Romans 9:1-5 "Paul's Sorrow for Blessed Israel"
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· 3 viewsPaul expresses deep sorrow and wishes he could give his salvation to Israel who rejected God. God immensely blessed Israel namely that through Israel the Christ came.
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Good Morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!
This past Wednesday we hosted our second Messiah in the Passover Seder…
We had a great turnout… with many people from the community… and great feedback…
Thank you again to all you who served at the event… you surely went above and beyond.
Well, let’s now continue in our study of Romans. Please open your Bibles to Romans 9 looking at vv 1-5 today.
We are entering a new section of Paul’s letter to the Romans… by turning the page to what we call Romans 9.
These next three chapters are often misinterpreted… and then sadly skipped altogether by some…
So to understand where we are going in the next three chapters… our introduction will be a little longer today… to paint the picture of Paul’s intent in Romans 9-11.
We remain in the doctrinal section of Romans… which encompasses the first 11 chapters…
Which serve to prepare us for the final 5 chapters (Chapters 12-16)… the application section of the letter.
Beginning with Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
That verse is only reasonable… if you understand WHY… and we understand WHY through our study of doctrine in the first 11 chapters.
A simple outline… or road-map of Romans… in just five words… reminds us of the doctrine we have examined thus far:
Condemnation (Chapters 1-3)
Justification (Chapters 4-5)
Sanctification (Chapters 6-8)
Vindication (Chapters 9-11)
Application (Chapters 12-16)
So… we’re building up to that application portion, but have just one additional doctrinal section to traverse through.
Which is Romans 9-11… which many scholars refer to as “vindication.”
To “vindicate” means “to set free from allegation of blame”…
Which… in 9-11 is NOT about believers being vindicated, but God being vindicated.
There is a theological term to describe the vindication of God… called “theodicy.”
… which translates as “divine justice” and by def. is “the attempt to defend God’s omnipotence and goodness in the face of the problem of evil [or moral wrong] in the world.”
Theodicy is based on the belief that a beneficent God created an orderly universe… but yet… suffering exists… so how could a loving God allow suffering to exist?
And, the “problem of evil in the world”… has stumped philosophers and theologians for all time.
In his outline of the book of Romans… Dr. Thomas Constable from Dallas Theological Seminary focuses on God’s Righteousness as a key theme…
And it is… in Paul’s key verse… Romans 1:17 Paul wrote… in the gospel… “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith.”
And, in Constable’s outline… look at how he weaves righteousness into every major section…
Romans 1:1-17: Introduction
Romans 1:18- 3:20: The Need for God’s Righteousness (the condemnation section)
Romans 3:21-5:21: The Imputation of God’s Righteousness (the justification section)
Romans 6-8: The Impartation of God’s Righteousness (the sanctification section)
Romans 9-11: The Vindication of God’s Righteousness
Romans 12:1-15:13 The Practice of God’s Righteousness (the application section)
Romans 15:14-16:27 Conclusion
And so… in light of vindication… one asks… “why would God and His righteousness need to be defended? What accusation has been presented against God that He should be vindicated?”
And the answer lies in God’s dealings with Israel. In Romans 9-11 Paul defends God’s righteousness in light of the nation of Israel.
Which refers to ethnic Jews… NOT the church… as some theologians erroneously postulate. The church does not inherit the promises God gave to Israel. Those covenants still stand.
So you ask, “Why would God need to be vindicated in His dealings with Israel?”
Well… keep in mind that in Rome… Paul wrote to many Jewish Christians… and Paul seems to anticipate their thoughts and questions…
So, Paul helps them… and defends God’s righteousness anticipating questions like…
As Kyle put it “What advantage is there of being a Jew if God saves Jews and Gentiles the same way through faith? Is God done with the Jews as a people and as a nation? And if so, then what about all of those promises that God made to the Jewish people under the old covenant?”
And, Paul addressees all of these questions…
… as he presents the past, present and future of Israel.
Chapter 9 focuses on “Israel’s Past Election.”
Addressing God’s sovereignty in election… and the general unbelief of the Jews… compared to the popular reception of the gospel with the Gentiles.
