“Aug 28, 2024 - Producing Holy Jealousy”

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Producing Holy Jealousy

Reading:  Romans 11:7-16
    
    Paul starts to draw some conclusions here about the Jewish situation.  “What then?  Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking.  The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day’”(Rom 11:7-8).  Israel has by and large rejected the gospel because they were seeking righteousness by works (Rom 9:32), so God has hardened them (Rom 9:18, 11:7-8) and caused them to stumble (Rom 11:9).  Yet Paul is extremely optimistic that this is not the end of the story for Israel and the gospel.

    He contends that God has allowed this all to happen to induce jealousy in Israel (see Rom 10:19).  “So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall?  By no means!  Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous”(Rom 11:11).  The name of their God is on the lips of Gentiles.  His word is being taught and lived.  People are changing their lives to follow Yahweh.  Yet they are not a part of it.  This produces jealousy in them—a passionate desire to return to God’s favor.  Paul even talks up his own preaching work to stir up jealousy:  “Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them”(Rom 11:13-14).  This hardening is not permanent or irresistible (Paul hopes to save them, v. 14) and he dreams of a future “full inclusion”(Rom 11:12) and “life from the dead”(Rom 11:15) for both Jew and Gentile.  Paul has faith that God is not done with his people.  

    Paul has an inspiring vision of God and his power.  Despite all the slights he has experienced at the hands of his countrymen, he longs for them to come to faith in Jesus.  He is confident that God can even use the current unpleasant situation to bring about something even greater.  Jealousy is a way to describe a holy passion to be a part of God’s plan and working.  God is capable of using anything that excites that passion within us to draw us closer to him.

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One Thing to Think About:  Would people be jealous of my relationship with God?  Why or why not?

One Thing to Pray For:   More people to come into a right relationship with God
 

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