Okay, I'm headed for Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32. This is one of those strange instances where I had four sermons going this week. And this is the one that, after praying at length, I went back to. Deuteronomy 32. This happens to take place in this section of Scripture immediately after Joshua has been named to lead Israel to succeed Moses after Moses' death.
And if you're in Deuteronomy 32, verse 15, we're going to read several verses here. But, Jeshua run, Jeshua run, forgive me, grew fat and kicked. You grew fat, you grew thick, you were covered with fat. Then he forsook God, who made him, and scornfully esteemed the rock of his salvation. So, as much as I kind of butchered that first name, the reality is what's being addressed here is Israel as a whole. This happens to be a response to Israel's disdain for the direction that God provides. And it's prophetic in its sense as well as we've noted there at the latter end of 15. They provoked him to jealousy with foreign gods.
With abominations, they provoked him to anger. They sacrificed to demons, not to God. To gods they did not know. To new gods, new arrivals, that your fathers did not fear. And so what we're seeing here in essence is a representation of not only what Israel did under the guidance of Moses during that period of time, but also there's a connection. There's a flow here about Israel and Judah as it comes up to the present, because these prophecies apply to even your time, this time now, the time you and I live.
Verse 18, of the rock who begot you, you are unmindful and have forgotten the God who fathered you. Verse 19, and when the Lord saw it, he spurned them because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them and I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation. Children in whom is no faith. And 21, all of this is valuable, 21 is where I'm headed for, because these are the words that are noted by Paul, as we read a little while back, Romans 10.
They have provoked me to jealousy, to what is not God. They have moved me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation. I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. Now, at the time, and we know that Moses recorded this, at the time that didn't seem to make sense, probably, to a whole lot of people.
But, if you move forward, we were in Romans a little while back, if you move forward to Romans 10, and Paul addressing this, we now have some sense of history about how this actually played out. Romans 10, verse 19, when we were in the book of Romans last, Paul speaks of this. In fact, he quotes this. He would be well familiar with these words, because as a Pharisee, he was well knowledgeable on the law.
And the Pentateuch in particular, verse 19, but I say, did Israel not know? First, Moses says, I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation. The latter end of 19, and I will anger you by a foolish nation. And then it moves on from there. You know, it's in Romans 10 that Paul offers a reminder that God rejected ancient Israel because of their disobedience and disbelief.
And as you may recall, Paul makes clear that the majority of the Jews continue to reject God. That's what we've read in Romans 10, the last time we were here. And they still do to this day. Their problem is that they made God's word, if you recall, an idol. And in so doing, they wound up adulterating the priesthood. They wound up adulterating the instructions that God provided for worship. They wound up adulterating and disobeying the instructions that were provided, particularly in the wilderness, and over time rejecting their Savior, as we move forward to a couple thousand years, to the time of Christ coming to this earth.
They actually rejected the Son of God. And because they turned their backs on God and the proper keeping of His laws, God then does the unthinkable. He makes His truth and His Spirit available to the Gentiles. And yet, in all of this, God still works with a purpose. You know what's funny is, at times, I think, and there's a section here that we'll address in Romans 11, verses 31, 30, 31, and 33, that whenever I was back at college, we had a discussion one time about what God does and why He does it.
And our discussion, which was unanticipated in class, it started with a simple question, and I think we spent the remainder of the class talking about this. We went round and round talking about the way God thinks, and the recognition and realization that God doesn't think like you and I think. Now, we know this. That's prima facie. That's as obvious as can be. But the realization is, at times, we will think God will do—you fill in the blank here—X, Y, or Z. And God doesn't do that. And one of the things, I think, that comes across in Paul's writing, as God inspires, is God's motive for calling the Gentiles. You know, if we think at length about this, He still honors the covenant promise that He makes to Abraham, but He does so through the father of the faithful in a most odd way, maybe from human reasoning, from a human reasoning baddest point.
I'm going to ask you to track back to Romans 4. Romans 4, verse 16, because we recall that there was a physical but also a spiritual promise made to Abraham. Romans 4, verse 16, therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the Father of us all.
