March 25 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: Romans 9:24-29 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

We saw in yesterday's devotional that Israel deserved the punishment of God, and would be forsaken by Him at some point, but that God would be longsuffering to them and ultimately restore them to their proper position as His chosen people. In verse 24 Paul makes it clear that not only Jews could be saved, but Gentiles as well. He has already alluded to that way back in Romans 3:29 when he wrote that the Lord was also the God of the Gentiles, but now he is going to begin to spell this out more fully. We will see more on that tomorrow.

Paul is going to use the Old Testament to show what God's plan is. Yesterday we saw three verses from Hosea that spoke of God's rejection of Israel. Verses 25-26 once again refer back to that prophet's writings. "Osee" is simply the Greek form of the name Hosea. Verse 25 is a quote from Hosea 2:23 and verse 26 is a quote from Hosea 1:10. While yesterday's verses spoke of God's rejection of Israel, these verses speak of God's restoration of Israel. It refers to the time when God will once again view the nation of Israel as being His people, following a period of time when they were set aside.

In verses 27-29 Paul references Isaiah. Verses 27-28 are a quote from Isaiah 10:22-23, and verse 29 is a quote from Isaiah 1:9. Verse 27 indicates that Israel will grow large, but when its judgment comes only a remnant will be saved. Verse 29 mentions God leaving a "seed". In Isaiah the expression used is "a very small remnant". Compared to the totality of the Jewish people, the amount of Israelites who will follow Christ and be a part of the remnant is very small. Were it not for that small remnant the nation of Israel would have been annihilated by the Lord of "Sabaoth" ("hosts" or "armies") just like Sodom and Gomorrah were. Zechariah 13:8 states that when the Lord returns at the conclusion of the tribulation period

"it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die".

This judgment will take place throughout the Tribulation period and will culminate at the Lord's return to establish the Millennial Kingdom. Daniel referenced this in Daniel 9:24 when he wrote,

"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness."