November 17, 1996
by J. David Hoke
We don’t have all the answers. Quite often we find ourselves asking, "Why?" The fact that we must ask that question reveals that our understanding is limited. And all too often we think that because we do not have the answers, no one does.
But we should never confuse our situation with God’s. We should never think that because we do not understand that God does not understand. God not only understands, He is working out a well defined plan for all of humanity. You see, God did not simply spin this world off into space and walk away. He is not making it up as He goes. He is intimately involved in the human situation.
We see this in His dealings with the Jews. And we see in how God deals with Israel, an illustration of how He is bringing salvation to all people.
We all know that Israel is God’s chosen people. The Lord called them and made a covenant with them that He would be their God and they would be His people. Over the years, they rebelled and God dealt harshly with them. He chasten them because He had chosen them. Yet, when He sent the Messiah, Jesus, they rejected Him outright. And so God set them aside. But He has not forgotten His people. And He will deal with them again. And He will again reveal to them that salvation is by grace.
I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"? And what was God’s answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day." And David says: "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever." (Romans 11:1-10)
The teaching of the Bible concerning salvation is that salvation is always by grace. This is seen throughout the whole of Scripture, even the Old Testament. You see, God gave the old covenant knowing that He would give a new covenant. The old was given in order to prepare for the new. The old was not plan "A" and the new plan "B." All of it is the same plan. God has always saved by grace through faith. When Abraham believed God, it was credited to Him as righteousness. So, even in Israel God always saves by grace.
What we see in our text is that, while God has set aside Israel as a Nation, by His grace He has saved individuals out of that Nation. Paul points to himself as evidence of this. He points out that he is a living example of the grace of God. Paul, of course, was a Jew. In fact, he was a zealous Jew. At one point he even opposed what he thought was the heresy of Christianity. Then he had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. It changed his life. He became a recipient of this salvation by grace.
Another illustration Paul uses is that a remnant was chosen by grace. He recalled the story of Elijah and his encounter with the prophets of Baal and the evil Queen Jezebel. Elijah had challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest to see who was the real God. And when Elijah’s God won, Jezebel, the sponsor of these prophets of Baal, got mad. She threatened Elijah’s life and Elijah ran away from her. He ran off into the wilderness, plopped himself down by a stream, and began to moan to God about how he was the only one left truly serving God. God had to remind Elijah that He still had a remnant. In fact, God told Elijah that He had seven thousand men who were faithful to Him. And God has always preserved a remnant by grace. You see, God has not totally rejected Israel. He has set them aside as a nation for a time, but He still saves out of their number many individuals by grace.
What God is doing is pointing out that works never save, grace always does. It is always on the basis of grace, not by works, that people come to God. Whether Jew or Gentile, we all come on the basis of grace. It cannot be by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
There is something within us all that causes us to want to work for our salvation. This was the case with Israel. They sought for salvation, but did not find it because their hearts were not right. And our text reveals that God allowed their hearts to be hardened as a result. Now, this is not the hardening of a person’s heart against their will. God simply allows us to be set in our own ways. The will that we have exercised and the choices we have made, God allows to stand. The same sun which melts the ice hardens the clay. If your heart is rebellious against God, then God’s most loving and merciful efforts to redeem you bounce right off your hard heart. This is why it is so dangerous to continue in sin. It is so easy to allow ourselves to become insensitive, hardened, and callused. This is what happened to Israel, and God allowed them to reap the effects of their hard heart.
Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! (Romans 11:11-24)
God judged Israel. Israel had rejected God, but God did not reject Israel. He did judge them, but even His judgement had a purpose. It would not be an ultimate rejection of Israel, but it would be a temporary judgement in order to effect a greater purpose. You see, even in judgement, God is doing something redemptive. One of the positive effects that came from God judging Israel was a reaching out to the Gentiles. We all sit here, today, because God set Israel aside for a time. He brought salvation to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. They had sought for salvation and had been unable to find it because they had sought for it by works. The Gentiles received salvation even though they did not seek for it because of the grace of God. God wanted Israel to take notice of this and turn to Him in order to receive His grace as well. They should see that if God is able to do great things with the Gentiles, He certainly is able to do great things with them.
And we should take note as well. Just as God can bring salvation to the Gentiles, so He can bring it to the Jews. There is no one that God can’t touch. God’s grace can break through the hardest exterior.
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. (Romans 11:25-32)
God’s glorious plan of salvation reveals His mercy. God has mercy for all. And He will have mercy on Israel. When God finishes bringing in the Gentiles, He will focus His mercy on Israel. Now God is reaching out to the Gentiles. The Gospel is being preached to all of humanity. And when the full number of the Gentiles come into the Kingdom, God will again focus on Israel.
You see, Israel is God’s covenant people. He made promises to Israel that He intends to keep. This is important. It is vital for us to know that God never goes back on His word. God always keeps His promise.
This should be an encouragement to us. You see, as we read God’s word, we find that there are many promises made to us. God intends to keep every single one of those promises. In fact, we are told that all of the promises of God are in the affirmative for us. God would never make a promise that He did not intend to keep. We should see that in His dealing with Israel. If He could take a rebellious nation and turn their rebellion into an opportunity to show mercy on the Gentiles, then we should be assured that God has our best interest at heart. The picture we have of God is not of some tyrant looking to condemn but of a loving Father looking to show mercy. God’s mercy is for all. God’s mercy is for you.
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