2 God did not cast away His people whom He knew before; have ye not known -- in Elijah -- what the Writing saith? how he doth plead with God concerning Israel, saying,
according to a foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied!
saying to Aaron, Make to us gods who shall go on before us, for this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we have not known what hath happened to him.
And if to live in the flesh `is' to me a fruit of work, then what shall I choose? I know not;
have ye not known that the saints shall judge the world? and if by you the world is judged, are ye unworthy of the smaller judgments?
And it is not possible that the word of God hath failed; for not all who `are' of Israel are these Israel;
because whom He did foreknow, He also did fore-appoint, conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be first-born among many brethren; and whom He did fore-appoint, these also He did call; and whom He did call, these also He declared righteous; and whom He declared righteous, these also He did glorify.
And the nations hearing were glad, and were glorifying the word of the Lord, and did believe -- as many as were appointed to life age-during;
and Joseph saith to them, `What `is' this deed that ye have done? have ye not known that a man like me doth diligently observe?'
The woman saith to him, `Sir, thou hast not even a vessel to draw with, and the well is deep; whence, then, hast thou the living water?
When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees heard that Jesus more disciples doth make and baptize than John, (though indeed Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples,) he left Judea and went away again to Galilee,
Give attention, O Jehovah, unto me, And hearken to the voice of those contending with me. Is evil recompensed instead of good, That they have dug a pit for my soul? Remember my standing before Thee to speak good of them, To turn back Thy wrath from them. Therefore, give up their sons to famine, And cause them to run on the sides of the sword, And their wives are bereaved and widows, And their men are slain by death, Their young men smitten by sword in battle, A cry is heard from their houses, For Thou bringest against them suddenly a troop, For they dug a pit to capture me, And snares they have hidden for my feet. And Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast known, All their counsel against me `is' for death, Thou dost not cover over their iniquity, Nor their sin from before Thee blottest out, And they are made to stumble before Thee, In the time of Thine anger work against them!
For Jehovah leaveth not His people, And His inheritance forsaketh not.
And it is very displeasing to Moses, and he saith unto Jehovah, `Turn not Thou unto their present; not one ass from them have I taken, nor have I afflicted one of them.'
And the people see that Moses is delaying to come down from the mount, and the people assemble against Aaron, and say unto him, `Rise, make for us gods who go before us, for this Moses -- the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt -- we have not known what hath happened to him.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Romans 11
Commentary on Romans 11 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 11
The apostle, having reconciled that great truth of the rejection of the Jews with the promise made unto the fathers, is, in this chapter, further labouring to mollify the harshness of it, and to reconcile it to the divine goodness in general. It might be said, "Hath God then cast away his people?' The apostles therefore sets himself, in this chapter, to make a reply to this objection, and that two ways:-
Rom 11:1-32
The apostle proposes here a plausible objection, which might be urged against the divine conduct in casting off the Jewish nation (v. 1): "Hath God cast away his people? Is the rejection total and final? Are they all abandoned to wrath and ruin, and that eternal? Is the extent of the sentence so large as to be without reserve, or the continuance of it so long as to be without repeal? Will he have no more a peculiar people to himself?' In opposition to this, he shows that there was a great deal of goodness and mercy expressed along with this seeming severity, particularly he insists upon three things:-
Rom 11:33-36
The apostle having insisted so largely, through the greatest part of this chapter, upon reconciling the rejection of the Jews with the divine goodness, he concludes here with the acknowledgment and admiration of the divine wisdom and sovereignty in all this. Here the apostle does with great affection and awe adore,