Romans 11
1 ‘But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
Isaiah has been prophesying that disaster will overcome the land, reducing it to a wilderness, with people taken into exile.
Having prophesied disaster and desolation, he now addresses the people he has specifically chosen to be his servant.
2 This is what the Lord says – he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
(Jeshurun in verse 2 is another name for Israel – ‘the upright one’)
And this choosing is not a last minute thing, because they have behaved well – they were chosen from the beginning of time, set apart to be a holy nation.
Because they had turned from him they had to be punished, but when they repent and turn back to him . . .
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. 4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. 5 Some will say, “I belong to the Lord”; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, “The Lord’s,” and will take the name Israel.
6 ‘This is what the Lord says – Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
How can they be sure that what God has promised will come true?
Verse 6!
7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come – yes, let them foretell what will come. 8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.’
OK says God. Look back though your history. Read your Bibles. Everything that has happened so far has been foretold, and there is a future that he will reveal to them too. What other god, or idol has been doing this?
9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. 10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing? 11 People who do that will be put to shame; such craftsmen are only human beings. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame.
Try to think logically. The people who make idols are nothing special. So what makes the things they make suddenly become things to worship?
12 The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.
The blacksmith takes a piece of metal and heats it and bends it and hammers it. It’s still a lump of metal. The blacksmith is still only human.
13 The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in human form, human form in all its glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. 14 He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. 15 It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. 16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, ‘Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.’ 17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, ‘Save me! You are my god!’
It would actually be more sense to worship the fire that burns the wood. At least it helps his cooking and keeps him warm. The piece he spent time carving is still a lump of wood.
18 They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so that they cannot see, and their minds closed so that they cannot understand. 19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, ‘Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?’ 20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, ‘Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?’
We say ‘how silly’ but when we are led astray, do we blindly follow with minds closed, not stopping to think? Who or what do we follow – even worship?
21 ‘Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you. 22 I have swept away your offences like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.’
Now remember that you have been chosen as my servant. Your sins are wiped away, but it’s your turn – you need to return to me and accept the salvation I freely offer.
23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.
What an amazing thing. That the Lord God Almighty should provide redemption for his chosen people. The whole earth should rejoice!
24 ‘This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, 25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, 26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfils the predictions of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be inhabited,” of the towns of Judah, “They shall be rebuilt,” and of their ruins, “I will restore them,” 27 who says to the watery deep, “Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,” 28 who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’”
Wow! Here the Lord runs ahead of himself – looking ahead with specific prophecies that no-one, no idol or false god could ever predict. Even naming the king who will be reigning in Babylon and who will provide for the restoration of a Jerusalem which at that point was still a magnificent thriving city. But as Isaiah has often prophesied, it’s destruction is one certainty they will not be able to avoid.
Isaiah wrote chapters 40-55 150 years before Cyrus was born. Some people think that they obviously couldn’t have been written by Isaiah so they must have been written by an unknown prophet in the style of Isaiah during the exile.
For those who can’t believe accurate future prophecies, I ask them to explain Chapter 53.
Chapter 45
1 ‘This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armour, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. 4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honour, though you do not acknowledge me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, 6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.
Now the prophecy is directed to Cyrus himself. He would lead the Persian empire, to defeat all the nations in west and central Asia, including Babylonia. He was to be unstoppable, and consequently he is still known today as Cyrus the Great. But note the last phrase in verse 7: I, the Lord, do all these things.
Even though Cyrus would not even acknowledge God, that is of no consequence. God would still simply empower, use and direct him to carry out his will. Even to the point of providing materials, money, and gold for the rebuilding of the Temple.
8 ‘You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it.
Now, even beyond the return of the exiles to a rebuilt Jerusalem, the Lord is thrilled to see how his righteousness will finally come to his ‘New Jerusalem’.
9 ‘Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?” Does your work say, “The potter has no hands”? 10 Woe to the one who says to a father, “What have you begotten?” or to a mother, “What have you brought to birth?”
11 ‘This is what the Lord says – the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? 12 It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshalled their starry hosts.
Here the Lord is more or less saying ‘stop questioning my ability to control the future’. Surely the creator of the Heavens and Earth and everyone in it can also direct how they will obey him?
13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the Lord Almighty.’
Let me prove my ability to control a pagan king: I will direct him to release the captives, and pay for the rebuilding of my Temple, and he will get nothing in return! ‘Says the Lord Almighty’
14 This is what the Lord says:
‘The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans – they will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, “Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god.”‘
15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself, the God and Saviour of Israel.
In Isaiah 43:3-4 we read:
3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. 4 Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.
These nations had also been overrun and taken captive by Cyrus, and it would seem that as well as obeying his command:
Ezra 1:4 'And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.”'
It seems that some of these peoples then voluntarily followed the Jews when they returned from exile, helping to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 6:21). But it also points to the future when Gentiles of many nations will willingly chain themselves to their Redeemer Jesus.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together. 17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.
18 For this is what the Lord says – he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited – he says: ‘I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, “Seek me in vain.” I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
It is a fact that following their return from exile, the people at last recognised the futility of following other gods or worshipping idols. The idol-makers would be disgraced. But there was no disgrace for those who put their trust in their Creator God.
20 ‘Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. 21 Declare what is to be, present it – let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none but me.
22 ‘Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
Now everybody, worldwide, look at the facts. There is only one God, Redeemer, Saviour. There will come a time when every knee will bow before him. Repent before that dreadful day.
24 They will say of me, “In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.”’ All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. 25 But all the descendants of Israel will find deliverance in the Lord and will make their boast in him.
So we have to ask the question ‘will all Israel be saved?’ This is covered in depth in the study on Romans 11 and 12. So I will include a brief section here.
Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
‘The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.’
Original branches had to be cut out and other ‘wild olive’ branches grafted in until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And verse 26 ‘in this way’ suggests that in the ‘family tree’ analogy God’s eternal plan had a complete picture of what the tree should look like.
Now we have to be careful; many literally believe that ‘all Israel will be saved’. In the same way that the Lord stepped into Paul’s life and turned him around, he could foresee a time when there will be a worldwide revival amongst the Israelites and a mass turning to him. Personally I don’t understand that those who had been disobedient in past history would also be saved, but if that is what God will choose to do, I can’t say that he can’t!
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
The extent of God’s grace and mercy is immeasurable. God’s enemies, and disobedient children are all still loved by him, and like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) can be welcomed back as full family members.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?’ (Isaiah 40:13)
35 ‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?’ (Job 41:11)
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