And in this talk, it's linked about the commitment that Abraham made in terms of being true to God. And God knew Abraham's heart. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, no matter what I asked this individual to do, no matter wherever I send him, whatever it might be, He will be faithful to me. And because of that, I will make an agreement with Him, and He will be blessed greatly through time because of His faithfulness. And if you drop down with me to verse 21 and 22, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He also was able to perform, and therefore it was accounted to Him for righteousness.
What we find in terms of background is that once God makes a promise, and you know this, God always holds that promise. Human beings...ah, I hate to say this...human beings, you can make an agreement with someone, you can make a promise with someone, and too often it's conditional, particularly today. I mean, we reached a time in society, as Mr.
B. was partially referencing there, where your handshake was just like a written document. And today, the troubling part of so much of what we see in society is...the words that come out of someone's mouth really are just that. They're words. They don't mean anything. With that said, Paul goes on to ensure that, well, Abraham, as Paul notes, certainly followed the steps that God expected him to follow. And God ensures that he will follow through on restoring Israel once they respond and obey. And we know by background that they didn't respond.
Well, they did at times. But God says that I will still be true to you, despite the fact you default on that promise. And we picked that all up in Romans 10. Today, I'm going to ask that we move into Romans 11, and we are going to continue with the book of Romans. And I've simply entitled this message, Romans 11, God's Promise to Restore Israel.
God's Promise to Restore Israel. Now, by background, we'll offer two things here. If you remember the sections, chapters 9, 10, and 11 are actually a unit together. In Romans 9, we saw that ancient Israel's election by God, and then over time, as we've already referenced, Israel's rejection. In Romans 10, we saw Israel's modern rejection of God, where even at the current time, Israel doesn't acknowledge God, doesn't honor God, doesn't follow God. And even in a case like this, and I think, you know, I speak in broader terms of Israel, we oftentimes think of Judah separately, but the realization is that even Judah has separated themselves from God.
It's in chapter 11 here, this third segment of this three-part unit, that we actually see Israel's restoration and salvation take place. And what we see is God, again, acting on his promises. But again, it happens in a way that likely we wouldn't necessarily think through. Romans 11 is actually broken down into a series of five examples, or five accounts. There are five proofs that God will restore Israel at a time in the future, despite the fact they've turned their back on him.
And these proofs, if I can provide you a bit of a preview of where they show up and how they show up, is first of all, the first example only appears in the first verse, which entails Paul. Paul's account is an example that Israel will eventually be restored. The next section is verses 2 through 10, where we read of Elijah's account as an example that eventually Israel will be restored.
A third example, the Gentile's account, appears in verses 11 through 15. Again, an example of that, a reminder that God will restore Israel.
The patriarchs show up in verses 16 through 24 as an example that God will restore Israel. And lastly, the last example is simply God acting on His promise through the remainder of this book. Excuse me, through the remainder of this chapter, verses 25 to 35. So, if you will, let's go through just this chapter today, and we're going to see again the fact that Israel will be restored, and we're going to go through these different accounts. The first one appears in verse 1. I say then, has God cast away His people? So Paul asked this question rhetorically, and he offers with an exclamation point in most Bibles, certainly not. For I am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham and of the tribe of Benjamin. Now, the dialogue that he's dealing with here, again, this is a letter to the church at Rome, he's dealing with those who happen to be in the church, partially Jew, partially Gentile. And he is offering, in terms of this discourse, the realization that God, that His conversion, is a sign that Israel will indeed be restored. He offers Himself first as an example, and he offers Himself because those who happen to be in Rome were very well aware of Paul's conversion, and his background here. As he notes, in my version it actually says in Israelite, Paul's conversion as a Benjamite, which is really part of the tribe of Judah, is what he's pointing to saying, yes, Israel will be restored in a similar way as I have been restored, as I have been called. You know, by background, we're well aware that at Paul's calling, that on the road to Damascus, that he was blinded. Dramatic calling. Blindness for several days. And then he's taken by his friends into the city and given sight, and this zeal, the one who is in opposition to God's word, opposition to those who happen to be part of the truth, is turned 180 degrees, and God used him in a dramatic way. That whole dramatic way in which Paul was called into his truth is similar to how the Israelites will be called into the truth in the future.
