[SERIES NAVIGATION] This is Part 2 of a 2-part study on the biblical Identity of Israel
[Part 2] | Link to Part 1
RECAP: What We’ve Discovered So Far
In Part 1, we traced the origin of Israel’s identity back to a wrestling match at the Jabbok river. Jacob—the deceiver, the schemer, the man who had spent his entire life running from consequences—was seized by God in the darkness and wrestled until dawn.
He didn’t win through strength. He won through clinging. God crippled his hip with a single touch, and from that posture of broken dependence, Jacob received what he could never have schemed his way into: a new name.
Israel. “He who struggles with God.”
This is the origin of Israel’s identity: not a people chosen for their moral superiority, but a people defined by a struggle with God that leaves them marked, limping, and blessed.
Then, on the plains of Moab, Moses answered the question that hung in the air: “Why did God choose Israel?”
The answer was devastating to human pride:
Not because they were numerous. They were the fewest.
Not because they were righteous. Moses doesn’t even hint at that.
But because God loved them and swore an oath to their fathers.
God’s covenant with Israel rests on two unshakable pillars:
- God’s sovereign love (an act of His will, not a response to Israel’s qualities)
- God’s sworn oath (His fidelity to His own word)
And here’s the theological logic we must grasp:
Because the election was not established by Israel’s righteousness, it cannot be annulled by Israel’s rebellion.
If God chose them because they were good, He could un-choose them when they became bad. But He didn’t choose them because they were good. He chose them because He loved them and swore an oath.
That means the covenant stands—not because Israel is faithful, but because God is faithful.
And that has direct implications for you. If you are a Gentile believer grafted into the covenant through Christ, your salvation rests on the same principle: God’s love + God’s oath. Not your performance.
But this creates a massive problem.
If God’s covenant with Israel is truly irrevocable—if it’s based on His character, not their behavior—then how do we explain the fact that the majority of Israel has rejected the Messiah?
Has the Word of God failed?
III. THE CRISIS: NOT ALL ISRAEL IS ISRAEL (Romans 9)
The Context: Paul’s Anguish
The Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Rome around AD 57, is in the middle of a brutal pastoral and theological crisis. The Messiah—Jesus of Nazareth—has come to His own people, and the nation, by and large, has rejected Him.
This is not a minor problem. This is a crisis that threatens the entire gospel.
Here’s why: God made promises to Israel. He swore oaths to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He declared them His treasured possession. He gave them the covenants, the law, the temple, the promises of a coming Messiah.
And now the Messiah has come—and they’ve crucified Him.
The Gentiles are believing in droves. But the Jews, to whom the promises were given, are rejecting the fulfillment of those promises.
So the question becomes: Has the Word of God failed?
If God promised salvation to Israel, and Israel is rejecting the Savior, does that mean God’s promises aren’t reliable?
Paul opens Romans 9 with raw emotional honesty:
“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” (Romans 9:1–3, ESV)
Paul is in agony. He would trade his own salvation if it meant his Jewish brothers would be saved. This is not cold theological analysis. This is a man whose heart is breaking over his people’s rejection of their own Messiah.
And then he lists their privileges:
“They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 9:4–5, ESV)
Notice: Paul does not say “they were Israelites” or “they had the adoption.” He uses present tense. Even in their unbelief, these privileges still belong to them. The physical lineage still matters. God has not revoked their status.
But if that’s true, how do we explain the fact that most of them have rejected Christ?
The Precipice: What If God’s Word Failed?
Stop here for a moment. Feel the weight of what Paul is facing.
If the majority of Israel—the people to whom the promises were given, the descendants of Abraham, the nation God chose and swore an oath to preserve—can reject the Messiah and be lost, then the Word of God has failed.
The covenant is broken. The promises are worthless. The oath God swore to Abraham in Genesis 17—“I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant” (Genesis 17:7)—is null and void.
And if God’s oath to Israel can fail, then God’s oath to you can fail.
This is not a minor issue. This is not a theological curiosity. This is the collapse of everything. If Romans 9 doesn’t resolve this crisis, the gospel itself is in ruins.
Do you feel that? The vertigo? The abyss opening beneath your feet?
Because that’s where Paul is standing. And that’s where he’s forcing you to stand before he shows you the way out.
The Answer: Not All Israel Is Israel
Paul answers with a critical distinction:
“But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” (Romans 9:6–8, ESV)
Paul is making a distinction between two groups:
- Ethnic Israel: Physical descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob
- True Israel: The remnant who inherit the promise through faith
To prove this distinction has always existed, Paul gives examples from Israel’s own history:
Example #1: Isaac vs. Ishmael (Romans 9:7–9)
Abraham had two sons: Ishmael (by Hagar) and Isaac (by Sarah). Both were biological descendants of Abraham. But God said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named” (Genesis 21:12). Ishmael was excluded—not because of his behavior, but because of God’s sovereign choice.
