Chapter 58
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH
Matthew 15:21-28
Before we begin this study let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father God, please cause us to come to a far better understanding of the importance for faith in You, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
To help us understand the importance of faith in God, this study is partitioned into the following three segments.
1. A review of the Old Testament historical setting and background.
2. A review of Jesus’ encounter with a Canaanite woman.
3. A review of three key points to be received from this study.
A HISTORICAL SETTING AND BACKGROUND
To review the Old Testament setting for this study this we will,
1. Review the birth of the nation of Israel.
2. Recall that God promised to give Israel the land of Canaan.
3. Discover how God constantly extended His Mercy and Grace to the Israelites.
4. See that after much disobedience, God finally sent His chosen into captivity.
5. Read that after a set period of time, God restored Israel to their land.
6. Find that after continual disobedience, God promised to visit Israel.
7. Read how God fulfilled His promise to personally visit Israel.
We begin with a brief review of,
THE PHYSICAL/NATURAL BIRTH OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL
The physical or natural lineage of Israel begins with,
Abraham
To see this, we read what God said to Abram (later God renamed him Abraham) with respect to the fact that he was going to build a great nation from him. This promise is presented in,
Genesis 12:1-3
[1] Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. [2] I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … God sent Abram to the land of His choosing.
2a … God said that He would bring forth a great nation from Abram.
2b… Abram’s name or personage was going to be great.
Let us now move on to Abram’s son,
Isaac
As time passed by, Sari (later renamed by God to be Sarah), who was barren, became impatient in waiting for God to give her a son. She convinced Abraham to take matters into their own hands. Consequently, through Sari’s maid, Hagar, they had a son, Ishmael. However, Ishmael was not the child of promise or the one to be conceived with Sarai and Abraham. In His Mercy God, reiterated and expanded His promise to Abraham. Specifically, through his seed, he would be the father of many nations. This is recorded in,
Genesis 17:15-19
[15] Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. [16] And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” [17] Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” [18] And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” [19] Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
The next in line in the physical lineage of Israel was
Jacob
To see this, we begin by reading from,
Genesis 25:21-26
[21] Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. [22] But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. [23] And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.” [24] So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. [25] And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. [26] Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
Let us notice the following verses,
21 … As Sarah, Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, was also barren.
23 … Contrary to their culture, God told Rebekah that of the twins she would give birth; it would be the oldest who would serve the youngest.
Under the deceitful circumstances, this prophecy was fulfilled, by Isaac giving Jacob, the youngest son, his blessing. Consequently, he became the head of the family (Genesis 25:21-26).
To spare Jacob from the wrath of his older brother, Esau, for receiving the blessing of the first born, Isaac sent Jacob to Padan Aram. For this study let us read what Isaac prophesied to Jacob as written in,
Genesis 28:1-4
[1] Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. [2] Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. [3] “May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples; [4] And give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.”
Let us notice the following verse,
3 … As promised to Abraham, Jacob was also to be the father of an assembly of peoples.
4 … God gave Jacob and his descendants the blessing of Abraham.
Before Jacob returned to the land from which he came, God changed Jacob’s name to be Israel.
In addition to changing his name, God also reaffirmed His promise to him. To see this we go to,
Genesis 35:9-10
[9] Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. [10] And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.
Let us notice the following verse,
10 … Jacob’s name was now Israel, which means “Prince of God.”
As we read further in the Old Testament, we find it was the twelve sons of Jacob who became the heads or leaders of,
The twelve tribes of the nation Israel
To read the names of these twelve sons or tribes of Israel let us go to,
Genesis 35:23-26
[23] the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; [24] the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; [25] the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; [26] and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.
In addition to using Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to bring forth the nation of Israel, let us also recall that God promised Abraham that,
THE NATION OF ISRAEL WAS TO DWELL IN THE LAND OF CANAAN
During their time in Bethel, Israel’s family grew to approximately 70 people. At about this time the Bible tells us that God brought upon the land a severe famine. After running out of food, Israel sent some of his sons to purchase food in Egypt. Through a whole set of amazing circumstances that involved Israel’s son, Joseph, Israel, and his family left Bethel to dwell in Egypt (Genesis 37-46).
While living in Egypt, Israel’s population increased. Being fearful of Israel’s size and number, the new Pharaoh, who did not know Joseph, enslaved the Israelites into hard labor (Exodus 1-14).
After living in Egypt for approximately 400 years, under the lordship of Pharaoh, God brought to fulfillment His promise to Abraham. To do this, God sent His servant Moses and his brother Aaron to deliver the nation of Israel from their bondage to Pharaoh and the Egyptians (Exodus 3:1-10). At this time Israel’s population was approximately six hundred thousand men.
Throughout their journey from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan, the people of Israel constantly disobeyed and sinned against God. As a result of their sins and disobedience, God would become angry and threatened to destroy them. During these times, Moses would intercede for the people and God would relent from His anger. To see this let us read just one example of how Moses interceded for the children of Israel. To do this let us go to,
Exodus 32:11-14
[11] Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? [12] Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. [13] Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” [14] So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.