Chapter 10 focuses on “Israel’s Present Rejection.”
Being saved by faith should not have surprised the Jews, and they are responsible for their own unbelief and rejection.
But, hope still exists.
Chapter 11 focused on “Israel’s Future Salvation.”
God has not abandoned Israel, and still has a future plan for them… which emphasizes God’s love, grace, and mercy.
And you may say… “that’s all interesting Pastor Marc, but what does any of this have to do with me?”
Wow! You all… are just full of great questions today!
Well the relevance to us is seen in God’s devotion to Israel.
In spite of Israel’s rejection of the Gospel and their Messiah… God did not cast away His people… God still has a plan for Israel… to glorify them.
God‘s desire to save the world does not take away from his love for Israel… or his promises for them.
And… don’t miss this… God’s devotion to them… testifies of His utmost devotion to us.
Guzik anticipating the mind of a believer, wrote, “How can I be secure in God’s love and salvation to me when it seems that Israel was once loved and saved, but now seems to be rejected and cursed? Will God also reject and curse me one day?”
To which we could say a favorite phrase of Paul, “Certainly not!” … because God didn’t reject Israel.
A brother here at church and I were discussing how “devotion” would be a good alternative to the word “vindication” which typical summarizes Chapters 9-11.
But, “devotion” just doesn’t rhythmically sound as good when you say, “Condemnation, Justification, Sanctification… and then “De-vo-tion...”
It’s like hitting a dead key on a piano.
All because it’s missing ONE syllable!
You’d have to say “devotionation.”
“Condemnation, Justification, Sanctification, Devotionation”… that works, but it’s not a word.
Tis’ a shame… because these chapters truly reflect God’s devotion.
Regardless… we will see in Chapters 9-11 ahead that God’s devotion to Israel stands sure in spite of their national rejection of Him…
Chapters 9- through 11 are important chapters because they show that despite Israel’s unbelief… God does not revoke his promises… that is NOT God’s character…
“If God canceled his promises to Israel, then what would keeping him from replacing us?”
He WON’T. God is a covenant keeping God…
Morris wrote… “If God cannot bring his ancient people into salvation, how do Christians know that he can save them? Paul is not here proceeding to a new and unrelated subject. These three chapters are part of the way he makes plain how God in fact saves people.”
Chapters 9-11 are a great assurance for all… Jew and Gentile alike…
God both keeps His promises to Israel… and to Church Age saints as well.
And, so while Romans 9-11 is a unique section… it’s not disconnected from the our previous… nor future sections.
And, please understand… one last point but an important one… Paul’s focus in 9-11… is in relationship to Jews and Gentiles as whole people groups… as nations…
These next three chapters are less about individual salvation… and more about God’s plan of salvation.
The focus is not how the gospel impacts the individual… but how gospel impacts Jews… and Gentiles as a whole.
If we turn this chapter into an exposition for individual salvation… we would come to wrong conclusions about individual salvation…
… namely the faulty teaching that individual salvation is all about predestination without any human responsibility.
… we would also miss Paul’s point in these chapters…
… and we would be guilty of not ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’…
… and even worse… we would mis-characterize God.
Chapters 9- through 11 are about the trustworthiness of God… and His promises to Israel with implications for us today.
Let’s now begin in our study of Romans 9… in a message titled, “Paul’s Sorrow for Blessed Israel.”
Let’s Pray!
In reverence for God’s word, if you are able, please stand as I read our passage.
Romans 9:1-5 “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”
Praise God for His word. Please be seated!
We closed chapter 8 last week with a dramatic celebration… “nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus”…
We open this week to Paul’s “great sorrow and continual grief” over Jewish national unbelief.
Quite the contrast… just one verse later.
In chapter 9… Paul looks at God’s dealings with Israel in the past… reminding his very Jewish audience in Rome that God blessed Israel (vv 1-5)…
… and God’s choice to bless Israel arose NOT out of their heritage (vv 6-10)… OR… because of their good behavior (vv 11-13).
You may wonder, “Well… why then DID God bless Israel?”
Ask a Jew… and they will likely respond TO YOUR QUESTION with a question of their own… and say…
“Vhy Not?”