Example #2: Jacob vs. Esau (Romans 9:10–13)
Isaac had two sons: Esau and Jacob. They were twins, sharing the same womb. Before they were born—before they had done anything good or bad—God said, “The older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). God chose Jacob and passed over Esau, demonstrating that His purpose rests on His call, not on human works.
The Principle: Election Within Election
Here’s what Paul is establishing:
Physical descent from Abraham does not automatically equal inclusion in the promise. There has always been a remnant within the physical nation who inherit by faith.
This silences two modern errors:
Error #1: Replacement Theology (The Church Has Replaced Israel)
Some claim that because Israel rejected Christ, God is done with them entirely—the Church has replaced Israel, and the promises now belong exclusively to Gentile believers.
Paul says: “No.”
He explicitly states that the physical lineage still matters. They still have “the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises” (Romans 9:4). God has not revoked their ethnic status. The olive tree still stands. The root is still Jewish.
Error #2: Universal Jewish Salvation (All Jews Are Saved Regardless of Faith)
Some claim that because God’s covenant with Israel is irrevocable, all Jews will be saved automatically—faith in Christ is not required for them.
Paul says: “No.”
Only “the children of the promise” are counted as offspring (Romans 9:8). Ethnic descent is the container; faith is the contents. Physical Israel is the trunk; believing Israel is the fruit.
The Metaphor: Container and Contents
Think of it this way:
- The physical nation of Israel = the container of the promise
- The believing remnant = the contents of the promise
The container is necessary. You can’t have contents without a container. God made specific promises to the ethnic people—those promises are irrevocable.
But being the container doesn’t mean you automatically possess the contents. You must believe.
This is not replacement. This is distinction. The ethnic people remain the people of promise. But within that people, only the remnant who believe actually inherit the promise.
The Tension: How Does This Work Going Forward?
So here’s where we are:
- God’s covenant with ethnic Israel is irrevocable (Deuteronomy 7, Romans 9:4)
- But most of ethnic Israel has rejected the Messiah (Romans 9:1–3)
- Yet God has not cast them away entirely—a remnant believes (Romans 11:1–5)
This creates a massive question: What is God doing with Israel NOW, and what will He do in the FUTURE?
And that question—the mystery Paul is about to unveil—will determine whether the story of Israel ends in tragedy or triumph.
IV. THE MYSTERY: THE HARDENING AND THE FUTURE (Romans 11)
The Current State: Partial Hardening
Paul describes Israel’s present condition as a “hardening”:
“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25, ESV)
Notice two critical qualifiers in that sentence:
Qualifier #1: “Partial”
The hardening is not total. It is not absolute. A Jewish remnant believes in every generation. Paul himself is proof—he’s a Jew who believes in Jesus (Romans 11:1). Throughout church history, Jewish believers have always existed. The hardening affects the majority, not the entirety.
Qualifier #2: “Until”
The hardening is not permanent. It has a terminus. It has an expiration date. The hardening will last “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
“The fullness of the Gentiles” refers to a divinely appointed quota—a specific number of Gentiles whom God intends to save. Once that number is complete (“full”), God’s redemptive focus will shift back to ethnic Israel.
This is a prophetic timeline. Paul is telling us:
God is currently focused on bringing in Gentile believers. But when that task is complete, He will turn His eyes back to the physical nation of Israel.
The Future Promise: All Israel Will Be Saved
And then Paul says something that many churches ignore:
“And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’” (Romans 11:26–27, ESV)
“All Israel will be saved.”
This is one of the most debated phrases in Scripture. What does “all Israel” mean?
Some argue it means “the elect remnant from every generation” (spiritual Israel). But that interpretation doesn’t fit the context. Paul has been talking about ethnic Israel throughout Romans 9–11. He’s been distinguishing between the remnant and the hardened majority. And now he’s describing a future event—something that happens after the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.
The better interpretation: “All Israel” refers to the corporate nation at the end of the age—a future, large-scale turning of the Jewish people to Christ.
This is not a separate path to salvation apart from Christ. Paul is not saying Jews don’t need Jesus. He’s saying there will be a moment when the nation, corporately, sees the One they rejected and believes.
The Prophetic Connection: Zechariah’s Vision
Paul quotes Isaiah 59:20–21 to support this promise. But the fuller picture comes from Zechariah 12, which describes the same event:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10, ESV)
Notice the details:
- “The house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem” — This is ethnic, geographic Israel
- “They shall look on me, on him whom they have pierced” — They will see Jesus, the One they crucified
- “They shall mourn for him” — National, corporate mourning and repentance
This is not a quiet, individual conversion here and there. This is a national reckoning. The people who rejected the Messiah will see Him, recognize Him, mourn over what they did, and turn to Him in faith.
