Somehow, Paul didn't get the memo....
Romans 9:1-5 (NKJV) I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
This chapter deals with how that God knew His children from the time He created their souls in that first earth age. That is why God could say to Jeremiah,
"I knew you before you were in your mothers womb". Of course He did, He made Jeremiah's soul and that soul was with Him in the age that was. God knew Jeremiah could be trusted.
Romans 9:1 "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,"
Paul is telling us that what he is going to say, he is sincere and is going to give it to us with a clear conscience. Paul was a great Bible scholar even before his conversion on the road to Damascus. Paul knew the scriptures, and then he met the Holy Spirit in a way that changed his whole life.
Romans 9:2 "That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart."
This letter is written to those that don't realize that the Messiah has already come. That is the sorrow in his heart, for at first he was part of that group. Then the Holy Spirit struck Paul down, and called Paul into His service. The record of this is found in the book of
Acts 9:1-22.
Acts 9:15 "But the Lord said unto him, "So thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:"
Paul was chosen by God for a very special purpose.
Romans 9:3 "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:"
We will learn in the eleventh chapter that Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin, and being from that tribe, Paul is saying that if it were possible he would separate himself from Christ if it would bring his kinsmen to Christ. That is not possible though, for the only price that can be paid was paid by Jesus on the cross.
Romans 9:4 "Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;"
The
"adoption" is the
"sonship" of God, being called the
"sons of God". Paul is saying that it was through the twelve patriarchs, the sons of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, that God chose these people that Christ would come into this world in the flesh, and be born of woman [the virgin Mary].
The families of the twelve sons of Israel grew into twelve separate tribes, and combined became known as the
"whole house of Israel" while in slavery in Egypt. They remained one nation through the wanderings in the wilderness, and through the time of the judges. Then about a thousand years before Christ, this nation cried out to God for a king like the rest of the nations around them had, and God gave them a monarchy. Saul was the first king over Israel, followed by David and his son Solomon.
At the death of king Solomon, the nation of Israel split in two, and these two new nations became known as "
Houses". The two "houses" were then named the
"House of Israel" which comprised the ten nations to the north, and the
"House of Judah" which was made up of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with the tribe of Levi scattered amongst all the tribes. The Levites were the priestly tribe and were to be God's ministers to all the tribes.
About 745 B.C. to 722 B.C. the northern nation, "the House of Israel", made up of ten tribes were over run by the Assyrians, and the Assyrians pack them off to an area just north of Lake Van in Iraq. Shortly after this resettling, the House of Israel fragmented, and migrated through the Caucasus mountains, and moved to become settlements in Europe and the Americas. These people of the House of Israel lost their identity as being Israelites, and became known by the event of their migrations through the Caucasus mountains, and were called
"Caucasians".
In the Book of Hosea, this prophet lived the prophecy of God telling this House of Israel exactly what was going to happen to them, and as this
Romans 9 continues, we will see Paul's references to Hosea, and His prophesies.
The House of Judah, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with a mixture of Levites did not lose their identity, and to this day they are know as "Jews", which is only a small part of the "whole House of Israel". In
Ezekiel 37:15-28 we read where God will combine these two houses again in the Millennium age, and they will live again as one nation.
It is important that you become aware of the split and that now there are two separate houses, for the one house is referred to as "the Lost House of Israel", and the other are called the Jews. The Jews of today are made up of the tribes of Judah, and Benjamin, along with the few families of Levites, but there is a heavy mixture of Kenites that became a part of this house of Judah. These Levites took over the duties of the scribes and priests coming out of the Babylon captivity, and to this day the Kenites are a controlling factor over the House of Judah.
Romans 9:5 "Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen."
The
"fathers" are the
"patriarchs" or the twelve sons of Israel, including Joseph whose two sons Ephraim and Manasseh both became separate tribes and adopted by Israel. All of these patriarchs had fallen short of God laws, and it was Christ that came from them, and in Christ all the tribes will be blessed forever.
You can see the compassion of Paul within this message for his brethren, but at the same time we will see that it would not be possible for Paul to make that sacrifice.
Romans 9:6 "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:"
Just because all of Israel does not accept the sacrifice that Christ gave them when He went to the cross, God did not fail them.
This is also requiring an understanding of Abraham's seed or children. After Sarah died, Abraham married another woman.
Genesis 25:1 "
Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. The promises of God to Abraham and Sarah went only to Isaac the only son of Sarah, and not to any of the other sons of Abraham.
Genesis 25:2 "And she [Keturah] bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah."
Abraham also had sons by the concubines which he had, and in all, Abraham had twelve more sons besides Isaac and Ishmael. These other sons were also patriarchs in Arabic nations, as well as other nations. So we see that all that are of Abraham are not necessarily of Israel,
for Israel is only in reference to the sons of Jacob, who carried the blessing of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Paul is saying that
these Israelites are the children of promise, and the real promise was Christ, and that Christ would be would be born of a virgin who would come from the tribes of Judah and Levi. It was that promise [Jesus Christ] that brought the grace that we now have.
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