April 2, 2025 • 11 mins
Many are wondering what's going on with Israel. What is God's plan, and is God finished with Israel? The Bible clearly tells us God's plan for Israel and the world. Listen to find the answer.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi, I'm Mark, and thank you for joining me today
on Words of Truth, where I attempt to share God's
word in a simple and precise way so that we
can grow in our faith and understand God's instructions to us.
You know, Israel and the entire Middle East are constantly
in the news today with the wars and rumors of
(00:22):
wars happening there, and people find themselves on both sides
of the events, which is understandable, some being pro Israel,
others being pro Palestinian, and a lot of people don't
know what to think about what's going on. Well, I'm
not going to enter into the political arena in this
(00:42):
podcast today, and I'm not even going to pretend that
I understand all the elements involved in what is happening
in the Middle East. But I know one who does.
It's God himself. Well, there are a lot of people
asking the question, He's God finished with Israel. That's a
(01:04):
question that has been asked and talked about for well decades,
and in theological circles you find people on both sides
of the issues. Some people feel that God has abandoned
Israel in favor of the Church. They'll say that because
of their disobedience, God has rejected them. But I think
(01:26):
we find the answer to those questions plainly laid out
for us in the Book of Romans, chapter eleven. And
I think the answer to whether God has finished with
Israel or not as a resounding no. In fact, if
we're going to see that God hasn't finished with Israel yet,
and that his promises to them remain, and his plan
(01:49):
for them continues, and his mercy is unfailing. As we
read in verse is one to six of Romans chapter eleven,
we see God's faithfulness to Israel. The apostle Paul begins
his teaching by asking in verse one, has God rejected
(02:12):
his people? Well, that's the question that we're talking about today,
isn't it. And he immediately answers that by saying, by
no means you see, as a Jewish man himself, Paul
is saying that God has always preserved a faithful remnant.
He goes on to give an illustration of that in
(02:33):
verse two when he talks about the days of the
prophet Elijah. Let me just read those verses for you.
If you don't have your Bible in front of you,
do you not know that the Scripture says of Elijah,
how he appeals to God against Israel. Lord, they have
killed your prophets, Elijah said, they have demolished your altars,
(02:54):
and I alone am left, and they seek my life.
Elijah thought he was all alone. But what is God's
reply to him? Paul says, I've kept for myself seven
thousand men who have not bowed their knee to the bail.
So too, at the present time, there's a remnant chosen
(03:19):
by grace. Now those are the words of scripture. You see,
despite the wide spread idolatry during Elijah's day, God has
preserved a remnant. And Paul said, so too, at the
present time, there's a remnant. And this tells us that
God is faithful even when his people are not. Why
(03:42):
because his promises aren't based on human performance, but on
his unchanging character. And so when we feel distance from God, well,
it's not God who's moved. And we can be comforted
in knowing that that God's grace is still at work
(04:03):
and it is with Israel today. Well, you might ask, well,
what about the Church? Has God replaced Israel with the Church?
And by the way, that kind of thinking is actually
called a replacement theology. And there are a lot of
people with theologians, I should say, who say that the
Church has replaced Israel and taken on all of the
(04:25):
blessings that God gave to them. But what does scriptures
say and what does the apostle Paul say in Romans
chapter eleven, well, in verses seven to twenty four, Paul
goes on to give an extensive explanation. And I don't
(04:46):
have time to read all those verses. I hope you will,
but let me just tell you what Paul says. He
explains that Israel's rejection of Christ has led to the
Gospel being spread to the Gentiles, onto non on Jewish
people like me, maybe you. And he says that this
isn't a permanent rejection, but it's a temporary hardening, which
(05:11):
is a part of God's greater plant. You see, the
salvation of the Gentiles is meant to provoke Israel to
jealousy so that they will turn back to God. And
that's what Paul says in verse eleven. And so I
ask did they stumble in order that they might fall?
By no means? Rather through their trespass, salvation has come
(05:34):
to the Gentiles so as to make Israel jealous. And
then he uses the analogy of an olive tree in
verses seventeen to twenty four, and he talks about how
some of the branches, which are unbelieving Jews were broken off,
and this some wild branches, which are the Gentiles. They're
(05:55):
grafted in. Now the tree hasn't been eliminated, but now
there's a new branch of a different kind. Now I've
actually seen where you can take a tree that bears
a certain kind of fruit, and you can graft in
a branch from a tree that bears a different kind
of fruit, and now that tree will produce two different
(06:18):
kinds of fruit. That's kind of what's happening here now.
Paul goes on to warn us gentiles not to become arrogant.
He says in verse eighteen, do not be arrogant toward
the branches. If you are, remember it is not you
who support the root, but the root that supports you.
(06:38):
You see, we as gentiles need to remember that our
salvation is because of the Jews, and we shouldn't take
that for granted. We need to be humble before God,
because if God's mercy has reached us, it's not because
we're better, but it's entirely because of God's grace. And
so instead of boasting, we should pray for Israel to
(07:00):
come to faith in Jesus Christ. And then Paul goes
on to talk about the future restoration of Israel and
verses twenty five to thirty six, and he says, in
verses twenty five and twenty six, a partial hardening has
come upon Israel until the fullness of the gentiles has
come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.
