Friday DIVE – May 9, 2025 – Romans 11:1-12

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WELCOME and THANKS

 

 

 

TEXT FOR TONIGHT’S STUDY …

Romans 11:1-12     

I say then, has God cast away His people?  Certainly not!  For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.  2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.  Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,  3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?  4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”  5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.  6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.  [c]But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

7 What then?  Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.  8 Just as it is written: 

“God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.”    

9 And David says:

“Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a recompense to them. 
10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.”     

11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall?  Certainly not!  But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.  12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!  

 

The CONTEXT for today’s text …

  • In Romans 1-8, Paul looked at Man’s Problem and God’s Provision in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
  • In Romans 9-11, is looking at the problem of Israel … and God’s plan of salvation for Israel as a whole.
    • In Romans 9, we saw that Israel was blessed (with many blessings) because of God’s election … but Israel was cast off because of their lack of faith — trying to establish their own righteousness rather than trustin in God. (Romans 9:30-32)
    • In Romans 10, we saw that Israel has no excuse … because the Gospel was preached to them (the good news being that acceptance by God was by grace and faith, NOT by works or race) … and that acceptance was open to Gentiles, as well as Israelites. (Romans 10:3-4, 12-13, 14-15, 16-18)
    • Now, in Romans 11, we are going to see that although God rejected the Israelites so that Gentiles could have access to God, the rejection of Israel was neither total nor final.

That said, let’s get into the passage for tonight …

Romans 11:1-10     

1 I say then, has God cast away His people?  Certainly not!  For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.     

  • NLT Bible …   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.   

 

  • From the Enduring Word Commentary …
    • Has God cast away His people? Paul’s question makes sense at this point in Romans. If Israel’s rejection of the gospel was somehow both consistent with God’s eternal plan (Romans 9:1-29) and Israel’s own choosing (Romans 9:30-10:21), then does this mean that Israel’s fate is settled, and there is no possibility of restoration?
    • Certainly not! Despite their present state, Israel is not permanently cast away. Now Paul will explain this answer.

 

  • Has God cast off His people?  Why is that question SO important?
    • The CONCERN that Paul (and other Christians) might have goes something like this:
      • How can I be sure God will save me when Israel (whom God once loved so dearly) now seems rejected and cursed?
      • Is it possible that God might reject and curse me one day, as well?
    • IF Paul can show that God has NOT cast off Israel (despite their faithlessness), THEN we can be sure that God will not cast off Christians who trust Him (despite their faithlessness).  

 

  • From the Enduring Word Commentary …
    • I also am an Israelite: Paul’s faith in Jesus as the Messiah proved there were some Jews chosen by God who embraced the gospel.
    • I also: Whenever we want evidence of God’s work, we could and should look to our own life first. This is what Paul did and what we should do.

 

 

2 God has not cast away His people  whom He foreknew.  Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,  3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?  4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved  for Myself  seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”  

  • NLT Bible …   2 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,  3 “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.”  4 And do you remember God’s reply?  He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”  

 

  • From the Enduring Word Commentary …
    • God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew… at this present time there is a remnant: In Paul’s day Israel as a group generally rejected their Messiah. Yet a substantial remnant embraces the gospel of Jesus Christ, and God has often worked in Israel through a faithful remnant (as He did in the time of Elijah).
    • He pleads with God against Israel: Things were so bad that Elijah prayed against his own people!
    • LORD, they have killed Your prophets: Elijah thought that God had cast off the nation and he was the only one left serving the Lord. But God showed him that there was in fact a substantial remnant – though it was only a remnant, it was actually there.

 

 

5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election  of  grace.   

  • NLT Bible …      It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel[c] have remained faithful because of God’s grace — his undeserved kindness in choosing them.  

 

  • From the Enduring Word Commentary …
    • At this present time there is a remnant: We often think that God needs a lot of people to do a great work, but He often works through a small group, or through a group that starts out small. Though not many Jews in Paul’s day embraced Jesus as Messiah, a remnant did and God will use that small group in a big way.
    • “It was not the number as much as the permanence of God’s plan for Israel that mattered in the time of Elijah … He put his trust in God’s grace, not in numbers.” (Morris)

 

 

 

 

6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.  [c] But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.  

  • NLT Bible …      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.  

 

  • From the Enduring Word Commentary …
    • If by grace, then it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace: Paul left the previous verse noting that the remnant was chosen according to the election of grace. Now he reminds us what grace is by definition: the free gift of God, not given with an eye to performance or potential in the one receiving, but given only out of kindness in the giver.
    • If it is of works, it is no longer grace: As principles, grace and works don’t go together. If giving is of grace, it cannot be of works, and if it is of works, it cannot be of grace.

