Romans 9:29-31 - The Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness

9:29

Paul now quotes from Is 1:9. Is there any hope? The answer is a resounding yes. For God has left a remnant. The key message that Paul wants to get across is our unworthiness, and our salvation by grace. He is applying it primarily to Jews here, but the whole of Romans applies to all of us, and Paul will soon go on to give warning to any Gentile believers who might be tempted to go down the same pride route that the Israelites had gone down. Acknowledging, facing up to the reality of our sin is vital. If we think that in some way we deserve to be saved we are hopelessly deluded. It is only when we face up to our state that we can find the fullness of salvation in Christ.

9:30,31

So where does all this lead us? Paul is wanting to correct the mistaken thinking of the Jews, and indeed of all of mankind. The Gentiles, who did not seek righteousness, i.e. being right with God, found it. Now Paul is not saying that all Gentiles attained salvation, but that the Gentiles as a class have found it, i.e. salvation has come to those who believed in Christ. Conversely the Jews, as a class, had not found salvation. Again, this does not mean no Jews had found salvation, but that the Jewish way was not leading to salvation. The mistaken thinking on the part of the Jews was that they thought they were privileged because they had the Law, and that they could attain righteousness by obeying the Law. Now if they had indeed been able to follow the Law it would have led to salvation, but they could not do so, as their history proved time after time. Their thinking was “we are good enough, show us the target and we will reach it”. What the Law actually did, and was intended for, was to highlight mans’ inability to reach the target, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).

Leviticus 24:5-12 - Take fine flour and bake twelve loaves

24:5-9

We move from lamps to loaves. This is the only place where the recipe is given for the bread. As with the lamps, there is an emphasis on purity and continuity. Pure incense was to be used, and they were put on a table of pure gold.  This was to happen Sabbath after Sabbath. Great importance was attached to this bread and its offering to the Lord. At the end we are told “it belongs to Aaron and his sons”. 

24:10-12

We now come to the sentence for blasphemy, and this is then widened out into the general lex talionis (“law of the claw”), i.e. the “eye for an eye....” rule. This might seem a bit of a jump from the start of this chapter which dealt with olive oil and bread. However, maybe there is a link. One of the key points in the previous section was purity. Now we have an incident outside the tabernacle, and it is dealt with with extreme severity. Maintaining “holiness” was not just something for the tabernacle nor the temple, but applied to all of life. So the man who gets involved in a fight and curses the Lord, no doubt in the heat of the moment, is used as an example. He is the son of an Israelite and an Egyptian father. Nothing is made of the latter, it may well be that he was conceived back in Egypt, indeed it is highly likely that this was so. He is held in custody until the Lord’s will is revealed. It is interesting that the immediate ancestry on the mother’s side of the man is given, but the man himself is not named.

Romans 9:25-28 - Sons of the living God

9:25,26

Paul then quotes from Hosea 2:23 and 1:10. So why is Paul quoting from these verses? It is because the whole concept of salvation of the Jews (and the rest of the human race) is deeply flawed. The human way of looking at things is that we achieve salvation by earning it. So people who are earnestly seeking God and trying to do the right thing are to be honoured, and we think that they will indeed be saved, even deserve to be saved. This is not so! God chooses a people who are not His people. Those who rejected Him, and so were rejected by Him, become His people. Those who were not seeking God are found by Him. Salvation is the act and will of God. 

9:27,28

Paul now quotes from Is 10:22,23 and 28:22. Paul is showing that it was never God’s plan that all natural Israel would be saved. Only a remnant would be saved. God would judge the earth. Many Jews thought they would be exempt because they were Israelites, and many other religious groups ever since have a similar attitude. But all are subject to judgement. So where does this leave the Christian? I thought Jesus had taken the judgement upon Himself. Yes He has. We are subject to the same error if we think God’s laws no longer apply to us, so we don’t deserve to be judged. If we deny that sin is sin then we are in big trouble. 

Leviticus 24:1-4 - That a light may be kept burning

24:1-4

The words “The Lord said to Moses” introduce a new section. This starts with instructions about olive oil. The oil was to be used to ensure that the lamps in the tabernacle burnt continually. Aaron was to tend these lamps continually. The phrase “this is to be a lasting ordinance” seems at first glance rather strange. For Aaron would not be there for ever, and it refers specifically to Aaron, rather than priests in general. Moreover, the tabernacle would be replaced by the temple, though the temple would still have the most holy place. However, perhaps the emphasis is on continual service to the Lord. I am reminded of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, and its reference to keeping the lamps burning. Moreover we are to pray at all times, and to keep our zeal at all times. There is an emphasis here on purity. The oil was to be clear, and the lamps were on pure golf lampstands.

Romans 9:23,24 - Not from the Jews only

9:23

“In order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy”. We are the vessels of mercy. Those who are saved are saved purely because of the mercy of God. And God chose to do this to demonstrate His glory. Maybe now is a good time to remind us of my “definition” (I am fully aware it is woefully incomplete, but I think it is still useful) of glory as having two key aspects. One is the splendour of God, and the other is the significance of God. The gospel demonstrates both of these. Our salvation is completely dependent upon God, and it is absolutely glorious.

9:24

And God chose both Jews and Gentiles for salvation. If salvation is up to us, then we exclude certain people groups. Look at Black Lives Matter (BLM) and critical race theory. How do they “address” the problem of racism? They demonise or exclude white people. Jews excluded Gentiles, and Gentiles have done horrendous things to Jews. God’s salvation is all encompassing, in the context of Paul’s time, it included both Jews and Gentiles.

Leviticus 23:37-44 - The Feast of the Lord

23:37,38

This rounds off the section. There is another reminder that the Festivals are the Lord’s appointed festivals, and are for making offerings to Him. This is in addition to their freewill and Sabbath offerings. When we have a “religious attitude” we look for limits on our obligations, when we have a “love attitude” we take a very different approach. 

23:39-44

This last festival is known as the Feast of Yahweh , or “a festival to the Lord” (23:41). They are commanded to rejoice before the Lord for seven days. One might ask how can one be told to rejoice? That is a good question. There are two things that I would say. One is that we are not to be governed by our feelings. That is not to say that feelings don’t matter, nor that we should pretend we don’t have them, but we are not to let them rule. The other is that the Law is but a shadow. Under the new covenant there is a change of heart, a new birth. It was also to serve as a reminder of where they had come from, of how the Lord had rescued them from Egypt.

Moses obeyed the Lord and announced all these things to the Israelites.

Romans 9:20-22 - Who are you to answer back to God?

9:20,21

Paul’s answer would not satisfy the typical atheist or humanist, but it actually takes us to the root of the issue. “Who are you to answer back to God?”. Natural man thinks he has every right to answer back to God, more than that, to tell God where He is wrong and how He should change His ways! We are creatures. If God had not created us we would not exist at all, we are utterly and completely dependent upon Him. The created cannot tell the creator how to create him, for without the creator he does not even exist. The creator can make what He will out of the clay. 

9:22

Now look at 9:22. It speaks of God enduring the vessels of wrath. We are sinners, if we want absolute justice on our terms then we should be destroyed immediately. So if God chooses to forestall the destruction in order to achieve a greater purpose then He is perfectly entitled to do so. Our objections all stem out of the flesh, out of our rebellious nature. There are two fundamental truths that natural man refuses to accept: (i) we are created beings, utterly dependent upon the creator; (ii) we have sinned are deserving of destruction.