Verse 1. I say then. This expression is to be regarded as conveying the sense of an objection. Paul, in the previous chapters, had declared the doctrine that all the Jews were to be rejected. To this a Jew might naturally reply, Is it to be believed, that God would cast off his people whom he had once chosen; to whom pertained the adoption, and the promises, and the covenant, and the numer- ous blessings conferred on a favourite people? It was natural for a Jew to make such objections. And it was important for the apostle to show that his doctrine was consistent with all the promises which God had made to his people. The objection, as will be seen by the answer which Paul makes, is formed on the supposition that God had rejected all his people, or cast them off entirely. This objection he answers by showing,
(1.) that God had saved him, a Jew, and therefore that he could not mean that God had east off all Jews, (Romans 11:1)
(2.) that now, as in former times of great declension, God had reserved a remnant, (Romans 11:2-5)
(3.) that it accorded with the Scriptures, that a part should be hardened, (Romans 11:6-10)
(4.) that the design of the rejection was not final, but was to admit the Gentiles to the privileges of Christianity, (Romans 11:11-24;)
(5.) that the Jews should yet return to God, and be reinstated in his favour: so that it could not be objected that God had finally and totally cast off his people, or that he had violated his promises. At the same time, however, the doctrine which Paul had maintained was true, that God had taken away their exclusive and peculiar privileges, and had rejected a large part of the nation.
Cast away. Rejected, or put off. Has God so renounced them that they cannot be any longer his people?
His people. Those who have been long in the covenant relation to him; that is, the Jews.
God forbid. Literally, it may not, or cannot be. This is an expression strongly denying that this could take place; and means that Paul did not intend to advance such a doctrine, Luke 20:16; Romans 3:4,6,31; 6:2,15; 7:7,13.
For I also am an Israelite. To show them that he did not mean to affirm that all Jews must of necessity be cast off, he adduces his own case. He was a Jew; and yet he looked for the favour of God, and for eternal life. That favour he hoped now to obtain by being a Christian; and if he might obtain it, others might also. "If I should say that all Jews must be excluded from the favour of God, then I also must be without hope of salvation, for I am a Jew."
Of the seed of Abraham. Descended from Abraham. The apostle mentions this to show that he was a Jew in every respect; that he had a title to all the privileges of a Jew, and must be exposed to all their liabilities and dangers. If the seed of Abraham must of necessity be cut off, he must be himself rejected. The Jews valued themselves much on having been descended from so illustrious an ancestor as Abraham, (Matthew 3:9) and Paul shows them that he was entitled to all the privileges of such a descent. Comp. Philippians 3:4,5.
Of the tribe of Benjamin. This tribe was one that was originally located near Jerusalem. The temple was built on the line that divided the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It is not improbable that it was regarded as a peculiar honour to have belonged to one of those tribes. Paul mentions it here in accordance with their custom; for they regarded it as of great importance to preserve their genealogy, and to be able to state not only that they were Jews, but to designate the tribe and family to which they belonged.
{c} "Hath God cast away" 1 Samuel 12:22; Psalms 77:7,8; 89:31,37.
Verse 2. God hath not cast away. This is an explicit denial of the objection.
Which he foreknew. The word foreknew is expressive not merely of foreseeing a thing, but implies in this place a previous purpose or plan. See Barnes "Romans 8:29". The meaning of the passage is simply, God has not cast off those whom he had before purposed or designed to be his people. It is the declaration of a great principle of Divine government that God is not changeable; and that he would not reject those whom he had purposed should be his people. Though the mass of the nation, therefore, should be cast off, yet it would not follow that God had violated any promise or compact; or that he had rejected any whom he had foreknown as his true people. God makes no covenant of salvation with those who are in their sins; and if the unbelieving and the wicked, however many external privileges they may have enjoyed, are rejected, it does not follow that he has been unfaithful to one whom he had foreknown or designated as an heir of salvation. It follows from this, also, that it is one principle of the Divine government that God will not reject those who are foreknown or designated as his friends. It is a part of the plan, therefore, that those who are truly renewed shall persevere, and obtain eternal life.
Wot ye not. Know ye not.
What the Scripture saith. The passage here quoted is found in 1 Kings 19:10-18.