The only real answer is God chose Israel out of love… and because it was His Sovereign choice.
God’s choice was about His divine initiative to bring forth a Messiah to save the world… which was an act of divine grace.
Was there anything inherently special about Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (who was renamed Israel) that made them stand out?
Any perfection in their flesh? Did they live sinless lives?
Absolutely not.
God’s choice in choosing Israel… and His later choice to adopt Gentiles into His family… ALL reflect God’s will… and God’s love.
Which should lead us to praise Him… for no one is worthy… yet He loves us anyhow.
But, here in Chapter 9… Paul is heartbroken over the condition of unbelief in the nation of Israel…
And in V1 Paul comes out with a strong proclamation “I am not lying”… Paul is telling the truth…
As witnessed by two witnesses…
The first seen as we read “I tell the truth in Christ”…
Paul is “in Christ”… which testifies of Paul’s position of being a saved believer in Jesus Christ who is “the way, the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6)…
The second witness is his conscience (which is not the voice of God, but an inward moral impression of one’s actions)…
In 1 Tim 4, Paul prophesied that in the end times, some will depart from the faith… and sear or cauterize their conscience… to numb themselves…
Because all people have a moral law written on their hearts… and the conscience bears witness of it according to Rom 2:15.
Paul’s conscience though… was clear and cleansed by the Holy Spirit.
And these two witnesses testify that, as a Jew himself… Paul has tremendously deep affection for his fellow countrymen…
… as evidenced by V2 Paul’s deep and bitter sorrow and and continual or unending grief for the Jews.… when compared to his own sure position in Christ…
Paul knew the joy he felt… as he just wrote at the close of Rom 8 “Nothing… shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When you know the love of God and you are sure in your position in Christ… and then you contrast that with the struggle and emptiness lost family members, friends, and colleagues experience without God…
There should be a burden in your heart for them… and there was for Paul.
Which is pretty amazing considering Paul’s mistreatment by the Jews after Paul’s Damascus Road experience…
One scholar reflecting on Paul’s sorrow in V2 wrote, “The words are the more touching when we remember that Israel not only did not like Paul; they hated him.”
It’s quite the calling to evangelize to people who hate you… and yet there are missionaries in hostile Muslim countries doing just that. Pray for them.
When Paul began to preach to the Jews, after three years of solitude in Arabia, almost immediately we read “the Jews plotted to kill him.” (Acts 9:23)… but he escaped.
And, did he retreat to his living room never to share the gospel again? Of course not.
It takes a special missionary to feel deep sorrow for those plotting to kill us.
And there are those. There are many people who would love to kill a Christian.
When we lived in the Philippines… my family avoided going to the Island of Mindanao… why? Muslim extremists.
We were told, “If you go there, you won’t come back.”
Slightly different example, but at our Passover Seder, David… who led the Seder… shared a story about how… still today… Jews do not like Christian Jews.
American Christians who come to visit and love Israel… wonderful. They come to Israel, love on Israel, spend money… and go home.
But a Jew who has been completed in Christ? Not so much.
David shared about a dream he had of his neighbor perishing into hell… and the look in the neighbors eyes shouted, “Why didn’t you tell me about Jesus?”
That motivated David to share the gospel with his neighbor… even though that may have ended their friendship.
And, just so there’s no cliff hanger… the neighbor did not accept Jesus, but David fulfilled his duty.
Jeremiah had this same heart… he warned Judah to glorify God, and even though his message was mostly unheeded…
Jeremiah was faithful…
The watchman on the wall is only responsible to sound the horn.
Let me quickly read a few verses for you from Ezekiel… where the LORD proclaimed to Ezekiel to tell the people to set up a watchman to watch for the sword of judgment coming…
Ezekiel 33:3–7 on the watchman reads “… when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ 7 “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.”
The parallel to today is clear… salvation to the hearer is a matter of individual choice…
And, as the people of God… we all have a responsibility to share the Gospel… to blow the horn so to say…
When the Great Commission is shared in Mark’s Gospel… there is a command to believers to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15).
