Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 17

 Gentiles Grafted In

And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Rom 11:17

And if some... Israel is here pictured as branches of an olive tree and the Gentiles as a wild olive tree, or the oleaster which bears no fruit. Some are broken off because of unbelief and Gentiles take their place to partake of Israel’s blessings.

Some, but not all of the branches of Israel were broken off or removed. God always preserved a believing remnant.

thou, being a... grafted in: Olive trees were an important crop in the ancient world. Although trees often lived for hundreds of years, individual branches eventually stopped producing olives. When that happened, branches from younger trees were grafted in to restore productivity.

Paul’s point is that the old, unproductive branches (Israel), were broken off and branches from a wild olive tree (Gentiles), were grafted in.

Once grafted in, Gentiles partake of the richness of God’s covenant blessings as the spiritual heirs of Abraham.

The Olive tree: The place of divine blessing, God’s covenant of salvation made with Abraham.

The natural branches were the physical house of Israel (Hebrews), and we Christians are the grafted in branches. All believers are the spiritual house of Israel.

Eph. 3:6 “That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:”

In the apostolic generation God put aside as a whole the people of Israel, an action Paul described as one in which some of the branches have been broken off. The apostle then spoke directly to Gentile Christians: And you (sing.), though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root (lit., “have become a co-partner of the root of the fatness of the olive”).

Ezekiel Chapter 39 Vs. 16

 Prophecy against Gog

And also the name of the city [shall be] Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land. Eze. 39:16




name of the... Hamonah, means to the multitude. This city shall rise out of the rubble of the grave place of Gog. The multitude speaks of the multitude of dead.



The operation will be so vast that a town will be set up in the valley at the grave-sites to accommodate those cleansing the land. It will be named Hamonah — a form of the word “hordes.”

Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 16

 

Gentiles Grafted In

For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. Rom 11:16

firstfruit be holy... "The firstfruit" refers to the first Jews blessed in the gospel and "the lump" to the whole nation that will be blessed and become holy in the end (Rom. 11:16, 11:25-29; Isa. 66:7-8; Zec. 12:10-13:1; 14:1-21). "The root and fatness of the olive tree" refer to Christ and God’s blessings of the Abrahamic and New Covenant. "The branches" are the Israelites, like true Christians are the branches in the vine of John 15:1-8. Is also the first portion of the harvest, which was to be given to the Lord.

lump is also... Because the first fruit offering represented the entire portion, the entire piece of dough could be said to be holy, set apart to God.

the root be... The root of the tree is the covenantal promise to Abraham, which anticipated blessing to Jew and Gentile. Israel’s essential nature is holy (set apart of God’s purpose).

James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Jesus Christ is the root. In fact, He is the Tree and we are the branches. A peach tree does not produce apples, but peaches. If Christ is the tree, then we Christians are the branches. A Christian should be Christ like.

In (verses 17-24), Paul sternly warns the Gentiles against pride and arrogance because of Israel’s rejection and their being grafted in.

Paul was convinced that Israel’s stumbling is temporary rather than permanent and that the nation will be restored as God’s people. With two illustrations Paul showed why he believed this. His first illustration was taken from God’s instructions to Israel to take “a cake from the first of [their] ground meal and present it as an offering” (Num. 15:20) after they entered the land of Canaan and reaped their first wheat harvest. This offering was to be repeated each year at their harvests. The cake made from the first ground meal of the wheat harvest was sanctified or made holy by being offered to God. As Paul explained, If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits (lit., “If the firstfruits”) is holy, then the whole batch is holy (lit., “the lump is also”). Paul’s second illustration was that of a tree: If the root is holy, so are the branches.

In both illustrations the principle is the same: what is considered first contributes its character to what is related to it. With a tree, the root obviously comes first and contributes the nature of that type of tree to the branches that come later. With the cake presented to the Lord, the flour for the cake is taken from the ground meal, but that cake is formed and baked first and presented as a firstfruit. Since it is set apart to the Lord first, it sanctifies the whole harvest. The firstfruits and the root represent the patriarchs of Israel or Abraham personally, and the lump and the branches represent the people of Israel. As a result Israel is set apart (holy) to God, and her “stumbling” (rejection of Christ) must therefore be temporary.

Ezekiel Chapter 39 Vs. 15

 Prophecy against Gog

And the passengers [that] pass through the land, when [any] seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. Eze. 39:15




valley of Hamon-gog... The valley of, the name to be bestowed on the ravine or glen, previously known as "the ravine of the passengers on the east of the sea," after the burial there of "Gog and his entire multitude."

seeth a man's... Everyone who found a bone from a dead body, put a flag up by it, so that the professional buriers will find it, and buries it.

As they go through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it.





Then as gravediggers see the markers they will take the remains to the Valley of Hamon Gog for burial.

Romans Chapter 11 Vs. 15

Gentiles Grafted In

For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? Rom 11:15

if the casting... If the rejection of Israel and the turning to Gentiles caused all the world to have immediate opportunity of being saved, how much more will many in the world be blessed when the whole nation of Israel is saved in one day (Rom. 11:15, 11:25-29; Isa. 66:7-8; Zec. 12:10-13:1; 14:1-5, 14:14, 14:16-21).

This is not speaking of bodily resurrection but the passing from spiritual death to spiritual life. This phrase also describes the future spiritual rebirth of Israel.

There is no better example of this in the entire Bible than in Ezekiel where the story of the dry bones is found. In this account, we will see that at the end, God will bring back to life the natural Israelite (has been taking place since 1947), and they and the spiritual house of Israel (believing Jews & Christians of the Church), will all be part of the family of God.

The 2 sticks that come together are the spiritual and the physical houses of Israel. Jesus Christ (their Messiah), saves us all.

Eze. 37:1-14 “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which [was] full of bones,” “And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, [there were] very many in the open valley; and, lo, [they were] very dry.” “And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.” “Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” “Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:” “And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.” “So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.” “And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but [there was] no breath in them.” “Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.” “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.” “And ye shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I have opened your graves(description of displaced Jews in other countries), O my people, and brought you up out of your graves(description of their return to their own land),” “And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken [it], and performed [it], saith the LORD.”

Then Paul reminded his Gentiles readers that Israel’s rejection meant the reconciliation of the world in the purpose of God. Because Israel rejected Christ, the gospel was taken to these Gentiles. In Scripture reconciliation is a work of God in the death of Christ which does not actually restore an individual to fellowship with God but provides the basis for him to be restored to fellowship (cf. 2Cor. 5:18-20). 

Ezekiel Chapter 39 Vs. 14

 Prophecy against Gog

And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. Eze. 39:14

shall sever out... The people in the whole land help in the interment of the dead that will consume seven months. They will also hire people to go around, and find the ones they missed, so that they also may be buried.

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




As they go through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it. Then as gravediggers see the markers they will take the remains to the Valley of Hamon Gog for burial.

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).