35 Israel’s Rejection of Christ – Part 3

Throughout Romans chapter 9, the apostle Paul used many Old Testament scriptures to amplify how though Israel had been very privileged to be the recipients of God’s Word, promises and covenants, that sadly, they continued in their rejection of the Lord’s sovereignty and grace.

Israel had continually questioned the Lord’s plans and purposes. Therefore, Paul used various Old Testament scriptures to show that because of God’s perfections, that all His decisions were righteous and justified.

Paul had also stated that not only were his fellow Israelites privileged, but so were those Gentiles whom the Lord had called:

Romans 9:23-24

1 God’s Sovereign Choice

One of the Old Testament passages Paul used, was from the prophet Hosea, in which Hosea desired to show God’s great love for His people Israel, despite their rebellion and hardened hearts:

Romans 9:25-26

Sadly, Israel had been very comfortable with the fact that they were God’s chosen people. Their “comfort” gave way to a sense of entitlement and laxity.

In the passage from Hosea, the Lord shows how He had called a people (Israel) who had not been a people, thus showing that it had nothing to do with the “specialness” of the Israelites, but it was God’s sovereign choice, borne from His love.

That same principle can certainly be extended to the church:

Romans 5:8

Hosea’s prophecy also showed how one day, Israel would be called “sons of the living God”, thus referring to the future day when they will accept Christ as their Messiah.

2 God Reserves a Remnant

In the next verses, Paul referenced the prophet Isaiah:

Romans 9:27-29

In his prophecy, Isaiah echoed the Lord’s words to Abraham, in which God stated that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the sand of the sea. Despite that fact, most Jewish people have rejected Christ as the only means of salvation. Even so, the text shows that God would reserve a remnant for Himself.

Both Hosea’s and Isaiah’s prophecies pointed to there being more immediate, as well as long-term fulfillments.

The immediate fulfillments, referred to those Israelites who come to faith during the prophets’ lifetime:

Isaiah 53:1

The long-term fulfillments spoke of those Jews who would believe throughout the ages, and especially during the Great Tribulation, when they would be targeted for annihilation by both Satan and his emissary the antichrist.

Yet, the Lord will reserve a remnant, which will come out of the Tribulation, after having responded to God employing several supernatural methods to present the Gospel to them.

In Romans 9:29, Paul quotes Isaiah 1:9, which shows that unless the Lord reserves that remnant, the entire nation of Israel will be destroyed:

Isaiah 1:9

Next, Paul once again showed that the Lord had enacted a plan of salvation, which extended beyond just the people of Israel:

Romans 9:30-33

Paul spoke of, how though the Gentiles had not attempted to reach the Lord through various acts of righteousness, even so, they attained it because of God’s grace (His reaching down to them).

Thus, the Gentiles attained righteousness, by faith in Christ, which the only way anyone may become righteous in God’s eyes.

In verse 32, Paul shows how the Israelites had continued to stubbornly attempt to become righteous through means other than faith, and therefore they stumble at Christ, the stumbling stone.

Paul had written to the Corinthian church over the fact that many from Jewish backgrounds indeed stumbled over the idea of Jesus as their Messiah:

1 Corinthians 1:22-23

In Romans 9:33, Paul also refers to Jesus as a “rock of offense” which came from Isaiah 8:14. The Jews rejected Jesus, as they were “offended” by the idea that this man could be their Messiah.

Yet, the passage shows, that whoever would believe on Jesus as Savior, would never experience shame.