God keeps to his own plan—of mercy (Rom. 9—11)

Paul has been giving us an account of what God has done through Jesus Christ, concluding with a promise of a glorious future.

This hope is vital for us, so we need to be sure that God keeps his promises. And Israel is the ‘working case-history’ of God making promises and keeping them. We need to know their story.

So, in this section, Paul shows that God still has Israel in mind. More than that—he loves them. There’s more to his promise than their present rejection of him is indicating. And if God still reaches out to Israel through Paul more than two decades after they kill his Messiah, is it any different after two millennia have passed?

I had a conversation with a Jewish Rabbi here in Australia some years ago. He asked me what I thought was going on in the Middle East regarding Israel.

I said to him, ‘Anyone who hates Israel is shooting themselves in the foot!’ Understandably, he wanted to know what I meant by this and we spent an hour talking about it.

Clearly, we should love Israel. Paul makes it clear that he does. He describes how God’s promises to them are being fulfilled. And he describes the battle God must wage with them until they realise that they need to depend on his mercy.

Israel is not special in the sense of being more important than any other nation. They are important because they are chosen to be an example—to us all—of how God’s promises lead to his mercy. So, it needs to be emphasized that this discussion is not talking about the rights and wrongs of what is happening in the Middle East today.

In these three chapters, Paul doesn’t talk about justice. He talks about mercy[i], something all of us are going to need. God’s story with Israel is a love story. And like most love stories, it twists and turns and happens in ways no human being could have planned.[ii]

And our future, like Israel’s, will depend on God’s mercy. If we don’t understand these merciful promises made to them—and if we don’t share God’s love for them, we may have ‘shot ourselves in the foot’. Like Israel, we need to rely on God’s mercy.

So, we’ll look at what Paul tells us about Israel—and about us. And then we’ll return to the Rabbi’s question. (If you have a Bible open to Romans, you’ll see how I’m summarizing what Paul is saying.)

First, God has loved Israel and demonstrated it by giving them unique privileges (9:1-5).

God chose them to be his family—beginning with Abraham. He lived among them, bonded himself to them by a covenant with obligations, and accepted their worship. He made promises to them so they could be sure of their future. And, to them would be given a Messiah who would deliver them, and the world, from all their enemies.

This Messiah, of course, has now arrived—no less than God himself—God the Son—Jesus Christ.

So, following God’s lead, Paul longs for his fellow Israelites to recognise God’s Son and to be saved. And he spares no effort or pain to persuade them that their Messiah has come.

Second, Israel’s welfare depends wholly on God choosing them (9:6-13).

The nation needs to understand why they are the people that they are. It’s not Abraham’s older son who receives the promised blessing but the younger one. God does the choosing, not Abraham, or either of his sons.

And not us either. God’s promises apply to those he chooses. If we think we can have anything we want, we will never understand God.

Third, God’s choosing and calling Israel are acts of mercy (9:14-29).

God creates Israel by having mercy on them—rescuing them from slavery in Egypt.

We are so accustomed to mechanisms of justice and expecting to be given what we deserve that we may have forgotten what mercy is. It may not be registering in our minds that we actually deserve wrath.

God doesn’t argue with us here. He has no need to prove himself. He knows he is merciful. He knows we have no grounds to insist on our rights with him. Before him, we all stand condemned and speechless.[iii]

Paul has already shown that God is patient with those who proudly reject his Son—patient enough to let him be killed by them. Jesus transforms their sinful act into a sin offering. That’s mercy!

And if God can be merciful to his chosen nation, he can be merciful to Gentiles as well.[iv] Hosea shows that God can create a people from any nation. Belonging to him depends on his mercy—not any rights we may claim.

Fourth (9:30—10:21), the people who belong to God are righteous because they trust God to call them such.

This is why first century Jews trip up over Jesus. They reckon they are already righteous and won’t submit to the mercy being shown to them. A common problem—for Jews and Gentiles!

But Moses, the very person who receives the ten commandments and teaches Israel to keep them, also teaches them that they can’t claw their way up to God by keeping them.[v] In fact, the law will prove that they can’t keep them. They will need to receive their righteousness by faith. The law is the way to respond in love to the one who saves them.[vi]

Most first century Jews don’t recognise this—even though it’s in their Bible. So, when Jesus comes, they don’t recognise him either. But he is what their law is all about. And he will perfectly fulfill it. But Israel won’t receive something God does for them. They don’t want to be justified by faith.

It is this righteousness that Paul is announcing.[vii] The gospel is not an achievement of ours. It’s God giving up his Son for our sin and raising him for our justification. This is what we must confess. It’s the believer of this who will never be ashamed before God—Jew or Gentile. Those whom God chooses.[viii]

Paul can quote Jewish scriptures that predict everything he is doing in reaching out to Gentiles. He’s going everywhere he can. Jews are getting jealous about the privileges now being enjoyed by Gentile Christians. People who aren’t even seeking God are finding him through the preaching of the gospel. And his own people are still rejecting the grace of their God. All that God has promised is happening!

