33 Israel’s Rejection of Christ

While in chapter eight, Paul directed the attention to the Lord’s work in and through the believer, for the next few chapters, beginning here in chapter nine, he turns his attention to the relationship of the Jewish nation to the Lord.

What will ultimately be seen, is that whether it be the church, or the nation of Israel, salvation comes by way of faith in Christ alone.

In the previous chapter, Paul showed the great privilege that the church has:

Romans 8:29-30

1 Israel’s Privilege

Romans 9:1-5

Paul was so burdened by the fact that the majority of Israel had rejected their Messiah, that he was would have traded his own salvation, had it meant his brethren would be saved.

Paul wasn’t alone in making such a statement, as more than 1,500 years prior, Moses said something quite similar:

Exodus 32:30-32

In verse 4, Paul then began speaking about the wonderful privileges held by the nation of Israel:

Romans 9:4

Paul spoke of how the Israelites had been specifically chosen by God, to be His people, which was signified by what Paul termed as “the adoption”.

The next privilege associated with Israel, was “the glory” which referred to the Shekinah glory of God, which was the Lord’s presence which dwelt in the ark of the covenant, housed in the “Tabernacle of Presence”.

Next, Paul addressed the “covenants” which particularly spoke to the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants God had made with the nation of Israel.

Then, he mentioned “the giving of the Law” which also set Israel apparat from every other nation.

Another privilege enjoyed by Israel was “the service of God” which referred to the Levites, priests, and prophets, all of whom were privileged to serve God and His people.

The final privilege Paul listed was the promises” which spoke of the many promises God made to His people, all of which showed how they were set apart as special to and for Him.

In verse five, Paul showed that the ultimate extent of the promises, is that they all pointed to Christ.

While Paul addressed Jesus’ Jewish heritage (according to the flesh), he then made it clear that Jesus is indeed God, declaring that Christ is “over all” and “the eternally blessed God”.

2 All Not Governed by God

Romans 9:6-9

It was in chapter two, where Paul had shown how there is a difference between Abraham’s natural and spiritual children:

Romans 2:28-29

Next, Paul desired to refute the thinking that God’s Word had possibly failed Israel, because most Israelites had rejected Christ.

He wanted show that the problem wasn’t with God’s Word, but with the sinful hearts of the people. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the dependability and veracity of the Word:

Isaiah 55:11

Interestingly, one meaning of the name Israel is, “one who is governed by God”. And Paul was showing that there was a segment of God’s people who were certainly not truly following, and therefore, not governed by God.

Paul then illustrated his point in verse 7, by showing that the Lord had told Abraham, that the “accepted” seed would be his son Isaac, although Ishmael was his eldest son.

However, Ishamel was the fruit of a fleshly plan, whereas Isaac was the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise to Abraham.

3 More Examples of God’s Election

The next example Paul used, would show God’s foreknowledge in action, showing that He knows all things, including those who will accept and reject Him:

Romans 9:10-13

Paul used the example of Isaac and Rebecca’s twin sons, Jacob, and Esau.

Esau was the first born, which meant that he would receive a larger portion of Isaac’s inheritance, in addition to receiving the patriarchal blessing, entitling him to become head of the family upon Isaac’s death.

However, the Lord had made it clear that the elder (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob).

Due to His foreknowledge, God knew that Jacob would respond, and thus serve Him, whereas Esau would not.

Verse 13 has posed to be problematic for some, who struggle with the idea that God hated Esau:

Romans 9:13

The problem is in a poor English translation, which should be understood as viewing God “loving Esau less” that He did Jacob.