William MacDonald wrote, “God held Ezekiel responsible for the house of Israel. The question arises for every believer: For whom will God hold us responsible? To whom shall we witness? Whom shall we warn? Our relatives, fellow workers, neighbors, friends? It is a solemn responsibility, and we do harm to our own soul if we do not fulfill it faithfully.”
Quite the stirring question… I’m going to land on the side of opening my mouth to share the Gospel… when God opens the door.
I don’t feel inclined to force doors open… I fully trust the Holy Spirit to open the door… and He seems to trust me to open my mouth… because He has opened the door on more than one occasion.
Paul was not only hated by the Jews… and not only did they plot to kill him… but about 10 years after the original plot… in Derbe (modern day Turkey)…
… Jews “stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.” (Acts 14:19)
Do you remember what Paul did? Did he hurl curses at them and write them off?
No. In the very next verse we read, “he rose up [they thought he was dead, but he was not] and went into the city.”
Wow. That’s what you call boldness… and not only that, but a tremendous love for God and the calling God has placed upon one’s life… and love… even for thy enemies.
And, then the following verse says, “when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned...” to other cities.
In 2 Cor 11:24… Paul recounted his testimony… and wrote, “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.”
This exact number of whips tells us this was an official punishment given by the Synagogue…
So from religious Jews… of which Paul once was… Paul testified he was “according to the strictest sect of [the Jewish religion]… a Pharisee” (Acts 26:5; 23:6]…
From these former religious brothers… which would feel like betrayal… Paul received the full measure of punishment.
Physically and emotionally scarring him.
39 stripes was the tradition, so as to not violate the command of Deut 25:3… to give no more than 40 blows.
Keep in mind this was a Jewish law… Jesus was whipped by Romans, and they had no such limitation of 40… we don’t know what Jesus endured…
But we do know that “by His stripes we are healed” Isa 53:5
39 x 5 is 195 stripes. One bible dictionary stated, “The punishment was generally carried out by a three-thonged scourge.”
Can you imagine… being whipped 195x?… and perhaps multiple that by 3?
And, yet… despite Paul’s wounds and being “in peril of [his] own countrymen” (2 Cor 11:26)…
Paul did not hate the Jews… and many would…
Paul did not forsake the Jews… as reason might have it…
Paul loved them and was burdened to see them know Jesus as their Messiah.
A scholar once said, "No man will ever even begin to try to save men unless he first loves them."
I don’t know about you, but I find this tremendously convicting.
I search my soul to see if I can honestly answer the question, “Do I love unbelievers, who would seek my life? Would I put my life in peril for the sake of the gospel?”
That’s a tough one… take a walk with that this week.
What burden do we feel for the lost?
What sense of sacrifice are we willing to give for the lost?
Some of us can somewhat… though not fully relate to Paul’s connection to the lost…
We have lost friends… lost family members… lost co-workers…
Some of us lost some of these connections when we came to Christ… I know I did.
Even still… that doesn’t hold a candle to the betrayal and persecution Paul experienced… and then still to love them.
And, look… I know the context here in Romans 9 is Paul’s burden for the Jews…
But… we also know... from the book of Acts… that Paul felt a tremendous burden for lost Gentiles as well.
In fact, towards the end of Paul’s second missionary journey… he turned his attention fully on the Gentiles.
The Jews had opposed him and blasphemed… one time to many…
And, he said, “That’s all I can stands, an’ I can’t stands no more!”
Wait… No… that was Popeye.
Paul said, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” (Acts 18:6)
And what did Paul see in his sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world?
Religious people… the Jews… who were hard-hearted… self-righteous hypocrites.
And, Gentiles… lost to the ways of the world who worshipped idols.
Hey… and I don’t want to keep hammering the point, but it’s worthy to be hammered a little more.
When we enter into the world… and we see lost people sold out to the ways of the world and idolatry…
Be it people… lost to religious works… lost to their careers… lost to personal enjoyment (hedonism)… lost to lies about their gender and sexuality for societal acceptance… defending all kinds of evil practices that the Bible clearly warns against and forbids…
There is a place still for the Gospel and there is still a place for us to be the vessel to bring the message of the gospel.
Paul was a model for one who would run back into the city the just stoned him…
And, Paul was also a model for one who knew when the time had come to set boundaries.
