“I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’ But what is God’s reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Rom. 11:1-6, ESV).
Israel’s Rejection is Not Total
Despite the defiance and rebellion of “his people” (10:21; cf. 9:25; 15:10), God has not completely rejected them. In fact, Paul himself is one of them, “an Israelite” (cf. 9:3-6).1 Once again, instead of the more political term “Jew,”2 Paul employs the theological designation “Israelite”—meaning “Prince of God” (cf. 9:4)—perhaps distinguishing himself from more secularized Jews.3 He “belonged by birth to the people of Israel–as a descendant of Jacob the covenantal name was his by right.”4
Paul also describes himself as “a descendant of Abraham” (cf. 4:1-21; 9:7; 2 Cor. 11:22c), of Abrahamic bloodline as opposed to a proselyte. More specifically he is “of the tribe of Benjamin” (cf. 2 Cor. 11:22; Phil. 3:4-6), descended from the youngest son of Jacob and favored wife Rachel, and the only one of Jacob’s sons born in the Promised Land. The tribe of Benjamin provided many valiant warriors to Israel’s army (cf. Hos. 5:8), as well as Israel’s first king (1 Sam. 9:1-2), from whom Paul’s Jewish name Saul was likely derived.
Paul can speak authoritatively as a true Israelite, as well as a divinely appointed apostle (1:1-5), reaffirming that “God has not rejected his people,” the very ones, according to his sovereign purpose and eternal foresight, “he foreknew.” “Scripture” is quoted from 1 Kings 19:10, 14, 18 to establish a historical precedent in God’s scheme. Among the “disobedient and contrary” Israelites, God graciously makes provision for “a remnant” who are willing to submit to his will and be saved (cf. 9:27-33). This is not according to self-reliant works of the law but a demonstration of God’s “grace” (cf. 3:20–4:16; 5:2-21; 6:1-15).
Consequences of Rejecting God’s Way
“What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not seeand ears that would not hear, down to this very day.’ And David says, ‘Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever’” (Rom. 11:7-10).
“Israel failed” because what they were “seeking” was to establish their own righteousness instead of submitting to God’s righteousness (10:3). Nevertheless, “the elect” [ἡ ἐκλογὴ] (“the chosen ones”)5 have attained justification and eternal life (2:7) because God, according to his predetermined choice, has elected to save all who respond to him in “obedience of faith” (1:5). The remnant of Israel (including Paul) consists of those faithful to the Lord. The “rest,” self-seeking and disobedient (cf. 2:6-10), “were hardened” (cf. v. 25) according to their own obstinate will (9:11-29 <Link>). Scriptural confirmation is provided from Isa. 29:10, 13 (cf. Deut. 29:4); and Psa. 69:22-23.
Loss Versus Gain
“So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!” (Rom. 11:11-12).
Paul rhetorically asks, “did they stumble” (aorist indicative: a statement of fact)—in their unfaithfulness and rejection of Christ (3:2; 9:31-33; 10:16, 21)—“in order that” [ἵνα] “they might fall” (aorist subjunctive: prospectively as if it were part of the divine plan)? “By no means!” (cf. v. 1; 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7, 13; 9:14). Rather than thwarting God’s purpose, these tragic circumstances were used by God to bring about good (cf. 3:3-4; 8:28).
Since the gospel was first preached to Jewish people, a model Paul employed in his own ministry (cf. 1:16), fierce resistance and opposition by antagonistic Jews opened the evangelistic floodgates to the Gentile world (cf. Acts 13:46; 18:6; 28:28), thus “salvation has come to the Gentiles.” As a result—εἰς (“unto”) rather than purpose (“so as”)—this was “the thing” [τὸ] to “provoke them to jealousy” [παραζηλῶσαι αὐτούς] (cf. v. 14; 10:19), an occasion of mercy to stimulate an intense desire to seek restoration and regain divine favor that the Gentiles now enjoy (cf. Deut. 32:21). This would be zeal [ζῆλος] for God according to knowledge that was currently lacking (10:1-2).
If the “world” [κόσμος] in general (Jews and Gentiles alike) and “Gentiles” [ἔθνη] in particular6 have so greatly benefited on the other side of Israel’s “trespass” and “failure,”7 how much more meaningful would be Israel’s repentance, submission to Christ, obedience to the gospel, and consequent inclusion in the global Christian family. Although πλήρωμα means “fulfillment” (NASB) or “fullness” (ASV, CSB, NKJV), the rendering “full inclusion” better communicates the sense opposite of “stumble” and “fall” and parallels “salvation” and “riches” (cf. 2:4; 9:23).
A Word to Gentile Believers
“Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” (Rom. 11:13-15).
Although writing to multi-ethnic brethren, at times focusing particularly on the Jewish element,8 here the apostle specifically directs his attention to “you Gentiles” (cf. also 1:5-6, 13; 15:14-21). He may be feeling the need to explain why he is concentrating so much on the circumstances and prospects of his ethnic kinsmen,9 but he also needs to address haughty attitudes among non-Jewish believers (vv. 18, 25; cf. 1:22; 2:17-29). While Paul is acknowledged as “an apostle to the Gentiles,”10 whenever Jewish people are converted through his outreach efforts he can say, “I magnify my ministry” – the proverbial icing on the cake.
Efforts to Save Israel
Concerning his “fellow Jews,” lit. “the flesh of me” [μου τὴν σάρκα], Paul’s aim to “provoke to jealousy” [παραζηλώσω] or “stir up zeal” is in order to “save some of them.” Not only does this reiterate what has just been said (v. 11), it reaffirms his earlier statement, “my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved … they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (10:1-2). Their “rejection” is the consequence of unbelief and disobedience, whereas “the reconciliation of the world” is according to a positive faith-response to the gospel (2:4-11; cf. 2 Cor. 5:18-19). Note “some of them” is equivalent to “a remnant of them” (9:27; 11:5), and to “save” is equivalent to “life from the dead” (cf. 5:12-21; 6:5, 11-18, 23; 8:2-13).
Conclusion
Israel’s rejection is their own fault. But instead of viewing them with contempt, the Christian response is to pray for them, continue sharing the gospel, and rejoice when any are won to Christ.
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 In 2 Cor. 11:22 and Phil. 3:4-6 Paul includes “Hebrew” (cultural, linguistic, no mixed parentage), “circumcised on the eighth day” (Jewish from infancy, not a convert), “Pharisee” (strictest sect of Judaism).
2 Rom. 1:16; 2:9, 10, 17, 28; 3:1, 9, 29.
3 Cf. Acts 22:2-3; 26:4.
4 P. E. Harrell, Philippians 117, emp. in the text.
5 Cf. Rom. 8:33; 9:11; 11:5, 7, 28; Acts 9:15; 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Pet. 1:10. On the verbal form, cf. 1 Cor. 1:27-28; Eph. 1:4.
6 This could be synonymous parallelism. Just as “trespass” and “failure” are parallel, “riches for the world [κόσμος]” and “riches for the nations [ἔθνη]” repeat and emphasize the same point.
7 On the term “trespass” [παράπτωμα], see Rom. 4:25; 5:15-20. On their “stumble” and “fall,” compare 1 Cor. 10:12; Heb. 4:11; Jas. 2:10; 3:2; 5:12; 2 Pet. 1:10.
8 Rom. 2:17; 6:14-15; 7:4; 16:3, 7, 11.
9 J. Denney, “Romans” 679.
10 Cf. Rom. 1:1-5, 13; 11:13; 15:16-18; also Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17; Gal. 1:15-16; 2:7-9; Eph. 3:1-8; 2 Tim. 4:17.
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