Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 9:25
As he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
(D) Quotations in Application
25. Osee ] In the Gr., Ose or Hose; the equivalent of the Heb. Hoshea. Here, lit., in the Ose; i.e., probably, “in the writings of Hosea.”
I will call, &c.] Hos 2:23 (25 in the Heb.). The quotation does not agree with the LXX. The Heb. is, lit., “And I will have pity on the not-pitied-one (fem.), and I will say to the not-my-people, My people art thou.” St Paul here gives an equivalent for “pity;” the Divine equivalent, love; and otherwise quotes nearly with the Heb. The first reference of the prophetic word was to the bringing back of the Ten Tribes to holy allegiance. The Apostle is guided to expound this as a type of the bringing in of the Gentiles to the chosen Israel of God. The same text is quoted by allusion, 1Pe 1:10; an important parallel passage.
her ] The familiar personification of a church or nation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
As he saith also – The doctrine which he had established, he proceeds now to confirm by quotations from the writings of Jews, that he might remove every objection. The doctrine was,
- That God intended to call his people from the Gentiles as well as the Jews.
(2)That he was bound by no promise and no principle of obligation to bestow salvation on all the Jews.
(3)That, therefore, it was right for him to reject any or all of the Jews, if he chose, and cut them off from their privileges as a people and from salvation.
In Osee – This is the Greek form of writing the Hebrew word Hosea. It means in the book of Hosea, as in David means in the book of David, or by David, Heb 4:7. The passage is found in Hos 2:23. This quotation is not made according to the letter, but the sense of the prophet is preserved. The meaning is the same in Hosea and in this place, that God would bring those into a covenant relation to himself, who were before deemed outcasts and strangers. Thus, he supports his main position that God would choose his people from among the Gentiles as well as the Jews, or would exercise toward both his right as a sovereign, bestowing or withholding his blessings as he pleases.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rom 9:25-33
As He saith also in Osee, I will call them My people, which were not My people.
The calling of the Gentiles
I. Their former condition.
1. Not My people.
2. Not beloved.
II. Their gracious call–an act of–
1. Sovereign will.
2. Unmerited.
3. Effected by the gospel.
III. Their lofty privilege–called to be the sons of the living God–
1. Through faith.
2. In Jesus Christ. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
A people who were no people
(text and Hos 2:23):–
1. We accept the supreme authority of Holy Scripture: every word of it is truth to us.
2. Yet we attach special weight to words which are the personal utterances of the Lord, as here.
3. Still more are we impressed when a Divine message is repeated, as here.
4. God saith still what He said long ago. Come, then, anxious souls, and hear the story of Gods grace to His chosen, in the hope that He may do the like for you. Observe concerning the Lords people–
I. Their original state.
1. They not only were not beloved, but they were expressly disowned. Their claim, if they made any, was negatived. This is the worst case that can be; worse than to be left alone. This conscience, providence, and Gods Word all appear to say to men who persist in sin.
2. They had no approval of God. They were not numbered with His people, and were not beloved in the sense of complacency.
3. They had not in the highest sense obtained mercy. For–
(1) They were under providential judgment.
(2) That judgment had not become a blessing to them.
(3) They had not even sought for mercy.
4. They were types of a people who as yet have–
(1) Felt no application of the blood of Jesus.
(2) Known no renewing work of the Spirit.
(3) Obtained no relief by prayer; perhaps have not prayed.
(4) Enjoyed no comfort of the promises.
(5) Known no communion with God.
(6) No hope of heaven or preparation for it.
It is a terrible description, including all the unsaved. It is concerning such that the promise is made–I will call them My people. Who these are shall be seen in due time by their repentance and faith, which shall be wrought in them by the Spirit of God. There are such people, and this fact is our encouragement in preaching the gospel, for we perceive that our labour will not be in vain.
II. Their new condition.
1. Mercy is promised.
2. A Divine revelation is pronounced. I will say, Thou art My people. This is–
(1) Done by the Spirit of God in the heart.
(2) Supported by gracious dealings in the life.
3. A hearty response shall be given. They shall say, Thou art my God. The Spirit will lead them to this free acceptance.
(1) As a whole, they will say this with one voice.
(2) Each individual will say it for himself in the singular. Thou.
4. A declaration of love shall be made. I will call her beloved, etc. Love shall be enjoyed.
5. This shall be perceived by others. They shall be called, etc. Their likeness to God shall make them to be called the children of God, even as the peacemakers in Mat 5:9. Thus every blessing shall be theirs, surely, personally, everlastingly.
Reflections:
1. We must give up none as hopeless; even though they be marked out by terrible evidence to be not the people of God.
2. None may give up themselves in despair.
3. Sovereign grace is the ultimate hope of the fallen. Let them trust in a God so freely gracious, so mighty to save, so determined to bring in those whom it seemed that even He Himself had disowned, whom everybody had abandoned as not the people of God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A great reversal
Whether the original reference of the prophet is to the ten tribes or to the Gentile world is immaterial, since St. Paul employs the quotation to illustrate his contention that it is the purpose of Him who is Eternal Wisdom and Unchanging Righteousness to transfer privilege and blessing from those who pretended to an ancestral claim to them, unto those who had usually been regarded as aliens and reprobates–even the sinners of the Gentiles. If this phase of Divine action has to some extent lost its interest, the principle it illustrates is ever important.
