Chosen Artists and days and dirt... a study in Exodus 31

Introduction

One of the funniest credit cards I ever received was from the US department megastore, Sears and Roebuck. The store, mind you, is not funny. Nor is the card. By the way, the store is now gone, bankrupt and finished. But back in the day, the store was very much like David Jones or Myers. It had quite substantial goods and a wide range of products. In fact, the slogan was “Sears has everything.” It had a whole section for men called “tools.” My, oh my, was it stocked! The home brand of their tools was ‘Craftsman’ and the guarantee was lifetime. If your Craftsman hammer or saw ever broke, you could return it no questions asked. They would immediately replace it. 

So you ask, ‘what made it the funniest credit card?’ Well, the answer for anyone who knows me is that it was sent to me. I’m not the handiest man out there. That’s being generous. I already described some of that in my initial conversation about the Tabernacle some days ago. So in today’s lesson, as we read from Exodus 31 about the two master craftsmen, Bezalel and Oholiab, I’m humbled again. I’m impressed that anyone knows anything about fixing just about anything. And these men know the lot!

We’ll talk about Sabbath also, which God seems to spend much time in Exodus addressing. 

And I will tell you what Yeshua was writing on the ground in John chapter 8. Let’s then plow into Exodus 31.

The chosen men for the job

Remember, we Jews are called “the chosen people.” That’s evident from Abraham in Genesis 12 and following. It’s typed in for us in Deuteronomy chapter 7 (.7-8). And sometimes we wonder about chosenness. Does that imply ‘betterness?’ Or does it make those of the nations around us, worse or to be 2^nd class?

Let’s consider that in light of the choice of these two men, Bezalel and Oholiab. By the way, because you are wondering, their names translate respectively into ‘God’s protecting shadow’ and ‘tent of father.’ The Bible says God chose them. He anointed them. Let’s read about them in the first few verses.

God says concerning Bezalel that God filled him with wisdom, discernment and knowledge. By stating all three, and listing the entirety of the products needing to be fashioned and woven and produced, God is being comprehensive. Nothing that has been listed the last 6 chapters is going to be picked up at the Sears. Someone named Bezalel is going to make it all! These three words of wisdom, discernment and knowledge may mean this. 

“Wisdom, the gift to understand what is needed to fulfill Yahweh’s instructions. Discernment, the talent for solving the inevitable problems involved in the creation of so complex a series of objects and materials, and skill, the experienced hand needed to guide and accomplish the labor itself.” (John Durham, Exodus commentary, Word Biblical Commentary series, 1987)

Now one of the things of note about being chosen is the co-selection of Oholiab. I want you to notice this particularly in verse 6.

God tells Moses, “Behold I myself have appointed with him Oholiab…and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you.”

The notion of being chosen is not an exclusive enterprise. It is a territory which widens every time we don’t imagine it. God’s selections are particular and constant. He chose Israel, yes, and watch out, He just might choose others as well. We get stuck in time; God is ever surprising us.

Here’s what I mean. Bezalel was chosen. Yes, this is obvious. And he was chosen on the basis of his own particular capacities and God’s continual choices. That could be the end of the story. Bezalel could write a book and sell videos about his being “Chosen by Yahweh.” But God widened the choice; he expanded the included group with Oholiab. Note the Hebrew, it’s emphatic. 

The repeating of the unnecessary “ani” (meaning: I) helps us understand Yahweh’s direct involvement. He even uses the word “hiney” meaning, don’t miss this. God personally involves himself and gives Oholiab. To whom is he giving this man? Of first importance is to Bezalel. Bezalel needs to receive this gift from God first. Oholiab is to be Bezalel’s offsider and that’s no little thing. No, could be the teaching, “Bezalel, you are not the only man on the planet who can accomplish this major project. No, Bezalel, you are not going to get glory from this work to which I’m calling you. You will be involved, yes, and very seriously, but the Tabernacle is mine, the presence is mine, the work is to be shared. You must admit your need of Oholiab and receive him and ‘all those others’.”

So it is as Jewish people, that we are chosen. We are not however to imagine ourselves as more significant or more relevant than the nations around us. We are not better. They are not worse!

And listen it was not only Bezalel and Oholiab was it? There were also ‘all who are skillful.’ To accomplish this project of the Mishkan, it would take the entire crew of God’s senior craftsmen and women. (35.24-29). 