It’s important we understand the Gospel should go forth… but after you have done your job…
… there also comes a point when you commit a person who repeatedly rejects the Gospel… to God… and to prayer…
There was a man in Paul’s life named Alexander the coppersmith…
And, what Paul said about him is recorded in 2 Tim 4:14-15 “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. [Quoting Ps 62:12] 15 You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.”
Possibly the same Alexander in 1 Tim 1 who Paul wrote of as ‘rejecting the faith’… whom Paul ‘delivered to Satan for him to learn not to blaspheme.’
Alexander opposed the Gospel to the point that Paul turned him over both to God and Satan…
Kind of “Let them deal with him, but I’m done.”
Paul didn’t retaliate against Alexander…
But turned him over to God to ‘convict him of sin, righteousness, and judgment’… because that’s what the Holy Spirit does with unbelievers. (according to John 16:8)
And, turned him over to Satan to buffet or beat the flesh (2 Cor 12:7)… and to destroy the flesh (1 Cor 5:5).
Some people won’t humble their heart to trust in Jesus until the world chews them up and spits them out.
Alexander seemed to be like that and Paul advised Timothy to be on guard against him.
Be wise Christians… Jesus has sent us out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
The world is hostile… so as we take the gospel to the world… be wise (avoiding the snares set for us), and be innocent (serving the Lord blamelessly).
There is a balance to strike… for us to be gentle without being pushovers, and to be sacrificial without being taken advantage of.
I say all that to say because Paul did both, but what we see next leans heavily on the sacrificial side…
Paul’s proclamation in V3 is probably the most sacrificial proclamation Paul made in all his writings.
V3 “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh...”
Paul was not only burdened for his lost brethren, the Jews, but he says IF HE COULD he would give his own salvation and spend eternity in hell… if they could be saved.
I think it’s a little lost on us just how burdened Paul was for the Jews… and just how connected Paul was to his Jewish brethren.
Most of us Americans have a mix of ethnic backgrounds… we don’t have a common ethnic heritage… nor does our nation have a covenantal relationship with God.
Not like Israel… with unconditional covenants yet to be fulfilled. They are a special nation… the apple of God’s eye… His chosen people.
America has a rich Judeo-Christian heritage…
And, Christians are grafted into God’s family, but the Bible is rather silent if the USA has any part in the end times prophetic picture.
But, Israel certainly does. So… compared to Israel…
While we feel a burden for the lost…
There is a different depth to what Paul felt as a Jew for his fellow Jews.
I don’t think we have the national framework to compare to what Paul felt.
Just imagine for a moment growing up a Jew… where the national heritage was (and still is) that Messiah is coming to save.
Your nation is deeply devoted to God’s word…
As a child… your family… your neighbors… your classmates… everyone you knew… even the people you didn’t like… held to a belief that Messiah was coming…
And, then He comes… but most reject Him. You believe He came… you trust He came to save…
But a strong spiritual blindness abides on MANY you love.
I’m not even sure the burden we feel for lost family members compares to what Paul felt.
And felt it he did… “great sorrow and continual grief” in his heart.
Even to the point he wished he were forever cursed… cut off from Christ… if that would save his fellow Jews.
Don’t answer, but how many of us would be willing to pay that price for the lost?
Paul could only wish… by impl. “to pray”… because it’s impossible to be saved for another person… yet alone a nation.
Paul strongly desired for Israel to come into national acceptance of Messiah Jesus… even at personal loss of salvation.
Moses had a similar heart… After God was angry and ready to destroy Israel for idolatry of the golden calf in Exo 32… for even crediting the golden calf of delivering them from Egypt…
Moses interceded offering himself to be ‘blotted out of God’s book.’
But that was not possible. God responded to Moses,
“Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.”
They forsook having faith in God… and attempted to achieve salvation by the idolatrous works of their hands… and this was unacceptable to God.
And, while our context is National Israel’s salvation…
Let me just say… everyone must come to God by their own individual choosing… and not by works, but by faith.
You cannot be saved through family relationships… like if your Grandpa was a preacher…
Nor if one was Nationally a Jew. Paul will address that starting in V6.