I. The highly favoured may abuse their advantages and lose them. Consider the case of the Hebrews.
1. Their special prerogatives in religious knowledge and means of spiritual improvement.
2. Their rebellion and apostasy in yielding to idolatry.
3. Their frequent chastisements, especially in the captivity, and their subsequent humiliations.
4. The repetition of their insensibility and disobedience in the rejection of the Christ.
5. The final catastrophe which overtook the nation in the destruction of Jerusalem and the final dispersion.
II. The less favoured may be, in Gods providence, exalted to privilege. Consider the case of the Gentiles.
1. The publication of the gospel to them by Paul upon its rejection by the Jews.
2. The acceptance by many of the glad tidings intended for the enlightenment and salvation of men.
3. The position taken by Gentile converts in the diffusion of Christianity.
4. The subsequent conversion of the Roman empire.
5. The course of Christian history which may all be traced to the operation of this wonderful principle.
Application:
1. They act foolishly who rely on their privileges.
2. They are wise who, grateful for their privileges, are concerned so to use them that they may become the vehicles of the highest blessing to themselves, and to those over whom their influence may extend.
3. They who are cast down because their circumstances seem unfavourable should not forget that those who were not Gods people became His people, His beloved, the children of God. (Prof. Thomson.)
The character and privileges of the saints
I. What they were.
1. Not My people. Whos then? Men do not occupy neutral territory, nor are they an independent republic. Gods people own and serve Him as their Sovereign and Master–dread alternative then, those who throw off this allegiance become the slaves and subjects of the prince of this world, doing homage to him in their sentiments, and serving Him in their lives. And such were some of you.
2. Not beloved.
(1) Because unlovely and unloving. Alienated and enemies in their minds by wicked works. How could God love in the sense here mentioned those who defied His authority, broke His commandments, and made bad that which He pronounced very good.
(2) Therefore–
(a) The wrath of God abideth on them–rests as long as the provoking cause remains.
(b) The coming wrath menaces them.
II. What they are.
1. My people.
(1) They belong to God. He has bought them; He has taken them to be His peculiar possession; they gladly acquiesce in the Divine proprietorship. How safe and happy this makes them! If God be for us, who can be against us?
(2) They are Gods people.
(a) A homogeneous people. They are not His as so many scattered units, but His as a body, a Church. United to Him they are bound to one another for mutual protection, edification, comfort and general usefulness.
(b) A royal people. A kingdom. The Church is not a mere school of thought, but a kingdom of priests unto God. Gods people are royal in their birth, bearing, privileges, duties, and hopes.
(c) A people with a destiny. While some peoples have fulfilled their destiny, and others have theirs trembling in the balance, and others yet again all uncertain of theirs that of the people of God is sure. They and only they are to inherit the earth. That destiny is being fulfilled every day, and will be perfectly fulfilled when Jesus shall reign whereer the sun, etc.
2. Beloved.
(1) Gods anger is passed away from them. What then? What happens when the clouds rollaway at noon-day? So when the clouds of our rebellion and sinfulness pass away from before His countenance we bask in His smile. So–
(2) They are the objects of His complacency. He sees in them that which fills Him with delight–His beloved Sons purchase and image. Hence–
(3) They are the subjects of His special care (Rom 8:39). And–
(4) They await the highest manifestations of His favour.
3. Children of God.
(1) They are born from above, and become partakers of the Divine nature.
(2) They are adopted into the Divine family.
(3) They are heirs of Divine possessions.
III. How they become what they are
1. By sovereign grace. There was no merit in them, but every demerit. Had not God chosen them they had never chosen God.
2. By compliance with the conditions laid down by sovereign grace. Repentance and faith. (J. W Burn.)
And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people.
Hope for the outcasts:
I. Their condition–Not My people.
1. Without God.
2. Without knowledge of the truth.
3. Without hope.
II. Their happy change.
1. Adopted.
2. Transformed.
3. Admitted to fellowship with God–the true source of life and happiness. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
The sovereignty of God
I. The miserable condition of this people at the first–Not My people. What an awful position is that of nations, families, or men where they are not Gods people. What privileges they lose! What anticipations they are without! How empty their existence! How fearful their prospects! It is evident that nations have been under this denomination. There was not a country, except the Jewish, in ancient times that knew anything about the living God. And at the present day there are those nations which revel in their ignorance of Divine truth. Besides which, even in Christian lands, only a small proportion truly serve the Lord God.
II. The blessed condition of this people at the last. There is a remark-able contrast. They are the same people. But their condition is changed. They are to become not only Gods people, but Gods children, not only His servants, but His heirs. The change is a remarkable one, for it–
1. Involves a change of nature, disposition, heart, character, and it manifests the power of Divine grace which can so transform stones into children.
2. Alters the condition and future of those who are its subjects. They look forward to a period of blessedness in a Fathers house. (J. J. S. Bird, M.A.)
Though the number of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.–
The example of Israel a warning to the world
I. Judgement begins at the house of God.
II. Cannot be arrested by numbers or force.
III. Is exceedingly terrible–only a remnant saved.
IV. will be complete.
V. Will de executed in righteousness.
VI. Will be sudden and summary. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
The rejection of the Jews
I. Predicted.
II. National.
III. Judicial–in righteousness.
IV. Terribly fulfilled–only a remnant saved.
V. Mixed with mercy.
VI. Alleviated by hope–a seed left. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
The remnant saved
Our text is a quotation from Isaiah, and is intended to show the great disparity, in point of number, between the believing and the unbelieving Israelites.
