The Future Of The Nation Israel According To The Book Of Romans -- By: Walter P. Olsen

Journal: Central Bible Quarterly
Volume: CENQ 10:1 (Spring 1967)
Article: The Future Of The Nation Israel According To The Book Of Romans
Author: Walter P. Olsen


The Future Of The Nation Israel According To The Book Of Romans

Walter P. Olsen

Chapter I: Introduction

In Romans 9–11 God deals primarily with His present and future relationship to His chosen people. The problem of this study is to determine whether or not God has permanently cast aside His chosen people and the promises He made to them. The problem does not involve whether or not they are lost, for in the early chapters of Romans Paul teaches that all men are lost, but the peculiar problem that he faced in Romans 9–11 was that here was a group of men who were lost, and yet who somehow constituted even at that moment the chosen nation of God to whom all the promises in the prophets still belonged.

The privileges and promises of God’s chosen people are noted in Romans 9:4–5. Here Paul is discussing the situation of his kinsmen according to the flesh, that is, the Israelites. Herein are stated God’s special blessings for His people, called Israelites, a favorite name of honor, used also in Romans 11:1. It contains all the prerogatives which follow, six, all connected by “and.” (1) To the Israelites pertaineth the adoption. This has reference to son-placing, that is, God owned the nation of Israel as His son. This is not individual adoption but national. God could say of Israel, “Out of Egypt have I called my son,” and, “You only have I known of all nations that be upon the earth.” (2) To Israel pertaineth the glory, that is, the visible, luminous appearance of the Lord’s presence, as, for example, in Exodus 24:16. Here the glory of the Lord covered Mount Sinai for six days. (3) The covenants pertain to Israel. All the covenants pertain to Israel, but especially note the Abrahamic and the New Covenant. In Genesis 17:7, 8, the covenant with Abraham is declared to be an everlasting covenant, and the land is promised to Israel as an everlasting possession. Jeremiah 31:31–34 predicts a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah which will replace God’s covenant with them in the Mosaic Law. (4) To Israel pertaineth the giving of the law. It was holy, just, spiritual, and good, the highest revelation in the sphere of law that ever has been or ever can be. (5) To Israel pertaineth the ritual services as instituted by the law, having a marvelous meaning and wondrous beauty in connection with both the tabernacle and the temple of old. (6) Finally, special promises belong to Israel. They we...

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