Romans 9:27-29

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27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. 28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.” 29 And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.” ~ Romans 9:27-29

Today, we return to our study of Romans 9 where the Apostle Paul has established the fact that the unbelief of Israel does not violate God's promises that He gave to them in the Old Testament. It has always been that the promises were realized through faith in the One who issued the promises. The promises began for Israel with the Abrahamic Covenant. Through those promises God revealed He had an everlasting plan for Israel. In fact, God promised them that they would be as numerous as the sand of the sea.

In v.27-28 of today's passage we read, "27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. 28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth."

In context, the Apostle Paul proves his point again and again by quoting several Old Testament prophets. In today's passage, Paul quotes the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. In v.27 Paul quotes Isaiah 10:22-23, proclaiming: "Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea a remnant will be saved." Isaiah prophesied in Judah when Uzziah was king at about 760 B.C. He prophesied for about 48 years and he warned them that not all would be saved. Isaiah saw the unbelief of Israel. He saw then that not all Jews would be saved due to their lack of faith in the God of the Bible. The events of Jewish history monitored by Isaiah prophetically painted a picture that the Apostle Paul merely picks up on here in today's passage. 

In v.28 the prophet Isaiah promised that a fast and thorough judgment was coming on Israel and very few would escape that judgment. Small number of Jews would escape the great Assyrian conquest, as history reveals. The rest entered into the judgment of their unbelief and their rejection of God. And so, this passage was prophetic for the time of Christ that only a small group will be rescued while the vast number of Jews would enter into the judgment of God on them that reject Him. Paul's point is that Israel's rejection of the gospel is no violation of God's plan. It was predicted. Fulfilled, just as was foretold.

In v.29 of today’s passage we read, “And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

Notice the change from remnant to seed, emphasizing how small the number of those who would believe would be. This is so because people do not want God to tell them what they can or can’t do.

The reason the Lord is referred here as the Lord of Sabaoth  because Sabaoth means hosts which are the angels, the stars, the heavenly bodies, the planets, and the galaxies.  And he says by contrast, "The Lord of the much and the Lord of the many and the Lord of the hosts has chosen a seed." And, if God didn’t from the very start have a remnant of believers, then we would have all ended up like Sodom and Gomorrah. You will remember that Sodom and Gomorrah ended up as a ruble of fire because they were not willing to be defined by God. They were literally buried in utter devastation, never to be recovered or discovered, utterly destroyed. They became a byword for complete destruction. We would all be destroyed if it weren't that God, the God of everything, had chosen a small seed.

So, the Jews would enter into a time of great unbelief, and, they would be scattered throughout the earth. And out of it there would be a small remnant. And this is the way it has always been, the only reason anyone believes is because the Lord of Sabaoth chose to leave a seed. 

The God of the Bible has always been the God of the least. The Lord Jesus was called a “friend of sinners.” The religious leaders of His day saw the Lord Jesus hanging out with prostitutes, tax collectors, the downtrodden — and they hated Him for it. What caused them to hate the Lord Jesus was the very thing that caused the average person to love Him. He was accessible and available. He didn’t look down on anyone. Everyone was valuable to Him. Everyone mattered in His eyes. He was a friend, even to messed up people who had lost their way. He went to their neighborhoods. He spent meaningful time in their world. 

One day, while the religious crowd sneered at Him for His choice of friends, the Lord Jesus replied, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” Being a friend of sinners didn’t mean that the Lord Jesus compromised His standards. He never participated or gave approval to their wayward ways, but He did care enough to get to know them. He touched those whom He should not have. He ate with those who took advantage of others. And, the closer He got to them, the more they were drawn to Him. Isn't that our story with Him?