Someone else cannot pray you into heaven… nor can they pay you into heaven…
… nor can baptism for the dead save a loved one… as some cults teach.
You are not saved by attending church… or because you grew up in a Christian home.
Faith is not inherited… it’s a gift of God through personal trust in Christ…
Paul’s desire for National Israel to be saved reflect the heart of a great spiritual leader.
And, the sorrow he felt for them… also reflect that of a great spiritual leader.
Like Jeremiah who responded with tears of mourning over Judah’s rebellion (Jeremiah 13:17).
Like Jesus when He mourned over National Israel’s rejection of Him in Luke 13:34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!”
And, when Jesus proclaimed that, He also proclaimed hope for future Israel… the following verse reads…
Luke 13:35 “See! Your house is left to you desolate; [Literally fulfilled in 70 A.D.] and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until [there’s the future hope] the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
And, they will say that when Israel fulfills Daniel’s 70th week… during the 7 year future tribulation.
God is not done with Israel yet.
And, this message will especially be reinforced in Romans chapter 11, but also establish in vv 4-5...
Where Paul describes the Israelites… his brethren… the object of his sorrow and burden…
… who had and still have many privileges handed down to them from God above…
Let’s re-read vv 4-5…
vv 4-5 “… who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”
These two verses name eight special blessings God placed upon His own special and chosen people.
And Paul’s recognition of all these blessings only magnifies Paul’s sorrow… namely because promised through the would come the Messiah… and when He came they rejected and killed Him.
Israelites are the descendants of Israel… the patriarch Jacob who’s name was changed to Israel after he wrestled with God in Gen 32.
The name Israel could be translated as “he struggles with God.”
Jews is often a name applied to all Israelites, but technically this refers to those specifically from the Tribe of Judah… a Judean… which, after Solomon, when the Nation divided… was the name for those of the Southern Kingdom
10 Tribes in the North… called Israel.
And 2 Tribes in the South… called Judah… the tribe from which Jesus came.
To be an Israelite also was a designation for the Chosen People of God.
Deuteronomy 26:18–19 captures God’s choosing of Israel… we read, “Also today the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”
And, you would ask WHY did God choose Israel… and do you remember how the Jew would respond?
“Vhy Not?”
The first blessing Paul applies to Israel is Adoption:
Adoption means “a placing in the condition of a son.”
In Exodus, God made it known to Pharaoh “Israel is My son, My firstborn.” (Exo 4:22)
Meaning they had the special privileges of the first born… a position of honor and inheritance.
Very similar to what we just read in Deut 26… Deuteronomy 14:2 also reflect God’s adoption of Israel… “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
In the verse prior to that… Israel was referred to as “children of the LORD your God.” God is a Father to Israel.
And, God sovereignly chose Israel to be the nation He would use to bring light into the world… He would entrust them with His Holy word, which they faithfully preserved for generations…
You may recall similar privileges expressed to all believers in Romans 8. Paul wrote in Rom 8:15 that believers “… received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
God promised us that we too will be heirs- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
In Rom 11, Paul pictures an olive tree… and the natural branches (Israel) were broken off because of unbelief… and the Gentiles (a wild olive tree) were grafted in…
But, in the future… Israel will believe, and once again will be grafted back in… which we will study in Rom 11.
The second blessing Paul applies to Israel is the Glory:
Which several scholars apply to the privilege Israel experienced in see God’s Shekinah or glory during the Exodus…
… as manifested by a pillar of cloud by day … and a pillar of fire by night… and similar manifestations.
Leviticus 9:23–24 “And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, 24 and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.”
And, there are numerous OT verses that display God’s glory being seen by Israel.
What a privilege. I’d like to be awestruck by the presence of God seen by either fire or a cloud descending…
I’d be happy with a burning bush… or being put in the cleft of the rock as God’s glory passes by.
But remember this… in 1 KI 19 when God revealed Himself to Elijah… God was not in the wind… nor in the earthquake… nor in the fire… but He revealed Himself in “a still small voice.”
There have been several times in my life when a still small voice has instructed me.
