Hath God Cast Away His People?
by
Philip du Nard
In Romans 11:1-2, we find Paul saying, " I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew."
A passage like this apparently means different things to different people. Since many have taken the position that the church replaces Israel in all of its functions, a passage like this either means nothing to such believers or it simply means that individual Israelites can be saved like everybody else, that God has not closed the door on them, so to speak, but beyond that, it holds no particular significance for Israel as a people.
Regardless of one's beliefs concerning Israel, there should be no confusion as to the subject of Paul's discussion. It is literal, fleshly, Israel, the physical descendants of Abraham. Paul's reference to his own specific tribal ancestry makes that plain. In order to determine what significance a passage such as this holds for literal Israel, I believe it would be helpful if we first asked ourselves how Paul arrived at the conclusion that God had not cast them away, whatever that means for them. Is this something that God revealed to Paul directly in a vision or did Paul have some scriptural basis for making this statement? Some people seem to have the idea that God simply revealed truth to Paul and the other apostles which have no relation to previous Scripture but what we find Paul doing time and again is quoting and expounding what is commonly known the Old Testament Scriptures.
In Romans 16:25-26, Paul said that his gospel was "made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets" and in I Corinthians 15:3-4 he says that what he preached was "according to the scriptures." While it is true that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write the things that he wrote, this was done by revealing to Paul truth from the Scriptures which had been there all the time but which had either not been previously understood.or fully understood.
Since Paul had a scriptural basis for everything he said, it seems reasonable that he had one for this statement as well. I can think of one passage that Paul most likely had in mind. Isaiah 41:8-9 states, "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant: I have chosen thee and not cast thee away. " Paul could have pointed to a passage like this and said, "See, it would be unscriptural to teach that God has cast Israel away." This passage in Isaiah ( or, the "scriptures of the prophets,"as Paul expressed it) is in harmony with what Paul said about literal Israel in Romans 11.
Now, if you are going to take the position that a scripture such as this is a prophetic reference to the church as being some sort of "spiritual Israel" then you will leave Paul without a proof text and have to take the position that he made an unscriptural statement. Do we really want to make a liar out of the apostle Paul?
Therefore, to get some idea as to what the teaching in Romans 11 that Israel will not be cast away by God really means to them as a people, it might be helpful to meditate further on Isaiah 41.
Starting with the verse quoted above, the text reads, "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away." Verse 1 of this chapter indicates that there would be a period of time whereby the people would renew their strength. This was undoubtedly subsequent to their dispersal. We learn from the quoted passage that God would take them from the ends of the earth. This also must have been subsequent to their dispersal..
It also says He would call them from the chief men thereof. Isn't that interesting? If we think of how the military chooses its special forces, they don't pick just anybody, they pick from among the best. Seemingly, God did something similar to this where Israel was concerned. Strong's Concordance says this can also mean noble. This is an intriguing thought. Regardless of the signficance we might attach to these words or what the specific manifestation of this might be, it would seem to stand in direct contrast to what the apostle Paul had to say about the church, or body of Christ in I Corinthians 1:26 wherein it states that " For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea], and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
That no flesh should glory in his presence. "
Clearly these are not the same institutions. The balance of Isaiah 41 should help answer the question as to what it means to Israel to not be cast away by God as St.Paul said was the case but, focusing on verses 10-16, the text reads, "Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, [even] them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, [and] ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat [them] small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel."
Here is the picture of an earthly people who might have cause to be afraid and dismayed were it not for the divine promise of national protection. Clearly, this is something more than just the eternal salvation of individuals. The fact that God has not cast Israel away means that He will make them
"a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat [them] small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. " If we do a word study of the word, mountain in Scripture, we will see that it often symbolizes a nation. In other words, the military might of God's Israel would be used to chasten heathen nations. This was not to be the function of the body of Christ which was to go to all nations with the gospel. But of Jacob, God says, "The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and [Israel is] the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts [is] his name. Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;" Jeremiah 51:19-20 and of the saints of Israel, He says, "Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD." Psalm 149:5-9.
In light of these promises and this mission, it certainly matters as to what people we identify as being God's Israel: the Jews? ,or the Anglo-Saxon and related peoples as many believe, myself included. For more on this, see the articles at Studies in Genesis Part 1 and Studies in Genesis Part 2, especially the one entitled A Father of Many Nations. Also see A Discussion of Romans 9-11.
We might answer this question in part by asking ourselves which of the two groups God has been using as his weapons of war. While a case could be made that the Jews have enemies and might have reason to be dismayed, this does not mean the promise applies to them. Rather, in light of the prophetic waymarks that find fulfillment in the nations of Christendom, we should feel justified in claiming these promises for America and our Israelite brethren around the world. We should be assured that, while God will chasten us, our nation will be delivered from all those that are incensed against us and would rejoice in our destruction.