After approximately 40 years of journeying throughout the wilderness of Sinai and after Moses died, God, through Joshua, finally brought the people of Israel into the land He promised them (Joshua 1-6).
Throughout their stay in Canaan, Israel continually fell into sin and apostasy. Throughout these times,
GOD CONTINUED TO EXTEND HIS MERCY AND GRACE TO ISRAEL
God did this by sending His servants to them. To see this we begin with,
The Judges
During Israel’s early years in Canaan God, to deliver them from their oppressors raised up several judges.
To see this let us just read the example of Othniel. To do this we go to,
Judges 3:5-11
[5] Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. [6] And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods. [7] So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs. [8] Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years. [9] When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. [10] The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim. [11] So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
After the judges, God sent to the children of Israel,
His prophets
Unlike the judges, who God used to deliver Israel from their oppressors, God used the prophets to reprimand them and instruct them to return to Him.
To see this, we will quickly review the ministries of two prophets. Our first example is the prophet Isaiah. To read the circumstances under which God sent to the children of Israel His prophet Isaiah we go to,
Isaiah 1:1-4
[1] The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. [2] Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me; [3] The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider.” [4] Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward.
After a strong reprimand for their sinful and lawless ways, God, through Isaiah, pleaded with Israel to come back to Him. This is recorded in,
Isaiah 1:16-20
[16] “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, [17] Learn to do good; Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. [18] “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. [19] If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; [20] But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Let us notice the following verses,
18-19 … IF the Israelites would repent of their sinful ways and return to Him, all would be well between them and God.
20 … IF they did not return to their God and Lord, then they would be overcome by the sword.
God also sent Jeremiah to the Israelites. A snapshot of his message is in,
Jeremiah 3:21-22
[21] A voice was heard on the desolate heights, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the Lord their God. [22] “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.”
It is noted there were periods of time when Israel did repent and return to God. Unfortunately, these times were short lived.
Finally, time had arrived when,
GOD SENT ISRAEL INTO CAPTIVITY
God had spoken. The time had passed for Israel to alter God’s mind. No longer would God hear or listen to their pleas or prayers.
By using King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed and many of the Israelites were taken captive and transported to Babylon. This is recorded in,
Jeremiah 21:1-10
[1] The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, [2] “Please inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us.” [3] Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, [4] ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the walls; and I will assemble them in the midst of this city. [5] I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and fury and great wrath. [6] I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence. [7] And afterward,” says the Lord, “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence and the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life; and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword. He shall not spare them, or have pity or mercy.”’ [8] “Now you shall say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. [9] He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be as a prize to him. [10] For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good,” says the Lord. “It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.”’
After the set time of 70 years for their captivity, God through Cyrus, King of Persia, commanded that,
ISRAEL WAS TO RETURN TO JERUSALEM
To read what God commanded King Cyrus to do, let us go to,
Ezra 1:1-4
[1] Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, [2] Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. [3] Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. [4] And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.
Unfortunately, even after all their forefathers went through, Israel, while living in the Promised Land, again continued to fall away from God. Consequently, through the prophet Malachi,
GOD PROMISED TO PERSONALLY VISIT ISRAEL
To read an example of this prophecy let us go to,
Malachi 2:17-3:1
[17] You have wearied the Lord with your words; Yet you say, “In what way have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil. Is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them, ”Or, “Where is the God of justice?” [3:1] “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
Let us notice the following verses,
17a … God told the people of Israel that they have wearied Him with their words or religious sayings.
17b … Even though they were doing evil, they believed they were good in God’s eyes and that He delights in them. In other words, they were putting God to the test by asking; “Where is the God of justice?” More specifically, they were in effect saying and believing that no matter what they did they were all good. After all, they were God’s chosen, were they not?
3:1a … God told the people that He was going to send a person before He arrives. This person or Messenger was to prepare the way for God’s arrival.
3:1b … God told them that He will come to His Temple.
THE PROPHECY FULFILLED
To be sure that that God had fulfilled His promise to physically visit Israel, we begin with,
John the Baptist
To see that John was the messenger God spoke about, we go to,
Matthew 3:1-3
[1] In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, [2] and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” [3] For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ “
Let us now move on and read about,
The arrival of Jesus – the Lord had come
To read what John the Baptist said concerning Jesus we go to,
John 1:29-34
[29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! [30] This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ [31] I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” [32] And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. [33] I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ [34] And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
To read the fulfillment of the prophecy that the Lord would physically come to His Temple, we go to,
John 2:13-17
[13] Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [14] And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. [15] When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. [16] And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” [17] Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”
With this short Old Testament background, we now go to,
JESUS’ CONVERSATION WITH THE CANAANITE WOMAN
To read what transpired between them, we go to,
Matthew 15:21-28
[21] Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. [22] And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” [23] But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” [24] But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [25] Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” [26] But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” [27] And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” [28] Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Let us notice the following verses,
22 … The woman and her daughter were not physical descendants of Abraham. Thus, they were not Israelites but gentiles.