I. Though multitudes appear to be the people of God, yet those who are so in reality are comparatively few.
1. The children of Israel according to the flesh were numerous as the sand of the sea. The promise of Gen 22:17 was in great measure fulfilled in Mosess time (Num 23:9-10). When they went down into Egypt they were only seventy-five persons; but when they came out from thence, all told, they probably amounted to three or four millions. Yet they are not all Israel (1Co 10:1-11; Heb 4:1-2; Heb 4:11). The Jews also in our Lords time were very numerous; but the greater part of them perished in their unbelief, and were at length dispersed and ruined as a nation (Mat 23:34-39; 1Th 2:15-16).
2. Those also who profess religion have in all ages been very numerous, yet the number of the truly pious is very small.
(1) How many who are called Christians are entirely ignorant of the fundamental truths of Christianity (Isa 29:11-12).
(2) How many rest in outward privileges and performances.
(3) How many selfish worldlings there are who follow Christ for the loaves and fishes.
(4) What shall we say of those heartless and barren professors, who bring forth no fruit; or if any, it is to themselves, and not to God.
II. They are called a remnant, a remnant that shall be saved. With respect to the Jews in the apostles time, only a small part of them were brought to believe in Christ; and though some thousands were converted in one day, the far greater number continued in obstinate unbelief. Instances of conversion since that time have been very rare. We are assured, however, that at the appointed time the Redeemer will come, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And with respect to the Gentiles, there has ever been and will be, even in times of the grossest darkness and corruption, a remnant according to the election of grace.
1. There is and shall be a remainder, a part reserved out of the whole, as the word generally signifies (Isa 10:12 : Rev 12:17). This implies–
(1) Paucity or fewness. Christs Church is a little city, and few men in it. A little flock, under the care of the great and good Shepherd; small when compared with the rest of the world, and with what it will be hereafter (Rev 7:9). But in any one age, and especially in any one place, the Church of Christ is comparatively small; and if the chaff were separated from the wheat, it would be smaller still (Mat 20:16).
(2) Choice or separation. Gods remnant is a chosen remnant, according to the election of grace; and this alone it is that secures its existence (Rom 8:29).
2. This remnant shall be saved, net only from the wrath to come, but also from innumerable evils in the present life (Isa 26:20; Eze 9:4). But eternal salvation is chiefly intended, which includes–
(1). A deliverance from all evil and the fear of evil (Rev 21:4).
(2) The possession of all good; perfect knowledge, holiness, peace; the true enjoyment of ourselves, and the most intimate communion with God.
3. The salvation of this remnant is certain, both from the promises of God and the engagements of the Redeemer. Christ must reign. Conclusion: If we have hitherto been indifferent about this salvation, let us take warning. If we have immortal souls, surely their interest demands our chief attention. Are we only nominal Christians, let us remember that an empty name will be of no avail hereafter; but if we are Israelites indeed, how delightful are our prospects! (B. Beddome, M.A.)
For He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness.—
Judgment
I. Is the work of God.
II. Must be severely executed upon sinners–when God arises His procedure is rapid, righteous, complete. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
Some points in the Divine procedure
Irrespective of the particular application of this prophecy by Paul there are certain fundamental and abiding principles that are worth attention.
I. Completeness. As for God, His way, His method of operation, is perfect. From the atom to the sun there is no flaw in His handiwork. It will be found to be the same when we review the course of history from the standpoint of eternity. Things are fragmentary now, but the very fragments are complete, and when fitted into each other as a compacted whole we shall say, Thou hast done all things well. He will finish the work —
1. Why? Because–
(1) His calculations are infallible who sees the end from the beginning.
(2) His resources are inexhaustible who has all power in heaven and earth.
(3) His determinations must take effect who doth according to His will in the armies of heaven, etc. Men fail because they neglect to take all the factors into account; because their resources are limited, or because they are irresolute. But there can be no failure when we take into account Gods omniscience, power, and sovereign will.
2. In spite of what?
(1) The cunning, malice, strength, and determination of His enemies. These are many, and to any other than God would be formidable.
(2) The ignorance, feebleness, apathy, and irresoluteness of His professed friends. These would lead any other than God to give up in despair.
3. What in?
(1) Creation, which when finished was pronounced very good.
(2) Providence. This is now in progress, but when finished no flaw will be detected in its procedure.
(3) Redemption. Redemption by price was finished on the Cross; redemption by power when heavens courts shall echo with It is done.
(4) Judgment. No one shall be missing from the great assize, and nothing will mar the completeness of the final awards.
II. Promptness. Cut it short. In creation, where God had only to deal with inert matter, this finds a perfect illustration. He said, and it was done. In dealing with men it is somewhat different, yet the same in the end. God is patient, is willing, and can afford to wail; but when the hour of destiny is struck His action is decisive and irrevocable. This is seen in–
1. The history of redemption. When the fulness of the time was come, when the preparatory work was finished, God sent His Son. Down from the shining seats He fled. What a short work, too, the redeeming ministry was, and the expiating act.
