Romans 9–11: The Place of Israel in Salvation History (Part 1): Paul’s Emotional Dilemma

After the first eight chapters of Paul’s letter to the Romans, a new section begins covering chaps. 9–11. These chapters bring “to climactic vindication the thesis stated in 1:16, 17 and correlative doctrines unfolded later in chapters 1 to 8. If this section of the epistle were absent, there would be a hiatus leaving us with unanswered questions and corresponding perplexity …. we may be profoundly grateful that the supreme author of Scripture inspired the apostle to deal with questions so germane to the grand theme of this epistle and urgently pressing upon the minds of intelligent readers” (J. Murray, Romans 2:xii).

The preceding discourse ends with the positive affirmation that nothing external “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” But what about the people of Israel, loved by God for centuries but now facing divine judgment because of their rejection of Christ? Is God still faithful to his promises? Paul is not writing to or for unbelieving Jews. This is a Christian concern “for those who believe that salvation has been made available to Jews and Gentiles alike on the basis of faith and those who are faced with Israel’s rejection of the gospel…. it is an internal Christian discussion. As an internal discussion, it is to a certain degree designed to inculcate a way of thinking about the issues involved.”¹

Israel’s Rejection Despite Privileges

“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen” (Rom. 9:1-5, ESV).

Paul reinforces his genuineness and integrity with a positive affirmation of speaking “truth” (emphatically the first word of the sentence) and negative assurance of “not lying.” He goes out of his way to affirm the truthfulness of his words and elude suspicion of dishonesty or insincerity (cf. 1:9).² His trustworthiness is based on the testimony of a sincere “conscience,” governed “in Christ” and “in the Holy Spirit” as indivisible links to the heavenly throne (cf. 8:1-39). Seeing that Roman law required only two witnesses to prove a case³ and Jewish law two or three,⁴ the veracity of Paul’s words is here firmly established.⁵

The prologue’s excessive appeal is probably due to Paul’s reputation as an apostle to the Gentiles (1:1-5, 13; 11:13; 15:16-18),⁶ prompting misguided rumors (cf. 3:8) that he is anti-Jewish and has forsaken his ethnic heritage. He needs to preempt the false impression that his mission among Gentiles indicates a lack of concern for the salvation of his own countrymen. Nor would he want anyone to think he shares the untoward sentiments of prejudicial Gentiles against the Jewish people (cf. 11:13-24). He is expressing the profound intensity of his love, concern, and mental and emotional struggle (“in my heart”): “it is” (presently and constantly) with “great sorrow and unceasing anguish.” 

Love for Israel

“I could wish” prefaces a hypothetical and hyperbolic affirmation. To be “accursed and cut off from Christ” is not an impossibility (cf. 11:17-22; Gal. 1:8-9; 5:4), but such a grim state of affairs requires abandoning the Lord,⁷ hardly a viable option for someone as committed to the Lord as Paul (cf. 1:14-16; 15:15-19). Moreover, sacrificing one’s soul in exchange for the unconditional saving of others is just not possible (cf. 2:6; 14:12). The statement is intended to be shocking and impactful. Paul’s “heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (10:1), although he realizes not all will be (9:27). 

As a born-and-bred native Jew, Paul has not totally abandoned his cultural heritage (cf. 11:1)⁸ and is genuinely concerned for his ethnic “brothers … kinsmen according to the flesh.” In fact, his outreach efforts have never been restricted to Gentiles only but significant attempts have been made throughout his ministry to reach unbelieving Jews and proselytes (cf. 1:16; 2:10; 3:29; 9:24; 10:12).⁹ The current spiritual predicament of those engrossed in nationalistic Judaism is certainly not God’s fault, who has blessed the Israelites with many advantages, privileges, and opportunities. 

Israel’s Advantages

Paul had started a list of blessings at 3:2, “To begin with [πρῶτον], the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.” After a lengthy and necessary digression, the list continues here. Up to this point the ethnopolitical moniker “Jews” has been implemented (1:16; 2:9, 10, 17, 28; 3:1, 9, 29), but here Paul switches to the more theological term “Israelites” (9:4, 6, 31; 11:1), a special designation carrying a sense of dignity and pride.¹⁰ The name “Israel” (meaning “Prince of God”) was first given to Jacob (Gen. 32:28; 35:10), then later used to designate Jacob’s descendants (Josh. 3:17; Isa. 48:1). When the nation divided, the northern kingdom was called Israel in contrast to the southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 15:9), but after the Babylonian exile, the unified nation again carried the name Israel (Ezra 6:16). 

As somewhat of a type-antitype comparison of both “adoption” and “glory” (cf. 8:15-18), God has had a long-lasting father-son relationship with the people of Israel,¹¹ a prelude to the “spirit of adoption as sons” granted to followers of Christ. While defining the term “glory” [δόξα] is like “trying to pick up mercury between one’s fingers,”¹² in relation to the Israelites it would be applicable to their connection with God at Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, above the mercy seat, and in the temple,¹³  foreshadowing “the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Reference to “the covenants” (plural)¹⁴ would presumably include the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants,¹⁵ while “the giving of the law” or “the lawgiving” [ἡ νομοθεσία] most certainly refers to the Law of Moses and having been “entrusted with the oracles of God” (3:2). 

