“27 But Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, Though the number of Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved; 28 since the Lord will execute his sentence completely and decisively on the earth. 29 And just as Isaiah predicted: If the Lord of Armies had not left us offspring, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.”
Paul has used Chapter 9 to show his readers how God has used His chosen nation, Israel, as a means of bringing salvation to the Gentiles. The Messiah that was to save Israel from the consequences of sin would bring salvation to God’s elect all over the world, from every nation and people. If this has been God’s plan from the beginning, where does that leave Israel? Has God abandoned them? No! And in fact, Paul makes the case that God must not be accused of breaking His covenant with Israel. Rather, God is being merciful to the Israelites. These verses reveal that it was never God’s intention that all Israel would be saved, but rather a remnant. (More on the remnant of Israel in Chapter 11) Any one person, regardless of their ethnic identity, that God saves from His rightful wrath and judgment for sin is a display of undeserved grace and mercy. It is as Isaiah proclaimed: we all should have been destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. It is only because of the mercies of God that any of us, the Israelites included, are spared our just punishment.
In verses 27-29, Paul supports these statements by repeating the truths that would have been very familiar to anyone who knew the Old Testament prophets. The following comes from Isaiah.
“Israel, even if your people were as numerous as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction has been decreed; justice overflows. For throughout the land the Lord God of Armies is carrying out a destruction that was decreed.” — Isaiah 10:22-23
“If the Lord of Armies had not left us a few survivors, we would be like Sodom, we would resemble Gomorrah.” — Isaiah 1:9
Remember, it would have been completely just for God to let us be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah, those two ancient cities which were utterly devastated. Look at how the prophet Jeremiah characterized their destruction:
“Just as God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns — this is the Lord’s declaration — so no one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily as a temporary resident.” — Jeremiah 50:40
We too deserved to be completely destroyed in this way, yet God intervened in His great grace and mercy, and provided the way of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Praise be to God for the Gospel!