2. The history of nations. The method of the Divine procedure with the antediluvians, the Canaanites, Babylon, Israel, and the Roman empire was first long-suffering, forbearance (chap. 2:4; 2Pe 3:1-18.); and then, when the cup of their iniquities was full, how suddenly was it emptied and destroyed.
3. The history of men–
(l) In ordinary life. How long matters often are in coming to a climax, but how sharp and short is the decisive hour which determines temporal destiny.
(2) In salvation. The preparatory process may be protracted, but the soul passes from death into life in a moment.
(3) As regards the future. We may slumber in the dust for ages, but in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall awake.
III. Righteousness. Without this the other two methods might fill us with terror. But it reassures us to know that in His providential government of the world, or in the salvation or judg-ment of men, God always acts–
1. From a right motive.
2. In a right way.
3. At the right time.
4. With right results. (J. W. Burn.)
Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma.–
The Lord of Sabaoth
I. The meaning of the term. Lord of hosts–of–
1. The whole universe, with its hosts of things animate and inanimate.
2. The hosts of the heavens.
3. The hosts of hell.
II. Why God is termed Lord of Sabaoth.
1. Because He is supreme Ruler of all.
2. To oppose the prevailing worship of the heavenly bodies.
3. To give us some idea of His almighty power and grandeur. (M. Thomson.)
The Divine considerateness
Sodom and Gomorrha were utterly wiped out. No human being remained to perpetuate the progeny of the inhabitants of the plain. It might have been so, and deservedly, with Israel; but it was not so, and graciously. A remnant was, and always has been left, notwithstanding the most frightful devastations–a seed to propagate the race. So in Gods procedure generally, where men and nations have not sinned past recovery. A seed of some sort is left, which, by sedulous cultivation, may result in future harvests. This principle may be illustrated in–
I. The history of humanity at large.
1. After the fall the human race might have been as Sodoma, but in wrath God remembered mercy. He left man not only life, but a promise which kept human hope from utter extinction; some relics, too, of the Divine image on which the Redeemer could take hold in fashioning the new man.
2. After the flood the family of Noah was left, not only to preserve the species, but to hand on the hope. The covenant with the Patriarch was but the first of a series which culminated in the fulfilment of the covenant of redemption. A second time the Lord of Sabaoth left a seed.
3. In the fulness of time, when the world was ripe for destruction, the gift of the seed saved it. The state of things depicted in chaps, 1 and 2 could not have gone on much longer but for the Divine interposition, which has at last changed the condition of the world. But for this it must have perished; as it is it lives, and has in it the germs of a total regeneration.
II. The history of nations.
1. Sometimes a few good men are left whose prayers, efforts, and influence save the nation from decay. Who can tell but that the preservation of the seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal postponed the catastrophe of the Hebrew nation. What a different history France would have had but for the expulsion of the Huguenots. It is impossible to tell what would have become of England but for the godly few who remained to perpetuate the Puritan revival through the reigns of Charles II. and James II. 2. Sometimes the seed presents itself in the form of a gracious opportunity.
(1) The Reformation was such a seed. Contrast the destinies of the nations which accepted it with those that rejected it.
(2) The missionary impulse of the close of the last century was another. Great Britain and America yielded to it, and the material and moral prosperity of both has never since looked back.
III. The history of the individual. Here history repeats itself on a small scale.
1. Home reminiscences have often been as a seed perpetuating the life and moral character of a man. In temptation the remembrance of prayers offered or words uttered have made many a man stop short on the brink of ruin and retrace his steps into a nobler and better life.
2. The Word read or preached in myriads of instances has been such a seed.
3. So has some great affliction.
4. And some special summons to duty. (J. W. Burn.)
Gods judgments are
I. Richly deserved. Our sins are–
1. Multiplied.
2. Aggravated.
3. Obstinately persisted in–like Sodom, etc.
II. Mercifully alleviated.
1. A remnant is spared.
2. As a seed of promise.
3. Through sovereign grace. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. As he saith also in Osee] It is a cause of not a little confusion, that a uniformity in the orthography of the proper names of the Old and New Testaments has not been preserved. What stranger to our sacred books would suppose that the Osee above meant the Prophet Hosea, from whom, Ho 2:23, this quotation is taken: I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people. The apostle shows that this calling of the Gentiles was no fortuitous thing, but a firm purpose in the Divine mind, which he had largely revealed to the prophets; and by opposing the calling of the Gentiles, the Jews in effect renounced their prophets, and fought against God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Here the apostle proves, that the Gentiles were children of the Promise, or that the promise belonged to them, as well as to the Jews: and because the Jews could not endure to hear of this, he cites two testimonies out of Hosea, to convince them: one is in this verse, and it is taken out of Hos 2:23; the other is in the following verse.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. As he saith also inOsee“Hosea.”
