“3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises. 5 The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen.”
We discussed in the last devotional that Paul begins chapter 9 by pouring out his grief in great heartfelt sorrow over the unbelieving Jewish community, his own brothers and sisters. It is at the beginning of verse 4 that Paul identified the group of people he is anguishing over, his flesh and blood, the Israelites. He also takes the time to praise God for all of the opportunities the Israelites have had to follow God and accept Jesus as the promised Messiah. “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises. The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen.” (v. 4-5) Paul is essentially saying to the Israelite unbelievers, “You’ve had so many opportunities, so many chances to repent and follow God, and yet you reject him!”
Even though God has adopted the Israelites and fashioned them into a nation unto Himself, even though they have seen the very glory of God, leading them through the wilderness as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, they have not believed.
“And you will say to Pharaoh: This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.” — Exodus 4:22
“The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” — Exodus 40:34-35
“When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the Lord’s temple, and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” — 1 Kings 8:10-11
Even though the covenants were given to Israel’s ancestors, detailing their adoption as sons and daughters, and prophetically proclaiming the coming days of the Messiah, even though they were given the law by God, handed down through Moses, so that they may be a nation set apart for God’s glory, they did not believe.
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless. I will set up my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”” — Genesis 17:1-2
““All of you are standing today before the Lord your God your leaders, tribes, elders, officials, all the men of Israel, your dependents, your wives, and the resident aliens in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water so that you may enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which he is making with you today, so that you may enter into his oath and so that he may establish you today as his people and he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am making this covenant and this oath not only with you, but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God and with those who are not here today.” — Deuteronomy 29:10-15
“He declared his covenant to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments, which he wrote on two stone tablets. At that time the Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and possess.” — Deuteronomy 4:13-14
““In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also foretold these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring. God raised up his servant and sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”” — Acts 3:24-26
Even though they were given the responsibility of temple service, the immense charge of thousands of sacrifices for the sins of the people, the dedication of the holy things and the yearly entrance into the holy of holies, even though they were given the promise that all that they were doing in their obedience to the law and their service in the temple would one day be fulfilled in the Messiah, even still they did not believe.
““Once a year Aaron is to perform the atonement ceremony for the altar. Throughout your generations he is to perform the atonement ceremony for it once a year, with the blood of the sin offering for atonement on the horns. The altar is especially holy to the Lord.”” — Exodus 30:10
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”” — Acts 2:38-39
“And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors. God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” — Acts 13:32-33
“For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.” — Deuteronomy 7:6
Even after all of this, Israel would end up rejecting their Messiah, the one who came to save His people! How could they do this? It is heart-breaking, and Paul’s heart is broken in anguish over Israel’s rejection of God’s gospel of faith in Jesus. Is that it then? Is Paul lamenting over the fact that Israel has rejected its Savior, and now their destruction is sure? Has God failed in His plan to make His name known by saving a people all to Himself? We’ll address these questions in the next devotional.