Israel was raised up by God for a fourfold purpose... (1) to witness to the unity of God in the midst of universal idolatry and polytheism, (2) to illustrate to the nations the blessedness of serving the one true God, (3) to receive, preserve, and transmit the Scriptures, (4) and to be the human channel for the Messiah. God's hand was upon them as they fumbled their way through their mission. When the Israelites ultimately rejected the Messiah, their unbelief cost them their favored relationship with God. Paul describes Israel in the context of an olive tree and likens the nation to a branch that has been broken off due to unbelief. The Gentiles are described as branches that have ben grafted in in their place, because the Gentiles did believe in the Messiah. Verses 11:20-22 speak to the possibility that the Gentiles as a group, not as individual believers, could just as easily be "cut off" from the Lord as the Israelites have been. This is not a verse that can be used to support the idea that salvation can be lost because Paul is not talking about individual believers or about salvation. He is speaking of the privilege of being favored and used by God, which is the current status of the Gentiles. Evangelism is not happening through the Jews in the church age, but God will reclaim them and use them once again. According to verse 11:25-26, when the "full number of Gentiles comes to Christ", Israel will be saved. The verse actually says "all Israel will be saved" but this does not mean automatic salvation for everyone of Jewish descent but that the hope of salvation will return to the Jewish nation as a whole. In essence, God will "graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong".
Tomorrow's reading: Romans 15:1-16:27; 2 Cor. 1:1-2:4
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