One more thing on these chosen people. They were already skilled. God had chosen their careers if you will by giving them skill and wisdom. The newspapers today are filled with ideas on how to give your babies advantage. Even the Sydney Morning Herald reported

“Children of women who eat fish regularly during pregnancy develop better language and communication skills, research has revealed.  British and US researchers analysed the diets of 7400 prospective mothers before looking at the development of their offspring at 15 and 18 months. They found that by the age of 18 months those children whose mothers ate regular meals of fish had better language and social skills compared with those whose mothers did not eat it. “ (“Fishy formula to breed brainy babies”, Lyndsay Moss, London, June 26, 2004)

No matter how we advantage our children or our parents, it is still up the Almighty to fashion them that they might fashion the things to which they are called.

The chosen day for separation

Now we move to the 2^nd section of today’s lesson. That is the teaching again about the Sabbath. Now before 1) your guns get reloaded and you oppose whatever the Law teaches and quote Galatians or 2) you are glad that I am finally getting to such a serious topic which is your own hobby horse, let me say from the top-- Sabbath was made for man. Anything less than that, or in your eyes, more than that, is simply wrong. We are not made for Sabbath. We are designed and made for God. He gives us a day off to enjoy and to rest. No regular work; nothing about it should be regular. 

Let’s put that in perspective. We are learning about the Tabernacle. It is already a unique building. It has unique buttresses and unique craftsmen. It has particular oils and incense. Its furniture is so unusual it takes chapters to describe and much longer to fashion. It is elaborate. It was designed to teach us that nothing is ‘business as usual’ with the Almighty. 

So in light of that, what might the Sabbath mean? It is a day off. That’s the plain meaning of the text. Obviously this is not the first mention of Sabbath. In fact it’s the brackets around the giving of the Law. It’s mentioned in the Creation account. And in chapter 35 we will see it again. But it’s the framework around the Tabernacle instruction that makes it so significant. From chapter 20 in the Decalogue to this reference we see the teaching about the Mishkan. The Sabbath is the bracketing devise and as such is linked to the construction.

Some use this to mean that Sabbath is a time for worship and I don’t fault them, but I don’t see that anywhere in the Bible. Sabbath was designed for rest and refreshment from daily efforts.

44 times in the Older Testament we read the phrase (in variant forms) “mot, yumat” Dyingly die. Or in the more normal English this translates to “you shall surely die.” From Genesis 2 with the prohibition against eating from the wrong tree, to Satan’s taunting denial that Eve would not die (Gen 3), to the soul that sins in Ezekiel (33.14), the warnings are clear. Death is not escapable. They say the only two things that are inevitable are death and taxes, but some avoid taxation. No one escapes dying.

The warning here however is not about the inevitability of death as a permanent finality. That is a lesson, but not found here. What is found here is the warning of disobedience. If one Israelite disobeys and disregards the Sabbath, that person will die. And it sounds like an immediate justice will be meted to him.

“If even Yahweh stopped to catch his breath after six days of customary labor, so also should Israel. And in that stopping as Israel came to know Yahweh, Israel would come also to know themselves.” (op. cit., Durham)

The chosen day does not abrogate all the other days. The chosen day is designed to teach us about God and the chooser and the chosen activities and life He has for us.

Durham says that keeping the Sabbath then is a function of self-actualization. Or better said, if we take time with God and not our labors, then we will be refreshed and developed as people, to uniquely serve a unique God.

The writing of the Law: The finger of God

You know the fictional story of God going to the nations of the world and asking if they wanted a commandment. They each turned him down. First the Edomites and the Hittites, each one said in their own way, “no thanks.”

Then the Almighty approached Moses and said, “Would you like a commandment?” Moses replied, “How much are they?”  God said, “They are free.” Moses said, “I’ll take 10.”

OK, joke aside, the commandments of God are worth our attention.  They were written according to the last verse of our chapter by the finger of God (B’etzba Elohim)

Do you remember anything else the finger of God did in history? The magicians in Egypt said that the miracles done to them, the plagues, were ‘the finger of God’ (Ex 8.19) But I’m thinking of two other events. They are both in the Newer Testament.

Luke 11.20 is a quote of Yeshua. He said, “If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” His miracles and healing and deliverance of people were direct evidence of the same finger of God as was the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. 