Next is “the worship” [ἡ λατρεία], which is probably better rendered “the service” (LSV, WEB, YLT), with alternative translations including “the service [of God]” (N/KJV), “the [temple] service” (NASB), and “the temple worship” (NIV). The noun λατρεία can be used in the sense of “service or worship” (BAGD 467), although the emphasis is mostly on the service that facilitates worship (cf. John 16:2; Heb. 12:28). The verb form λατρεύω means to “serve,” especially the carrying out of religious duties. This is not the same concept as what is communicated by the verb προσκυνέω, which means to “worship, do obeisance to, prostrate oneself before, do reverence to …” (BAGD 716). Paul is not discussing or describing προσκυνέω (“worship”) here, a term that does not appear anywhere in Romans.¹⁶ To the Jews (with their Levitical priesthood) were committed the worship rituals of the tabernacle/ temple sanctuary (cf. Heb. 9:1-8), now embodied in the lives of Christians in everyday service (12:1).¹⁷

Israel’s Greatest Privilege

The “promises” that started with Abraham (4:13-21) have also included further messianic assurances (15:8).¹⁸ Hence, “the patriarchs” or “the fathers” [οἱ πατέρες] (cf. 11:28) references at least Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (4:1, 19; 9:7-13) but also many others in the lineage of “the Christ” through David (1:3; 4:6), “from their race [ἐξ ὧν – ‘from whom’], according to the flesh” or biological descent (cf. v. 3; 1:3; 4:1).¹⁹ The title “Christ” [Χριστός], derived from the verb χρίω (“anoint”), means “anointed one,” equivalent to the Hebrew mašíaḥ (“messiah”), appearing sixty-six times in Romans, half of which as a lone moniker.²⁰

The brief doxology with which v. 5 ends is an exegetical challenge that will be addressed in the next post.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ J. W. Aageson, “Scripture and Structure” 288-89.

     ² Note also 2 Cor. 1:18, 23; 11:10, 31; Gal. 1:20; Phil. 1:8; 1 Thess. 2:5, 10; 1 Tim. 2:7. 

     ³ “Where the number of witnesses is not specified by law, two are sufficient” (Code, 4.20.8; Digest, 22.5.1, 12).

     ⁴ Deut. 17:6; 19:15; John 8:17; Heb. 10:28. 

     ⁵ Cf. Matt. 18:16, 20; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19.

     ⁶ See also Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17; Gal. 1:15-16; 2:7-9; Eph. 3:1-8; 2 Tim. 4:17.

     ⁷ See K. L. Moore, “Perseverance of the Saints,” Moore Perspective (22 July 2015), <Web>.

     ⁸ Acts 16:1-3; 18:18; 21:20-26; 22:2-3; 24:18; 26:4-5; 1 Cor. 9:19-20; 2 Cor. 11:22; Phil. 3:4-5.

     ⁹ See also Acts 9:20; 13:14-42; 14:1; 16:1, 13; 17:2-4, 10, 17; 18:2-5; 19:8; 21:21, 40; 20:21; 28:17-31; 1 Cor. 9:19-20.

     ¹⁰ John 1:47; Acts 2:22; 3:12; 5:35; 13:16; 21:28; 2 Cor. 11:22. 

     ¹¹ Ex. 4:22-23; Deut. 14:1; Isa. 63:16; 64:8; Hos. 11:1; Mal. 1:6; 2:10. 

     ¹² G. D. Fee, First Corinthians 515-16.

     ¹³ Ex. 24:16-17; 40:34-38; Lev. 16:2; 1 Kings 8:10, 11; 2 Chron. 7:1-2. 

     ¹⁴ The singular “covenant” is a variant reading with strong documentary support, but “there is no good reason why the singular, if original, should have been altered to the plural” (B. M. Metzger, Textual Commentary [2nd ed.] 459). 

     ¹⁵ Gen. 15:18; 17:2-13, 21; Ex. 2:24; 19:5; 24:7-8; 34:27; Deut. 5:2; 2 Sam. 23:2-5; 2 Kings 13:23; 2 Chron. 21:7; Psa. 89:3-4, 20-36; Luke 1:72-73; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:16-19; Eph. 2:12.

     ¹⁶ The only biblical record of Paul’s use of the word προσκυνέω (“worship”) is Acts 24:11 and 1 Cor. 14:25.

     ¹⁷ The priesthood has changed (Heb. 7:12). Under the authority of Jesus as “high priest” (Heb. 4:14; 7:23-28), who grants free access to God without any other human mediation (Mark 15:38; Heb. 4:16; 9:12; 10:19-22; cf. 1 Tim. 2:5-6), we are a “holy” (in service to God) and “royal” (in service to the world) “priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:1-10; cf. Rev. 1:5-6; 5:9-10).

     ¹⁸ Gen. 12:1-3; Acts 2:39; 13:32; 2 Cor. 1:20; Gal. 3:16; Heb. 7:6; 11:13, 33.

     ¹⁹ Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38. See K. L. Moore, “The Lineage of Jesus According to Matthew,” Moore Perspective (3 Feb. 2013), <Link>.

     ²⁰ Note, for example, the “body of Christ” (7:4), the “spirit of Christ” (8:9), the “love of Christ” (8:35), the “word of Christ” (10:17), the “gospel of Christ” (15:19), the “churches of Christ” (16:16).

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