Romans 9:1-5

The question is, “What happened to the Jewish nation?”  This question arose even before the nation was destroyed in 70AD.  It arose because of what Paul taught.  He declared Israel to be equal with Gentiles in terms of how sinful they were (Rom. 3:19) and how they were to come to God (Rom. 3:28-30).  Paul spoke of the only God as both “God of the Jews” and “God of the Gentiles” (Rom. 3:29).  To the Jews this kind of preaching was blasphemous, denying Israel’s treasured position before God.

Deuteronomy 7:6: “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.”

This was not the first time the question was raised, “Has God cast away Israel?” (Rom. 11:1; e.g. Psa, 77:7; Ezek. 35:10,12,15)  But it was valid to ask at this time.  Israel had rejected her Messiah.  And further, the new message of God seemed to put Israel on the same level as every other nation.  Her treasured position, so prominent in the Old Testament, was gone.  What did Israel do to bring this about?  And was it permanent?

So how does the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle, answer the question?  Paul begins by affirming his love for his countrymen according to the flesh (9:1-3); and by reaffirming Israel’s treasured position in the past (9:4-5).  Meditate on the blessings that were a part of Israel’s heritage:

·        The nation was God’s firstborn, by adoption (Exodus 4:22).

·        God’s glory had dwelt in Israel (Ex. 40:34-35; 1 Ki. 8:10-11).  God chose Jerusalem to be His earthly dwelling place (Deut. 12:5; Psalm 132:13-14).

·        God established several covenants with Israel (Gen. 15:18f; Deut. 29:1; Psalm 89:3-4 and Jer. 31:31-34).

·        God gave His law to Israel through Moses (Neh. 9:13-14).

·        The temple ministry with sacrifices and holy days was Israel’s (Ex. 12:25).

·        God gave many promises to provide for Israel in the land (e.g. Dt. 28:1-14).

·        The Biblical patriarchs, from Abraham onward, were all connected to Israel.

·        And above all, through Israel came the Messiah, the eternally blessed God!

There was and is no denying Israel’s blessed position.  Paul knew they were special to God which only increased his sorrow over “what had happened”.  So if we ask what happened to Israel, here are two things we can say for certain:

1)    It was not something cooked up by Paul having turned against his own kin.  He truly loved Israel.  He could not say it any more clearly.  We should have such a love for those in our families and communities who need Christ!

2)    And it was not because Israel did not have plenty of “advantages”, as Rom. 3:1-2 puts it.  Israel was truly blessed.