 

 

7 What then?  Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 

  • NLT Bible …      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.
  • From the Enduring Word Commentary …
    • the elect have obtained it, and the rest were hardened: The elect among Israel received and responded to the mercy of God but the rest were hardened by their rejection.

 

 

 

8 Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.”    

  • NLT Bible …   8 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.”   

 

  • From the Enduring Word Commentary …
    • Just as it is written: The quotations from Isaiah 29 and Psalm 69 tell us that God can give a spirit of stupor and eyes that they should not see and He can say let their eyes be darkened as He pleases. If God is pleased to enlighten only a remnant of Israel at the present time, He may do so as He pleases.
    • Morris calls a spirit of stupor “an attitude of deadness towards spiritual things.”
    • “The idea is that men are sitting feasting comfortably at their banquet; and their very sense of safety has become their ruin. They are so secure in the fancied safety that the enemy can come upon them unaware” (Barclay). The Jews of Paul’s day were so secure in their idea of being the chosen people that the very idea became the thing that ruined them.

 

9 And David says:  “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a recompense to them.  10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.”     

  • NLT Bible … 9 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.  10 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”  
  • According to William Barclay …

The idea is that men are sitting feasting comfortably at their banquet; and their very sense of safety has become their ruin.  They are so secure in their fancied safety that the enemy can come upon them all unaware.  That is what the Jews were like.  They were so secure, so self-satisfied, so at ease in their confidence of being the Chosen People, that that very idea had become the thing that ruined them.

11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall?  Certainly not!  But through their [trespass]fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.  12 Now if their [trespass]fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!  

  • NLT Bible …  11 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.  12 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.

 

  • From the Enduring Word Commentary …
    • have they stumbled that they should fall?  As Paul presents it … there is a difference between stumbling  and  falling.  Israel stumbled, but they would not fall – in the sense of being removed from God’s purpose and plan.  You can recover from a stumble, but if you fall you’re down.
    • Certainly not!  Paul has shown that God is still working through a remnant of Israel today, but wants to make it clear that the sinning majority of Israel is not lost forever.
    • through their fall … salvation has come to the Gentiles:  We should not forget that in many instances  the gospel only went out to Gentiles after Jews rejected it (Acts 13:46, 18:5-6, 28:25-28).  In this sense, the rejection of the gospel by the Jews was riches for the Gentiles.
    • their fall … should, I think, be better understood as their “stumbling”
    • It was NOT that the Jewish rejection of Jesus caused Gentiles to be saved BUT that the rejection by the Jews gave more opportunity for the Gospel to go to Gentiles … and many Gentiles responded positively.
    • to provoke to jealousy:  Paul’s wish, it seems, is NOT only for Gentiles to enjoy the “riches” of God, BUT also for Jews to be provoked to a kind of jealousy that would motivate them to receive some of the blessings the Gentiles were enjoying.

 

What can we take away?

  • God had a specific purpose to fulfill in allowing Israel to stumble – so that salvation would come to the Gentiles.

 

 

According to Barclay …

THE CALLOUS ON THE HEART 

Romans 11:1-12

So then, I ask, “Has God repudiated his people?” God forbid! I, too, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not repudiated his people whom long ago he marked out for his purposes. Do you not know what scripture says in the passage about Elijah? You remember how he talked to God in complaint against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets; they have torn down your altars; and I alone am left and they are seeking my life.” But what was the answer that came to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So, then, at this present time too, there is a remnant chosen by his grace. And if they were chosen by grace, their relationship to God is no longer dependent on works, for, if that were so, grace is no longer grace. What then? Israel has not obtained that for which she is searching; but the chosen remnant has obtained it, while the rest have been made so dull and insensitive in heart that they cannot see. As it stands written: “God gave them a spirit of lethargy — eyes not to see, ears not to hear — down to this day.” And David says: “Let their table become a snare, and a trap, and a thing to trip them up, and a retribution for them. and let their backs be bent for ever.” So, I say, “Have they stumbled that their fall might be complete?” God forbid! So far from that, salvation has become a gift for the Gentiles because of their fall, so as to move them to jealousy of the Gentiles. If their fall has brought wealth to the world, if their failure has brought wealth to the Gentiles, how much more shall the whole world be enriched, when they come in, and the whole process of salvation is completed?

There was a question now to be asked which any Jew was bound to ask.  Does all this mean that God has repudiated his people?  That is a question that Paul’s heart cannot bear.  After all, he himself is a member of that people.  So he falls back on an idea which runs through much of the Old Testament.  In the days of Elijah, Elijah was in despair (1 Kings.19:10-18).  He had come to the conclusion that he alone was left to be true to God.  But God told him that, in fact, there were still seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal.  So into Jewish thought came the idea of The Remnant.