Do you now remember the other event with Yeshua and his finger? That’s right. The woman caught in adultery was brought before him. (John chapter 8) When they threw her in front of him, Yeshua stooped on the ground to draw or write on the ground (8.6) God in Exodus wrote on stones; Jesus here writes on dirt; what did he write?

Many aver opinions, but I’m convinced that Yeshua was writing the sins of the people who accused the woman by writing commandments they broke. He might have been writing “Thou shalt not murder” or “Thou shalt not bear false witness” or “Thou shalt love thy neighbor” or any number of commandments that he found the men breaking that day. (All who forsake Thee will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down --Jeremiah 17.13) The Bible says that “one by one beginning with the older ones, they began to go out.” (v. 9) I like that. The older ones knew their sins and admitted them faster than the hot-headed younger ones. 

God’s finger wrote justice for the men and forgiveness for the woman that day.

God’s finger still writes God’s laws, in our days. He writes them on hearts of flesh. He writes them in the consciences of people who have hearts and ears to hear what His message is to humanity. I hope you are a person who wants to know God’s ordinances. I hope you want to know God personally. If so, then the commandment and the choice and the Sabbath and the love and the God of it all is available to you. And for you. And ultimately for Him and His glory.

 

Lessons learned

I believe we should see applications from our chapter today. 

1)    God’s wish for elaborate in His sanctuary are proper and still right for His people today

2)    Beauty and glory are worthy descriptions of the Almighty

3)    No man is an island and we need one another to work in God’s work

4)    Sabbath is given for man, not man for the Sabbath

5)    Take a day off and rest in God each week

 

Created to proclaim by Avi Snyder (Part 1)

 CREATED TO PROCLAIM

By Avi Snyder

 

Dedicated to Three of the Chosen

 

© Jews for Jesus 2007

 

 

Chosen

 

Mordecai and I had agreed to meet in order to “exchange our points of view.”  But both of us knew what we really meant by that phrase.  I wanted to tell him about my faith in Yeshua, and I hoped that he might come to believe in Him as well.  Mordecai wanted to tell me about the joys of living an orthodox Jewish life, and he hoped that I might come back “into the fold” of rabbinic Judaism.    So there we were.  Two young men in their early thirties (this was some time ago, mind you); each one intent on changing the other one’s mind.  Now, it was Mordecai’s turn to speak.

            “Avi, Avi, Avi,” he moaned.  His voice carried a sorrow that you’d expect to hear from a patriarch three times his actual age.  “I look at you, and I see such a tragedy.  You’re like a man who went searching for treasure.  But instead of looking in your own backyard, you decided to dig in the gentiles’ yards.  Whatever you think you’ve found, it can’t compare with the beauty of what you’ve left behind.”  He drew in a mournful breath, then let out a sigh.  “Come back, Avi.  You’re one of God’s chosen.  Come back.”

            Now it was my turn.  “Mordecai,” I began without trying to match his gravity.  “You’re right.  We’re chosen.  By why are we chosen?”

            It seemed like Mordecai’s profound sorrow suddenly evaporated into indifference, tinged perhaps with a little bit of annoyance at what I’d asked.  “Who knows why we’re chosen,” he shrugged.  “That’s Ha-Shem’s business.  It’s enough to know we’re chosen.  So come back.”

            I leaned a bit closer.  “Mordecai,” I said, grinning like a conspirator, “I know why we’re chosen…”

 

            There’s a good deal of talk these days, especially among Christians in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, about blessing Israel, and praying for Israel, and acknowledging that we Jews are still God’s chosen people.  The only problem is, too many believers have no real understanding of how to bless Israel, how to pray for Israel, and what it means when the Hebrew Scriptures call us chosen.

            When the scriptures speak of the nation of Israel as “chosen,” the word “chosen” does not mean that we Jews are individually and automatically “saved” from our sins.*  When God in the Hebrew Scriptures refers to us Jews as chosen, He’s referring to the fact that He selected us to serve a specific purpose and to carry out a particular task.  Throughout our history, our track record for fulfilling that task has been less than stellar.  But because of God’s grace and mercy, He has neither rejected the people He chose, nor has He reassigned the national task to somebody else.  We’re still chosen, and God is still waiting for us to do what He called us to do.  But what’s the task?  Why did God choose us?  What’s the call – in fact, the only call – that the people of Israel has ever received?  To put it a little more mundanely, what’s the job that God is waiting for us to do?  And how can the church – God’s “people” of individually saved persons from every nation, both Jews and gentiles – how can the church bless the chosen nation and pray so that the task is picked up and performed?

