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Wednesday 15 August 2012

Romans 11:11,12 - Riches for All

Again Paul returns to the original question "did they stumble in order that they might fall". Ie was God's plan that  Israel would fall? Is Israel now out of the picture. Paul's answer again is an emphatic no. Rather God's plan was that the good news would go to the Gentiles, and then the Israelites will become jealous when they see God's blessing upon them and will eventually return to Christ. 
Now we might think this looks a bit contrived, and we have not yet seen the final outworking of this, for Israel has yet to return to Christ. However, the fundamental point is never to imagine that we fully understand God's plan. We see things at a certain stage, then we use our human intellect alone and work out the final ending. This is more than likely to end up with the wrong answer. And so it is with those who think that Israel no longer has a key role in God's plans. We have not seen the end yet, though we are actually told often enough that Israel will be saved, so it is not quite clear why some find it hard to accept. Maybe it is like the disciples and Jesus before the cross. Jesus told them He would die and be raised to new life, but the part on the resurrection just washed right over their heads.
Now look at what Paul says. Israel's failure lead to riches for the Gentiles, ie receiving the gospel, the good news. Their "full inclusion" will mean even greater riches for the world. We should long for Israel to return to Christ. The blessings that we have now will be multiplied a thousand times over when that happens.
As an aside, note that riches here is clearly referring to spiritual riches, namely receiving the good news, receiving forgiveness, the Holy Spirit and new life. God does bless us materially, but if we make material riches the focus we are on the wrong track.

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