“… 27 …Though the number of the children of Israel
be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28 For he will
finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness:.…” (Romans 9:17-18).
[We are traversing a section of the letter of Paul to the Romans
that is not so well-known, but yet is very important for our understanding of the
relationship between Israel and the Church of Christ. This may not, at first
sight, appear to be an important subject of study for the believer. But the
fact is that without a proper appreciation of that relationship, many passages
in the Old Testament cannot be properly understood and applied. Besides, such a
lack often results in unedifying speculations and debates in regard to the
specialness of the Jewish bloodline.
In our previous study, we considered God’s plan for the Gentiles:
how it has always been God’s plan to incorporate the Gentiles into His
covenant body. In this second instalment, we will look more specifically into
God’s plan for Israel and for the Jews. —JJL]
2. God’s Plan for
Israel
To talk about the Jews, Paul refers to the
prophet Isaiah. See v. 27—
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: 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in
righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.*This is a very striking
quotation, for it again brings us back to God’s promise to Abraham. Remember
how God promised Abraham that He would multiply him so that his seed would be
“as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore” (Gen
22:17).
Isaiah and Paul are reminding us that God has
fulfilled the physical aspect of the promise. Abraham did indeed have many
descendants.
But of these descendants, only a small
remnant would be saved. Paul has already reminded us that “Not all Israel [is]
of Israel” (v. 6). Only those who are in Christ as Abraham’s seed are heirs
according to the promise (Gal 3:29). Only a remnant of the Jews are heirs of
the promise.
The Lord had, in His righteousness,
determined that it be so. He would chastise His people Israel. They had
apostatised from Him. They were bearing His name in vain. He would destroy them
except for a small remnant.
This small remnant is the elect. It was
because God had His elect in Israel that Israel was God’s elect nation.
The wheat field that God planted was
overgrown with tare. But God continued to nurture it for the sake of the wheat.
But now the wheat has become a remnant. There are so few stalks of wheat left
that God was determined to burn the field. He would preserve the wheat, but he
would burn the field. The wheat would now be planted in another field.
This field is the Israel of God or the New
Testament Church which will comprise both Jews and Gentiles.
The same is truth is taught in Isaiah 1:9,
which Paul quotes in v. 29—
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.
Paul is quoting from the Septuagint. But it
is helpful for us to compare Paul’s quotation with the original. Isaiah 1:9
reads—
“Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant,
we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”
Notice how Paul uses the word ‘seed’ where
Isaiah speaks of a ‘very small remnant.’ The word ‘seed’ is obviously very
different from the words ‘very small remnant.’ How do we reconcile the obvious
differences?
To reconcile the difference, we need only to
see that both terms point to the same thing—from different angles. God would
leave a very small remnant, but that small remnant is not just a small number
of people. It is a seed. What is a ‘seed’? The term ‘seed’ is a loaded
theological word. The apostle Paul refers to the theology of this word in
Galatians 3:16—
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the
promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to
thy seed, which is Christ.”
The word ‘seed’ in other words, speaks of a
people united to Christ. In saying that the LORD of Hosts has left us a seed,
Paul is alluding to the elect. God has a small number of elect remaining in
Israel. He would spare these. Were it not for this, Israel would have been
completely obliterated like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Can you see what the apostle is saying? He showed earlier (v.
25-26) that God would reconstitute His Church so that it is predominantly
Gentile; now he is saying that there
are will also be Jews in the church, but it will be a very small number. It
would be so according to God’s sovereign decree and providence.
The Jews ought to have taken warning and
repented of their sin! But now it was too late for many. God’s plan had already
begun to unfold.
…to be Continued Next Issue
—JJ Lim