            Let me begin to answer these questions by taking you back to one of the most important moments in our national history as Jews – the moment when God clearly stated our call and revealed in a single phrase our entire reason for existing as a people.  Let me take you back to Sinai.

 

The Summation of our history in a single phrase

 

            You may know the context already, but let me “set the stage” a little bit, all the same.  In Exodus 19, we find my ancestors gathered at Mount Sinai, about to receive the Law. A few weeks before, God had brought us out of our bondage to Pharaoh with “a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.”  He had poured out His plagues upon Egypt.  He had brought us through the Red Sea on dry ground while burying our pursuers in the waves.  Now, we camped before Mt. Sinai while Moses ascended the mountain to receive further instructions from the Lord.  It was there that God told Moses...

 

 “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:  ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.  Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” (Exodus 19:4-6)

 

            With the phrase, “kingdom of priests,” God communicated nothing less than the specific reason for our national existence.  But in order to understand what God was telling us, we need to understand what that central phrase means.  So, who were the priests, and what did they do?

In the ancient world, priests essentially performed two types of tasks.  They instructed people about God, and they interceded for people before God.  To put it another way, the priests talked to the people about God, and they talked to God about the people.  Now, if the entire nation of Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests, then we have to ask ourselves a question:  What other people were we supposed to instruct, and for what other people were we supposed to intercede?  Well, who’s left?  The rest of the nations of the earth.  Simply put, the call to be a kingdom of priests amounted to nothing less than a call to missionary service.  God so loved the world, that He called a particular people to inform the nations about the Lord, and to intercede before the Lord on the nations’ behalf.  At Sinai, we received more than the Law of Moses; we received a missionary mandate, rooted in God’s passion for the nations and grounded in His desire to see His revelation go out to all the families of the earth.

            God planned to establish a kingdom of priests -- a nation of instructors and intercessors, messengers and mediators -- so that the rest of the nations might learn Who He is and come to worship at His feet.  He created us to proclaim His love to the nations.  He called us to be witnesses to the world.  This mandate to be a community of witnesses runs through our entire history, beginning as far back as the call of Abram.  For…

(stay tuned....MUCH more to come tomorrow)

Is tribalism the same as chosenpeopleism?

Elizabeth Farrelly wrote a striking piece (full article below) with this theme in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald. In the article she cites everyone's right to be offended, not to be free from offense. Check. In light of the Charlie Hebdo and kosher deli murders, sparked by a cartoon and freedom of expression, and some Islamic fundamentalists who were offended. I liked what Ms Farrelly said, until she turned a corner and made the assumption that anything tribalist is the same as what she coined as chosenpeopleism. That's a term I have never heard, but I get it. Although I don't agree with her.

Ms Farrelly invites response with this line: " But before I go, let me say this: criticism is not bullying. Dissent is not coercion. Disagreement is not hate. In fact, these things are much closer to love." So, let me explain why I disagree.

She defines tribalism here: "But there is common ground, namely, the idea that the world would be better if everyone behaved (believed, thought and spoke) just like us. This is tribalism."

She does not define chosenpeopleism, but uses it near the end of the article and makes it the same as tribalism: "But segregating children on religious grounds inculcates Chosen People Syndrome from birth. Be it Wahhabist, Jewish or Anglican, in Saudi, Paris or Bronte, chosenpeopleism makes war, not peace. This is not God's doing, though religions lend themselves to tribalism. Chosenpeopleism is practised by the excluders (American torture) and the excludees; by races, nations, creeds, professions and mafiosi. It's human."

Actually that a people (The Jewish People) are the "chosen people" is exactly God's doing. That's what the Book of Books says, "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. " (recorded in Deuteronomy 7.7-8)

The author of Deuteronomy, Moses, is telling the Jewish people that even though we are fairly insignificant numerically, that God is faithful to His promises and chose us to represent Him on the planet. That gives us significance, but it doesn't give us a right to hate others or, what did Ms Farrelly say, "American torture" and "make war."