Of Elias. Of Elijah. Greek, "In Elijah (\~en hlia\~). This does not mean that it was said about Elijah, or concerning him; but the reference is to the usual manner of quoting the Scriptures among the Jews. The division into chapters and verses was to them unknown. (See the Introduction to the Notes on Matthew.) Hence the Old Testament was divided into portions designated by subjects. Thus Luke 20:37; Mark 12:26, "At the bush," means the passage which contains the account of the burning bush. See Barnes "Luke 20:37"; See Barnes "Mark 12:26". Here it means, in that passage or portion of Scripture which gives an account of Elijah.
He maketh intercession to God against Israel. The word translated maketh intercession (\~entugcanei\~) means, properly, to come to the aid of any one; to transact the business of any one; especially to discharge the office of an advocate, or to plead one's cause in a court of justice. In a sense similar to this it is applied to Christ in his office of making intercession for us in heaven, Hebrews 7:25; Isaiah 53:12. In the English language, the word is constantly used in a good sense, to plead for one; never to plead against one; but the Greek word may imply either. It expresses the office of one who manages the business of another; and hence one who manages the business of the state against a criminal; and when followed by the preposition for, means to intercede or plead for a person; when followed by against, (\~kata\~) it means to accuse or arraign. This is its meaning here. He accuses or arraigns the nation of the Jews before God; he charges them with crime; the crime is specified immediately.
{d} "Wot ye not" Romans 8:29
{1} "of Elias" or, "in Elias"
Verse 3. Lord, they have killed, etc. This is taken from 1 Kings 19:10. The quotation is not literally made, but the sense is preserved. This was a charge which Elijah brought against the whole nation; and the act of killing the prophets he regarded as expressive of the character of the people, or that they were universally given to wickedness. The fact was true that they had killed the prophets, etc., (1 Kings 18:4,13) but the inference which Elijah seems to have drawn from it, that there were no pious men in the nation, was not well founded.
And digged down. Altars, by the law of Moses, were required to be made of earth or unhewn stones, Exodus 20:24,25. Hence the expression, to dig them down, means completely to demolish or destroy them.
Thine altars. There was one great altar in the front of the tabernacle and the temple, on which the daily sacrifices of the Jews were to be made. But they were not forbidden to make altars also elsewhere, Exodus 20:25. And hence they are mentioned as existing in other places, 1 Samuel 7:17; 16:2,3; 1 Kings 18:30,32. These were the altars of which Elijah complained as having been thrown down by the Jews; an act which was regarded as expressive of signal impiety.
I am left alone. I am the only prophet which is left alive. We are told that when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them and hid them in a cave, 1 Kings 18:4. But it is not improbable that they had been discovered and put to death by Ahab. The account which Obadiah gave Elijah when he met him, (1 Kings 18:13) seems to favour such a supposition.
Seek my life. That is, Ahab and Jezebel seek to kill me. This they did because he had overcome and slain the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 19:1,2. There could scarcely be conceived a time of greater distress and declension in religion than this. It has not often happened that so many things that were disheartening have occurred to the church at the same period of time. The prophets of God were slam; but one lonely man appeared to have zeal for true religion; the nation was running to idolatry; the civil rulers were criminally wicked, and were the leaders in the universal apostasy; and all the influences of wealth and power were setting in against the true religion to destroy it. It was natural that the solitary man of God should feel disheartened and lonely in this universal guilt; and should realize that he had no power to resist this tide of crime and calamities.
Verse 4. The answer of God, (\~o crhmatismov\~). This word is used nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, an oracle, a divine response. It does not indicate the manner in which it was done, but implies only that it was an oracle, or answer made to his complaint by God. Such an answer, at such a time, would be full of comfort, and silence every murmur. The way in which this answer was in fact given, was not in a storm, or an earth- quake, but in a still, small voice, 1 Kings 19:11,12.
I have reserved. The Hebrew is, "I have caused to remain," or to be reserved. This shows that it was of God that this was done. Amidst the general corruption and idolatry he had restrained a part, though it was a remnant. The honour of having done it he claims for himself, and does not trace it to any goodness or virtue in them. So in the case of all those who are saved from sin and pain, the honour belongs not to man, but to God.
To myself. For my own service and glory. I have kept them steadfast in my worship, and have not suffered them to become idolaters. Seven thousand men. Seven is often used in the Scriptures to denote an indefinite or round number. Perhaps it may be so here, to intimate that there was a considerable number remaining. This should lead us to hope that, even in the darkest times in the church, there may be many more friends of God than we suppose. Elijah supposed he was alone; and yet at that moment there were thousands who were the true friends of God: a small number, indeed, compared with the multitude of idolaters; but large when compared with what was supposed to be remaining by the dejected and disheartened prophet.