Now, we see a reference to this dramatic calling in 1 Timothy 1 verse 16. I'm going to go read just one verse here. 1 Timothy 1 verse 16. Because what Paul is making note of here in this first verse is an example again that Israel, in the future, will be restored, is that his calling foreshadowed this. 1 Timothy 1 verse 16. You can read simply this way. However, for this reason, I obtain mercy. I'm going to go back to 12. It says, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief.
Now, many of these characteristics, if you go into commentaries, they say that the Israelites oftentimes reflect these exact same attitudes, this mindset, these behaviors. Verse 14. In the grace of which our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, remember this telling language, of whom I am cheap. He recognizes. He lived his entire life knowing this after conversion. Verse 16. However, for this reason, I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all long suffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for everlasting life. So what he's offering here in 1 Timothy, we look through verses 12 through 16 and onward, is that indeed, as Paul says, I was the greatest of sinners, and yet God called me. He will not forsake. He will not turn his back on the Israelites. So we see as a first example that Israel will be restored here, just simply in the first verse, that Paul is an example of this. He says, look at my calling. Israel will be restored. The next account happens in verses 2 through 10, and it involves Elijah. And this example of Elijah is going to sound familiar. We'll take ourselves back to 1 Kings, because again, Elijah's situation offers a reminder that God still cares for his people. He still acts on his promises. Verse 2 reads this way, God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew. Or do you not know that the scripture says of Elijah how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life. But what does the divine response say to him? I have reserved for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Now, remember the backstory here. If you will, go with me to 1 Kings 19. 1 Kings 19. If you remember with 1 Kings 19, we're really dealing with three principal characters here. Certainly, we're dealing with Elijah the time before Elisha succeeds him. We also are dealing with King Ahab, and we're dealing with Jezebel. And by background, the chapter that precedes it involves, if you remember there, the false prophets saying that we're going to set up an altar, and Elijah mocks them. If you remember, he says, you go set up the altar, call to your gods, and from basically the earliest part of the day to the evening, they cry out to their gods, and Elijah says by background, what's going on? Your gods don't hear you. Remember that by background when he says, oh, they must be sleeping. I think that's what he tags on there. And after seeing all of this, and all the people are present in order to determine who is the real God, Elijah says, fine, let me do this. And if you remember, he goes and has not only the altar set up for God, the one that he makes for God, but they pour water all over the altar, and then they pour a trench. They have a trench, and that fills that trench. Remember that by background? And he comes up, and in prayer, and in direct appeal to God, he says, let it known this day that you are the God of Israel. And in doing so, remember the story line what happens after they've spent the whole day screaming out, cutting themselves with knives.
Remember how the fire comes down, and it consumes the entire altar. Everything!
And even sucks up all the water. And they see all of this, and they immediately then take all of these false prophets. They seize them, and they have them all executed. And Elijah says, I'm in big trouble. I've got problems now, because Ahab is going to go tell Jezebel, and Jezebel is going to send out someone to kill me. And so we make our way up to this. Elijah is actually running, verses 4 through 8. It says he desires to die. In verse 9, it notes that he is having pity on himself. And in verse 10, it says this, and he said, I have been very zealous to the Lord of hosts, this being 1 Kings 19, verse 10. For the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with a sword. I alone him laughed, and they seek my life. And by background here, what is he thinking? He's feeling very alone. He, in essence, says I'm the only thing God that represents you. You know, I might offer this. At times we can feel this way.
We can go through life, and we can think, am I the only one doing this? Now we know, as was noted in the first message, we know that on Sabbath we get a stark reminder that we're not the only one. But it can feel this way. You can be doing something, X, Y, or Z. We were talking about an issue this morning. Sarah and I were, and it can feel as though you're the only one experiencing what you're experiencing. You're the only one being obedient. And that's the feeling that Elijah is conveying here in text. Am I the only one? Has God forsaken, you know, in essence, everyone except for me? Verse 14 reads, and so he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord of hosts because the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword.