I will call them my people,which were not my people; and her beloved, which was notbelovedquoted, though not quite to the letter, from Ho2:23, a passage relating immediately, not to the heathen, but tothe kingdom of the ten tribes; but since they had sunk to the levelof the heathen, who were “not God’s people,” and in thatsense “not beloved,” the apostle legitimately applies it tothe heathen, as “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel andstrangers to the covenants of promise” (so 1Pe2:10).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
As he also saith in Osee,…. Ho 2:23, so “Hosea” is called “Osee”, as here, in the Septuagint in Ne 10:23. That is, as God says in the prophecy of Hosea, which was given by divine inspiration; and speaks of the calling of the Gentiles, as the spiritual Israel, after God had wrote a “lo-ammi”, Ho 1:9, and a “loruhamah”, Ho 1:6, upon the people of the Jews; and shows, that he had appointed some from among the Gentiles, to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ; since he foretells their calling, long before they were in being; which could have no other foundation than his own eternal sovereign will and pleasure:
I will call them my people, which were not my people; his people they were before he called them, in some sense; inasmuch as he had chosen them for his people, had promised in covenant they should be, had given them to Christ as his people, and him to be a covenant to them: who, as such, made reconciliation for them, sanctified them by his blood, redeemed and saved them; but then they were not known to be the people of God, neither by themselves, who knew not God, and so could not know themselves to be his people; nor by others, by the Jews, by whom they were called the uncircumcision, sinners of the Gentiles; looking upon the character or the people of God, as only belonging to themselves: God had not as yet laid hold on them as his people, and claimed his right in them, and made known himself to them as their covenant God; he had not avouched them to be his people, nor had they avouched him to be their God; as yet they were not his willing people, nor a holy people, not being formed for himself, by his mighty grace; nor a people near unto him, with respect to worship and fellowship, but afar off from him. His calling them his people, is his acquainting them with their relation to him, which he had taken them in to himself, of his own grace; for so it is in Ho 2:23: “And I will say unto them which were not my people, thou art my people”: in the effectual calling, the Spirit of God is sent down into the hearts of his people, to witness their relation to him, and to work faith in their souls, to receive the testimony; when they reply and say, “thou art my God”, Ho 2:23, and so they come to know themselves to be the people of God, of which they were before ignorant; and to be known others, by being made a willing people, in the day God’s power upon them, willing to be saved by him in his own way, and willing to serve and worship him in his own ordinances, and according to his own appointment; and by being holy and righteous, having the characters, and enjoying the privileges of the people of God:
and her beloved, which was not beloved. In the text in Ho 2:23, it is, “I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy”: hence the Vulgate Latin has added this clause to the text, though unsupported by any copy, or other version. The apostle is to be justified in his version, by the Septuagint interpreters, who have rendered the passage in Hosea, “I will love her that was not beloved”; and by the true sense of the word there used, which signifies to love in the most kind, tender, and endearing manner; see Ps 18:1; where the word is used and so rendered. The sense is not, that God’s chosen ones among the Gentiles were not the objects of his love before calling; for their very calling is the fruit, effect, and so the evidence of love before. The love of God is from everlasting to everlasting, invariably and unchangeably the same; he had chosen them in his Son; he had made a covenant with them in Christ, had put them into his hands, and made them his care and charge; he had sent him to die for them, and obtain eternal redemption for them; and all this before he called them, which abundantly proves his love to them: but this love was not manifested to their souls; it had not been shed abroad in their hearts; they had no sensation of it in their breasts; the streams of that river of God had not as yet flowed into their souls; nor were they partakers of the effects of it in themselves; but being called by grace, they feel, they experience, and enjoy that, and all the happy: fruits and effects of it; the loving kindness of God is let down into their hearts in the effectual calling, and with it he draws them to himself, as a fruit and evidence of his everlasting and unchangeable love to them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Conversion of the Gentiles. | A. D. 58. |
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26 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. 27 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: 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 29 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.
Having explained the promise, and proved the divine sovereignty, the apostle here shows how the rejection of the Jews, and the taking in of the Gentiles, were foretold in the Old Testament, and therefore must needs be very well consistent with the promise made to the fathers under the Old Testament. It tends very much to the clearing of a truth to observe how the scripture is fulfilled in it. The Jews would, no doubt, willingly refer it to the Old Testament, the scriptures of which were committed to them. Now he shows how this, which was so uneasy to them, was there spoken of.
I. By the prophet Hosea, who speaks of the taking in of a great many of the Gentiles, Hos 2:23; Hos 1:10. The Gentiles had not been the people of God, not owning him, nor being owned by him in that relation: “But,” says he, “I will call them my people, make them such and own them as such, notwithstanding all their unworthiness.” A blessed change! Former badness is no bar to God’s present grace and mercy.–And her beloved which was not beloved. Those whom God calls his people he calls beloved: he loves those that are his own. And lest it might be supposed that they should become God’s people only by being proselyted to the Jewish religion, and made members of that nation, he adds, from Hos. i. 10, In the place where it was said, c., there shall they be called. They need not be embodied with the Jews, nor go up to Jerusalem to worship but, wherever they are scattered over the face of the earth, there will God own them. Observe the great dignity and honour of the saints, that they are called the children of the living God; and his calling them so makes them so. Behold, what manner of love! This honour have all his saints.
