Has God turned his back on Israel?
Israel’s history is one of repeated leaving and returning to the God who chose them. Each time Israel rebels, God responds to them according to his great mercy. He is a patient God, who has promised never to leave or forsake his children. In Romans 10:21, he says. “But concerning Israel, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.’”
It is a great tragedy that for two thousand years, the Jews, as a whole, have lived in rejection of their Messiah. But Paul is clear in Romans 11:1 when he declares, “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!” God has not turned his back on Israel, but he has cut them off for a time because of their unbelief.
Once again, we see God’s sovereign choice at work. In Romans 11:5-6 he says, “…at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”
A New and Better Covenant
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, the Hebrew law was fulfilled, the covenant God made with Moses was ended, and the many long years of striving to fulfill its slew of requirements ceased. A new covenant was ushered in with the sacrifice of Christ. God foretold this in Jeremiah 31:31-34:
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Hebrews 8:6 and 13 confirm,
Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. Speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Darkened Eyes to Greater Riches
Though God loves Israel, he has blinded them for a time while he gathers his elect. Israel’s rebellion spurred God to reach out to the rest of the world with this new covenant of grace by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul, in Romans 10:20, quotes Isaiah, who said, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”
Romans 11:7-10 says of Israel,
God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, to this very day. Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see…
This is a hard teaching. But Paul reminds us in Romans 11:33-35,
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?
Paul is keenly aware of how special is to be a Jew. In Romans 11:12, he exclaims, “But if (Israel’s) transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!” To be a Messianic Jew, a Jew who believes in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, is to have both covenants. Theirs is the law, the prophets, and Christ!
Grafted In
Romans 11:17-24 explains the new covenant so beautifully, using the metaphor of an olive tree. Sometimes gardeners, in order to increase fruit, graft shoots from a weaker olive tree onto a tree with stronger roots. Grafting involves cutting off dead branches to make room for the new shoots. Paul describes the Gentiles (non-Jews) as a “wild olive shoot,” and Israel as “the nourishing root.” Gentiles who accept Jesus Christ are grafted in to God’s olive tree in the spaces where the original branches (unbelieving Jews) were cut off. John Piper said, “From now on, to be joined to the tree—the true Israel—and to be joined to Christ by faith, are the same thing.”
Once again, this can only be met with endless gratitude on our part. Romans 11:17-20 warns,
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
Notice Paul’s reminder that being in Christ is contrary to our nature. We need the daily counsel of scripture in order to remain steadfast while we wait for the grafting to be completed.
In the Waiting
So what do we do while we wait?
We take Romans Chapter 12 to heart. We offer our whole selves to the service of Christ. We set ourselves apart from the world as we seek to serve it. We renew our minds through the regular reading of scripture, so that we can be sensitive to what God has for us. We put ourselves last and love sincerely, hating evil, and devoting ourselves to one another. We keep our zeal and fervor alive, remaining joyful, patient, and faithful, no matter what trials we might face. We reach out to others in their joy and in their sorrow, even our enemies. We allow God’s justice to reign. And we remember moment by moment what Christ has accomplished for us.
Reflect
Read Romans 12:1-21.
Think about your own life and on Paul’s description of how we should live. Here God’s word is specific and practical in applying Christ’s principles.
Now read the following words of Jesus, and build a description of how we are called to live.
Read Romans 12:3-8. What are your gifts? Remember, our gifts are given “according to God’s grace.” They are his gifts, not our talents. We are to use them with humble confidence.
Write a paragraph of self-reflection, considering your gifts and how you could use them to their fullest potential for God’s Kingdom. Remember, Christ did not hold anything back, and we are to be like him.
Pray
Dear Father, thank you for your covenant of grace. Give us a heart of gratitude as we use our gifts for the good of others and for your glory. Help us to live lives that are pleasing to you, as we wait for the consummation of your church. Amen.