August 24, 2018
Which Side of the Fire Are You Standing by?
Romans 11:1-12
Victoria Cano
Central Truth
God hasn't forgotten you. He loves you, and He has made a way for you to find Him.
Romans 11:1-12
The Remnant of Israel
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, 1 11:1 Or one of the offspring of Abraham a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10
let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion 2 11:12 Greek their fullness mean!
Dive Deeper | Romans 11:1-12
To understand Romans 11, you have to go back to the scene in 1 Kings 18. In that passage, Elijah worked hard to show and tell the Israelites about the coming Messiah, but they decided to follow Baal. Elijah called out the townsmen of Israel in a show down between the god by the people and the God for the people. Because the Baal god didn't light the fire, Elijah asked the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to prove He was the LORD their God.
Why did God have to prove He was the LORD their God? Although God helped them escape Egypt and brought them through the wilderness of Israel, some Israelites still rejected Him. That is the trap warned against in the quotation from David in Romans 11:9. I like how the New Living Translation puts it: "Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve."
In my life, this looks like choosing to believe the lie that I can serve the "Baal" of self-reliance and that it will not disappoint me. As it says in Titus 3:3-7, "For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
I deserve death. But because I've trusted in God through His Son Jesus, He has given me free and undeserved grace.
This month's memory verse
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
– Romans 8:28
Discussion Questions
1. What is the "bountiful table" in your life? What actions are you taking to avoid it becoming a trap?
2. Go back to the scene in 1 Kings 18 and look at the wavering faith of Obadiah. What things are causing you to be tempted by the world and to stop being bold in your faith? How can you be faithful to God and not to the Baal (or idol) of today?
3. Is there someone in your life whose heart has become hardened? Will you take a minute to pray for or even reach out to and encourage that person today?
4. If you have not found the hope in Jesus, I encourage you to find this hope from the people who comment below. We'd love to share our hope with you.