The prophets began to see that there never was a time, and never would be, when the whole nation was true to God; nevertheless, always within the nation a remnant was left who had never forsaken their loyalty or compromised their faith.  Prophet after prophet came to see this.  Amos (Amos 9:8-10) thought of God sifting men as corn is in a sieve until only the good are left.  Micah (Micah 2:12; 5:3) had a vision of God gathering the remnant of Israel.  Zephaniah (Zeph. 3:12-13) had the same idea.  Jeremiah foresaw the remnant being gathered from all the countries throughout which they had been scattered (Jer. 23:3).  Ezekiel, the individualist, was convinced that a man could not be saved by either a national or an inherited righteousness; the righteous would deliver their own souls by their righteousness (Eze. 14:14,20,22).  Above all, this idea dominated the thought of Isaiah.  He called his son Shear-Jashub, which means The Salvation of the Remnant.  Again and again he returns to this idea of the faithful remnant who will be saved by God (Isaiah 7:3; 8:2; 8:18; 9:12; 6:9-13).

There is a tremendous truth beginning to dawn here.  As one great scholar put it: “No Church or nation is saved en masse.”  The idea of a Chosen People will not hold water for this basic reason.  The relationship with God is an individual relationship.  A man must give his own heart and surrender his own life to God.  God does not call men in crowds; he has “His own secret stairway into every heart.”  A man is not saved because he is a member of a nation or of a family, or because he has inherited righteousness and salvation from his ancestors; he is saved because he has made a personal decision for God.  It is not now the whole nation who are lumped together as the Chosen People.  It is those individual men and women who have given their hearts to God, of whom the remnant is composed.

Paul’s argument is that the Jewish nation has not been rejected; but it is not the nation as a whole, but the faithful remnant within it who are the true Jews.

What of the others?  It is here that Paul has a terrible thought.  He has the idea of God sending a kind of torpor upon them, a drowsy sleep in which they cannot and will not hear.  He puts together the thought of a series of Old Testament passages to prove this (Deut. 29:4; Isa. 6:9-10; Isa. 29:10).  He quotes Ps. 69:22-23.  “Let their table become a snare.”  The idea is that men are sitting feasting comfortably at their banquet; and their very sense of safety has become their ruin.  They are so secure in their fancied safety that the enemy can come upon them all unaware.  That is what the Jews were like.  They were so secure, so self-satisfied, so at ease in their confidence of being the Chosen People, that that very idea had become the thing that ruined them.

The day will come when they cannot see at all, and when they will grope with bent backs like men stumbling blindly in the dark.  In Rom. 11:7, the King James Version says, “they have been blinded.”  More correctly, it should be, “they have been hardened.”  The verb is poroun.  The noun porosis will give us the meaning better.  It is a medical word, and it means a callus.  It was specially used for the callus which forms round the fracture when a bone is broken, the hard bone formation which helps to mend the break.  When a callus grows on any part of the body that part loses feeling.  It becomes insensitive.  The minds of the mass of the people have become insensitive; they can no longer hear and feel the appeal of God.

It can happen to any man.  If a man takes his own way long enough, he will in the end become insensitive to the appeal of God.  If he goes on sinning, he will in the end become insensitive to the horror of sin and the fascination of goodness.  If a man lives long enough in ugly conditions he will in the end become insensitive to them.  As Burns wrote:

“I waive the quantum of the sin, The hazard of concealing; But och! it hardens a’ within, And petrifies the feeling!”

Just as a callus can grow on the hand, a callus can grow on the heart.  That is what had happened to the mass of Israel. God save us from that!

But Paul has more to say.  That is tragedy, but out of it God has brought good, because that very insensitiveness of Israel opened the way to the Gentiles to come in.  Because Israel did not want the message of the good news, it went out to people who were ready to welcome it.  Israel’s refusal has enriched the world.

Then Paul touches on the dream which is behind it all.  If the refusal of Israel has enriched the world by opening a door to the Gentiles, what will the riches be like at the end of the day, when God’s plan is fully completed and Israel comes in, too?

So, in the end, after tragedy comes the hope.  Israel became insensitive, the nation with the callus on her heart; the Gentiles came by faith and trust into the love of God; but a day will come when the love of God will act like a solvent, even on the callus of the heart, and both Gentile and Jew will be gathered in.  It is Paul’s conviction that nothing in the end can defeat the love of God.

 

 

 

 

 

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