The apostle Paul was directed to begin this chapter with the declaration that he was telling the truth. Truth is always important. Today is marked on our calendars as a day to honour paganism. There have been advertisements prior to this day to try to get people excited about buying chocolates and other things for someone for this day.
I remember as a young boy being involved in the festivities of this day. There was no teaching that it was a day that celebrated paganism. It certainly has nothing to do with the love of God. It is all about sensual attractions. As is common with other pagan events, “Christians” have asked God to sanctify their efforts to make this day a day they can use to glorify Him. We can and must glorify God every day. We do not do that by acknowledging and participating in a pagan event. We do so by teaching the truth and rejecting the paganism that is dominant in our society.
In our text, the apostle Paul was directed by God to address the nation of Israel. God had blessed them, but they had not appreciated His blessings. They had adopted the paganism that was all around them and had eventually been sent into exile. They are still struggling now due to their rejection of God.
This week Israel did something that she was forbidden to do by the U.S. and a few other power brokers. These countries told Mr. Netanyahu not to invade Rafah. Rafah is reported to be one of the last strongholds of Hamas. South Africa, which already took Israel to court for genocide, is trying to get the International Court to stop Israel from moving any further into Rafah.
The good news is that Prime Minister Netanyahu did not listen to the U.S. and the other nations that were telling him not to invade Rafah. The result was that two Israeli hostages were released by Israeli soldiers by following the intelligence they had received.
Israel is not a God-fearing nation at this time. They have blood on their hands, not necessarily for the invasions into Gaza and Lebanon, but rather for their wickedness in their own country. God is dealing with them and they will suffer more deaths and unrest due to their rebellion against the true God. God is also showing the world that He is still in charge and He will continue to prove His might and His wisdom. We have mentioned before that it is important for God’s people to keep a close watch on what is happening in the Middle East. Things are heating up there. It is not “climate change” that is the problem. It is the hatred of God that is the problem.
In our text, God directed the apostle Paul to continue to speak to the sins of Israel and also of his love for his own people. The apostle Paul was saved and told to be the apostle to the Gentiles. As we follow his life after his conversion, we find that he began his ministry reaching out to the Jews. In Acts 13:46 we read that the apostle Paul turned his focus to the Gentiles. He needed to obey God’s call for his ministry. God wants Jews to be saved. He also wants Gentiles to be saved.
In our text, God directed Paul to write about his desire to see Jews saved. It was a good thing for Paul to want to see his own people saved. It was also the right thing for him to follow God’s leading for his life.
Paul began this chapter by sharing what lay heavy upon his heart and conscience. He could not lie about what his desire was. God did not stop him from expressing his desire publicly for all to read. Paul’s desire was not sinful. God was more interested in seeing Jews saved than Paul was. However, God had a plan for Paul and he needed to follow that.
In verse 2 Paul stated that he had a heaviness in his heart for his people. He knew they were going the wrong way. There were Jews who had already been saved since the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were also many more who still had a hatred for God and for Jesus Christ. The Judaizers were busy trying to stop anyone from preaching Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul knew Jesus Christ as the only Saviour. He had not always agreed to that. He had been an obedient Pharisee himself. He had been busy trying to stop the people of “this Way” from preaching the truth. However, God is bigger than those who hate Him. God showed that there are consequences to fighting against Him.
God was merciful to Paul (Saul), and stopped him as he travelled to Damascus to arrest and imprison true saints. Saul gave up his fight and he turned to God in repentance and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation.
He was a changed man and now he had a genuine love for both Jews and Gentiles. As we mentioned, he needed to prepare for the ministry God had called him to and that was to be the apostle to the Gentiles.
Paul was no longer a rebel, and he obeyed God’s call for him. In the midst of that call, he desired to see Jews saved. In verse 3 Paul stated that he would readily be a substitute for his nation, if that were possible. Of course that is not possible. Each person must choose for themselves if they will believe the truth or not. Those who are saved need to be faithful to God and make His name known to all that God leads them to.
In verse 4 we see that there were Israelites who were Jews in the flesh, who should have been saved. They had been personally chosen by God through Abraham. They were his physical descendants. They had witnessed great blessings from God in the past. They had been given the covenants. They had been given the law. They had been given priests who were to teach the people the truth and to bring their offerings and sacrifices before the Holy God. God had given many promises to the Jews.
The fathers, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, and many others had been blessed in the past. Jesus Christ came from the lineage of Abraham and David. Jesus Christ was made flesh through a special work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Mary. God had promised Abraham that through his seed all the nations would be blessed. David was also promised an eternal throne. Mary came through both Abraham and David.
God has blessed the nation of Israel in bringing Jesus Christ, “who is over all, God blessed for ever,” through their nation.
Yet Israel had squandered the blessings of God. They had despised the opportunities granted to them. Paul understood this. Knowing this did not diminish his love for his own people. Paul also knew that God still loved the nation of Israel. As we noted in the beginning of this devotional, God is still working in the land of Israel and He is also still working on the hearts of the people of Israel. Many have squandered the opportunities granted to them.
We, as Gentiles, need to pay attention to what God gave Israel, and what has happened to her because she has rejected Him. God has also given many opportunities to every Gentile that is born into this world. The sad reality is that most Gentiles also choose to reject God and they would rather mock and scoff at Him, than to know Him.
As we look at the suffering that Israel has faced and is facing, we need to understand that Israel is not “too big to fall.” In our world, we sometimes observe that a certain company may become too big to fall. The banks will take huge risks on certain businesses in the hope they will eventually succeed. The banks do not like to lose money. They do not want to get their shareholders angry. They need them.
God made a promise to Abraham, and He keeps His Word. We see there are two aspects to Israel. There is the Israel of the flesh and there is the spiritual Israel.
In the Old Testament God gave Israel laws as to how to accept a stranger into the nation of Israel. It was not impossible for a Gentile to be able to become a Jew. There were Gentiles that became like the Jews in the flesh. There were also some that became Israelites in the spiritual sense. Ruth was a Gentile who became part of the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God wants us to understand His workings. He does not play favourites. He is fair with all people. The Jews had a special place, but as we can see, if they do not want to know God it will hurt them. It is important to know the true God and follow Him.
Pastor Bartel