I apologize for posting multiple pictures of my great grandchildren; I was not sure the first post worked, so I posted them again. Of course, my friends could say that I just wanted to show off my great grandchildren, and that is a great possibility! Now to get back to my Romans posts: Romans 11:7-12: What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear; ) unto this day. And David saith, Let they table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them: let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always. I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness? Admittedly, these are some of the hardest verses in the Bible to understand, but it is not at all impossible to understand them. I make no claim to have the last word on the meaning of these verses, but here is my thinking: Chapters 9 and 10 show that the nation of Israel, as a whole, had rejected the truth of salvation by grace through faith, for they sought it by the works of the law. It might be good to mention here that Israel is not the last to seek salvation by the works of the law, for many are seeking in the same place today, and to no avail! Galatians 2:21 says, I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. What could be more clear, yet we are looking at it on a different side of the cross than did Israel in the Old Testament period. Our verses show that Israel did not obtain the righteousness they were seeking, because they were seeking in the wrong place! There is an election (a small part) of Israel who have obtained salvation, because they have believed the truth of salvation by grace and in the person of Jesus Christ! The rest who have been blinded are not innocent children who have had no opportunity to see, according to Isaiah 6:9-10, with its commentary by Jesus in Matthew 13:10-17. Jesus comments in Matthew will show (Matthew 13:15) that the unbelieving Jews had closed their own eyes, therefore God confirmed their decision. The parables given in Matthew 13 were to confound the leaders of the Jews, who supposed they already understood the truth, but had actually closed their own eyes. When anyone is blinded, there is an act of his own will to continue in his blindness and sin! John 5:40 says, And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life. The verse does not say that they cannot come. There is at least an act of the will to remain unconverted! Our verses show that the table (table at the Jewish feasts), as well as the other observances of the law, became a means of stumbling for the unbelieving Jews, because they did not seek salvation by faith. God was willing for the backs of unbelieving Jews to remain under a heavy load of sin, because they had chosen not to believe the truth. Now the good news about Israel, nationally speaking: they have not stumbled that the nation of Israel should fall with no remedy for that fall, for they will be redeemed as a nation, with individuals receiving Jesus as their Messiah (see Romans 11:25-26). Through the fall of the nation of Israel, we Gentiles have been grafted into the good olive tree, meaning the covenant made with Abraham. In the next post, we well see that Israel is grafted in again, but this does not mean that those who have died lost will be given a chance to be saved; it means that the nation of Israel which is still alive on the earth will finally be restored to a position of blessing that is better than their original blessings (see Ezekiel 36:11, plus that entire chapter). Romans 11:12 shows that the diminishing of Israel, which has brought salvation to the Gentiles, will finally issue into their fullness by their restoration. If God does not restore Israel, none of us need expect to be in heaven, for His promise to restore Israel is as clear as the plan of salvation through Christ is to us. Both Jews and Gentiles who are saved have to come by way of the cross of Christ!!!!
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 21:44:47 +0000