And, I don’t hear voices… I may have flashbacks, but I don’t hear voices…
Whatever we may experience now… a stirring of the heart… a word of wisdom… a word of knowledge…
Israel was blessed even more… being showered again and again with God’s glory.
The third blessing Paul applies to Israel is the covenants:
And, this is huge. God bound Himself to Israel under oath and often not based upon Israel’s obedience or disobedience which you would call a conditional covenant,
… but more often based solely upon God which is an unconditional covenant…
There are Seven Covenants in the Bible…
Four are to Israel alone (Abrahamic, Palestinian or Land, Mosaic, Davidic).
Three of those four are unconditional in nature… only the Mosaic covenant is conditional as it promised blessing or cursing dependent upon Israel’s obedience of disobedience to God’s command.
Three covenants (Adamic, Noahic, New) are made between God and mankind in general, and are not limited to the nation of Israel.
Believing Gentiles and Jews are blessed especially by the New Covenant which was confirmed at the cross of Christ… securing the Gift of the Spirit… and bringing to completing the divine plan of redemption.
Blessed are you if you believe in Jesus Christ as Savior.
The covenants to Israel are a sure sign God has not cast aside Israel… or replaced Israel with the church.
You may have heard of Replacement theology which began with early church fathers like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Origen… and later grew under Martin Luther and John Calvin…
… taught the church replaced Israel… and many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the church, not in Israel.
So, if you are drawn to Calvinism or Reformed Theology…
… know that Martin Luther… in his late writings reflected strong anti-semitic thought…
John Calvin saw the church as an heir to Israel’s promises…
But, there’s a huge problem with these thoughts.
Do you know what it is? ISRAEL.
Replacement theology was birthed around 150 A.D. … 80 years after 70 A.D. when Israel was destroyed by Rome and Jews dispersed.
And, replacement theology was popularized after 1500 A.D. with Luther and Calvin…
Israel had not been a nation for almost 1400 years at that point.
BUT GOD, still had a plan for Israel and they were founded as a nation again in 1948.
That’s a huge rebuttal to replacement theology By God… saying “I’m not done with Israel yet.”
The fourth blessing to Israel is the giving of the law:
God, through Moses, gave the Law to Israel… first with the Ten Commandments and then 613 commandments overall.
248 in the positive, “do this”…
and 365 in the negative, “don’t do this”…
And if you keep the law perfectly you’re entire life… you will be righteous before God… perfect for never breaking His commands.
And, one person actually did that… His name is Jesus Christ.
Does anyone want to try that route to enter heaven?
I hope not because we fail all the time… we NEED a Savior!
Galatians 3:24 tells us the purpose of the law… “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
What a blessing Israel had in receiving the law… and what a blessing we all have to trust in and receive Christ.
The fifth blessing to Israel is the service of God:
Which was the blessing of “temple service” enabling them to have close fellowship with God.
How fascinating is it that Peter lets believer know we have similar privileges… 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light… ”
Let’s all make sure we are living up to all that is said in that beautiful verse… not to be saved, but because we are saved.
And, as we do… we too will partake in close fellowship with God.
Quickly, the sixth blessing to Israel is the promises:
In addition to the Covenants we already discussed… God made numerous promises to Israel of protection, prosperity and peace.
The seventh blessing to Israel is that God’s promises were revealed to the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) even before Israel was a nation…
Prophecy is one of the best proofs that God’s word is true… true to you… true to me… and still true to Israel.
And finally, the eighth… and most important blessing of all to Israel… and truly for all the world… is the Messiah… Our Christ… came from Israel.
In V5, Paul says Christ is “over all”… He is sovereign…
And notice… Paul calls Christ the “eternally bless God.”
The Bible is not shy to properly call Jesus “God”…
Who eternally… forever… is blessed meaning…
… “worthy of praise.”
Worship team please come.
Let’s close with this power verse of praise to Jesus Christ…
Revelation 1:5–6 “… Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Amen and amen.
Let’s Pray!
If you need prayer for anything… our prayer team will be available at the sides during this last song.
Enter this week ahead… with a heart like Paul… burdened for the lost…
And I pray the Lord would open many doors for you to share His truth.
