God Has Not Rejected His People

1 Am I saying that God has turned his back on his people? Certainly not! I am one of the people of Israel, and I myself am a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God did not turn his back on his chosen people. Don't you remember reading in the Scriptures how Elijah complained to God about the people of Israel? 3 He said, “Lord, they killed your prophets and destroyed your altars. I am the only one left, and now they want to kill me.”

4 But the Lord told Elijah, “I still have 7,000 followers who have not worshiped Baal.” 5It is the same way now. God treated the people of Israel with undeserved grace, and so a few of them are still his followers. 6This happened because of God's undeserved kindness and not because of anything they have done. It could not have happened except for God's gift of undeserved grace.

7This means that only a chosen few of the people of Israel found what all of them were searching for. And the rest of them were stubborn, 8 just as the Scriptures say,

“God made them so stupid

that their eyes are blind,

and their ears

are still deaf.”

9 Then David said,

“Turn their meals

into bait for a trap,

so that they will stumble

and be given

what they deserve.

10Blindfold their eyes!

Don't let them see.

Bend their backs

beneath a burden

that will never be lifted.”

Gentiles Will Be Saved

11Do I mean that the people of Israel fell, never to get up again? Certainly not! Their failure made it possible for the Gentiles to be saved, and this will make the people of Israel jealous. 12But if the rest of the world's people were helped so much by their sin and loss, they will be helped even more by their full return.

13I am now speaking to you Gentiles, and as long as I am an apostle to you, I will take pride in my work. 14I hope in this way to make some of my own people jealous enough to be saved. 15When Israel rejected God,+ the rest of the people in the world were able to turn to him. So when God makes friends with Israel, it will be like bringing the dead back to life. 16If part of a batch of dough is made holy by being offered to God, then all of the dough is holy. If the roots of a tree are holy, the rest of the tree is holy too.

17You Gentiles are like branches of a wild olive tree made to be part of a cultivated olive tree. You have taken the place of some branches that were cut away from it. And because of this, you enjoy the blessings that come from being part of that cultivated tree. 18But don't think you are better than the branches that were cut away. Just remember you are not supporting the roots of this tree. Its roots are supporting you.

19Maybe you think those branches were cut away, so you could be put in their place. 20That's true enough. But they were cut away because they did not have faith, and you are where you are because you do have faith. So don't be proud, but be afraid. 21If God cut away those natural branches, couldn't he do the same to you?

22Now you see both how kind and how hard God can be. He was hard on those who fell, but he was kind to you. And he will keep on being kind to you, if you keep on trusting in his kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too.

23If those other branches will start having faith, they will be made a part of that tree again. God has the power to put them back. 24After all, it wasn't natural for branches to be cut from a wild olive tree and to be made part of a cultivated olive tree. So it is much more likely that God will join the natural branches back to the cultivated olive tree.

The People of Israel Will Be Brought Back

25My friends, I don't want you Gentiles to be too proud of yourselves. So I will explain the mystery of what has happened to the people of Israel. Some of them have become stubborn, and they will stay like that until the complete number of you Gentiles has come in. 26 In this way all of Israel will be saved, as the Scriptures say,

“From Zion someone will come

to rescue us.

Then Jacob's descendants

will stop being evil.

27 This is what the Lord

has promised to do

when he forgives their sins.”

28The people of Israel are treated as God's enemies, so the good news can come to you Gentiles. But they are still the chosen ones, and God loves them because of their famous ancestors. 29God doesn't take back the gifts he has given or disown the people he has chosen.

30At one time you Gentiles rejected God. But now Israel has rejected God, and you have been shown mercy. 31And because of the mercy shown to you, they will also be shown mercy. 32All people have disobeyed God, and that's why he treats them as prisoners. But he does this, so that he can have mercy on all of them.

33 Who can measure the wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God? Who can understand his decisions or explain what he does?

34 “Has anyone known

the thoughts of the Lord

or given him advice?

35 Has anyone loaned

something to the Lord

that must be repaid?”

36 Everything comes from the Lord. All things were made because of him and will return to him. Praise the Lord forever! Amen.