I alone him laughed, and they seek to take my life. And then they drop down here. Just a few. Remember by dialogue what happens here? God says, don't worry. I got this covered. Verse 18 reads this way, yet I have reserved not another person, not five other people, not ten others. I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal in every mouth that has not kissed him. This is the section of Scripture that Paul is referencing here with Elijah. What is sometimes thought of in terms of Israel is that Israel would be lost, and the human tendency is indeed to think that way, but in actuality, God promises to restore Israel. And there is always a segment who God has kept faithful. Verse 5 back in Romans 11 reads this way, even so then at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. You know, although Israel rejected Elijah, there was no proof that God had rejected Israel. God did not put them away forever. He indeed kept a remnant. He did at that time, and he does still to this day. Verse 6 reads this way, and if by grace then it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
But if it is of works, it is no longer grace, otherwise work is no longer work. He's really making a point here about no matter how obedient we are, we're reminded of this multiple times, particularly through the Gospels, we can't will our way, obey our way to being safe. It just doesn't happen. Now certainly we have to be obedient. We have to follow the laws that God provides, but as a bottom line, it is still grace and always will still be grace. God calls by grace, not works.
Verse 7, what then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks, but the elect have attained it, and the rest were hardened. Now that's a telling verse, because what God is saying here is that with Israel, and we're going to see this further on, is that God allowed Israel's heart to be hardened. You know, we oftentimes think, at least I do, we quickly associate the hardening of hearts with Israel leaving Egypt with Pharaoh. And yet we see here that God allowed their hearts to be hardened.
And He did it with a reason in mind, as oddly as that seems.
The term hardened means, if we go back to the original Greek here, to be blinded. In Greek, it references the term p-o-r-o-s, or a type of stone, where their heart was as hard as a stone. He allowed their hearts to become as hard as a stone. Verse 8, and it's quoting from Isaiah 29, 10, and Deuteronomy 9, verse 4, and it offers this, just as it is written, God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day. And He continues in verse 9 with David's words from Psalm 69. Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block, and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and not bow down their back always. You know, Israel's blessing, in that they had the law, they had an understanding of the commandments, they had an understanding of the holy days, it really became a burden. Because, as we know, it became a stumbling block because they started adding all these things to what God provided in terms of instruction. They actually produced a counterfeit religious system with counterfeit religious practices, and in doing so it actually became an affliction to them. And indeed, it continues today, where you may know of people who have, I have good friends, I've made reference to them in here, who are well-versed in terms of being Jews, well-versed with God's law, who know the Old Testament, but they will sit and tell you, no, I don't do that. In fact, I got that comment the other day again. I should just become, you know, a temporary Jew. They said, you're such a good Jew, when we had this discussion recently. And the individual who I was speaking with said something along the lines of, well, but that's so, you really do all that stuff? As we were talking about, you really do, you really keep all those holy days? Yeah, we do. That's what we do. As Sarah's friend at work said, oh, you mean you actually follow what's in the Bible? Well, that's novel. You actually follow what's in the Bible. Yes, that's what we do. You know, in a case like this, the Israelites had actually made God's teaching, instructions, laws, had made them a burden. And their minds were veiled. There's a section of Scripture that Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3, and I'll ask you to jump over there with me to that.
And we'll read it. 2 Corinthians 3 and 4 both make reference to this. 2 Corinthians 3, when Sarah told me that, oh, you actually do what's in the Bible. Well, that's interesting.
I think that that's funny. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 6 reads this way, and I'm breaking into the context about the new covenant given, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills. We know that without Christ's sacrifice, keeping it by the letter, not by the Spirit, that we inevitably will only have death. But the Spirit gives life. Verse 7, but if the ministry of death written and engraved on stones was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? So we know by reminder there, when Moses descended the mountain, what did the Israelites say?
Can't see that! Someone put a veil over that guy's head! Because we don't want to see him being in the presence of God. Verse 9, for the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect because of the glory that excels in that glory being the new covenant.
