Most people would never look at Romans Chapter 11 to find the rapture of the church, but it’s there and we learn a great deal by considering it within the context of the passage. We find out that our blessed hope – our soon departure — is both “goodness and severity” from God.
in Romans 11:11 Paul asks the question, “I say, then, have they stumbled that they should fall?” Who’s the “they?” Paul is talking about Israel and answers “Certainly not!” How is it that we have this growing trend among members of the church to say that God is done with Israel? It’s ludicrous, even blasphemous, because it declares that God doesn’t keep His promises. If God got fed up with the Jews and decided to stop working with them, what guarantee do you have that He’s not going to get fed up with the church and stop working with us? God is a faithful God, and He always fulfills His promises.
Paul continues in verse 11, “But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.” You remember Deuteronomy 32:21, when Moses was talking to the children of Israel, and he told them that they were going to go after other gods. Because of their idolatry, Moses reported that God would be filled with wrath, and He would deal with them in judgment, drive them out of their land and scatter them among other nations. And then God said in that passage, “I will provoke you by a people who are not a nation.” How can you have a people who are “not a nation?” Very simple. You just get people from every nation, every nation, every tribe, every tongue, every kindred from all over the world. You gather an entirely new people and entirely new creation. And you call it “the church.”
Romans 11:12 says, “If their fall is riches for the world and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more of their fullness! For I speak to you, Gentiles in as much as I am an Apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some.” Paul understood the role that God had for the church in relationship to Israel, and he understood, as the Apostle to the Gentiles — the example that we were to follow — he had a responsibility to “provoke.” The idea here is to provoke them by giving them a demonstration of what they could have been, of what they could have had, of what they could have received, but they rejected and therefore will take what they rejected and will use it and magnify Jesus Christ. When God calls this people back onto the scene in the tribulation period, this is what will motivate them to go out with a zeal that will evangelize the entire world!
Think of it. The church has been working on reaching the world for 2000 years and we’re not done. There are cultures all over this world that don’t have the Bible in their own language. There are many, many unreached people. What we have not accomplished in 2000 years, the children of Israel, beginning with 144,000 Jewish evangelists, are going to do it in seven years. It’s going to be like unleashing 144,000 Apostle Paul’s on the world. I believe they’re going to be restored to supernatural gifts with supernatural powers. There’s probably going to be things going on during the tribulation, like Philip evangelizing a guy down in Giza, and then suddenly, he’s in the next town and he’s evangelizing people there. God is going to be working in just astounding ways.
But we have our part to play for those people. What we do is going to make a difference for them. And this provocation is not a provocation of an arrogant or an insult attitude toward them or looking down on them or a diminishing of their value. It’s a recognition that everything that has happened leading up to the time of the church, we are indebted to them. As Paul says in Romans 1:14-16, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel. I am a debtor.” You and I are a debtor. And we’re a debtor, not only to those that we should go to in our great commission, but we are a debtor to the nation of Israel. We would not have the Bible without them.
This idea of provoking is on Paul’s mind, because in Romans 10:19, Paul says, “But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says, I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation. I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.” So, there’s a repetition here, running through Romans Chapters nine, ten and eleven. These chapters tell us what part we play in God’s plan for Israel, and in a sense, contain our marching orders. Romans 10:14 says, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?” Who’s the “they?” The same “they,” the same people. He’s talking about the children of Israel. “How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they’re sent?” We quote this all the time as a part of our missionary endeavor. “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.” But what is the context? The context is the role of the church and ultimately bringing the children of Israel back to God.
And so, we come up to Romans Chapter 11, Paul, in effect assumes two prophetic perspectives, two covenants, two people, two messages, and now we see two trees. In Romans 11:15, he says, “For if their being cast away, is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy.” In other words, the gathering in of the first fruits, was the first fruits of the harvest offered to God. The grain from the field was ground into a lump of dough. “If the first fruit is holy, the lump of dough that comes from it is holy” He goes on to say in Romans 11:16, “If the root is holy, so are the branches.” We have a tree. The tree comes from the root. Romans 11:17 says, “And if some of the branches were broken off.” Notice that “they” in verse 11 shifts to “you” in verse 13, and Paul tells us the “you” is “you Gentiles” (which form the church for the most part.) “If some of the branches,” meaning them, “…were broken off and you, being a wild olive tree were grafted in among them, and with them you became a partake of the root and the fatness of the olive tree.”
