God and His People- Romans 11:1-24

The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks anti-Semitic behavior nationwide, found 2,717 incidents in 2021. That's a 34 percent rise from the year before and averages out to more than seven anti-Semitic incidents per day. Jonathan Greenblatt is the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League and author of the recent book "It Could Happen Here."-PBS, April 29, 2022

Of the 6 billion inhabitants of the earth, only 13 million are Jewish. That is less than 1% of the world’s population, and yet, Jewish people have received more than 22% of the Noble prizes awarded. Roughly, 41% of the 13 million reside within the land of Israel and 40% live in the United States. Another 20% of the Jewish population are scattered throughout the remaining countries of the world

(Source: Jeremiah, D. (2008) What in the World is Going on? P.4, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN.

I. God Has Not Rejected His People vv. 1-6

Paul focuses on a question: Has God rejected His covenant people, Israel?

Paul gives two proofs against this notion:

First is his own example: He is as much a Jew as anyone and he is clearly accepted by God and brought into relationship

Second, we see an example from Scripture

In a dark moment in the history of Israel, Elijah felt abandoned and all alone, the last of the people of God

In the midst of this, God made it clear that He had preserved a remnant of the faithful

Just because Elijah can’t see everything that God is doing doesn’t mean that it isn’t being done!

Importantly, there is a distinction between the old remnant and the new remnant in Israel:

They are not a remnant who are chosen for their obedience to God

They are a remnant who are chosen for their belief in God, by faith!

1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching Hope for Nobodys

A little boy heard the noted American preacher, Howard Thurman, preach in India. One night after he and Mrs. Thurman had gone to bed, there was a knock at the door. Opening it, there stood a lad whose clothing marked him as an untouchable. In broken, but polite, English he said: “I stood outside the building and listened to your lecture, Sahib Doctor. Tell me, please, can you give some hope to a nobody?” Whereupon the Indian boy dropped to his knees in admiration and reverence as the compassionate black Christian attempted to communicate the meaning of Christ’s invitation: “Please come, everything is now ready” (Luke 14:17, NEB).

II. God Has Allowed His People to Stumble vv. 7-12

In light of this, Paul tries to make sense of the current situation:

The Lord has not rejected Israel forever

However, He has allowed them to stumble

What is the nature of this stumbling?

It is a degradation of the spiritual senses- as they disobey the Lord’s command, He allows them to continue in a stupor, unaware of their condition

It is a celebration that becomes a snare- the things that should bring them to the table to celebrate are ensnaring them in disobedience: interestingly enough, this passage comes in a psalm focused on the rejection of the Messiah!

It is not final

This pathway of stumbling carries a blessing; it opens a door for the Gentiles and the focus of the mission will be on them

Perhaps God’s blessing on the Gentiles will serve to make the Israelites jealous and bring them back to Him.

However, if this much good can come out of Israel’s rejection of the Gospel, there is an even greater blessing to come from their obedience to it

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 200: Faithfulness of God

In Christianity Today, Philip Yancey writes:

I remember my first visit to Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. Rings of Japanese and German tourists surrounded the geyser, their video cameras trained like weapons on the famous hole in the ground. A large, digital clock stood beside the spot, predicting 24 minutes until the next eruption.

My wife and I passed the countdown in the dining room of Old Faithful Inn overlooking the geyser. When the digital clock reached one minute, we, along with every other diner, left our seats and rushed to the windows to see the big, wet event.

I noticed that immediately, as if on signal, a crew of busboys and waiters descended on the tables to refill water glasses and clear away dirty dishes. When the geyser went off, we tourists oohed and aahed and clicked our cameras; a few spontaneously applauded. But, glancing back over my shoulder, I saw that not a single waiter or busboy—not even those who had finished their chores—looked out the huge windows. Old Faithful, grown entirely too familiar, had lost its power to impress them.

Few things are more quickly taken for granted than God’s faithfulness. But few things are more important. God’s faithfulness deserves our untiring praise and wonder.

III. God is Not Finished with His People vv. 13-24

The glory of God has been displayed in the reconciliation of the world, but there is an even greater display in the restoration of His stumbling people

This is, in essence, an image of not just reconciliation, but of resurrection

What starts as a small bit, a piece of dough or a root, ends as a whole lump and many branches, all becoming holy as part of a greater Messianic age to come

As Gentiles, we need to approach the whole subject with humility

We are here, because a place opened up for us: we have been grafted in!

We must recognize that God judged His own covenant people with a strictness and a severity

We must also recognize that God is prepared to restore graciously and welcome His people back the same way that He welcomed us in

There are two wrong ways to think about the Israelites:

To view them as greater than, as though we have no place with them at all

To view them as less than, and beyond God’s grace or specially judged by Him

There is one right way to view them:

As God’s people He is working to restore

If so, we must pray and join in His work that overflows to the whole world!

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers 626: Service

The folklore surrounding Poland’s famous concert pianist and prime minister, Ignace Paderewski, includes this story:

A mother, wishing to encourage her young son’s progress at the piano, bought tickets for a Paderewski performance. When the night arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on stage.

Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away. When eight o’clock arrived, the spotlights came on, the audience quieted, and only then did they notice the boy up on the bench, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard.

“Don’t quit—keep playing,” he whispered to the boy. Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and again, “Don’t quit—keep playing.” And as we do, he augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created.