God tells us in no uncertain terms, “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt." (Exodus 23.9)

Being chosen doesn't give us the right to taunt the unchosen. In fact, if I read the Book right, we have an obligation to be a "light to the nations" and Psalm 67 urges the nations around us to join in the anthems of honor to God, with "Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You." (verses 3, and 5) It's incumbent on the chosen people to bring in others, to (in modern terms) evangelize and welcome (Farrelly's term) excludees into the commonwealth of Israel. Evangelism is not coercion.

I watched a video from 2012 today. The youtube is here: Muslims offended There was some editing obviously but mostly fair reporting of a conversation after a protest in the streets of Sydney went violent due to the offense of some about Islam. Watch it if you have time (about half an hour), and see if offense is cause for violence or retribution or anger or... That said, I really like Ms Farrelly's summary of being PC, "In failing to draw these distinctions, in banning even the public recognition of difference, political correctness drives truth underground. This is ugly and boring. It's also dangerous."

This is a good topic to discuss and to parse. Where do you stand?




_____________________________________
The full article is here:
Farrelly
Let's be clear. You do not have a right not to be offended. On the contrary I, and you, have a right to offend. Indeed, freedom to offend is a right fundamental to democracy.

In this, much as it pains me, I endorse Tony Abbott's view from 2012. The "hurt-feelings test", argued then opposition leader Abbott, is incompatible with free expression. "If free speech is to mean anything," Abbott said, "it's others' right to say what you don't like ... It's the freedom to be obnoxious and objectionable."


Pope Francis is wrong to say "you cannot make fun of the faith of others". We can, and it must be allowed.

None of us wants to hear it. We all have our inner fascist. Overheard recently in the women's loo at Bronte rockpool, two blondes, clearly locals, having a whinge about their fellow swimmers. They didn't like the fast, thrashy guys, the lane nazis. They didn't like the slow, lumbering whales. They resented breaststrokers and backstrokers, and expressed contempt for both the side-pool walkers and the "teabags" who bob and steep at pool-end. Indeed, it seemed, they didn't really welcome anyone who did things differently from themselves.

It was the same day as the first public flogging of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, sentenced to 10 years and 1000 lashes for "insulting Islam" – viz., attempting public political discourse in a regime that criminalises dissent.

Obviously, the blondes weren't Wahhabis. They'd have been wearing way more clothes. But there is common ground, namely, the idea that the world would be better if everyone behaved (believed, thought and spoke) just like us. This is tribalism.

Of course, few Australians would own such a belief. We support diversity, plurality, multiculture. But that's not how we behave. The increasing polarisation of our public discourse suggests tribal creep - from religion, from sport. It makes criticism something we fear and resist.

Almost every week I am accused of "bullying" and "hate".  I criticise cyclists, I'm called a cycle-phobe, a bully. I suggest women empathise more easily than men, I'm accused of misandry; man-hate.

Of course it's ridiculous. The trollosphere has the collective IQ of a potted daisy. Yet this constant attrition has its effect, asphyxiating debate, making critics like me yearn to farm organic goats in the Western Desert. But before I go, let me say this: criticism is not bullying. Dissent is not coercion. Disagreement is not hate. In fact, these things are much closer to love.

Criticism manifests a belief that things could be better, and a desire to move in that direction. Criticism may not feel positive to the recipient. It may cause offence. That's irrelevant. What's important is that criticism's right to exist is imperative for our collective well-being.

Curiously, criticism is inhibited both by totalitarianism and by its putative opposite. In the wake of Charlie Hebdo, commentators have noted the strange disjunct between the West's fierce defence of free speech and the mealy mouthed, self-imposed gag of political correctness.

Our schoolchildren are taught not to bully, and not to be racist. That's good. But they're also taught that equality requires every competitor to get a prize, that harmony implies universal consensus and that fairness makes one person's offence another's blame. What they're not taught is how to parse this well-meant mind mash.

So kids insist it's racist to describe someone as Chinese or black. They say it's homophobic to make a joke involving lesbians. This failure to recognise the neutrality of descriptors misdefines prejudice and demarks entire swaths of discourse as no-go zones.
Prejudice defines as discrimination based on criteria that do not properly pertain; criteria that are, literally, impertinent. This implies an element of untruth. It's not racist to say, "I need 10 black people for this film", but it is racist to say, "only black people can act".
In failing to draw these distinctions, in banning even the public recognition of difference, political correctness drives truth underground. This is ugly and boring. It's also dangerous.

