Jesus came to save the Jews (the circumcised). The Old Testament is full of promises to them
(to the patriarchs), and Jesus is the fulfilment of those promises. But this was also part of the plan to save
the rest of the world as well.
While the Old Testament contains many promises to the
Israelites, it also contains promises for the rest of the world as well.
Numerically the ones to Israel outnumber the ones to the Gentiles (the rest of
the world), but the ones for the Gentiles are still there. Isaiah is
particularly strong on this point.
So just as in Old Testament times it was a fatal mistake to
assume God was only interested in Israel, so now it is an equally bad mistake
to assume God is not especially interested in Israel. God’s plan is to bring
people into the kingdom from all nations, and one day Israel herself will truly
turn to Christ.
So Paul prays for his readers to be filled with joy and
peace, and to abound with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need the
Holy Spirit to enable us to abound in hope, so we should ask Him to do this for
us. Whatever circumstance we are in just now, may we abound in hope.
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