II. By the prophet Isaiah, who speaks of the casting off of many of the Jews, in two places.
1. One is Isa 10:22; Isa 10:23, which speaks of the saving of a remnant, that is, but a remnant, which, though in the prophecy it seems to refer to the preservation of a remnant from the destruction and desolation that were coming upon them by Sennacherib and his army, yet is to be understood as looking further, and sufficiently proves that it is no strange thing for God to abandon to ruin a great many of the seed of Abraham, and yet maintain his word of promise to Abraham in full force and virtue. This is intimated in the supposition that the number of children of Israel was as the sand of the sea, which was part of the promise made to Abraham, Gen. xxii. 17. And yet only a remnant shall be saved; for many are called, but few are chosen. In this salvation of the remnant we are told (v. 28) from the prophet, (1.) That he will complete the work: He will finish the work. When God begins he will make an end, whether in ways of judgment or of mercy. The rejection of the unbelieving Jews god would finish in their utter ruin by the Romans, who soon after this quite took away their place and nation. The assuming of Christian churches into the divine favour, and the spreading of the gospel in other nations, was a work which God would likewise finish, and be known by his name JEHOVAH. As for God, his work is perfect. Margin, He will finish the account. God, in his eternal counsels, has taken an account of the children of men, allotted them to such or such a condition, to such a share of privileges; and, as they come into being, his dealings with them are pursuant to these counsels: and he will finish the account, complete the mystical body, call in as many as belong to the election of grace, and then the account will be finished. (2.) That he will contract it; not only finish it, but finish it quickly. Under the Old Testament he seemed to tarry, and to make a longer and more tedious work of it. The wheels moved but slowly towards the extent of the church; but now he will cut it short, and make a short work upon the earth. Gentile converts were now flying as a cloud. But he will cut it short in righteousness, both in wisdom and in justice. Men, when they cut short, do amiss; they do indeed despatch causes; but, when God cuts short, it is always in righteousness. So the fathers generally apply it. Some understand it of the evangelical law and covenant, which Christ has introduced and established in the world: he has in that finished the work, put an end to the types and ceremonies of the Old Testament. Christ said, It is finished, and then the veil was rent, echoing as it were to the word that Christ said upon the cross. And he will cut it short. The work (it is logos—the word, the law) was under the Old Testament very long; a long train of institutions, ceremonies, conditions: but now it is cut short. Our duty is now, under the gospel, summed up in much less room than it was under the law; the covenant was abridged and contracted; religion is brought into a less compass. And it is in righteousness, in favour to us, in justice to his own design and counsel. With us contractions are apt to darken things:–
| ——–Brevis esse laboro, Obscurus fio——– I strive to be concise, but prove obscure. |
but it is not so in this case. Though it be cut short, it is clear and plain; and, because short, the more easy.
2. Another is quoted from Isa. i. 9, where the prophet is showing how in a time of general calamity and destruction God would preserve a seed. This is to the same purport with the former; and the scope of it is to show that it was no strange thing for God to leave the greatest part of the people of the Jews to ruin, and to reserve to himself only a small remnant: so he had done formerly, as appears by their own prophets; and they must not wonder if he did so now. Observe, (1.) What God is. He is the Lord of sabaoth, that is, the Lord of hosts–a Hebrew word retained in the Greek, as James v. 4. All the host of heaven and earth are at his beck and disposal. When God secures a seed to himself out of a degenerate apostate world, he acts as Lord of sabaoth. It is an act of almighty power and infinite sovereignty. (2.) What his people are; they are a seed, a small number. The corn reserved for next year’s seedings is but little, compared with that which is spent and eaten. But they are a useful number–the seed, the substance, of the next generation, Isa. vi. 13. It is so far from being an impeachment of the justice and righteousness of God that so many perish and are destroyed, that it is a wonder of divine power and mercy that all are not destroyed, that there are any saved; for even those that are left to be a seed, if God had dealt with them according to their sins, had perished with the rest. This is the great truth which this scripture teacheth us.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
In Hosea ( H). He quotes 2:23 with some freedom. Hosea refers to the ten tribes and Paul applies the principle stated there to the Gentiles. Hosea had a son named Lo-ammi = . So here “the not people of mine.” with substantives obliterates the meaning of the substantive, an idiom seen in Thucydides and other Greek writers. See also Rom 10:19; 1Pet 2:10.
Which was not beloved ( ). The LXX rendering of Lo-ruhamah (not mercy, without mercy or love), name of Hosea’s daughter. The use of with the perfect passive participle is emphatic, since is the usual negative of the participle in the Koine.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
That my people which was not my people [ , ] . The Greek is much more condensed. “I will call the not – my – people my – people.” See Hos 1:6 – 9. The reference is to the symbolical names given by the prophet to a son and daughter : Lo Ammi not my people, and Lo Ruhama not having obtained mercy. The new people whom God will call my people will be made up from both Jews and Gentiles. Hosea, it is true, is speaking of the scattered Israelites only, and not of the Gentiles; but the ten tribes, by their lapse into idolatry had put themselves upon the same footing with the Gentiles, so that the words could be applied to both. A principle of the divine government is enunciated “which comes into play everywhere when circumstances reappear similar to those to which the statement was originally applied. The exiled Israelites being mingled with the Gentiles, and forming one homogeneous mass with them, cannot be brought to God separately from them. Isa 49:22 represents the Gentiles as carrying the sons of Israel in their arms, and their daughters on their shoulders, and consequently as being restored to grace along with them” (Godet).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
BLINDNESS TO ISRAEL AND MERCY TO GENTILES WAS FORETOLD
1) “As he saith also in Osee,” (hos kai en to Hosee legei) “As he also says in Hosea;” foretells by the inspired prophet Hosea. Paul sustained his arguments again and again by testimony of the Old Testament prophets, indicating his acceptance of them as Inspired and trustworthy, 2Ti 3:16-17, as well as Peter Act 10:43.
