Romans 11

I know to chosing to write about the topic of Romans 11 is a lot, but it has been the cause of my life being overwhelmed by God's grace than ever before. First we have to take a look at the Old Testament to understand.

Hosea 4:1
"Hear the word of God
people of Isreal!
For God has a greivance
against the inhabitants of the land:
there is no truth, no faithful love
or knowledge of god in the land."


Isaiah 6:  verse 10
"Make the hearts of this people sluggish with fat
stop up their ears, and shut their eyes.
Otherwise, seeing with their eyes,
and hearing with their hearts,
they might repent and be healed!"


verse 12-13
"until God drives the people far away,
and the land is one vast desolation.
If even a tenth of the people remain,
it will again be devoured


But like a pistachio tree or an oak,
whose trunk remains alive
after it's leaves fall off, the holy seed with be its trunk."

What does this have to do with grace? If we read into Romans 11, it paints the picture. Think of an olive tree. This olive tree represents the people of Israel, the chosen people of God who we read about all through the Old Testament. The Jewish people stumbled, and God who was rich in mercy sent a Savior to save both Jew and Gentile. So why then are the Jewish people so blinded by this mercy?

There is a purpose.

In Romans 11 it says, "It is by means of their stumbling that the deliverance has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy...they were broken off because of their lack of trust."vs 11
God broke off the Jewish people from their own tree! Instead, He has grafted us Gentiles into this Jewish tree through the Messiah.
"But if some of the branches were broken off, and you- a wild olive branch-were grafted in amoung them and have become equal sharers in the rich root of the olive tree...remember, you are not supporting the root, the root (the Jewish people) are supporting you." vs. 17-18
" Just as you yourselves were disobedient to God before but have recieved mercy now because of Isreal's disobedience: so also Israel has been disobedient now, so that by showing them the same mercy God has shown you, they too may now recieve God's mercy." vs. 30

What Mercy! What Grace!

Paul says in Romans 10 that his deepest desire and prayer for Israel is their salvation. If the Jewish people are blinded so that we, as Gentiles can be saved, how then should we be praying?
In Matthew 23, Yeshua is speaking to the people of Israel saying, "For I tell you, from now on, you will not see me again until you say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." vs. 39

We will not see Jesus return until the Jewish people are grafted back into the tree that we share with them. However, that is happening right now and the ministry I am working with is seeing Jewish people come to know the Messiah and we worship as Jews and Gentiles together just like the church of Ephesus. It is beautiful and I do believe that God is taking the blinders off the Jewish people that have been there for 2,000 years. More Jewish people have come to know the Messiah in the last 20 years than the past 2,000 years prior. Yes, He is coming soon. I know this is a lot to think about, but it all makes God's grace for a gentile like myslef so overwhelming.