1.
I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2.
God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Verse 2
Maketh intercession against; pleads against. The passage referred to is found in 1 Kings 19:10,1 Kings 19:14,1 Kings 19:18.
3.
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
4.
But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
5.
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Verse 5
The election of grace; the election of favor or mercy.
6.
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Verse 6
The meaning is, that salvation must either be fully merited, or else bestowed in mercy. It cannot be partially merited. For unless the law is fully obeyed, it is broken, and the reward of transgression, not that of obedience, is deserved.
7.
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
Verse 7
Israel; Israel in general.--He seeketh for; looketh for; that is, the justification which he expects on account of his alleged obedience of the law.--Were blinded; were blind, as some say, in order to avoid the necessity of supposing any agency on the part of Jehovah in respect to the moral character of wicked men. But the expression in the Romans 11:8, "God has given them the spirit of slumber," seems very unequivocal. They, however, who cannot submit to the doctrine which it seems to teach, shelter themselves from it by saying that God is represented in the Scriptures as doing that which he does not interpose to prevent. And it must be conceded that this interpretation is confirmed by the form in which the passage originally occurs in the book from which it is quoted here. (Romans 11:8; Deuteronomy 29:4.) The Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear.
Romans 11:11,Romans 11:12. The rejection of the gospel by the Jews, under the preaching of the apostles, almost every where resulted in turning the apostles to the Gentiles, and was thus the occasion of promoting the wider extension of Christianity.--Their fulness; their general acceptance of the gospel.
8.
(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
9.
And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompence unto them:
10.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
11.
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
12.
Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
13.
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
14.
If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
Verse 14
My flesh; my kinsmen.
15.
For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
16.
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
Verse 16
The lump; the whole mass. The meaning is, that, inasmuch as now a small portion of the Jewish nation believed in Christ, so the time would come when all would be brought into his kingdom.
17.
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Verse 17
And thou; referring, obviously to the Gentile convert.--Graffed; grafted.--The root and fatness; the strength and sustenance derived from the root.
18.
Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Verse 18
Thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. The meaning is, that the Christian church, to which the Gentile convert was admitted, being built upon the foundation of the Jewish church, the Gentile should not cherish feelings of pride and superiority in respect to his Jewish brother.
19.
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
20.
Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21.
For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22.
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23.
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
Verse 23
They also; the unbelieving Jews.
24.
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
25.
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Verse 25
The fulness of the Gentiles; the Gentiles generally.
26.
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Verse 26
And so; and then.
27.
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28.
As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
Verse 28
They are enemies; God treats them as enemies; that is, the Jewish people are, for a time, rejected, and the Gentiles received in their stead; but still God will ultimately restore them, out of regard to the promises which he made to their fathers.
29.
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Verse 29
Without repentance; that is, on the part of God. He will, at all events, faithfully fulfil the promises which he makes.
30.
For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
31.
Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Verse 31
That is, the Jews reject the gospel now; but the course of divine providence, after bestowing mercy upon the Gentiles, will finally bestow it also upon them.
32.
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Verse 32
That he might have mercy; with the design of finally having mercy, &c.
Romans 11:33-36. Thus, in the conclusion of the doctrinal part of the Epistle, the writer expresses what may be regarded as the leading sentiment which he has been inculcating through the whole, viz., that no man can come to God with any merits of his own, or any claim whatever for recompense or reward; but that, as the goodness and mercy of God's alone originate all blessings, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, so his power and will are supreme in directing the disposal of them.
33.
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
34.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseller?
35.
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
36.
For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.