Expound: Romans 11 - Part A

Now Israel has had its share of problems national disobey God when in captivity for 70 years that the nation was essentially destroyed had been divided already slightly between North and South Syrians had taken the 10 northern tribes Babylonians that the rest of the two tribes left over but eventually they came back after 70 years as predicted by the prophet Jeremiah. They came back to their land.

God's enduring love for his chosen people, shows us just how much he loves those he calls today on connect with Skip Skip examines the history of Israel and how God's plan for them. Also includes you to let you know about a resource that will help you enjoy and get the most out of studying your Bible's world record has again confirmed that the Bible is the best-selling of all time. Research the number and portions of Scripture been translated into nearly 3500 different languages but there's a difference between having access to password and allowing it to change your life into death about practical Bible study from skip. I think observation was legal interpretation which must lead to application somebody once but if you want to meet industry Bible truths and you put shoe leather on them where the rubber meets the road.

You do what Jesus said to increase the effectiveness of your personal Bible study with skip. I think the how to study the Bible and enjoy it. This practical guide is thanking you when you get $25 or more to help keep his teaching ministry on the air. Get your copy today and take the mystery out of studying Scripture, 819 to 1888, or get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer. Okay, let's dive into today's teacher will be in Romans chapter 11 Skip now.

I remember when I first bought my my first set of Encyclopaedia Britannica. I knew that it was the gold standard in research and I also knew that I couldn't afford but there was in a local newspaper, somebody who had been gifted a brand-new set of Encyclopaedia Britannica. They were interested they needed the cash. I saw the ad I made the phone call I scored a deal on Britannica, so I have loved that courses all before online now. It's a moot point you to sign up become a member of Britannica and you can do all the research with that membership. But back in the day of libraries and people reading books.

There was Encyclopaedia Britannica, which of all the encyclopedias I feel as I said was the gold standard know people are writing encyclopedias would look up what Encyclopaedia Britannica had to say so.

It's always interesting to me when such a reputable and formidable source like Encyclopaedia Britannica makes a huge error and they did in their 1911 version of Encyclopaedia Britannica you see the Hebrew language had been considered a dead language since about 3 to 400 A.D. after the bar cultivar revolt in Israel after the Jewish dispersion around the world. Israel was not a living language it was not used like it had been used in antiquity. It's always only preserved in certain synagogue prayers of the temple wasn't in use. Israel was in in their land, so it just sort of died and there was talk among some that God would revive it one day. Well, the scholars at Encyclopaedia Britannica in 1911 wrote this comment the possibility that we can ever again recover the correct pronunciation of ancient Hebrew is as remote as the possibility that a Jewish Empire will ever again be established in the Middle East if they would have just waited. And of course they didn't have to wait 36 more years because 36 years after this was printed they had to revise it because essentially what you have today is people speaking the ancient Hebrew language as an everyday language and doing so in the Jewish Empire in the regathered state of Israel.

So that brings us to the very first question that is posed in chapter 11 has God cast away his people. Paul the apostle asks in Romans chapter 11 verse one certainly not obviously for God to regather them back in the land. As we see today, May 14, 1948 that happened is an indication to us that something is up. God is done with his people. The covenant people are are still in line to be blessed by God in the future. Now Israel has had its share of problems.

National disobey God. You went into captivity for 70 years that the nation was essentially destroyed. It had been divided already tribally between North and South. The Assyrians had taken the 10 northern tribes captive the Babylonians did the rest on the two tribes left over in Judah, but eventually they came back after 70 years as predicted by the prophet Jeremiah. They came back into their land. So there they were growing and thriving in rebuilding and populating that land by 70 A.D. rolled around, the Jews had rejected the Messiah that came to them. Jesus held them accountable for that rejection. In fact, held them accountable for the very day he came to Jerusalem, fulfilling the prophecies of Daniel and since 70 A.D., after that the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem. Again, they were taken captive, so to speak.

They there was a Diaz for dispersion into countries around the world until as I mentioned, May 14, 1948, when the United Nations established Israel again as a nation and that perked up the interest of Bible scholars around the world because Isaiah the prophet said or God said to Isaiah the prophet that the Lord will set his hand a second time to restore the remnant of my people Israel. The first time was after the Babylonian captivity. The second time was May 14, 1948 God once again gathered literally, not figuratively, not spiritually Israel within its own borders, but as to our chapters that we've been dealing with the promises of God had been coming under scrutiny. God's promises to the nation of Israel. The national promises of the plan of God for Israel had come under scrutiny. Why, because Israel had rejected the Messiah Jesus said, you will not come to me that you may have life. They rejected him.

