentimental or emotional but represents the act of one's will with the intended goal of the recipient's highest good irrespective of whether it is received or returned! Clearly agape love flows out of God's grace or unmerited favor. Both uses of "beloved" in this verse are in the perfect tense which speaks of an enduring effect, once toward the "negative" ("not beloved") but eventually in the "positive" direction.

Leon Morris in explaining the phrase "not beloved, beloved" (or "I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one.") writes that...

Hosea has this before the “not my people” clause and his verb here seems to mean “my pitied one”; Paul has reversed the order of the clauses and has “love” rather than “pity”. He is saying that in Scripture it is the call of God and the love of God that makes the people of God, and this quite irrespective of Jewish or Gentile origin. There is, of course, a sense in which all the people of the world are the objects of God’s love (John 3:16). God loves because it is his nature to love. But there is also a sense in which those who are his people are specially beloved, and this is the theme of the present passage (Morris, L. The Epistle to the Romans. W. B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press)

Paul continues the sentence quoting directly from the Septuagint of Hosea 1:10 (highlighted Scripture corresponds to his quote)...

Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And it will come about that, in the place Where it is said to them, "You are not My people," It will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living God."

This addition from  Hosea 1:10 further emphasizes the divine call that makes the "not my people" into "sons of the living God".

Once again, in its Old Testament context Hosea was not speaking of the Gentiles but describing Israel’s future restoration to God’s favor. Yet under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul applies it to God’s acknowledgment of the Gentiles as His sons. This is another illustration of the fact that when the Holy Spirit quotes verses from the OT in the NT, He can rightfully apply them as He wishes.

THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD: ekei klethesontai (3PFPI) huioi theou zontos (PAPMSG):

They - refers to the Gentiles and is a promise even found in the original promise to Abraham, Moses recording God's promise...

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Comment: The phrase "all the families of the earth" would include the Gentiles).

Inherent in God's promise to bless all the families is the promise of the coming of Abraham's Seed, the Messiah, for it was only through Him that the blessing to Abraham would pass. Paul explains this in the NT in Galatians writing...

Galatians 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS SHALL BE BLESSED IN YOU." 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer...16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his Seed (this is how all the nations, which would include the Gentiles, would be blessed "in" Abraham - in his seed was the line of the Messiah, the Christ, through which the blessings could flow to all who would believe like Abraham!). He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to One, "And to your Seed," that is, Christ. (Comment: In Genesis 22:17 God reaffirms His promise of Genesis 12:1-3 but even more specifically states "indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed [masculine, singular in the Hebrew = prophesying of the Messiah] as the stars of the heavens")

Called (kaleo) means to speak to another in order to bring them nearer, either physically or in a personal relationship. A number of the NT uses convey the nuance of an invitation. (See related study on "the called")

Again there is the thought of God’s effectual call, this time directed to people in the situation of Gentiles. It is not the situation that prevails, but the divine call. And the call is to membership in the heavenly family. The substantives have no articles, which puts the stress on the quality. The people who were not God’s people will be called nothing less than sons (with all the rights and privileges that that implies) of One who is none less than God, and living God at that  (Morris, L. The Epistle to the Romans. W. B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press) (Comment: Regarding Gentiles as God's sons, see related discussion on "adoption as sons" in Ephesians 1:5)

Dr. Harry Ironside writes that in our day...

when grace is going out to the Gentiles, Israel would be set to one side nationally. By-and-by the same grace that is now being shown to the Gentile nations will be manifested again to the Israelites, and they will once more be called the children of the living God. Isaiah prophesied that although the number of the children of Israel would be as the sands of the sea, yet of this vast throng only a remnant would be saved. And that salvation would come in the day of the Lord's indignation, when He would be executing His judgment on the earth (see Isaiah 10:22-23). (Ironside, H. Romans).

Commenting on Romans 9:25-26 Thomas Constable writes that...

In quoting this Old Testament passage Paul is shifting his emphasis form the inclusion of Gentiles in the people of God  to explain the truth of remnant (which permeates the entire OT - see discussion), explaining that only a remnant of Israel will be saved.

Note there is some difference between the Greek Textus Receptus (source of KJV, NKJV) and more modern Greek manuscripts (source of NASB, NIV, etc) in the specific Greek word translated "remnant". Here is the version of the Greek used in the NAS translation...

Greek Nestle-Aland of Romans 9:27: Esaias de krazei (3SPAI) huper tou IsraEl, Ean e o arithmos ton huion Israel os e ammos tes thalasses, to hupoleimma  (remnant) sothesetai; (3SFPI) (Comment: The Textus Receptus has kataleimma in place of hupoleimma, most Greek authorities favoring the later word, although the meaning differs only slightly between the two words.)

Paul in quoting Isaiah 10:22 quotes not from the Hebrew text but the Greek  text (LXX) which explains in part why the phrase "A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness" which is found only in the Hebrew, is not used here in Romans 9:27

NAS translation of Isaiah 10:22 For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will return; A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.