Fifth, God’s promise to save Israel is right on schedule (11:1-36).

Paul himself is a clear example of God keeping his promises.[ix] God chooses him, has mercy on him, justifies him, and makes him a true member of his people. He’s a true Israelite!

His situation is like it was in Elijah’s day when many people belonged to Israel—formally. But most had no heart for what their nation really was. They didn’t want to live by God’s bounty. So, God made sure they didn’t understand what was really going on.

Is this the end of the story?[x] By no means. God’s love weaves its way through much resistance.

Paul can even see a purpose in Israel rejecting their Messiah. When they refuse to listen to him, he is sent on to Gentiles, and many of them are grafted into Israel’s privileges.

Jealousy works wonders here! The Jews are jealous of other nations receiving favour from God. Paul knows this well.[xi] Before his conversion, he is furious at Gentiles finding peace with God. And all the while, he doesn’t have it himself. Is this why Jesus says to him outside Damascus that it is hard for him to kick against God’s gracious prodding? He’s having a hard time resisting mercy!

As we noted before, love’s path may look like a tangled web but it needs to undo what is false. And it does—with Paul. He becomes a grateful follower of Christ. He is now happy to preach to Jews, and then go to Gentiles. And all the while, he knows God is right on track with his story of mercy.

So, those of us who are Gentiles—in other words, most of us Christians—should be careful! There are no grounds for us to be smug and to think that we are secure because we belong to the right group.

And, here’s the point we must know well. Every one of us believers in Christ are where we are because of God’s kindness—plus nothing! If we forget this, God cuts us out—or shows that we never were a part of his grateful people. And he can graft his ancient people back in—easily. God has promised that he will do just this.[xii]

Here’s the principle. God proves to us all that we are not nice people but rebels. And he has mercy on those he chooses. We’re in his hands—totally. There’s no room for pride anywhere.

And God can be an enemy and a lover of his people at the same time. His loving promise will be fulfilled. For this reason, he fights against the pride of those who think they belong to him so that they will know his mercy.

So, we can trust God. And we can worship him. His promises are irrevocable.[xiii]

Notice that this is not something Paul is deducing from observation. He’s looking at everything that is happening in the world in the light of what God has promised to Israel.

Sixth, the gospel is all about knowing God.[xiv]

Every attempt that has been made to get the upper hand with God, from the beginning of this letter until now, has been shown to be futile.

On the other hand, everything God has done is powerfully effective, and has fulfilled his promises. We are in safe hands!

We should be in awe of his wisdom, his knowledge, his judgements, his ways. We should not presume that we understand him! Or that we can advise him! Or enrich him!

Mercy is something to receive, not to negotiate. The future is not something to calculate but to anticipate—gratefully. All the glory is due to God.

Returning to the Rabbi’s question, what is happening in Israel at present, and, to Jews wherever they are in the world? Has God’s plan of mercy changed? Rather, our question should be, what part of the above love story is being worked out at present?

Of the Jews who live in Israel, only some 2% are Christians. In other words, that part of Israel now living as the state of Israel is largely still rejecting their Messiah, and the mercy and the righteousness promised to them. They are not really God’s people[xv]—they are cut off. But then—this is a love story. They can be grafted back in.

God waits to have mercy on them. He wrestles with them. He may send them good things. He may be severe. But he loves them. They need to turn to their Messiah. So, with God, we should love them, and pray for them.

And what is true of Israel is his ‘working case history’ for Gentiles to take note of. God is waiting to reveal his mercy to us also, not to give us our rights!

In the end, we will see that all whom God knows as his chosen people will be saved. God will keep his promise. And those of us who are not Jews can also trust God’s promise to bring about the future he has revealed to us.

[i] Rom. 9:15-18, 23; 11:30-32

[ii] The book of Hosea is an example of God treating Israel with severe mercy.

[iii] Rom. 3:19

[iv] Gen. 12:2-3

[v] Deut. 30:2-24

[vi] Exod. 20:2-3

[vii] Rom. 10:9-13

[viii] Acts 2:39

[ix] Rom. 11:1-10

[x] Rom. 11:11-32

[xi] Rom. 7:7-9

[xii] Vv. 26-27, quoting the Greek version of Isa.59:20-21; Isa. 27:9

[xiii] Rom. 11:29

[xiv] Rom. 11:33-36

[xv] The Old Testament speaks in these terms (Hos. 1:6-11). So does Jesus (Matt. 22:14; John 10:39-41). So does Paul (Rom. 2:28-29).s.