And all that is allowed there. Verse 11, for if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is more glorious. This new covenant provides us greater blessings than the old covenant could have ever done. Verse 12, therefore since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not steadily at the end look steadily at the end of what was passing away, but their minds were hardened. Now notice this notion of veil that Paul uses. For until this day, the same veil remains un-lifted in the reading of the Old Testament because the veil is taken away in Christ.
The language there is a reminder that despite the fact that Israel, that Judah, and the New Testament, and all that we associate with Judah, those three tribes, they have had a veil over their face, not knowing what's really here, not understanding the truth, and God allowing their hearts to be hardened in all of this ignorance. And so this is what we see through verses 2 through 10. We actually see a second reminder that Israel will be restored because, as by background, we saw what happened with Elijah. God takes care of his people. He will restore his people. Let's go to a third account, which appears in verses 11 through 15. And this is the treatment of the Gentiles as a proof that God will eventually restore Israel. Romans 11, verse 11. And I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not, but through their fall to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now that is a lot of complex language, so let's hit a couple of things here. The term stumble here refers to tripped. So have they tripped that they should fall? Fall appears in two different forms here. The first fall that appears in the upper part of verse 11 involves falling down or falling from. So they were given God's truth and they fell from it. The second fall that's noted a little bit further on in the verse refers to an offense, a transgression, a sin.
So what they're saying here is that Israel was askew in its view of God's truth, which caused them to sin. There's an explanation of the verse. The latter end reads this way, but through their fall to provoke them to jealousy. Now this is interesting in terms of the way jealousy is used here.
What God is making clear, and will do so in the upcoming verses, is that the Jews are actually stirred to return to God because they see the Gentiles benefiting from accepting God.
You know, the term jealousy, which is what we talked about recently in a message, refers to strong feelings of possessiveness caused by something that belongs to one and is taken away.
What Paul is talking about here is Israel was originally given the truth. They were given the law, and they turned their backs on it. And as we move forward in Romans 11, we're reminded that God will see the grafting process that happens, and that's why I listened to Mr. Beams' message a while back because he gave a good message on this if you haven't heard it in a while.
In this case, the Gentiles, once being given the opportunity to know the truth, they took hold.
And in becoming part of spiritual Israel, what we will see at a time yet ahead is when physical Israel is restored, they're going to look and go, no, wait a second!
We had the benefit of all of that, and we turned our backs on it. In jealousy, they will then obey.
They will then honor God. And we see this play out then in the upcoming verses.
Verse 12, now if their fall is riches for the world and their failure riches for the Gentile, how much more their fullness? If they're able to see this, how much more obedient will they be?
How much greater will be their commitment? For I speak to you Gentiles, as much as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry. If by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. So he is by background, and we know well for Paul's case that with a parent who was a Gentile and a Jew, Paul went to the Gentiles. The same way, though, he recognized that in terms of upbringing, that his example was won by provocation that could motivate those who happen to be of the tribe of Judah to follow God, and at the same time would also be an example for the Gentiles. In essence, Israel's failure is the Gentile's gain. That's what we actually see here. Their backsliding makes or props open a door to the Gentiles, which in turn prompts jealousy that stirs the Israelites to repent and obey at some point in the future. It happened at that time to a small degree. It will happen much more so to a much fuller degree in the future. Verse 15 reads this way, For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, if by example Israel is put away for a period of time, so that the entire world has opportunity for salvation, that's okay.
What will their acceptance be but life from the dead? So what we see in all of this, that reconciling will take place at a time yet ahead. Certainly we symbolize that by keeping the Day of Atonement. So that's taken us through three examples. Let's go to a fourth, and this happens to appear in verses 16 through 24. What we see here is this motivation in the preceding verses where the Gentiles actually motivate the Israelites to respond to God at a time of yet ahead. And it's a third proof that Israel will be restored. We see a fourth example here, and it involves the patriarchs. And so if we're in verse 16, the patriarchs provide, again, another proof that Israel will be restored. For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. You know, you can go back, and I'll let you go on your own, to Numbers 15 verses 17 through 21 that reminds us that when God accepts the first fruits, He considers the whole harvest as holy. And that's what Paul is making reference to here.
In that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were deemed holy, and committed, and obedient, and faithful.