So the question is if they rejected him. Hasn't he rejected them again. That is Romans 11 verse one has God cast away his people if they have rejected Jesus as their Messiah.

And certainly God must reject them as his people, and as we mentioned last week, the millennial believer would say that's true. Now their spiritual Israel.

There's no such thing as national Israel. There's no such thing as geopolitical Israel God is and concerned with that. It's all spiritualized in the church we have fulfilled and will fulfill the promises that God made to the Jews now. By the time this book was written there was already a shift in the church from Judah, Gentile. The early church was all Jewish, all Jewish every single believer in Jerusalem had a Jewish background.

Jesus was a Jewish Messiah. Salvation came to the Jews through it. You name Jesus.

So all the believers in Judeo had a Jewish background that changed when Peter went to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, and Cornelius believed and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Things began to change. I'll get back to that story.

At this point the church is largely especially in Rome, not Jewish, but mostly Gentile, non-Jewish, so just looking at who was populating the seat next to you in church. Around this time, one could surmise I guess God really is done with Israel that was sort of a starting point, but they rejected him.

He's rejected them. Now God is turning to and dealing with the Gentiles. Now why would they think this they would think this because indeed and Paul will make this clear. There was a blindness that happened to Israel within a get down to Chapter 11. Eventually, verse 25 repulses blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles are come in they became hardened, they became so hardened voluntarily that God added to that by causing a blindness to occur because of their willful rejection. So I'm sort of going around the block to get next door, but I'm to read a a complementary verse of Scripture, and that is second Corinthians chapter 3 where Paul says Moses put a veil over his face. His second Corinthians chapter 3 verse 13 Moses put a veil over his face.

Of the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.

That is the covenant of the law, but their minds were hardened their minds were hardened or as other translations say their minds were blinded, they became blind for until this day.

He continues this same veil remains on lifted in the reading of the Old Testament because the veil is taken away in Christ.

Even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. He speaking of a national blindness that occurred to the Jews.

A stupor, a spiritual stupor so that they read the Scripture, but they don't get it. They don't have a real full or clear understanding of how Jesus Christ fulfills their Scripture that was true when Paul wrote it is true that this day and I'm underscoring that because by the time we get to verse 25. You'll have that as a background of understanding now in the Gospel of Luke chapter 19 Jesus comes to Jerusalem and as he drew near it says he saw the city and he wept over it, saying if you had known, even you, especially in this your day. The things that make for your peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes. You are blinded to the UR hardened to it that spiritual stupor. Vacation has ruled over you for the days will come, Jesus continues saying to his Jerusalem the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and the level you and your children within you to the ground and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation. He is predicting the fall of Jerusalem under the Roman siege that occurred in 70 A.D. under Gen. Titus to come in and destroy this town.

Take the stones toss one off the other.

And if you go and see the ruins today of Israel you will see how complete that destruction is one stone not left upon another, so they lost their Temple.

They lost their national identity. They lost their land. They lost eternal life, and so Paul begins in this section by asking a series of questions rhetorical questions. It's that Socratic method. He offers a question as as somebody who would dissent in a conversation would ask somebody was a way to minute now Paul, I have a rebuttal so he supposes that so he asked the question then will answer those questions is as we noted in verse one has I say that has God cast away his people.

Certainly not for I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin didn't cast me away on a Jewish rabbi. I believe in Jesus as the Messiah.

He continues in verse 11. I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall. The next question.

Let me put that in a more understandable way. Have they fallen so they can get up. You know the commercial that medical alert I've fallen and I can't get up and is no laughing matter. I mean, it really is a tragedy when it happened. The question is have the Jewish people fallen to the extent that that fall is here recoverable that God has set them aside from his plan in the future. Have they fallen so they can get up certainly not, but through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.

