Studies in Romans 9-11
Read Romans 9:6-13 (Paul’s Vindication of the Scriptures)
Despite the impressive list of favours God bestowed upon Israel (vv1-5), the nation failed to recognize their Deliverer when He came to them, and arranged for His crucifixion. This poses the question, Does this mean that the promises of God for Israel will never be fulfilled? Has God abandoned Israel? Has God failed to fulfill the promises He has given in His Word? The simple answer is given in verse 6: “But it is not as though the word of God has failed” (NASB). The rest of the paragraph (vv6-13) is written to prove that the Word of God has not failed to achieve what God has promised to Israel.
Paul seeks to prove this claim in the rest of this verse and in the verses that follow, up to verse 13. Notice the use of the Greek verb translated “fail” in verse 6. This verb (ekpiptō) appears 13 times in the New Testament. Of these occurrences, it is translated “to fall” or “to fall away or off” 10 times. It first appears in Mark 13:25, which speaks of the stars of heaven falling out of course. In Romans 9:6, it is in the perfect tense, which expresses continuous action from the past to the present. In other words, to use the figure of the stars falling out of course, the Word of God is still on course, and will be until God’s purposes for Israel are achieved. God is never taken by surprise. Just as He knew that Adam would sin and bring the human family into ruin, but had already planned to send His Son to be the Kinsman Redeemer, so He knew that Israel would reject their Messiah when He came, and had already planned what He would do as a result. At the end of this present article we will look at some Old Testament Scriptures that indicate that God had His plans for the present age of grace.
Paul proves his point by stating, “For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children” (vv6-7).1 Inclusion in the promises for Israel is not determined by natural descent alone. Paul continues by drawing attention to two exclusions. First, he quotes God’s words to Abraham, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Gen 21:12). Ishmael was in fact Abraham’s firstborn son. But Ishmael was not the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham (Gen 12:7; 15:5; 21:1-3); he was the result of the scheming of Sarah (16:1-15). Therefore, the offspring of Ishmael is not included in Israel as a nation.
The second exclusion is seen in the birth of Jacob and Esau, who were twins. Esau was the one born first and would normally have the rights of the firstborn. But God said to Rebekah, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger” (25:23). Notice that Paul refers to this in Romans 9:12. But then he confirms this by writing, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (v13). This is a quote from Malachi 1:2-3. Let us look more closely at these two statements. Genesis 25:23 was stated before either Jacob or Esau was born. The words of Malachi appear centuries after both had died. In Genesis 25 we see God’s sovereignty. In Malachi 1 we see human responsibility. In Genesis 25 God is expressing His sovereign right of choice. But Malachi 1 is the result of Esau’s foolish choices (for example, see Genesis 25:29-34). “The elder shall serve the younger” emphasizes divine sovereignty. “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” expresses human failure.
Now let us look at some Old Testament passages that clearly indicate that God knew that Israel would reject their Messiah. In Isaiah 9:6 we read, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder.” “For unto us a child is born” clearly refers to the birth of Christ. “Unto us a son is given” refers to the death of Christ. “The government shall be upon his shoulder” has not yet been fulfilled. Over 2,000 years of human history have passed since the death of Christ. So, we have a gap of at least 2,000 years between the death of Christ and His future reign.
Micah 5:1-3 is most enlightening: “Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. (But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.) Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.” Verse 1 indicates that Israel would reject their Messiah (“they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek”). Verse 2, which is a parenthesis, refers to the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. Thus, verse 3 carries on from verse 1. Because Israel would reject Him, Christ would “give them up” (during the Church Age), but would ultimately save them, and Israel would again become a united nation. Daniel 9:26-27, likewise, predicts the rejection of Christ and His crucifixion (v26), and the future Tribulation period (v27).
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