2) I will call them my people, which were not my people: (Kaleso ton ou laon mou laon mou) “I will call the people not of me, my people;- Those who (as a nation) were not, at that time “God’s people,” in the sense of called, commissioned, and entrusted with his worship and service, he prophesied that he would (in the future) call “my people”. This is a two-fold prophecy: 1) First it alludes to the call of the gospel specifically to the Gentiles, second the call of the church, Hos 2:23, Mat 4:12-20; Mat 16:18; Act 15:14.
3) “And her beloved,” (kai egapemenen), And call her beloved, The “her” beloved refers not to Israel God’s Wife), but to the church (the bride of Christ) who was called from among and sent into all the world to the Gentiles; The church was called and chosen of the Lord from among the Gentiles, Joh 15:16; Mat 4:13-20; Joh 3:29-30; Act 15:14; Act 20:28; 2Co 11:2; 1Ti 3:15; Mat 28:18-20; Act 1:8.
4) “Which was not beloved,” (ten ouk egapemenen) and her who has not been called beloved,” which did not, had not had, or been entrusted with the intimate worship service and work of God, Eph 2:11-12. Those once strangers, individually and nationally, from the commonwealth and inheritance of Israel, received in the coming and call of Christ, both personal redemption thru faith in the blood of Christ, and thru personal voluntary identity with his church, purchased with his own blood, called from among and sent to the Gentiles even as Paul was, Act 26:16-20; Eph 5:25.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
25. As he says in Hosea, (310) etc. He proves now that the calling of the Gentiles ought not to have been deemed a new thing, as it had long before been testified by the prediction of the prophet. The meaning is evident; but there is some difficulty in the application of this testimony; for no one can deny but that the prophet in that passage speaks of the Israelites. For the Lord, having been offended with their wickedness, declared that they should be no longer his people: he afterwards subjoined a consolation, and said, that of those who were not beloved he would make some beloved, and from those who were not a people he would make a people. But Paul applies to the Gentiles what was expressly spoken to the Israelites.
They who have hitherto been most successful in untying this knot have supposed that Paul meant to adopt this kind of reasoning, — “What may seem to be an hinderance to the Gentiles to become partakers of salvation did also exist as to the Jewish nation: as then God did formerly receive into favor the Jews, whom he had cast away and exterminated, so also now he exercises the same kindness towards the Gentiles.” But as this interpretation, though it may be supported, yet seems to me to be somewhat strained, let the readers consider this, — Whether it would not be a more suitable view to regard the consolation given by the prophet, as intended, not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles: for it was not a new or an unusual thing with the prophets, after having pronounced on the Jews God’s vengeance on account of their sins, to turn themselves to the kingdom of Christ, which was to be propagated through the whole world. And this they did, not without reason; for since the Jews so provoked God’s wrath by their sins, that they deserved to be rejected by him, no hope of salvation remained, except they turned to Christ, through whom the covenant of grace was to be restored: and as it was based on him, so it was then renewed, when he interposed. And doubtless, as Christ was the only refuge in great extremities, no solid comfort could have been brought to miserable sinners, and such as saw God’s wrath impending over them, except by setting Christ before their eyes, it was usual with the prophets, as we have reminded you, after having humbled the people by pronouncing on them divine vengeance, to call their attention to Christ, as the only true asylum of those in despair. And where the kingdom of Christ is erected there also is raised up that celestial Jerusalem, into which citizens from all parts of the world assemble. And this is what is chiefly included in the present prophecy: for when the Jews were banished from God’s family, they were thus reduced to a common class, and put on a level with the Gentiles. The difference being taken away, God’s mercy is now indiscriminately extended to all the Gentiles. We hence see that the prophet’s prediction is fitly applied to the present subject; in which God declares, that after having equalized the Jews and the Gentiles, he would gather a Church for himself from aliens, so that they who were not a people would begin to be so.
(310) Hos 2:23. See 1Pe 2:10.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES
Rom. 9:25.Refers not only to the gathering again of the Israelites rejected in the carrying away by Shalmaneser, but also of the Gentiles rejected at the building of Babel; remnants elected from both.
Rom. 9:27.Only few out of the ten tribes returned to Juda; few left by Sennacherib; few brought to Christ.
Rom. 9:28.Alford seems to include both promise and threatening in , and makes the object of the citation a confirmation of the certainty of the salvation of the remnant of Israel, seeing that now, as then, He, with whom a thousand years are as a day, will swiftly accomplish His prophetic word in righteousness.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Rom. 9:25-29
The not-beloved become beloved.The late Mr. Spurgeon, in his sermon on Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated, says: This text means just what it says; it does not mean nations, but it means the persons mentioned. Jacobthat is, the man whose name was JacobJacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Take care how any of you meddle with Gods word. I have heard of folks altering passages they did not like. Our only power with the word of God is simply to let it stand as it is, and to endeavour by Gods grace to accommodate ourselves to that. He will not even allow us to translate Esau have I hated by the meaningless words I love less. Fortunately we do not want. But if we are to follow the great preachers literalism, shall we find the doctrine of eternal predestination and election before time in the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth verses? He says in another place, I may be as sure of my election as if I could climb to heaven and turn over the red roll and read my name in letters of gold. The Lord has given thee a test which never did fail yet, and never will. How about those once not beloved? Are the names of the not beloved written in the red roll? He says that between calling and election there is an indissoluble union. Here God calls a people which were once not His people; therefore God elects those who were once not elected. As we understand the doctrine of election carried out to its extreme lengths, the elected always are and have been Gods people, and the effectual calling is only giving outward expression to the divine purpose. So again the non-elect are electedthe not-people of God become His children. Our conclusion is that repellent dogmatism on abstruse subjects is to be avoided. Positive assertions cannot bury difficulties. The reason of man cannot be stifled by swelling words. Humility is a becoming attitude in the presence of the sublimest topics that can engage human attention. We learn from the passage under discussion:
I. Divine grace.Whatever may be our views of predestination and election, we must hold fast to the doctrine of divine grace. If the gospel be a remedial scheme for the benefit of universal man, then we must not hamper that scheme by narrow views. Let us believe in the largeness and freeness of the divine mind; let Gods call move through the earth, giving forth its sweet measures as fully as Gods myriad songsters. God makes into His people those who were once not His people. He called the Gentiles; He called the British peoples. Let us adore Gods matchless grace. God calls, and all who hear and obey may become the children of the living God, the beloved of the eternal Love.
