Romans 11
COMMENTARY:
: 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 fullness of the Gentiles be come in. (4457 “blindness” [porosis] means stubbornness, dullness, obstinacy, a covering with a callous, stupidity, hardness, dulled perception, or obtrusiveness of mental discernment.)
DEVOTION: Paul is talking with the Gentiles of Rome regarding the LORD’S dealing with the Israelites. He is emphasizing the fact that God has set them aside for a time period because of their stubbornness or hardness of heart regarding Jesus Christ.
He warns the Gentiles to think more highly of themselves because God has granted them a special place in HIS kingdom. They had been wild and yet God has grafted them into the tree of faith that was established in Abraham. He informs them that God can also take them out. God can also re-graft the children of Israel back into the tree of faith. Paul tells them that this will happen when the fullness of the Gentiles is complete.
God has caused the Israelites or Jews to not understand HIS plan for this age. It is a mystery to them. They are ignorant and their senses of Biblical truth are dulled. The Israelites were waiting for a Messiah that was going to deliver them from the Romans. Their Messiah was going to be a ruling king. They continue to think that good works will get them into a relationship with God. They didn’t understand Isaiah 53. The Messiah was going to come first to suffer and then on HIS return HE was going to be the King of the World.
Many have followed their example by thinking that good works will get them into heaven. Paul taught that only through faith could anyone please God. The Gentiles were willing to accept Paul’s message by faith.
We are in the time of the Gentiles. The time of the Gentiles is going to one day be completed. When that day is complete the judgment of God will come on this world. It will be called the Tribulation time period. Many believe that there will be a Rapture of those who are believers just before this time period begins.
We don’t have the same excuse as the Israelites. We need to get the message out to all those in our world. There will never be peace in Israel in our lifetime. The Bible is plain. Our time is short. The mystery is going to come to a close soon.
CHALLENGE: Are we prepared for the end of this age? Do we feel the excitement of going to be with Jesus? Are we ready? What more can we do to hasten the return of the LORD?
: 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! (419 “unsearchable” [anexereunetos] means unfathomable, impossible to understand, or inscrutable.)
DEVOTION: We sometimes have a low view of how great our God is in all HIS works. We bring God down to our level of thinking many times. We sometimes get confused because we can call Jesus our “friend.” We sometimes think that HE is our servant rather than the other way around.
There are people who study the Bible for a living and think that they have a handle on all of the attributes of God. They can think that they have God in a box and HE can never surprise them. This is wrong thinking.
This verse ends with a statement that HIS ways are past finding out. We can never put HIM in a box. HE never fits. HE is too big and our thinking is too small.
There is so much depth to HIS wisdom. There is so much depth to knowing about God as a person. We sometimes think we know how HE should judge those around us. We understand very little of what to expect from HIM because HE can the unexpected do.
Paul is dealing with the fact that God offered Israel salvation through Christ first but they rejected the offer. God then sent Paul to the Gentiles because of this rejection. HE put Israel aside for a while and reached out to the Gentiles. It seems that more Gentiles were going to be saved under the ministry of Paul then Jews. That was God’s plan.
Paul warned that the Gentiles should not be filled with pride because God can go back to saving the Jews. They were to be thankful for the privilege of salvation. They needed to learn more truth about the only true God of the universe.
CHALLENGE: We need to think the same thoughts. Our pride can get in the way of learning more about God. Don’t let that happen!! We never arrive at a full knowledge of God until we get to heaven.
: 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been HIS counsellor. (4825 “sumboulos] means adviser, a person who proposes course of action for another, giver of advice, or consultor.)
DEVOTION: Paul under the ministry of the Holy Spirit quoted these verses from the book of Job. Remember that Job was a man who lived at the time period of Abraham who was tested of God. He lost his family and his wealth because of a challenge that Satan gave the LORD. He was an upright man.
This upright or just man who honored God had three “friends” who came while he was going through his testing and blamed him for sin. He defended himself against their accusation. That is why I put “friends” in quotes. They were not very good friends who were not there to encourage him but to discourage him. All of us have “friends” like these at times in our lives.
We sometimes think that we can know the thoughts of the LORD in a given situation. We think we know the will of God. This is true at some times but not always. We have to continually pray for wisdom from above concerning what we are presently going through because at times HE takes HIS time revealing to us the reason for the test we are going through. We are not to be prideful during these times.
One of the temptations during our times of testing or the times of testing of others that we want to give God advice regarding how HE should handle a situation. This is also prideful. Our attitude should be one of learning and waiting for the lesson from the LORD.
CHALLENGE: The Holy Spirit will reveal what we are supposed to learn in any given testing time. We need to wait on HIM!!!
: 35 Or who has first given to HIM, and it shall be recompensed to him again? (467 “recompensed” [antapodidomi] means repay, render, requite, to be or become repaid for something, pay back, or to reimburse.)
DEVOTION: One of the tests we face every day is our thinking that we are doing so much for God that HE owes us. We bring things to HIS attention that we have done in the past or are presently doing and think we deserve a reward for all the good we are doing for HIS kingdom.
Our attitude needs to be one of submission to the LORD in every situation and continue to work as if HE owes us nothing because that is the fact. If HE gave us what we desire we would be spending eternity in the lake of fire.
One author wrote: “God can send us to prison for the rest of lives for a crime we did not commit and still be fair.” We might not like this statement regarding the holiness of God but it is true.
We can never paid God back for the salvation HE has provided through Jesus Christ. We were given a gift called salvation. If we received no other gift, besides the gift of salvation, in our lifetime than that would be enough. However, HE does give more gifts because of HIS love and not because HE owes us anything.
CHALLENGE: We need to be a thankful people who appreciate every gift HE gives us each day.
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.