It winds up that the lineage that flows from them is also good, and is also holy. Verse 17, and some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, that's referring to the Gentiles, were grafted in among them, and with them become a partaker of the root, and the fatness of the olive tree. Do not boast against the branches, but if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You know, the branches broken off did not bear fruit. Those happen to be the Israelites, ancient Israel. They were broken off because they were not bearing the fruit that was commanded. And God then grasses in these wild branches, and they bear good fruit. And Israel then sees this. The reminder here is that, in all of this, certainly Abraham being the father of the faithful, is in this line, is the originator here, but ultimately it's Christ who is the tree, as a reminder by background who we're referencing in terms of the tree. Verse 18, do not boast again against the branches. There was boasting at the time going on in the church, but if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
And you will say then, branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
Well said, because of the unbelief, they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. In a case like this, they are to fear the Lord. And that's the reminder that's provided here. Verse 20, I noted, the notion of fear. I'm going to take you over to Hebrews 3. We're going to see this played out here a little bit differently. Again, Paul writing in Hebrews 3. And he's addressing, again, the importance of the Gentile, the patriarchs, as being foundational to Israel's restoration. And over in Hebrews 3, verses 7 through 14, we see some of the story then augmented here, again, addressing the hardness of Israel's heart and the fact that they'll eventually be restored. Hebrews 3 verse 7 reads this way. If you want to see verse 5 and forward, it talks about Christ being superior to Moses. There's what my header reads. Moses was faithful and moving forward. Verse 7, therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion in the day of trial in the wilderness.
Again, speaking of ancient Israel, in the day where your fathers tested me, proved me, and saw my works for 40 years. Therefore, I was angry with that generation and said they always go astray in their heart. And they have not known my ways, so I swore my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Verse 12, beware brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. So what Paul again is writing here is saying those 40 years we saw the Israelites have a hard heart. Don't be like them. Verse 13, but exhort one another in contrast daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. So what we find here is again Paul in a separate section of scripture saying, use the example of the Israelites, but use it for proper purposes. Recognize their failures and be motivated by them to be faithful and true to God. Verse 22, therefore consider the goodness and severity of God of those who fell, severity but towards you, goodness if you continue in his goodness, otherwise you also will be cut off. Again, a reminder that we still have a responsibility of being repentant and obedient. And they also, verse 23, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in. For God is able to graft them in again. So all of those who turn their backs on God, and Israel in general, and Judah, as we oftentimes see referenced here, will be at a given point, once obedient, once answered the calling, they will be grafted right back to the tree prophetically. Verse 24, for if you were cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? So we see in this section the fact that the patriarchs provide us a fourth reminder that God will restore Israel in the future. The rest of this chapter then, verses 25 through 36, notes here that God will restore his people because he is God. Verse 25, for I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, and hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come.
He said, don't lose sight of the fact that Israel was used for a purpose for me. And so all Israel will be saved as it is written. Now I need to offer a quick mark here. The notion of all in the original Greek means the majority. It doesn't involve every person. It means the majority. The deliverer will come out of Zion, this being Christ, Zion being representative of the church, and this deliverer, as we see continuing, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant with him when I take away their sins. In essence, God is saying, I will keep the promise that I made originally. Christ will return. We see this in Isaiah 59, 21. Verse 28 reads this way, concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. So he's in part the fathers being Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What he's dealing with here is the fact that, you know, the Gentiles, in speaking the Gentiles and the Jews, we can oftentimes look at other groups in opposition. We can become superior in our own thinking. And God says, I've actually done this for a reason. I've allowed the storyline to unfold exactly the way I intended.