We were rightly horrified at the Hebdo massacres, and at recent footage of Saudis publicly beheading Laila Bassim in a Mecca street. But it's not so long since Catholics and Protestants were burning each other with full legal approbation in the streets of London.
That wasn't religion. It was tribalism. What lifted us from the bloody morass was reason; the age of reason, separation of church and state, the Enlightenment. Of course it was flawed, and of course the process is ongoing. But two supremely important principles emerged. One, that public discussion should be as free as possible without causing harm to others. Two, that the best antidote to murderous tribalism was universalism – of law, of reason, of education.

Thus, we have a "right" to free speech, constrained by libel laws, hate-speech laws and, in many European countries, laws against Holocaust denial.

We should note here that "hate speech" is not simply expressing hatred. Hate speech, for legal purposes, is a call to action; a public incitement against an individual or group. (NSW law specifically exempts debate that has genuine scholarly, academic or artistic intent.)

I think these limits (unlike Pope Francis') reasonable. (I'd also happily ban denials of the Australian genocide, such as Andrew Bolt's recent effort, and possibly of climate change – presuming that same exception for genuine debate - which has more catastrophic potential still.)

On tribalism we're more conflicted. Easily the best counter to tribalism would be to ban religious schools. Not religion. That's fine. But segregating children on religious grounds inculcates Chosen People Syndrome from birth. Be it Wahhabist, Jewish or Anglican, in Saudi, Paris or Bronte, chosenpeopleism makes war, not peace.

This is not God's doing, though religions lend themselves to tribalism. Chosenpeopleism is practised by the excluders (American torture) and the excludees; by races, nations, creeds, professions and mafiosi. It's human.

Pope Francis got it wrong. But another Pope, Alexander, points to enlightenment on this: "Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; the proper study of mankind is man."
Twitter: @emfarrelly

St Paul and the Jews: A study on Romans 11

St Paul, a photo by bobmendo on Flickr.

This message given today at Rivers of Life church in Singapore. A study on Paul the apostle and his teaching about Jewish people, from Romans chapter 11.

"Shalom friends at Rivers of Life Church.

I’m privileged to speak with you again today and to be part of your family of faith. I was with you 18 months ago and you were generous to me and financially supportive of our work among the Jewish people. I don’t take that lightly and appreciate your belief in the Gospel of Jesus going to all people, including the ancient people of the Covenants. As I share with you this morning, about a very problematic biblical passage, and see what God has to say about Israel from Romans chapter 11, perhaps this will clarify some theological sticking points and may give you cause to rejoice, or so I hope, that God is ever looking after us, ever challenging us, ever calling us to Himself. I believe as a result of this sermon today that you will trust God all the more, and isn’t faith what it’s all about?
By the way, you have received a white card this morning from Jews for Jesus, and I hope that while I’m speaking you will fill that out and turn it in at the book table or in an offering to us, and we can continue to send you (or begin sending you) our newsletter which we prefer sending to you via email. Thanks.

Preamble: Romans 9-10
To put this in context, Paul the Apostle is teaching the Roman church in his letter to the Romans about God’s Sovereignty and about His choices, so that the believers can be comforted, when challenged by their own lack, their own insufficiency, their own sinfulness. In light of all that, and the assurance that Paul wants for the Roman believers, the Apostle then turns his attention on the obvious question, ‘What about the Jewish people?’ If God chooses the believers, and they have nothing to worry about, what about the Jewish people, who were also chosen by God. Are they still in God’s consideration? Does He notice them?
And what about Jews who don’t believe in anything at all? Are they still chosen? And what about an eternal plan for them and for Israel?

Paul deals with the problem of Israel from two standpoints. In chapter 9 he teaches the sovereignty of God; how God chose my people for himself back in Abraham’s day. In chapter 10 he deals with Israel’s failure to respond to God’s righteousness, ending with the announcement that they are “a disobedient and obstinate people” (10:21). Ouch.

If this were so, then how does Paul resolve the obvious tension? Will Israel’s disobedience win in the battle with God, or will God find a way to deal with the situation so as to safeguard his purpose? This is where chapter 11 comes in. Paul will answer this by looking into Israel’s past, present, and future, which actually brings us into today’s message and our world today in a clear and visible manner.