It's tragic that the Jewish people did not see Jesus as their Messiah know many did hundreds to thousands did we read, we see that in the book of acts, but as a nation. They were so hard and their leaders would not permit it. So they rejected Jesus, they were glad when he was crucified, but as tragic as it was, it opened a door for God to lead Gentiles non-Jews come in. That is one of the grand points of this chapter because Jesus was rejected by Israel. Salvation was offered to the whole world member, the parable of the wedding feast and he was a now I'm busy know I will come they didn't come so so the master the visa going to the highways and byways and get anybody who will come, that's that's the same truth non-Jewish people. Anybody who would. Who would believe in Jesus could be admitted to and really that was the that was the idea of Israel from the beginning when God first established the nation could establish it through who was the first person Abraham God called Abraham out of were the Chaldees and he promised him a land and he said I'm in a make a great nation out of you. Abraham I'm in a bless you on to make your name great on the bless those who bless you on that curse those who curse you and in you. Listen to this all the families of the earth will be blessed, not some of the families only those with a Jewish background will be blessed. All of the families of the earth will be blessed and my family has been blessed this German American Gentile family has been blessed because of what Jesus did in bringing salvation. It was God's intention from the beginning to let Israel be a light to the Gentiles.

Isaiah said very clearly, but they rejected God's plan.

God had a plan for them. The question is does God still have a plan for them.

According to Paul, yet he still does have a plan for them. Even their faithlessness to him. Can't cancel his faithfulness to them.

In fact, it should provoke them to jealousy because salvation is come to the Gentiles. Now verse 12 if there fall is riches for the world that is their rejection is open the door for non-Jewish people the world. Anybody can believe if there riches if there fall is riches for the world and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness. If there rejection of God and his setting them aside temporarily brought such a blessing to the world.

Can you imagine if God decided to restore them, bring them back. Regather them and cause them all to believe what would that mean, how much more their fullness for I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry.

It's interesting that Paul, a Jewish rabbi became the one that God used to open the door of faith largely though he was Peter at first with Cornelius used Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles and Peter in Galatians is called the apostle to the Jews. See you have Peter who is from Galilee, a largely Gentile region. The apostle to the Jews and you have Paul, a good male yell Jerusalem trained rabbinic scholar Hebrew of the Hebrews tribe of Benjamin Jewish True Blue to an apostle to the Gentiles. I love it because God's call is often count counterintuitive. If you wonder why did you call me to them, ministry, or to that place were to that group work in this situation. Just know that sometimes God calls you to do some basil smile on his face when he does it because he calls you the areas you have any experience with this. I'm not good at this Moses I'm calling you to leave my people I I can even talk. Moses said, I stutter you want me to be a spokesperson one guy, Paul, the Jewish rabbi and apostle to the giant Gentiles.

How much more their fullness is good. I'll get back on track.

For I speak to you Gentiles is much as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them as I said, salvation came to the Jews through a Jew. Jesus was Jewish.

He was raised in a Jewish family was dedicated at a Jewish temple.

He went to Jerusalem to go through his bar mitzvah become a son of the commandment, he kept the Passover. He kept the feast of Israel he said to the woman of Samaria. You don't know what you're worshiping. We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. He was a pure Jewish Messiah. It was Paul's hope, however, that because God opened the door to the Gentiles and the Gentiles were now believing in a Jewish Messiah and believing in Jewish scripture and believing in the fulfillment of Jewish peace in Christ that that would bother some of the Jews a way to minute. What you do, worshiping my Messiah.

What you don't read my scriptures and still to this day when I meet and talk to Jewish people, and I mentioned the Old Testament and I'll quote the Old Testament to go you read the Old Testament while in the light seem to know pretty well and I that's in minium as it much better than I thought. Even though my own scriptures so it was Paul's hope that salvation to non-Jewish people and believing all things Jewish about the Messiah and the fulfillment that would provoke them to jealousy and that that would drive them to Christ that that didn't exactly happen.

It happened in some cases verse 15 for if there being cast away is the reconciling of the world. Again, the door is open to the world.

Whosoever will let him come.

Whoever believes in him will not perish if there being cast away, and again temporarily, not permanently, is the reconciling of the world. What will their acceptance be, but life from the dead, for the first fruit is holding the lump this whole if the roof is holy, so also are the branches execute height with a message from the series expound you Skip to tell you about encouraging messages like this. Come your way to help connect others to the gospel, God long ago planned his son coming to earth to die on a cross for our sin he plan to bring you into his family.

That's incredible news and we want to share with more friends all around the world and you can be a part of that work through your gift today.

You not only keep these teachings on the air, but you'll help connect so many people to the love of God and the riches of his word.

Here's how you can give a gift right now you can give online@connectwithskip.com/donate. That's connectwithskip.com/donate or cult 800-922-1888, 800-922-1888. Thank you tomorrow Skip Heitzig six years how you are a part of God's plan in which he brings the nation of Israel back to himself.

When you gave your life you were given a gifted draft you were given salvation, given eternal life you were gifted by the Holy Spirit certain abilities and capabilities for the occasion of the body of Christ