Romans 11:18 continues, “Do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.” Here’s the first command. “Do not boast.” Let me ask you a question. Is it not boasting when we disregard the debt that we have to everyone who came before? Is it not boasting when we conclude that God’s done with Israel? Is it not a boast when we say that we’ve taken their place, that all the Old Testament promises were spiritual in nature, and we’ve become “spiritual Israel” and therefore God is done with them? I’ve even heard Christians say today, if the nation of Israel is wiped off the map, doesn’t make any difference at all. It’s blasphemous. I hear pastors say, this doesn’t matter if Iran wipes Israel out. It doesn’t have anything to do with us at all. Really? Are we not boasting against the route on which we’re built? I think we are. Romans 11:19 anticipates the reader’s questions. “You will say to me then. Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” in other words, “God got rid of them so that He could pull me in.” And that obviously makes me superior and inconsequential. Romans 11:20, continues, “Well said. Because of unbelief, they were broken off. And you stand by faith.” Do not be haughty, but fear.” I wonder how much real fear there is in any of us of failing to play the part that God intends us to play in this most crucial time of church history. Romans 11:21, says “If God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.” Is Paul anticipating something here? Romans 11:22, “Therefore consider the goodness and the severity of God.” If you have never been through a time of real scourging, if you’ve never been in a time when God has chastened you severely, this is what Paul is talking about. He’s saying that “the blessed hope” has severity mixed in with mercy.
What follows the Rapture? We call it the Bema Seat of Christ– a place of reward and loss. So, “Consider the goodness and the severity of God: on those who fell, severity.” How severe has God been to the people He chose? 2000 years of wandering, hatred, maligning, and persecution. Yet, the worst is yet to come. Romans 11:22 says of God’s goodness and severity “on those who fell, severely; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in this goodness.” Is the church continuing in that goodness? Do we recognize that mercy came to us through Jesus Christ, the Jew? Have we somehow lifted Christ up out of His genealogical roots and forgotten what Paul told us at the beginning of the book of Romans, that Christ was made of “the seed of David according to the flesh.” And we should never forget that all down through the ages, men and women shed their blood, sacrifice their lives, poured out their tears in order that God might bring through that people the Savior of the world.
Paul finishes the thought “…if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.” This is a prophecy of the rapture of the church. Paul is anticipating is that the church, in the end will fail for the most part. We see it all around us. We do not pray for the nation of Israel. We do not stand up for the nation of Israel. We do not fulfill our role as a believer priest. Oh, we’re thankful that we’re believer priests. That means I can walk into the throne room of God at any time. I can come boldly to the throne of grace. I can stand with a fallen, open face before the Lord Jesus Christ. I can know that my sins are forgiven. I can know that He’s there any time I need him. This is so self-focused. You have a role to play, and your priesthood has a focus because it is a priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. And that should mean something.
Gene Cunningham - December 18, 2022
What does Jabez' Prayer have to do with Jesus' birth?
We rightly love the Christmas Story. We know that God arranged the whole scene, but few know the connection to Jabez’ prayer. “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were terrified. But the angels said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” The phrase, “living out in the fields” is the word, “Agrueleo,” and is only used in this place in the New Testament. An active participle, it indicates that this was their habitual practice. In other words, they always lived in the fields. That was their home. These shepherds were the shepherds that raised the lambs that were sacrificed in the temple. But again, why was their permanent residence in the field? Even to this day, if you go to Israel and the guides will lead you to the area outside of Bethlehem, and it's called the Shepherds Fields. Why were they there? In Genesis 35:19-21, after Rachel died and Jacob buried her, he traveled a little bit further and he pitched his tent in beyond the Tower of Eder.Why is that important? Because “Eder” means the flock, and it's actually picked up later in a prophecy in Micah 4:8, which says, “O Tower of the Flock, the stronghold of the Daughter of Zion to you, shall it come (or to you he shall come.)” And this, of course, connects with Luke Chapter 8, because as we read later on, Jewish tradition made this tower Jesus’ birthplace this long before Christ came into the world. Who built this tower? We don't know. But going all the way back now to the time of Abraham, 2000 years before Christ a tower was erected, Jewish rabbis said it’d be the site where the Messiah would come. Jerome, in the fourth century saw in this tower the foreshadowing of the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ to the shepherds, the ones that kept living in the fields. Today it answers to a place called Khirbet Sara, which is called “The Ruin of the Sheepfold.” It's very interesting that archeologists have gone to this place, and they have found all kinds of Christian artifacts showing that early on this was a place of worship. 