I. HAS GOD REJECTED HIS PEOPLE? (1-10)

a. Paul is the example today

Paul’s answer is no, and he uses his own life as evidence of this. God is not done with the Jewish people because God saved Paul. If God were done with Jews, then Paul, a Hebrew of the Hebrews would be dismissed and not saved either. So in answer to the question, did God reject all the Jewish people, the apostolic answer is NO!

b. Elijah is the example back in the day

Then Paul continues with the evidence from back when. Against the backdrop of serious whinging by the prophet Elijah, the Bible (1 Kings 19) says that there were 7,000 people who stayed faithful, at the time of Elijah the prophet. In the same way, God has preserved from within Israel, a remnant of people who love Jesus. Some get this mixed up, and think the term remnant applies to the Church, that is, that the Church of Jesus has replaced the Jewish people. But that’s exactly not what the apostle is saying. The evidence of God not rejecting the Jewish people is Jewish people in the Church. So the remnant is the believing Jews, or what we call Jews for Jesus. That the church believes, well and good, but that’s not a fulfillment of the promises of God to Abraham. See what I mean? (Online folks, Paul may have been thinking of
Psalm 94.14

c. There is a remnant (5-10)

Then Paul asks, since Jewish people are mostly rejecters of the Messiah Jesus, have they fallen too far? Did their rejection of the Messiahship of Jesus cause them to fall irreparably? Absolutely not, he shouts. He quotes from Isaiah 44 (They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. Verse 18) and Psalm 69 (May their table before them become a snare; and when they are in peace, may it become a trap. May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, and make their loins shake continually. Verses 22-23) He says that the majority of Israel’s rejection of her messiah was predicted and it should not surprise us. God uses parables to prevent hearing and He uses the Truth of Scripture to hide truth from those who are hardened against it. So that most Jewish people then (and dare I say, today) continue in unbelief is actually a testimony of God to choose a remnant.

II. GENTILES GET IN ON IT (11-24)

Then in verse 11 and following Paul says that God’s purposes for you Gentiles were helped along by most of Israel saying ‘no’ to the Gospel message. Without Israel knocking back Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah, Gentiles would never have had a chance to hear and believe. You are welcome.

a. Chosen by grace

He has already made a case for the choice of the remnant being made on the basis of grace and not by works. And now he emphasizes that yet again. (5-6) And he makes sure that the Gentiles who are not the remnant, and yet brought near, understand that they are also ‘in by grace.’ He uses two images, one of the lump of dough and the other of wild olive branches.
Verse 21 makes his point so clear, “for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you.”

“For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience.” (Verse 30)

b. Gentiles have a ministry to make Jews jealous

Paul says the Gentiles in the community of faith, nicknamed the Church, have a role to play and that’s to make Israel jealous. Listen, your new car won’t make a Jew jealous. He already has two in his garage. Your money and glamour are irrelevant to a person with more wealth. They know science. They lead the way in technology and movies. There is one thing the Gentile believer in Jesus has that would make the ordinary Jew jealous… your faith. You have a relationship with the Almighty. You know the Living God. (John 17.2) And that, and that alone is what I hope you share with Jewish mates and work colleagues. When you see them and they are in turmoil, offer to pray with or for them. Attend to their home when they have lost a loved one. Sit with them. Comfort them. Demonstrate the peace of God, which passes all understanding. When you can attend their son’s Bar Mitzvah or wedding, let them see your calm and your patience. Let them know you know the God of peace. That will help make them jealous!

c. Don’t be conceited but fear

In verse 18 we read that Gentiles should “not be arrogant toward the branches.” I guess that would be a natural thing to do. You might think, “aha, those Jews had their chance, and they knocked back the Messiah Jesus, so now it’s my turn.” In a way you are right, but the attitude of arrogance will come back to bite us if you are not careful.

One of my favorite and least favorite verses in the Bible is verse 22. “Behold therefore the Kindness and severity of God.” The two poles of His hands, or if you will, the two hands of God. The right hand is the hand of mercy; the left is the hand of judgment. He is not a one-handed deity. He offers mercy in His first coming; judgment in His 2nd coming. The warning: don’t be conceited but fear.

III. THEN IT’S THE JEWISH FULLNESS TIME AGAIN (25-32)

a. What time is it? Jews en masse coming to faith

The apostle says that this hardening condition on the Jewish people is temporary. That’s good news for the Jews. We read, “a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (.25) so there also seems to be a time frame which ends for Gentiles. Whatever fullness might mean, it’s clear that whatever that is, that this fullness will trigger the end of the time of the hardening. In other words, Jewish people will soften again to the Gospel of Grace and will receive Yeshua en masse.
But Paul has already indicated that in the key passage earlier in verse 15: “For if their rejection be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?”

