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Keep it Going~ Countdown to 26 & Romans Road 11
So today is the 27th day of December are you staying focused in the Word? I am reading in Romans today preparing for the rest of the book!
Seeing how far I could get….
After reading Chapter 10 Paul asks the question below and answers it himself. I love when you see a question you also may have had and yet God’s Word answers it before you can voice it!
I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this?
Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”
It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.
So, this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.” Romans 11:1-8
It is interesting to know that God’s people try so hard to find the goodness in themselves. I mean not just the Israelites but also we Gentiles around the world try to be good enough to please God enough to be saved. Truth is we cannot be good enough. Without Grace we would never be free from our sins.
Keep reading, Paul asks another question and gives them the straight stuff answers!
Likewise, David said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble and let them get what they deserve. Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”
Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too. Romans 11:9-16
It was interesting that we were given grace to get God’s people jealous of us and to encourage them to also want to be saved. I love that God has provided this great salvation to us and that the Jews as well have the opportunity to believe in the Lord Jesus the Christ and be saved. I greatly dislike that the people back in Jesus’ day rejected the truth and even God Himself, even though the scriptures they read in the Temple each week were pointing right to the truth of Jesus Christ. It hurts to think His own people had to be blinded to the truth until I remember Paul himself was blinded physically so he could see Spiritually. What a great example he is to the Jews! How amazing is God to choose such a zealous man to teach us all in His Word!
Okay, so keep reading the rest of the chapter and find out what the answers are to these few questions.
What kind of branches were grafted in the vine? Do they represent Jewish or Gentile people? Or both?
I enjoyed this reading because of this, and you can tell me if you though the same in the comments here or over in the Youtube (Not the short so go to the video! Its longer than a 3 minute version.)
The verses here talk about the Olive Tree branches. Looking at my trees in my yard, the ones the squirrels gave me, my olive trees are all over the place in branch form. I really neeed to trim them back a bit so the trees will produce more fruit. Anyway the point is that I thought the trees in the graft were actually grapes being grafted in, because I have heard the grafted in concept study use grapes to explain it. This may be because we know that grapes re grafted to produce the best flavor, and maybe that’s why. With the Olives we are grafted in and produce better olive oil!
So when we are grafted into the Family of God it brings better fruit from us than when we were in the world! Okay that’s enough for today, go read the chapter a couple times in different versions, check out a commentary… I used Barnes myself.
Heavenly Father, help us stay strong in the Word, guide our readings and show us what You want us to know in Jesus’ name amen.