1st Chronicles 4:9 reads, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother called him Jabez saying, because ‘I bore him in pain.’” Kind of a rough name to give to a kid because it basically means he causes pain. “Jabez called on the God of Israel.” Now this is a noble, honorable man, according to Scripture, and he prays “that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.” Basically, he prays “I don't want to live up to my name.” We have to understand that in Hebrew thought the name your parents gave you was actually the name God already had planned for you before you were born, and it described your character. We see that playing out a lot in Scripture, in the names that were given to people. Jabez did not want to live up to his name. He did not want to be a source of pain. And then it says, “and so God granted him what he requested.” He requested God's blessing for enlarged territory. Jabez was not praying for literal territory when he prayed that God would enlarge his territory or enlarge his holdings. He was an honorable man. He was a noble man. He was thinking in spiritual terms. Which would you rather have? A big ranch or eternal impact? What would you rather have? Would you rather have holdings in this world? Or would you rather have impact in history and reward and eternity? Jabez was praying for something much, much bigger, than what most people think of. How do we know that God answered this prayer? And why in the world will this relate to the shepherds in the field? Well, if you just slide over to 1st Chronicles 2:54-55 which says, “54 The sons of Salma were Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, half of the Manahethites, and the Zorites. And the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Suchathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.” you know, the Kennites were not Jews. They came from Moses, father-in-law, Jethro, who came from Hamath, the father of the House of Recab. Now, I know you think that we've already lost the trail, but we're just closing in on it. The Tower of Eder, which stood just outside the village that later is called Bethlehem, was the former site of a village of Jabez. Jabez’ Prayer began by a village being named for him near the Tower of Eder. And who were the Kennites? Not Jews, but people who later actually married into the Levitival priesthood. Notice the important words here. They were scribes who dwelt at Jabez. The job of the scribe was to copy the scriptures, to study the Scriptures and to teach the Scriptures. The beginning of the answer to Jabez prayer was a group of people, not even Jews, but proselytes, who came in because of faith, and they became the leading Bible scholars of their time. It tells us at the end of the verse as well that they were of the House of Recab. 1500 years later, in Jeremiah 35, we see more of the Recabites. Jeremiah wanted to use these people as an example to the children of Israel of what faithfulness should look like. Jeremiah is told, “bring them into the House of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.” So, Jeremiah said, I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah. The son of “who and who....” “His brothers and all his sons, the whole house of the Rechabites. I brought them into the House of the Lord, into the chamber of the Sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah.” They really get into the genealogies here. “A man of God, which was by the chamber of the Princes above the chamber,” and so on and so forth. Verse five says, “I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabite bowls full of wine and cups, and I said, ‘Drink wine.’” Jeremiah's doing what God commanded him to do. “But they said, we will drink no wine for Jonadab, the son of Rechab.” Once again, keep in mind the link back to First Chronicles. “Our father commanded us saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons forever.’” That was not the only requirement he placed on them, however. Verse seven says, “You shall not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard, nor have any of these. All your days you shall dwell in tents that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.” The Rechabites through all their generations, became shepherds and lived in tents. And as we come down to Jeremiah's commendation of these people, he says in verse 16, “Surely the sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them. But this people, meaning Israel, God says, has not obeyed me. Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel. Behold, I will bring on Judah, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the doom that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard. I have called to them, but they have not answered. And Jeremiah said to the House of the Rechabites, “Thus says the Lord God of hosts the God of Israel, because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts have done according to all that he commanded you. Therefore, thus, as the Lord God of host the God of Israel, Jonadab, the Son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before me forever. Can you connect this unique group of people who took a vow that they would always remain nomads and shepherds who were linked to the village that once stood slightly outside of Bethlehem, all the way down to the shepherds that ultimately stood before the Lord. According to this promise. “He will not like a man to stand before me.” By the way, the phrase stand before me has a priestly connotation. My conviction is that these shepherds were living in the same place they had always lived, lived in the same way they had always lived, were doing the same things they had always done, continued to remain students of God's word. Obviously. And they were the first ones that were invited to meet the Savior as he entered the world. That's pretty amazing. But it's not as amazing as what happened and what they witnessed. You know, Paul captures the first Christmas in a way this the simple story can't. We love the story in its simplicity, its oriental beauty, and it's so amazingly beautiful, but it doesn't come close to capturing what that little child represented. When Paul tells us in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind being you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to cling to or a thing to grasped. But He made Himself of no reputation and came in the form of a man and being found in existence as a man. He humbled Himself even further unto death. Even the death of the cross.” That all began right here. That was that huge step that our Savior took from his throne in heaven down into this world full of sin, sorrow and suffering. For what? To live a life of rejection. A life misunderstood. A life of slander and maligning. And ultimately, to go to the cross. For you and I. to pay the penalty for our sins, and not just for ours. But as John tells us, “for the sins of the entire world.” We should stand as we do today, preparing to celebrate Christmas with the reverence, amazement, humility. Our souls should be struck with the beauty, but also the grandeur and the greatness of everything that our Savior has done for us.
More From "Christmas"
December 18, 2022
What does Jabez' Prayer have to do with Jesus' birth?
Gene Cunningham