(07:24):
In other words, even though Israel has rejected Christ for now,
God has a future plan for restoration for them. Notice
that he says it's a partial hardening, which means that
it's temporary. One day they're going to realize their blindness.
(07:45):
And I believe this is talking about a future national
turning of Israel back to Christ. But he says this
blindness will continue until the fullness of the gentiles has
come in. Now none of us know what that number is.
This literally means as many as will believe, or the
(08:05):
complete number. And so in the mind of God, apparently
there's a number that has been set for Gentiles to
turn to Christ. And when that number is reached, then
Jewish people will have their minds open to receiving Christ.
Now I don't know what that does for you, but
as for me, that means I need to do my
part in sharing the Gospel with as many people as
(08:27):
I can, because in the mystery of God's mind, there
seems to be a number of gentiles that need to
be saved before the eyes of the Jews will be opened.
God has called each one of us to be an
ambassador of the good news sent into the world with
the Gospel. Let's not be shy in sharing Christ with others,
(08:49):
because God isn't finished with his work yet. Now. Paul
ends this chapter in awe of God's wisdom and sovereignty
declaim in verses thirty four to thirty six. For who
has known the mind of the Lord, or who has
been his counselor, or who has given a gift to
(09:11):
him that he might be repaid for From him and
through him and to him, are all things to him
be glory forever Amen. Verse thirty four is taken from
Isaiah chapter forty, verse thirteen and Job chapter forty one
and verse eleven, emphasizing God's wisdom and sovereign conduct in everything.
(09:34):
You see, God's plan for Israel and the world is
unfolding in his perfect timing. And so here's the bottom line.
We need to trust in the faithfulness of God. If
God hasn't abandoned Israel, He's not going to abandon us either.
His promises are sure. And secondly, we need to avoid
(09:57):
arrogance as gentiles. You see, salvation is by grace alone,
and we should have never looked down on others, but
instead we should seek their salvation. And then thirdly, we
need to pray for Israel. The Apostle longed for his
people to be saved, and so should we. So let's
(10:18):
pray that they'll turn to Jesus. And then finally, we
need to stand in awe of God's plan for this world.
His wisdom is beyond our understanding, but we can trust
in his perfect plan. God is absolutely not finished with
Israel and Romans Chapter eleven clearly shows us that God's
(10:41):
covenant with Israel still stands and his plan includes their
future restoration. As we witness God's unfolding story, may we
grow in faith, humility, and a heart for all people
to know Christ. Well. Thanks for listening and I hope
(11:02):
this helps. I'll see you next time.
Hi, I'm Mark, and thank you for joining me today
on Words of Truth, where I attempt to share God's
word in a simple and precise way so that we
can grow in our faith and understand God's instructions to us.
You know, Israel and the entire Middle East are constantly
in the news today with the wars and rumors of
(00:22):
wars happening there, and people find themselves on both sides
of the events, which is understandable, some being pro Israel,
others being pro Palestinian, and a lot of people don't
know what to think about what's going on. Well, I'm
not going to enter into the political arena in this
(00:42):
podcast today, and I'm not even going to pretend that
I understand all the elements involved in what is happening
in the Middle East. But I know one who does.
It's God himself. Well, there are a lot of people
asking the question, He's God finished with Israel. That's a
(01:04):
question that has been asked and talked about for well decades,
and in theological circles you find people on both sides
of the issues. Some people feel that God has abandoned
Israel in favor of the Church. They'll say that because
of their disobedience, God has rejected them. But I think
(01:26):
we find the answer to those questions plainly laid out
for us in the Book of Romans, chapter eleven. And
I think the answer to whether God has finished with
Israel or not as a resounding no. In fact, if
we're going to see that God hasn't finished with Israel yet,
and that his promises to them remain, and his plan
(01:49):
for them continues, and his mercy is unfailing. As we
read in verse is one to six of Romans chapter eleven,
we see God's faithfulness to Israel. The apostle Paul begins
his teaching by asking in verse one, has God rejected
(02:12):
his people? Well, that's the question that we're talking about today,
isn't it. And he immediately answers that by saying, by
no means you see, as a Jewish man himself, Paul
is saying that God has always preserved a faithful remnant.
He goes on to give an illustration of that in
(02:33):
verse two when he talks about the days of the
prophet Elijah. Let me just read those verses for you.
If you don't have your Bible in front of you,
do you not know that the Scripture says of Elijah,
how he appeals to God against Israel. Lord, they have
killed your prophets, Elijah said, they have demolished your altars,
(02:54):
and I alone am left, and they seek my life.
Elijah thought he was all alone. But what is God's
reply to him? Paul says, I've kept for myself seven
thousand men who have not bowed their knee to the bail.
