Romans 9:4-6 - They are Israelites

9:4,5

Earlier in Rom 3:2 Paul has listed one advantage in being a Jew, namely having the word of God. Now he lists a whole host of advantages or privileges that the Israelites have. They have adoption, the covenants, the glory, the Law and the promises. All that we find in the Old Testament was given to the Jews. There are promises of salvation for the whole world, especially in Isaiah, but God’s dealings are most directly with the nation of Israel, a nation created by God. The heroes of the Old Testament, the patriarchs, were all from Israel. And Paul has made great play of Abraham, both in Romans and in Galatians. And in human terms (“according to the flesh”), Jesus is an Israelite. There are those who seem to completely denigrate the role of Israel, even to the point of hating Israel. Such people are on very dangerous ground and lack understanding. God loves Israel.

9:6

So has the word of God failed? Such a thought is unthinkable. The word of God is utterly foundational. It is foundational to understanding the world, and to our relationship with the Lord. Paul will now go on to show that the Jews were deeply mistaken in their assumption that natural ancestry was the key to being an Israelite, in the sense of being one of God’s people. John 8:33-47 is an example of the Jews relying on their Abrahamic ancestry, and Jesus’ response to it.