Septuagint (LXX) of Isaiah 10:22 kai ean genetai (3SAMS) o laos Israel os e ammos tes thalasses to kataleimma (remnant from kataleipo = leave behind) auton sothesetai (3SFPI) (Brenton's English rendering of the LXX of Isaiah 10:22: And though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be saved.)

Cries (2896) (krazo) refers to speaking or demanding with a loud voice, crying out, screaming, shrieking, making a vehement outcry. To communicate something in a loud voice. This may bring out the thought of urgency rather than simply being loud.

Note use of present tense which says the prophet continues to cry out. Isaiah cried in anguish over the outlook for Israel, but his cry contains the prophetic hope (certainty) of a future remnant of Israel (Jews who believe in their Messiah for redemption, in so doing entering into the New Covenant in His blood, even as Jeremiah had prophesied about in Jeremiah 31:31 "new covenant")

Marvin Vincent comments that krazo is

An impassioned utterance...compare John 7:28, 37; Acts 19:28; 23:6. Mostly of an inarticulate cry The prophet in awful earnestness, and as with a scream of anguish, cries over Israel” (Morison)....(Vincent adds that in Lu 18:39 krazo is) A stronger word than boao, cried, in Luke 18:38, which is merely to cry or shout, while this is to cry clamorously; to scream or shriek. (Word Studies in the NT)

Concerning (5228)(huper) literally means over, which Vincent remarks is as if Paul is  "proclaiming a judgment which hangs over Israel." (Ibid)

Paul is now underscoring the truth that only the remnant of the Jews will be saved -- that is what He had always said and thus it proves that the word of God has indeed not failed.

THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE AS THE SAND OF THE SEA IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED: ean e (3SPAS) o arithmos ton huion Israel os e ammos tes thalasses to hupoleimma sothesetai (3SFPI): (Ro 11:4, 5, 6; Ezra 9:8,14; Isaiah 1:9; 10:20,21; 11:11; 24:13; Jeremiah 5:10; Ezekiel 6:8; Micah 5:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Number (706) (arithmos) means a cardinal number or as in this context a numerical total, the actual number not being specified except figuratively (compared to grains of sand).

Sand (285) (ammos) refers to sand or a sandy shore (in Rev 12:18). Ammos is usually used figuratively (including uses in LXX and Philo) to refer to things that cannot be counted.

What a dramatic contrast Paul is laying out... sons of Israel as numerous as grains of sand but only a small number of "grains" of which will be saved!

Hosea makes a prediction similar to Isaiah's...

Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And it will come about that, in the place Where it is said to them, "You are not My people," It will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living God."

Sea (2281) (thalassa) refers to a large body of water and in the NT is used to refer to several different named bodies (Mediterranean, Red, Galilee). Here the use is figurative the sand of the seashore symbolizing numberlessness.

Remnant (5275 = verb form hupoleipo) (hupoleimma from verb hupoleipo <> from hupo = under, beneath + leipo = leave, lack) (Click study of the remnant especially from an Old Testament perspective) means a remnant, remainder or residue, a small number or a relatively small surviving group. The definite article preceding hupoleimma in the Greek indicates this is a very specific remnant, the Jews who listen to the message of truth, the gospel of their salvation and believe in the Messiah. This is not just "a" remnant, but "the remnant", which as previously discussed is a doctrinal truth that runs throughout the pages of OT Scripture like a golden lifeline and runs intimately throughout Romans 9-11. The doctrine of the remnant will reach its consummation and ultimate fulfillment in the book of the Revelation. (See related offsite discussion  or as a The Doctrine of the Remnant and the Salvation of Israel in Romans 9-11)

Saved (4982)(sozo) has the basic meaning of rescuing one from great peril. Additional nuances include to protect, keep alive, preserve life, deliver, heal, be made whole. Sozo is sometimes used of physical deliverance from danger of perishing (see Mt 8:25; Mt 14:30; Lu 23:35; Acts 27:20 27:31), physical healing from sickness (Mt 9:21-22; Mk 5:23, Acts 4:9), and deliverance from demonic possession (Lu 8:36). More often sozo refers to salvation in a spiritual sense as illustrated in the following passages: Matthew recorded the angel's conversation with Joseph declaring

"She (Mary) will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save (sozo) His people from their sins." (Mt 1:21)

The reality that many among Israel would reject Messiah Jesus, but that a remnant would be preserved by God is a major theme in Romans 9-11. Paul is quoting these OT prophets to show that these ideas had always been part of God's sovereign plan and was thus driven by His electing purpose (see discussion of "chosen in Him" Ephesians 1:4).  The elect remnant of Jewish believers are the true Israel, the "Israel of God" (See related discussion) as Paul referred to believing Jews in Galatians 6:16.  It is also important to keep in mind that the national aspects of the OT promises made to Israel (e.g., the boundaries of the promised land have never been occupied to the extent God promised they would be occupied by Israel, the throne of David, the restoration of Jerusalem) are preserved in and for the believing Jewish remnant according to God's election (See note Romans 11:5).