So too, at the present time, there's a remnant chosen
(03:19):
by grace. Now those are the words of scripture. You see,
despite the wide spread idolatry during Elijah's day, God has
preserved a remnant. And Paul said, so too, at the
present time, there's a remnant. And this tells us that
God is faithful even when his people are not. Why
(03:42):
because his promises aren't based on human performance, but on
his unchanging character. And so when we feel distance from God, well,
it's not God who's moved. And we can be comforted
in knowing that that God's grace is still at work
(04:03):
and it is with Israel today. Well, you might ask, well,
what about the Church? Has God replaced Israel with the Church?
And by the way, that kind of thinking is actually
called a replacement theology. And there are a lot of
people with theologians, I should say, who say that the
Church has replaced Israel and taken on all of the
(04:25):
blessings that God gave to them. But what does scriptures
say and what does the apostle Paul say in Romans
chapter eleven, well, in verses seven to twenty four, Paul
goes on to give an extensive explanation. And I don't
(04:46):
have time to read all those verses. I hope you will,
but let me just tell you what Paul says. He
explains that Israel's rejection of Christ has led to the
Gospel being spread to the Gentiles, onto non on Jewish
people like me, maybe you. And he says that this
isn't a permanent rejection, but it's a temporary hardening, which
(05:11):
is a part of God's greater plant. You see, the
salvation of the Gentiles is meant to provoke Israel to
jealousy so that they will turn back to God. And
that's what Paul says in verse eleven. And so I
ask did they stumble in order that they might fall?
By no means? Rather through their trespass, salvation has come
(05:34):
to the Gentiles so as to make Israel jealous. And
then he uses the analogy of an olive tree in
verses seventeen to twenty four, and he talks about how
some of the branches, which are unbelieving Jews were broken off,
and this some wild branches, which are the Gentiles. They're
(05:55):
grafted in. Now the tree hasn't been eliminated, but now
there's a new branch of a different kind. Now I've
actually seen where you can take a tree that bears
a certain kind of fruit, and you can graft in
a branch from a tree that bears a different kind
of fruit, and now that tree will produce two different
(06:18):
kinds of fruit. That's kind of what's happening here now.
Paul goes on to warn us gentiles not to become arrogant.
He says in verse eighteen, do not be arrogant toward
the branches. If you are, remember it is not you
who support the root, but the root that supports you.
(06:38):
You see, we as gentiles need to remember that our
salvation is because of the Jews, and we shouldn't take
that for granted. We need to be humble before God,
because if God's mercy has reached us, it's not because
we're better, but it's entirely because of God's grace. And
so instead of boasting, we should pray for Israel to
(07:00):
come to faith in Jesus Christ. And then Paul goes
on to talk about the future restoration of Israel and
verses twenty five to thirty six, and he says, in
verses twenty five and twenty six, a partial hardening has
come upon Israel until the fullness of the gentiles has
come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.
(07:24):
In other words, even though Israel has rejected Christ for now,
God has a future plan for restoration for them. Notice
that he says it's a partial hardening, which means that
it's temporary. One day they're going to realize their blindness.
(07:45):
And I believe this is talking about a future national
turning of Israel back to Christ. But he says this
blindness will continue until the fullness of the gentiles has
come in. Now none of us know what that number is.
This literally means as many as will believe, or the
(08:05):
complete number. And so in the mind of God, apparently
there's a number that has been set for Gentiles to
turn to Christ. And when that number is reached, then
Jewish people will have their minds open to receiving Christ.
Now I don't know what that does for you, but
as for me, that means I need to do my
part in sharing the Gospel with as many people as
(08:27):
I can, because in the mystery of God's mind, there
seems to be a number of gentiles that need to
be saved before the eyes of the Jews will be opened.
God has called each one of us to be an
ambassador of the good news sent into the world with
the Gospel. Let's not be shy in sharing Christ with others,
(08:49):
because God isn't finished with his work yet. Now. Paul
ends this chapter in awe of God's wisdom and sovereignty
declaim in verses thirty four to thirty six. For who
has known the mind of the Lord, or who has
been his counselor, or who has given a gift to
(09:11):
him that he might be repaid for From him and
through him and to him, are all things to him
be glory forever Amen. Verse thirty four is taken from
Isaiah chapter forty, verse thirteen and Job chapter forty one
and verse eleven, emphasizing God's wisdom and sovereign conduct in everything.
(09:34):
You see, God's plan for Israel and the world is
unfolding in his perfect timing. And so here's the bottom line.
We need to trust in the faithfulness of God. If
God hasn't abandoned Israel, He's not going to abandon us either.
His promises are sure. And secondly, we need to avoid
(09:57):
arrogance as gentiles. You see, salvation is by grace alone,
and we should have never looked down on others, but
instead we should seek their salvation. And then thirdly, we
need to pray for Israel. The Apostle longed for his
people to be saved, and so should we. So let's
(10:18):
pray that they'll turn to Jesus. And then finally, we
need to stand in awe of God's plan for this world.
His wisdom is beyond our understanding, but we can trust
in his perfect plan. God is absolutely not finished with
Israel and Romans Chapter eleven clearly shows us that God's
(10:41):
covenant with Israel still stands and his plan includes their
future restoration. As we witness God's unfolding story, may we
grow in faith, humility, and a heart for all people
to know Christ. Well. Thanks for listening and I hope
(11:02):
this helps. I'll see you next time.
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