Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 14

 

Gentiles Grafted In

If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. Rom 11:14

provoke to emulation... Same word translated "jealousy" in Rom. 11:11. If I might by some means provoke some Jews to seek their share of the gospel.

Paul was commissioned of God to bring the salvation message to the Gentiles, but he could not quite ever give up on his brothers, the Jews.

Paul in verse 14 above is saying that perhaps, while he is bringing this message to the Gentiles, some of his Hebrew brothers will hear and understand as well.

Because Paul was convinced that Israel’s stumbling is temporary, he asked, What will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (lit., “out from dead ones”) This question explains the clause, “How much greater riches will their fullness bring” (Rom. 11:12). Israel’s “acceptance” of Christ is related to “the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:4-6), the resurrection of life (John 5:29 1, KJV).

Ezekiel Chapter 39 Vs. 13

Prophecy against Gog

Yea, all the people of the land shall bury [them]; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. Eze. 39:13




all the people... This would be a monumental task, even for all the people, to bury them. They would all feel the necessity to bury them and to stop the horrible odor.

be to them... It is now that Israel will begin to see how God vanquishes Israel’s foes to show His glory so that His enemies and Israel will all know that He is the Lord.




Even after the initial cleanup, squads of men will be employed to search the land for additional remains.

Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 13

Gentiles Grafted In

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: Rom 11:13

magnify mine office... Meaning ministry.

Here is what God said of Saul/Paul:

Acts 9:15 “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:”

You can see from this that his first call was to the Gentile. I will give you one Scripture of many that shows that Paul was aware of his call to the Gentiles.

2Tim. 1:11: “Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles”.

Eph. 3:8-9 “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;” “And to make all [men] see what [is] the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”

Paul then singled out a part of the Christian community at Rome, saying, I am talking to you Gentiles. Though writing, Paul used terms referring to oral communication, a fact with implications for the inspiration of the Scriptures. Paul then affirmed his special position as the apostle to the Gentiles (cf. Acts 9:15; Gal. 1:16; 2:7-8; Eph. 3:8), and declared, I make much of (lit., “I glorify” or “I magnify”) my ministry. 

Ezekiel Chapter 39 Vs. 12

 Prophecy against Gog

And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Eze. 39:12




shall the house... There were so many dead; they would be continually burying them. It speaks highly of Israel that they buried them, instead of just piling them up, and burning them, as some countries would do. Israel has respect for bodies.

The number of soldiers killed will be so great that for seven months the house of Israel will be burying them.

Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 12

 

Gentiles Grafted In

Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? Rom 11:12

riches of the... If, in consequence of their rebellion, the riches of God’s grace have to come to the Gentile world, how much more will the world be blessed when Israel comes to her fullness of blessing again.

This is just God’s way of allowing the Gentile believers to be saved. We Gentile believers have been grafted in to the family of God. The failure of the Jews to acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah and be God’s witness nation resulted in the Gentile church being given that privilege.

how much more... Meaning the Jews future spiritual renewal. Israel’s “fall” and “diminishing” is temporary.

But Paul was convinced that Israel’s transgression (paraptōma, “false step,” which seems to fit with “stumble”; cf. paraptōma, trans. “trespass” in Rom. 5:17-18, Rom. 5:20) was temporary. So he looked beyond its immediate results (riches for the world and… riches for the Gentiles) to the possibility of its removal (how much greater riches will their fullness bring!). “World” here means mankind, not the physical world (cf. “world” in Rom. 11:15). Certainly the world has been enriched spiritually because of so many Gentiles coming to Christ (cf. see “reconciliation” in Rom. 11:15). But even greater riches will be enjoyed by Gentiles after the conversion of Israel at the Lord’s return (cf. Rom. 11:26). Israel’s “fullness” suggests a large-scale conversion (cf. “full number [lit., ‘fullness’] of the Gentiles,” Rom. 11:25).

Ezekiel Chapter 39 Vs. 11

Prophecy against Gog

And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the [noses] of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call [it] The valley of Hamon-gog. Eze. 39:11

in that day,... In that day—after Armageddon, Gog and his armies (that is, five-sixths of his armies) will be buried. It will take seven months to bury such a vast multitude of bodies and dispose of every bone in all the land (Eze. 39:12-14).

it shall stop... Before the most of them are buried men will stop their noses as they pass through the land because of such a stench coming from the decaying bodies. The publicity of the road would cause many to observe God's judgments, as the stench (as English Version translates) or the multitude of graves would arrest the attention of passers-by. Their grave would be close to that of their ancient prototypes, Sodom and Gomorrah in the Dead Sea, both alike being signal instances of God's judgments.

a place there... Gog found only a grave where he had expected the spoils of conquest.

the valley of... So vast were to be the masses that nothing but a deep valley would suffice for their corpses. the passengers on the east of the sea - those traveling on the high road, east of the Dead Sea, from Syria to Petra and Egypt.

east of the... To what "sea" is Ezekiel referring? It is the sea that the "Valley of the Passengers" enters. That is the "Sea of Salt" or the "Dead Sea". The "Valley of the Passengers" in Hebrew is "Guy-'Ohverim". It is a deep gorge, an abysmal chasm, a canyon that descends from the crest of Mount Moab down between Mount Nebo's Pisgah on the North and the mount called "Ohverim" on the South. "Oh-ver" means "pass", "Ohverim" means "Passengers". Guy-'Ohverim enters the sea directly opposite to the Cave of the Column.