And everyone will be given the opportunity to have salvation. The latter verses, as we move forward from here, actually they term at times a doxology or reciprocity between the Gentiles and Israel's restoration, for gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable, for as you were once obedient to God, have now obtained mercy through their disobedience. Even so, these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they might also obtain mercy. I use that term reciprocity. The notion of reciprocity, which sometimes I talk about in class, is this. The way human beings are set up, generally we form relationships by if I go and introduce myself to you, if I say hi to you, the likelihood is I'm waiting for a response. And most conversations only happen when one person initiates and then the other person comes and talks. And so what we get is this cycle of relational development because of that. That's exactly what happens here. We have reciprocity between the Jews and the Gentiles, that God uses one at a given time and then because of the hardness of the hearts of the Israelites, then God makes available His truth to the Gentiles. And then the Gentiles' conversion then motivates the Jews and all of Israel to indeed be obedient, exactly like God wants. So He actually works this into, I would probably contend, a much more complex mathematical system than you and I could ever come up with. But God does this by design. There's no accidents here. Verse 31, even so, these also have been disobedient that through the mercy shown you they may also obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience that He might have mercy on all. What He's really saying here is that God, who is able to explain everything that cannot lie, recognizes that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That the gift that's given is by grace. That none of us can be superior in our own minds. The realization is that God provides mercy to everyone. And anyone who answers that calling, God will indeed provide salvation.
So then moving forward from there, 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. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has given to Him and it shall be repaid to Him? No one has. I'm answering the question there. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. You know, this really reminds us on the tail end that God will extend salvation to Israelites and Gentiles alike. That He's done so and God has provided the opportunity by the relationship between these two parties to indeed through jealousy prompt both parties to salvation. That's an odd way of looking at jealousy because we oftentimes look at jealousy in a very negative sense. God says I'm going to use it in a very positive manner because God, after all, as we see multiple times in Scripture, He's a jealous God. He sees jealousy a given way and He knows how to use jealousy for good. So what do we take in terms of principles or lessons here?
Well, I'll offer three and won't provide anything beyond just summarizing them. God has not totally rejected Israel. That's in part what Paul is addressing here. Despite the fact that ancient Israel rejected Him and their hearts were hardened, despite the fact even in the New Testament, as we see in Christ dealt with the Pharisees, Sadducees, that they were hardened of heart. God says I haven't rejected them forever. There are a segment that have remained faithful and at a time in the future they will all be restored to Me in a time yet ahead. A second lesson is that God actually hardened Israel's heart for a reason, and that was to offer salvation to the Gentiles. And we saw that. And we know that Israel will respond at a future date based upon jealousy.
By a partial hardening of Israel, God allowed the Gentiles to actually come into the church and become also part of spiritual Israel. And in time, they will be provoked. Well, the Jews, the Israelites will be provoked. Those who haven't been called to at this time will be provoked to repent and become part of the body of Christ. The last lesson, which we should see through all of this, is that faith is key to anyone being safe. Jew or Gentile alike, it becomes our responsibility. Hebrews 11 verse 1, to be a faithful people. So we've been through Romans 11. It's a bit weighty, I know that. This is hard content to navigate. But what we find in Romans 11 is a whole chapter to underscore that God is not done with Israel. God first gave Israel the opportunity to know his truth. Some responded, most did not. But this, for this reason, God provided an opportunity so that the Gentiles might be grafted in and become part of spiritual Israel. God, through his promises in time, will restore Israel. I'm going to ask you to go with me all the way back to Deuteronomy 32.
Deuteronomy 32. And this prophecy that was noted that we began with offers a couple of verses that remind us that again Israel will be restored. Deuteronomy 32 verse 20 reads this way, and I said, and I will hide my face from them, and I will see that what therein will be, for they are a perverse generation. He's calling a spade a spade here. Children in whom is no faith. They have provoked me to jealousy by what is not God. They have moved me to anger by their foolish idols, but I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation. I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. And if you would drop with me as one last verse to verse 43, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. For he will avenge the blood of his servants and render vengeance to his adversaries. He will provide atonement for his land and his people. The latter end of this then is a reminder that God indeed will restore his people. You know, as we move through the remainder of the book of Romans, from Romans 12 on to 16, we actually see a turning point in terms of the way Paul deals with content. The next chapters will actually talk about at length how a Christian lives, and it will offer a series of principles that we must, in order to please God, must adhere to. Ultimately, it's about grace, but God expects something from us. From this point forward, then, God will offer these principles about how to live. We would do well to study, to know, and to act on these principles provided by Paul in the latter end of Romans 12.