Let me see if I can unpack that one. Paul says that it was necessary for Jewish people to say ‘no’ to Yeshua so that Gentiles could have opportunity to experience eternal life. But then God will open our eyes, remove the stupor from our blindness, and cause us to see Him, whom we had pierced, and we will accept Him. That’s not only a theory; that’s a promise from heaven. And when that happens, Paul says, buckle your seatbelt, the end is nigh. The phrase, “resurrection from the dead” implies that very culmination of global history.

b. Redeemer comes to Zion: (Isa 59:20-21)
When Jewish people en masse receive Jesus as Saviour and Lord, when Jews for Jesus are abundant throughout the world in cities and countryside alike, when every tribe and kindred and family and tongue includes Jewish people who have become believers in and followers of Jesus, then buckle your seatbelt. The end is near. That’s when the Redeemer will come (in verse 26) In fact, people ask me all the time about signs of the times. About blue moons and about earthquakes and famines and about Israel becoming a nation again after 1900 years away. Look, there’s one sign that is clearer than any other sign in the Newer Testament. That sign is the sign of Jewish people saying ‘yes’ to Yeshua and that’s exactly what is happening across the world today. In the 19th century, over 200,000 Jews joined the church. Since 1967 another 200,000 have been grafted back into the olive branch. To be fair, there are 13 million Jews worldwide and 6 million of those in the Land of Israel, so there is much work to do, and we are doing that work, but a significant threshold of Jewish numbers has been reached. Is it enough? I’m not going to announce anything except that the sign is visible. Reach for your seat belt; the end is near.


c. Who is “All Israel?” (v. 26)
Verse 26 is a sticky one. Paul writes, “All Israel will be saved.” So who is “all Israel?” Some say this is the Church. Although I appreciate that the church is certainly saved and will be saved, the text in front of us doesn’t allow us to switch from Jews to something else without warrant. The apostle has been speaking for 3 chapters about Jewish people and to be consistent he must be continuing to do so. Thus, the Church is not in view.

Nor is this all Jewish people alive throughout history or even at the time of Messiah’s return. That would mitigate against evangelism and would take away free choice… both of which are inconsistent with biblical history. Being Jewish has never been enough to save us; it’s merely a calling and a dramatic one at that, but it was never salvific.

The key is again the use of the term ‘remnant.’ A remnant of carpet is part of the original that is still in place after the rest of the carpet has been dislodged and replaced. When I think of this imagery, there is only one meaning for the remnant and that’s Jewish believers in Jesus. In that way, with God being faithful to the remnant, He is faithful to the original covenant and faithful to His promises, all the while still consistent with His call to include others in the ‘new carpet.’

When you read about the remnant (Isa 28.5), think of Jewish believers in Jesus like me, like Jews for Jesus, like others in Israel or New York City. And know that God keeps His promises.

IV. FINAL DOXOLOGY
Verse 33: “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” When you see God’s hand, can you do anything else? Praise and doxology, that’s what should come out of our being. He is the God of wonders and He has called and kept Israel, even in our times of disobedience. He will call us again, and maybe now is that time. And He has reserved 7,000 in the time of Elijah, and 100,000 in these days, and how many more are yet unknown to you and to me. He is the God who calls, keeps and saves to the uttermost. All we can do is praise Him. He is worthy of all praise, amen?

Final thoughts:
Let me end my talk this morning highlighting the work of Jews for Jesus in a couple places. I was in New York City a fortnight ago and our teams there handed out over a quarter million gospel tracts and over 100 unsaved Jewish people gave us contact information, wanting to hear more from us about Yeshua. That’s awesome.
We have teams in Berlin and Budapest just now preparing for something very similar and in Moscow in September to do the same. Also in Israel in the very dangerous south, our teams are preparing to minister on the streets and on buses and radio and anywhere we can during the month of October. I’m so proud of our volunteers and staff worldwide. I’m humbled to be part of our outreaches, even in Sydney where I’ve lived for 15 years. Your support keeps us out there. Your prayers strengthen us and don’t miss this; they open the hearts of Jewish people to hear us. Thanks for being part of our teams. Every Jew who hears us owes you great thanks as well. "