11:1
We now begin the culmination of Paul’s explanation of Israel and God’s plans. “Did God reject His people? By no means!”. This should be a corrective for any who think that Israel no longer has any part in God’s plans. To do so means ignoring countless promises in the Old Testament. It also means ignoring history and current events. How has Israel survived so long as a nation, when for so many years it had no homeland? How did it get back its homeland? Why is such a small nation so pivotal in international affairs? At the same time we should also remember what else Paul has said, and indeed what the Old Testament says. As Paul says in 9:6, not all Israel is Israel. Israel is, on the whole, a disobedient nation and suffers the consequences of this.
In Paul’s day there was evidence that God had not rejected Israel. The apostles were all Jews, Paul was a Jew above all Jews, and the church is built on the foundation of the apostles. Each day we read a book written by Jews, and, of course, Jesus Christ is, humanly speaking, a Jew.
11:2-4
“God did not reject His people whom He foreknew”. Paul’s prime concern is that God’s plans have not failed. Things are working out exactly as God intended. As always Paul backs up his argument with reference to Scripture. Elijah thought he was the only one left, God disabused him of this delusion. Things were not that bad, there were still several thousand who had not bowed the knee to baal. Note that it says God had reserved these people for Himself, and that they had now bowed the knee. So the sovereign choice of God and human responsibility are working together.
It is interesting to see Paul’s use of Scripture throughout chapters 9-11. He does use individual texts, but he also looks at the whole way in which God works with His people, drawing general lessons. We too should look at individual verses and also at the wider picture.
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