Who have not bowed the knee. To bow or bend the knee is an expression denoting worship, Philippians 2:10; Ephesians 3:14; Isaiah 45:23.
To Baal. The word Baal in Hebrew means lord, or master. This was the name of an idol of the Phenicians and Canaanites, and was worshipped also by the Assyrians and Babylonians under the name of Bel. (Comp. the Book of Bel in the Apocrypha.) This god was represented under the image of a bull, or a calf; the one denoting the sun, the other the moon. The prevalent worship in the time of Elijah was that of this idol.
Verse 5. At this present time. In the time when the apostle wrote. Though the mass of the nation was to be rejected, yet it did not follow that all were to be excluded from the favour of God. As in the time of Elijah, when all appeared to be dark, and all the nation, except one, seemed to have become apostate, yet there was a considerable number of the true friends of God; so in the time of Paul, though the nation had rejected their Messiah,--though, as a consequence, they were to be rejected as a people; and though they were eminently wicked and corrupt,--yet it did not follow that all were cast off, or that any were excluded on whom God had purposed to bestow salvation.
A remnant. That which is left or reserved, Romans 9:27. He refers here, doubtless, to that part of the nation which was truly pious, or which had embraced the Messiah.
According to the election of grace. By a gracious or merciful choosing, or election; and not by any merit of their own. As in the time of Elijah, it was because God had reserved them unto himself that any were saved from idolatry, so now it was by the same gracious sovereignty that any were saved from the prevalent unbelief. The apostle here does not specify the number, but there can be no doubt that a multitude of Jews had been saved by becoming Christians, though compared with the nation--the multitude who rejected the Messiah--it was but a remnant.
The apostle thus shows that neither all the ancient people of God were east away, nor that any whom he foreknew were rejected. And though he had proved that a large part of the Jews were to be rejected, and though infidelity was prevalent, yet still there were some who had been Jews who were truly pious, and entitled to the favour of God. Nor should they deem this state of things remarkable, for a parallel case was recorded in their own Scriptures. We may learn from this narrative,
(1.) that it is no unparalleled thing for the love of many to wax cold, and for iniquity to abound.
(2.) The tendency of this is to produce deep feeling and solicitude among the true friends of God. Thus David says, "Rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they keep not thy law," Psalms 119:136. Comp. Jeremiah 9:1; Luke 19:41.
(3.) That in these darkest tunes we should not be discouraged. There may be much more true piety in the world than, in our despondency, we may suppose. We should take courage in God, and believe that he will not forsake any that are his true friends, or on whom he has purposed to bestow eternal life.
(4.) It is of God that all are not corrupt and lost. It is owing only to the election of grace, to his merciful choosing, that any are saved. And as in the darkest times he has reserved a people to himself, so we should believe that he will still meet abounding evil, and save those whom he has chosen from eternal death.
{f} "then at this present time" Romans 9:27
Verse 6. And if by grace, etc. If the fact that any are reserved be by grace, or favour, then it cannot be as a reward of merit. Paul thus takes occasion incidently to combat a favourite notion of the Jews, that we are justified by obedience to the law. He reminds them, that in the time of Elijah it was because God had reserved them; that the same was the case now; and therefore their doctrine of merit could not be true. See Romans 4:4,5; Galatians 5:4; Ephesians 2:8,9.
Otherwise grace, etc. If men are justified by their works, it could not be a matter of favour, but was a debt. If it could be that the doctrine of justification by grace could be held, and yet at the same time that the Jewish doctrine of merit was true, then it would follow that grace had changed its nature, or was a different thing from what the word properly signified. The idea of being saved by merit contradicts the very idea of grace. If a man owes me a debt, and pays it, it cannot be said to be done by favour, or by grace. I have a claim on him for it, and there is no favour in his paying his just dues.
But if it be of works, etc. Works here mean conformity to the law; and to be saved by works would be to be saved by such conformity as the meritorious cause. Of course there could be no grace or favour in giving what was due; if there was favour, or grace, then works would lose their essential characteristic, and cease to be the meritorious cause of procuring the blessings. What is paid as a debt is not conferred as a favour.