What is this prophecy referring to? This prophecy is quoted from Isa 10:22

For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will return; A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. (Isaiah 10:22)

The Bible Knowledge Commentary writes that...

"For the Lord will execute His sentence upon the earth [He will conclude and close His account with men completely and without delay], rigorously cutting it short in His justice." (Amplified)

Note that the Greek Textus Receptus from which the KJV, NKJV and Young's Literal are translated has the added phrase "in righteousness" (see above) (Psalms 9:8; 65:5; Isaiah 5:16; Acts 17:31; Revelation 19:11)

The Leon Morris writes that this verse...

It is obvious that the main idea is that of bringing to an end, of shortening, but this might mean a shortening of the promise (i.e., fulfilling it only to a limited degree; Leenhardt puts it this way, “He shortens it in its execution, by cutting out something”), a shortening of the nation (no more than a remnant will be saved; Murray, “so widespread will be the destruction that only a remnant will escape”), or a shortening of the time, combined with the completeness with which God will do his work (“the Lord will quickly settle his full account with the world”, GNB). Most modern translations and commentators accept the third view in some form, and it certainly seems probable. (Morris, L. The Epistle to the Romans. W. B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press)

Execute (4160) (poieo) means to do, expressing action either as completed or continued (in this case that which will be completed).

Word (3056) (logos) means something said and in this case has to refer to prophecy spoken by the Lord. This prophecy affects the earth ("upon the earth"), implying that it is worldwide.

What is this prophecy referring to? This prophecy is quoted from Isa 10:23

For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.

Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled when God used the Babylonians to judge Israel for her unbelief and unfaithfulness, His justice was thorough with only a remnant of true believers escaping. Similarly the destruction of Jerusalem  70AD was thorough and quick. It is clear from other prophetic passages, that a given prophecy may have more than one fulfillment. Thus although there has been an original fulfillment by Babylon in 586BC and a partial fulfillment by Rome in 70AD, there appears to be a yet future and final fulfillment associated with Isaiah's prophecy.

I agree with Warren Wiersbe who states that

Romans 9:28 probably refers to God’s work of judgment during the Tribulation (Ed note: Here he uses the word "Tribulation" as a synonym for what Jesus referred to as the Great Tribulation, the last 3.5 years of Daniel's Seventieth Week), when the nation of Israel will be persecuted and judged, and only a small remnant left to enter into the kingdom when Jesus Christ returns to earth. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)

After the Great Tribulation, a remnant of believing Jews (1/3 of the nation according to Zechariah 13:9) will enter into the millennial kingdom (see Millennium 1, Millennium 2, Millennium 3) inaugurated by Jesus Christ when He returns to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Thoroughly (4931) (sunteleo from sun = together or an intensifier + teleo = to finish) speaks of an activity which is brought to an end, completed or finished. The idea is to bring to a successful finish and thus to consummate, complete entirely or fulfill an activity.

Quickly (4932) (suntemno from sun = an intensifier + témno = to cut or divide) means to cut short or shorten and figuratively speaks of an allotted time cut short or abruptly brought to an end. Suntemno means to cause a duration to come to an abrupt end, with the implication of sooner than expected.

Vine writes that suntemno means

"to cut short; thus, to bring to an end or accomplish speedily; it is said of a prophecy or decree". (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson)

Ray Stedman has this comment on Romans 9:22-28...

What Paul is saying in all this is that God may have purposes and objectives that we do not see. And doesn't he have the right to do it? And what if one of those objectives is not only to display his power and his wrath by allowing and permitting man to oppose him and to resist him, but also to display his amazing patience and longsuffering this way? Did you ever think about that? Did you ever think of how, for centuries and centuries, God has put up with the snarling, nasty, blasphemous, accusing remarks of men, and has done nothing to them? He has listened to all the cheap, shoddy, vulgar things that men say about him, and allowed them to treat him with hostility and anger and never does a thing but patiently endure it and put up with it. Paul says, "What if God does all that. What if it takes that kind of a display of the wrath of God and the patience of God to bring those of us whom he chooses to himself?" Something has to appear to us that makes us understand God. We are not being forced to come to him, we are drawn to him. Therefore we have to respond, and something must make us respond. Is it not the wrath of God and the patience of God that draws us on?

All this, then, is necessary to bring some of us to glory. In other words, for some to be saved, some must be lost. Now, I admit that is an inscrutable mystery. I don't understand it. But I don't have to understand it! That's the whole thing. I can't understand it at this point. There are factors in it which God cannot reveal. He will some day, but he doesn't now -- not because he does not want to, but because I can't handle it. And neither can you. We have to accept it, nevertheless.

Paul suggests here that without the display of wrath on God's part, no Gentiles ever would have been saved -- only the elect of Israel, and only a remnant of them. But, as it is, the Gentiles, those of us who never had the advantages that Israel had, are included, as Hosea and Isaiah both predicted. (See complete message - Romans 9:14-33  Let God Be God ) (Bolding added)