Beloved Israelites
Rom 9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Paul had great heaviness in his heart for his fellow Israelites because they had rejected their promised Messiah. Does he blame them, no, he loves and cares about them. A true evangelist cares for the souls of those he wishes to be free. To this day most of the Jewish people are under the bondage of the law. The law is good, but who can keep them without sinning in some small or big way? Messiah Jesus brought forgiveness and grace by faith in him.
Intercessor
Paul reflects the same heart Moses had in Exodus 32:31-32: Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin; but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written."
Paul is also showing the same heart Jesus had, who was willing to be accursed on behalf of others, that they might be saved. (Galatians 3:13)
Exo 32:32 Now, forgive them of this sin. If you will not forgive them, then erase my name from your book."
Exo 32:33 But the LORD said to Moses, "The only people I erase from my book are those who sin against me.
Jesus was willing to be accursed on behalf of others, that they might be saved.
Our deliverer
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"—
Gal 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
All of Israel was called God's people, and they saw the Shekinah glory of God over the Ark and in the wilderness to lead them. They had the covenant promises, most especially the Abrahamic covenant, They were given the Ten Commandments and the ceremonial laws. They had promised to serve God and keep his promises. Yet they crucified their Messiah.
Rom 9:4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
The promises where given to the father's who looked for the coming of the Messiah. Still today they look, because of the blindness of one generation, and the teachings and traditions that followed. Who has more right to the fullness of the promised Messiah then the Jewish people? Yet, God in his grace has invited all people to receive grace by faith. Grace has come to all nations and the blessings of the seed of Abraham, the Lord Jesus Christ. Haleluia!
The Called
Rom 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
One meaning of the name Israel is "governed by God"; Paul is saying that not all "Israel" is really "governed by God"
Paul tells us that no one is truly Israel unless he is governed by God. We have a parallel situation with the word 'Christian.' Not everyone who is called a Christian is truly a follower of Christ.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Ishmael was a son of Abraham, but not under the promise through Isaac.
Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
The children of the flesh, the descendents of Isnmael. The descendents of the promise through Isaac were children of the promise.
Rom 9:9 For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son."
Rom 9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
God is sovereign, having supreme power and authority.
Paul points out that God's choice was not based on the performance of Jacob or Esau; the choice was made when they were not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil. The elect, the chosen shall be the children of God. How God chooses we do not know. This I know, he is calling you, so come to him.
God announced these intentions to Rebecca before the children were born (The older shall serve the younger), and repeated His verdict long after Jacob and Esau had both passed from the earth (Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated)
Gen 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
Jacob was accepted while Esau was rejected. We do not question God and His ways. We respond to his word and to his calling to us. In the final selection it is God who calls us and it is by faith we receive his son. Both Chosen Jews and chosen Gentiles must come to God by faith in his son; Come now, he is calling you.
The Potter
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Pharaoh a type of the powerful of the earth; an Egyptian king with much wealth and who worshipped idols and false gods. God gave this proud stiff-necked king over to his ways. Our God through Moses pronounced a curse on all his objects of worship.
What are Americas objects of worship? wealth, military power? What are Americas sins that need to be repented of?
The Lord used Moses as his intercessor for his people and they were delivered. Who will be America's intercessors? The praying Christians and Jews.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
We repent for our sins Lord and for the sins of our country.
Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
We are not without blame. We were created in God's image and as Christians we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We choose to be clean or unclean vessels.
2 Tim 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
2 Tim 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
Some are not of the Lord, and under his judgment.
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
A frightening thought, to be a vessel made unto dishonor, a Judas. Praise God he has chosen me to be a vessel of honor through trust in his son. How clean and usable my vessel is to be, depends on my submission to the master's hand.
Dear friend, now is the time to yield your life to Jesus.
God's People
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
Those who mock God are given his mercy because he is longsuffering. This does not mean that those who protest against God will go unpunished. He knows his people that he has chosen for honor and glory and he will draw them to himself. The wrath of God will fall on the unrighteous in his time of judgement.
2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
All of His chosen people, who are the chosen? Those who respond to his call and receive his son. Believe the message of Jesus and come to him and be saved.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Rom 9:25 As he saith also in Osee (Hosea), I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
Rom 9:26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
Hosea 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
Two reminders from the Old Covenant prophet that God had indeed planned to allow the chosen Gentiles, the church, to be a part of his plan of redemption. We are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We are the people of God. Even with the mulitude of the children of Israel, God had always planned to reach out to all the world. We are a part of his plan. We go forth with his message of grace and those who are chosen will respond to his word.
A Remnant
Rom 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
Gen 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
The reference to Israel as the stars of heaven, refers to those who will be spirit filled believers. The sand of the sea, refers to the "earthy" Jew, not saved but of the lineage of Abraham. From this will be a remnant, "as the stars", believing and trusting in the promised "seed." Jesus is the seed that possesses and has destroyed the power of the gates of hell. He spoke to Peter as an apostle, giving him the authority, "keys" of heaven to bind and to loose. The apostles built on the foundation of Christ, the Rock. Our authority is in Jesus.
Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Mat 18:18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Mat 18:19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
He also has the keys to death and hell.
Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Rom 9:28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Rom 9:29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
A remnant shall be saved. Even in our great land in recent years, we have been as Sodom and Gomorrah, a nation of every kind of sin and disobedience. We have made wealth and pleasures the gods of America. The true God shall bring out a remnant that believe and trust in him. We shall pray for God's mercy on America. Even so come Lord Jesus for your Bride the Church.
Stumblingstone
Rom 9:30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
Yes, this is the mystery of the Church.
Eph 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Eph 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Rom 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Rom 9:32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Righteousness is by faith in the Messiah, Jesus, not by works of the law.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
There is only one way established by which we may enter heaven, faith in God's son, who has secured the way by his holy blood, the atonement for our sins. Do you believe this alone will forgive your sins? It is God's truth, do not receive condemnation from the law or a false spirit.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Mat 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Father God, you require faith in you and faith in your son to bring us into your heavenly family. Our efforts fail, the condemnation of missing the law speaks against us. The foul spirits of the devil shreik a study stream of lies to keep some from the truth. Father I pray to bind these spirits so that the lost may find Jesus who loves with a pure heart all who come to him. The truth is that Jesus is the way of forgiveness and eternal life. We receive everlasting life by believing in him, faith is the victory. We are not offended by the savior who has saved us from our sins and given us a new life, amen.
Gary
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