Friday, August 25, 2023

Romans 11:25-33 The truth of God's promises


The word of God is irrevocable! 


His promises are from generation to generation to those who have placed their trust in Him.


Isaiah 59:21 “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”


Jeremiah 31:34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”


Loving God,
I sense that all is your creation
and everything, and all of us,
are being drawn back toward your loving heart.
Help me to be a person of peace,
To speak about it in an uneasy world,
And to live it among the people
you have put into my life every day.
Light in me a desire to prepare for your coming
to stand in the darkness, waiting, eager and filled with joy.
Sabbath Moments


Romans 11:25-33

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 


26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”  28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 


29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. 


33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! The New King James Version


Paul ends his discussion of Israel’s place within God’s redemptive plan by looking ahead to the future restoration of all Israel. Earlier, Paul alluded to the salvation of a remnant of Israel and a hardening of the rest. Here, he explains that Israel’s hardening is only partial and will endure only until the full number of Gentiles are saved.


In this context, this term probably refers to three difficult issues that Paul discusses in the passage: Israel’s partial hardening, the inclusion of the Gentiles as part of God’s people, and Israel’s future role in God’s plan of salvation. Paul hopes that the Gentile Christians will not become proud or boastful of their inclusion into the people of God. 


Mystery likely alludes to predictions that one day all nations will worship Yahweh. This also could refer to the completion of the mission to reach all people with the gospel. Paul viewed his ministry to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people) as integral to the fulfillment of this plan. Election may refer to the nation of Israel proper—whether all of Abraham’s natural descendants, or only the elect individuals within ethnic Israel. Alternatively, it could refer to Israel as symbolic of God’s elect—all who are now part of God’s people (both Jews and Gentiles).


This is the covenant is a quotation from Isaiah 59: 21 In the larger context of Isaiah, the covenant is mediated by the Suffering Servant. Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy, acting as the intercessor between God and humanity. Because of disobedience refers to Israel’s rejection of Jesus. God allowed unfaithfulness—to which He responds in mercy. Faithlife Study Bible


If believers do not understand this mystery, chances are they will be wise in their own opinion, meaning they will be haughty and boast. The mystery is that Israel has been temporarily and partially hardened, but God has not rejected them. 


The Jews are enemies in that they reject the gospel. 


For the sake of the fathers refers to the promises God made to the patriarchs. Irrevocable means “not to repent.” God does not change His mind. He made promises to the patriarchs and He will fulfill them. The NKJV Study Bible


mystery (Gk. mustērion) (11:25; 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:9; 3:3, 4, 9) Strong’s #3466: The word mystery, so often used by Paul, does not mean something incomprehensible, but something that had been kept secret and now has been disclosed. In Paul’s cultural and religious milieu, the term was often used with reference to the mystery religions. Adherents to the mystery religions used the term to speak of the secret knowledge of the religion revealed only to the initiated ones. In contrast, Paul uses the word to speak of a secret that has been openly revealed to all.


Deuteronomy 7:8 but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.


Isaiah 27:9 

Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered;

And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin:

When he makes all the stones of the altar

Like chalkstones that are beaten to dust,

Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.


Isaiah 59:20 

“The Redeemer will come to Zion,

And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”Says the LORD.


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