Over the ridge of Mount Moab flowing east away from Guy-'Ohverim, is the Valley of Tubal. The Tubal River flows down all the way from Mount Moab to the Euphrates at the ancient city of Babylon.

They shall call... Hamon-gog the valley of, the multitude of Gog (Eze. 39:11, 39:15).



After the battle Israel will also bury Gog’s dead. The burials will take place in the valley of those who travel east toward the Sea. This translation is somewhat confusing as “toward” was supplied by the translators, and the “east” (qiḏmat) should be translated “on the east of” (cf. Gen. 2:14; 1Sam. 13:5). The valley where Gog’s army will be buried is “on the east side of” the Dead Sea (NIV marg.) in what is today Jordan. The phrase “those who travel east” (hā‛ōḇerı̂m) could be taken as a proper name. It might refer to the “mountains of Abarim” (hā‛ăḇārı̂m) east of the Dead Sea that Israel traversed on her way to the Promised Land (cf. Num. 33:48). If so, Gog’s burial will be in the Valley of Abarim just across the Dead Sea from Israel proper in the land of Moab. Yet the burial will be in Israel because Israel controlled that area during some periods of her history (cf. 2Sam. 8:2; Psm. 60:8).

The number of corpses will be so great that the way of travelers will be blocked. “The way of travelers” could again be translated “Abarim.” The valley will be clogged with the bodies of soldiers. The name of the valley will be changed to the Valley of Hamon Gog, meaning “the Valley of the hordes of Gog.”

Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 11

 

Gentiles Grafted In

I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Rom 11:11

then, Have they... Questions 76-78. Next, Rom. 11:24. Have the Jews stumbled to complete and eternal ruin? God forbid. Their ruin is only temporary. In the meantime the Gentiles will take their place to provoke them to jealousy (Rom. 11:11; 10:19; Deut. 32:21). The fall of the Jews was not in itself the reason for the salvation of the Gentiles. They were to be saved whether the Jews accepted or rejected the gospel (Gen. 12:1-3; Rom. 4:1-25; Gal. 6:8-10). The unbelief of Israel could never give faith to Gentiles. The rejection of Christ by the Jews only accelerated the salvation of the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-48; 28:28).

stumbled that they... Greek: ptaio, to make a false step or mistake; to fail. Stumble (Rom. 11:11); fall (2Pet. 1:10); and offend (Jas. 2:10; 3:2).

should fall?... Greek: pipto, to fall down or out, meaning to be slain, or to lose one’s favor or grace. This proves that Israel, by offending or by failing lost the grace or favor of God. "Fall" is used in this sense in many scriptures (Luke 8:13; Acts 1:25; Rom. 11:11-12, 11:22; 1Cor. 10:12; Gal. 5:4; 1Tim. 3:7; 6:9; Heb. 4:11; 6:4-6; 2Pet. 1:10; 3:17; Jude 1:24; Rev. 2:5).

through their fall... Greek: paraptoma, a falling aside, when one should have stood upright; a moral fall; a fall from truth and grace. Fall (Rom. 11:11-12); fault (Gal. 6:1; Jas. 5:16); offence (Rom. 4:25; 5:15-20); trespass (Mat. 6:14-15; 18:35; Mark 11:25-26; 2Cor. 5:19; Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13); and sin (Eph. 1:7; 2:5; Col. 2:13).

for to provoke... The salvation and blessing of Gentiles will be the means of provoking Jews to seek and claim again their blessings.

The form of Paul’s question and his strong response confirm that Israel’s blindness, hardening and apostasy are not irreversible. Their “fall” is Israel’s rejection of Jesus Christ.

God intends to use His offer of salvation to the despised Gentiles to draw the nation back to Him. Salvation to the Gentiles is something the Old Testament had long prophesied.

Acts 13:42 “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.”

We see that the Gentiles readily accepted the Lord Jesus Christ when the Jews rejected Jesus. God still loves the Jew [the physical house of Israel] and, as we have been reading, He will save a remnant of them.

In Gentiles

Paul asked still another question he anticipated from his readers. Did they stumble (cf. Rom. 9:32) so as to fall beyond recovery? Literally, the Greek says simply, “Did they stumble so that they fell?” But the tense of the verb “fell” and its contrast with the verb translated “stumble” imply the idea of falling beyond recovery. Once again the question in Greek was worded to elicit a negative answer, and for the 10th and last time in Romans, Paul responded, Not at all! (mē genoito; cf. Rom. 3:4, 3:6, 3:31; 6:2, 6:15; 7:7, 7:13; 9:14; 11:1) “They” refers to “the others” (Rom. 11:7), the majority of the people of Israel, excluding the “remnant chosen by grace” (Rom. 11:5).

Israel experienced not a permanent fall, but a stumbling. It served at least two divine purposes: (a) to offer salvation… to the Gentiles, and (b) to make Israel envious (lit., “to the provoking of them to jealousy”; cf. Deut. 32:21). Twice already in his ministry Paul had turned away from unbelieving Jews to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46; 18:6), and he would do so at least once more in Rome (Acts 28:25-28). In so doing he was fulfilling these purposes of God. But Paul was convinced that Israel’s transgression (paraptōma, “false step,” which seems to fit with “stumble”; cf. paraptōma, trans. “trespass” in Rom. 5:17-18, 5:20) was temporary.