The Resurrection: Dry Bones Will Live
Paul’s vision aligns with Ezekiel’s prophecy of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. God shows Ezekiel a valley full of bones—representing the nation of Israel, which God declares “dead”:
“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’” (Ezekiel 37:11, ESV)
But then God promises resurrection:
“Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” (Ezekiel 37:12–14, ESV)
The nation God declared dead will stand, live, and breathe again. Not because they earned it. Not because they deserved it. But because God spoke it, and God keeps His word.
And now we arrive at the conclusion—the place where all of this converges on a single, unavoidable question: What does God’s faithfulness to Israel mean for you?
CONCLUSION: THE STRIKE
What You’ve Just Discovered About God
You began this study with a question: Who is Israel?
You’ve walked through four biblical moments, and here’s what Scripture has shown you:
Israel is a name given to a crippled wrestler who prevailed by clinging, not deserving. It is a people chosen not because they were great, but because God loved them and swore an oath. It is a nation where physical descent is the container and faith is the contents—both matter, and neither can be separated. It is a people currently experiencing partial, temporary hardening, with a future promise of corporate restoration when the Deliverer returns.
But the deeper discovery is not about Israel. It’s about the God who made the covenant.
God swore an everlasting oath to Abraham (Genesis 17:7). He promised the land to Israel’s descendants as an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:8). And in Jeremiah 31:35–37, He staked that covenant on the permanence of the cosmos itself:
“Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night… ‘If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the LORD, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.’” (Jeremiah 31:35–37, ESV)
God says: the sun will burn out before I break My word to Israel.
The Lie You’ve Been Believing
And now we arrive at the moment of confrontation.
You believe your performance is the hinge on which God’s promises swing. That if you fail too many times, or too badly, God will do to you what you secretly believe He’s done to Israel—cut you off, revoke the covenant, declare you “finished.”
You tell yourself that God’s patience has limits. That there’s a line you can cross—some failure too great, some doubt too deep, some sin too repeated—that will finally exhaust His grace and void the covenant He made with you in the blood of His Son.
But here is the trap you’ve set for yourself:
If God has revoked His covenant with Israel because of their unbelief, then His covenant with you is negotiable.
If He broke His oath to them—despite Genesis 17, despite Deuteronomy 7, despite Jeremiah 31, despite swearing on the permanence of the sun and moon—then every promise He made to you has an expiration date hidden in the fine print.
If “everlasting” didn’t mean everlasting for them, it doesn’t mean everlasting for you.
If “irrevocable” (Romans 11:29) had conditions God didn’t mention, then “never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5) might have conditions too.
The Truth That Shatters the Lie
But if—if—God has not revoked His covenant with Israel…
If He is still committed to grafting the natural branches back in after millennia of hardening…
If Romans 11:26 means what it says (“all Israel will be saved”)…
If the nation that crucified His Son is still called “beloved for the sake of their forefathers” (Romans 11:28)…
Then your failure does not have the power to unmake His oath.
Israel’s preservation is not just a historical curiosity. It is the living proof that God does not abandon what He has sworn to keep.
The same God who will restore a people who crucified His Son is the God who will not let you go when you stumble.
Their future redemption is the guarantee of your present security.
The Limp That Proves the Blessing
Do you remember Jacob’s limp?
He walked away from the Jabbok with a new name and a crippled hip. Every step for the rest of his life was a reminder: you did not earn this name. You did not deserve this blessing. You were broken first, then blessed.
And every time you fail, every time you stumble, every time you feel the old wound flare up—that is not evidence that God is done with you.
It is evidence that He touched you, wounded you, renamed you, and will not let you go.
Jacob limped. Israel limped. And you will limp too. Because the blessing comes through the breaking, not around it.
God does not bless you despite the struggle. He blesses you through the struggle. The hip that will not heal is the proof that the encounter was real.
The Mirror: When You See Israel, You See Yourself
So when you see the Jewish people—still here, still preserved, still woven into God’s unfinished plan after everything they’ve done and everything that’s been done to them—you are not looking at a political issue.
You are looking at a mirror.
You are seeing what God does with a people who do not deserve His faithfulness but receive it anyway.
You are seeing the proof that God’s covenant is not a contract with performance clauses. It is an oath sworn on His own character, and He will die before He breaks it.
And He did.
At the cross, God absorbed the covenant curse that Israel (and you) deserved. He took the full weight of the broken oath upon Himself so that the covenant would stand—not because the people were faithful, but because He is faithful.
The Final Word
Romans 11:29 says it plainly:
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (ESV)
Irrevocable. Not conditional. Not performance-based. Not revoked when the recipient fails.
God is not finished with Israel—not because they deserve restoration, but because He swore an oath. And if His oath to them stands firm despite their rebellion, then His oath to you stands firm despite yours.
The root supports you. The covenant was theirs first. The promises belong to them. You were grafted in by grace.
Stand in awe of a God whose word—once spoken—cannot be broken, no matter how long the wait, no matter how deep the rebellion.
That is the God you serve.
And His faithfulness to Israel is your reason to rest secure.
He is not finished with them.
And that is why He will not be finished with you.