24 … Jesus explained that He was sent to the house of Israel.
26-27 … When Jesus referred to the woman’s child as a little dog, He was NOT equating her daughter to an animal. According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the New Testament Words1 this word dog or puppy was used by the Jewish people as a term for the gentiles. It meant that the gentile was ceremonially unclean and was not permitted to enter into the Temple.
28 … Recognizing the woman’s great faith, Jesus healed her daughter.
Now that we have gone through all this history of the Jewish nation and the conversation Jesus had with the Canaanite woman, the question arises as to; “What is the point?” “What are we to learn from this encounter?”
There are at least,
THREE POINTS OR MESSAGES OF THIS STUDY
First of all, even though the gentiles are not part of the physical lineage of Abraham and were excluded from the Temple and its services,
GOD LOVES AND CARES FOR THE GENTILES
For example, in the Old Testament, we read how God reached out to the
Gentile city of Nineveh
As one reads the Old Testament one discovers that God was so concerned about the people who lived in the city of Nineveh that He sent His prophet Jonah to them with a message of repentance. It is interesting to note that at this time of human history Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, who were enemies of Israel. After much reluctance by Jonah and discipline by God, Jonah finally went to Nineveh. Through the message of Jonah, the whole city repented and came to God (Jonah chapters 1-4).
Another Old Testament example is the healing of
Naaman
Naaman was a great and honorable commander of the Syrian army. However, Naaman was a leper. A young Jewish girl, who was in captivity serving Naaman’s wife, suggested to her that, to be healed Naaman should go to Israel. Eventually, Naaman followed the Jewish girl’s advice and through the prophet Elisha, Naaman was healed (2 Kings 5:1-15).
Another example of God’s love and mercy towards the gentiles is,
King Nebuchadnezzar
King Nebuchadnezzar was the King of Babylon who ordered the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of its inhabitants. After a series of events, God removed King Nebuchadnezzar from the throne and cast him out to live among the beasts in the fields. At the end of the time for his banishment, Nebuchadnezzar came to the knowledge of Almighty God and gave Him glory and honor (Daniel 4:34-37).
As for the New Testament, in addition to the daughter of the Canaanite woman, another example of God’s love and compassion for the gentiles was the healing of the,
Centurion’s servant
In this example a Roman centurion, with faith in Jesus, pleaded with Him to heal his deathly ill servant. Jesus, seeing his faith, had compassion and healed the servant (Luke 7:1-10).
The second message or point of this study is that,
GOD SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTON SON, JESUS CHRIST, TO HIS VINEYARD, WHICH WAS ISRAEL
Unfortunately, many Israelites did not possess faith in Jesus Christ. Hence, as they continually did in the past, they brought upon themselves their ruin. To see this, let us read the following prophetic Parable of the Landowner.
Mark 12:1-9
[1] Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. [2] Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. [3] And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. [4] Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. [5] And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. [6] Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ [7] But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ [8] So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. [9] “Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.
Let us notice the following verses,
8 … In this parable Jesus foretold that He was to be killed and cast out of the vineyard. As we know Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem.
9 … Jesus also foretold that because of what the nation of Israel would do to Him, they would be destroyed and the vineyard would be given to others.
In 70 AD, under the leadership of General Titus, the Roman army destroyed the Temple. This fulfilled the prophecies that above of parable and the encounter between Jesus and the Canaanite woman were pointing to. Specifically, it was the time when God’s Mercy and Grace to the nation of Israel was coming to an end and soon to be redirected to us, the gentiles.
This now brings us to the third and last point which is,
THE MESSAGE FOR US THE GENTILE
Even though we read this message in Chapter 43, it is so important that it will be worth our time and effort to read it again. Thus, we go to,
Romans 11:1-32
[1] I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. [2] God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, [3] “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? [4] But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” [5] Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. [6] And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
This raises the following question that is recorded in,
[7] What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. [8] Just as it is written:
“God has given them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that they should not see
And ears that they should not hear,
To this very day.”
[9] And David says:
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
[10] Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, And bow down their back always.”
[11] I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. [12] Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! [13] For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, [14] if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. [15] For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? [16] For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. [17] And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, [18] do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
We now come to a warning to not become arrogant about our relationship with God. To read this warning we move on to,
[19] You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” [20] Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
To expand upon the necessity and importance for true faith in God we go to,
Hebrews 11:6
[6] But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Let us now continue to read the warning for us to remain thankful.
[21] For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. [22] Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. [23] And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. [24] For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
We now come to the explanation of this mystery,
[25] For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. [26] And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
[27] For this is My covenant with them. When I take away their sins.”
[28] Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. [29] For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. [30] For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, [31] even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. [32] For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
We now close this study by reading from,
Romans 11:33-36
[33] Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
[34] “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
[35] “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?
”[36] For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.
Amen and Amen