And from this it follows that salvation cannot be partly by grace and partly by works. It is not because men can advance any claims to the favour of God; but from his mere unmerited grace. He that is not willing to obtain eternal life in that way, cannot obtain it at all. The doctrines of election, and of salvation by mere grace, cannot be more explicitly stated than they are in this passage.
{g} "if by grace" Romans 4:5; Galatians 5:4; Ephesians 2:8
Verse 7. What then? What is the proper conclusion from this argument?
Israel hath not obtained. That is, the Jews as a people have not obtained that which they sought. They sought the favour of God by their own merit; and as it was impossible to obtain it in that manner, they have, as a people, failed of obtaining his favour at all, and will be rejected.
That which he seeketh for. To wit, salvation by their own obedience to the law.
The election hath. The purpose of choosing, on the part of God, has obtained, or secured, that which the seeking on the part of the Jews could not secure. Or the abstract here may be put for the concrete, and the word "election" may mean the same as the elect. The elect, the reserved, the chosen part of the people, have obtained the favour of God.
Hath obtained it. That is, the favour or mercy of God.
The rest. The great mass of the people who remained in unbelief, and had rejected the Messiah.
Were blinded. The word in the original means, also, were hardened, (\~epwrwyhsan\~). It comes from a word which signifies, properly, to become hard, as bones do which are broken and are then united; or as the joints sometimes do when they become callous or stiff. "It was probably applied also to the formation of a hard substance in the eye, a, cataract; and then means the same as to be blinded. Hence, applied to the mind, it means that which is hard, obdurate, insensible, stupid. Thus it is applied to the Jews, and means that they were blind and obstinate. See Mark 6:52, "Their heart was hardened." Romans 8:17; John 12:40. The word does not occur in any other place in the New Testament. This verse affirms simply, that "the rest were hardened," but it does not affirm anything about the mode by which it was done. In regard to "the election," it is affirmed that it was of God, Romans 11:4. Of the remainder, the fact of their blindness is simply mentioned, without affirming anything of the cause. See Romans 11:8.
{h} "Israel hath not obtained" Romans 9:31
{1} "blinded" or, "hardened".
Verse 8. According as it is written. That is, they are blinded in accordance with what is written. The fact and the manner accord with the ancient declaration. This is recorded in Isaiah 29:10, and in Deuteronomy 29:4. The same sentiment is found also substantially in Isaiah 6:9,10. The principal place referred to here, however, is doubtless Isaiah 29:10,
"For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your rulers hath he covered."
The quotation is not, however, literally made either from the Hebrew or the Septuagint; but the sense is preserved. The phrase "according as" means, upon the same principle, or in the same manner.
God hath given. Expressions like this are common in the Scriptures, where God is represented as having an agency in producing the wickedness and stupidity of sinners. See Romans 9:17,18. See Barnes "Matthew 13:16"; See Barnes "Mark 4:11", See Barnes "Mark 4:12"; also See Barnes "2 Thessalonians 2:11". This quotation is not made literally. The Hebrew in Isaiah is, God has poured upon them the spirit of slumber. The sense, however, is retained.
The spirit of slumber. The spirit of slumber is not different from slumber itself. The word spirit is often used thus. The word slumber here is a literal translation of the Hebrew. The Greek word, however, (\~katanuxewv\~), implies also the notion of compunction; and hence in the margin is is rendered remorse. It means any emotion, or any influence whatever, that shall benumb the faculties, and make them insensible. Hence it here means simply insensibility.
Eyes that they should not see, etc. This expression is not taken literally from any single place in the Old Testament; but expresses the general sense of several passages, Isaiah 6:10; Deuteronomy 29:4. It denotes a state of mind not different from a spirit of slumber. When we sleep, the eyes are insensible to surrounding objects, and the ear to sounds. Though in themselves the organs may be perfect, yet the mind is as though they were not; and we have eves which then do not see, and ears which do not hear. Thus with the Jews. Though they had all the proper faculties for understanding and receiving the gospel, yet they rejected it. They were stupid, and insensible to its claims and its truths.
Unto this day. Until the day that Paul wrote. The characteristic of the Jews that existed in the time of Isaiah, existed also in the time of Paul. It was a trait of the people; and their insensibility to the demands of the gospel developed nothing new in them.
{1} "slumber" or, "remorse"
{i} "eyes" Isaiah 29:10
{k} "should not see" Deuteronomy 29:4
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