II. Gods righteousness.Wonderful is the pleading of Jeremiah. Righteous art Thou, O Lord, when I plead with Thee; yet let me talk with Thee of Thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously. The prophet rises above seeming anomalies in the divine proceedings, and declares, Righteous art Thou, O Lord. Whatever may appear contradictory, yet let us rest assured that Gods finished work, that Gods completed plan, will vindicate the eternal righteousness. Righteous is the Lord, though He call that beloved which was not beloved, and though only a remnant of the elect nation be saved.
III. Gods provision.A remnant is saved. A germinating force is provided. A remnant was saved from the deluged world; a remnant was saved from the destroyed cities. God has His remnants through all time, and these become the seed forces of great harvests. In darkest periods God has His sons of light. Gods germinating forces are good and true men. They are productive. They die; but the wheat dies, and over its tomb waves the golden harvest.
The remnant.R.V., It is the remnant that shall be saved.
I. The doctrine of the remnant.
1. Teaching of Old Testament prophecy. The text is quoted from Isa. 10:22. Words there are, A remnant of them shall returni.e., from the captivity, and thus be saved from ruin and extinction, which awaited the majority. Referring to that remnant (Rom. 6:13), he speaks of it as a holy seed. In his eye small minority were a holy seed, but great majority unsound, and therefore doomed. Drunkards and blind, as he calls themi.e., dissolute and foolishconstituting this majority, must perish; but its perishing = necessary step towards happier future. Foresees that remnant is not only to return and so be saved itself, but it is to be also a mighty power for the saving of others. A Prince of the house of David is to be born, who is to bring wondrous influences to bear upon the bad majority, and at length to reign over a state renewed, preserved, and enlarged, a great and glorious kingdom. No need to enter into question as to how soon prophet expected reign of Prince to begin. Enough to know such a Prince at length did come, and that His object was to found a kingdom not of this world. He came and accomplished His work. His followers at first a mere remnanttwelve apostles, one hundred and twenty disciples at Jerusalembut its mission = through that Prince to save the world. Communities wherein no good remnant left; hopelessly doomed (Isa. 1:9; cp. Rom. 9:29).
2. Teaching of the text. At Pentecost strangers from Rome at Jerusalem. Perhaps, too, some of those libertini (freedmen) who heard St. Stephen may have been Romans. In any case St. Paul here addresses a Church which had been founded at Rome, chiefly Jewish, but also partly Gentile = small minority among vast population. They right; rulers of this world and vast majority of people all wrong. They = holy seed, which was to grow and wax strong; leaven, which was to extend itself till the whole was leavened. How this was done subsequent history of Christianity shows.
3. General statement. History, both sacred and secular, exhibits frequent periods where the corruption of human nature becomes painfully apparent in general depravity and vice. But Gods Spirit has never entirely forsaken the world. Except in cases where utter ruin has resulted, a reaction has in the course of time set in, and this has always begun not with the many but the few. Often when the majority have run headlong into sin and ruin, a minority have been savede.g., Flood, call of Abraham, Caleb and Joshua, etc. Many are called, but few are chosen. Majority very apt to be wrong on vital questions. May be sometimes right, but as a rule lack principle and persistence. Today good impulses prevail, but gone to-morrow. [Contrast Sunday cry of Hosanna with Friday cry of Crucify Him; vacillation of crowds in every age; popularity of Savonarola with Florentines all gone in an hour, and the once powerful and attractive preacher publicly executed; instability of popular feeling in Reformation times and since.]
II. What saves the remnant?Answer of:
1. Isaiah and prophets: To order ones conversation aright, to cease to do evil, to learn to do well, to delight in the law of the Lord, to make ones study in it all the day long.
2. Our blessed Lord: to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, to become as little children, to do the will of our Father in heaven.
3. St. Paul: to have faith in Christ, the embodiment of righteousness (Rom. 9:30-32), and thus to have the heart and mind set upon those objects, aims, and actions of which righteousness is composed (Php. 4:8).
III. Consolation for the saved remnant.
1. Holding fast to that whereby the remnant is saved, there arises in the soul a peace which nothing else can give (Psa. 119:165). Gods laws of righteousness are eternal and unchangeable. We know what they are. The majority may seek to evade them; but the godly minority have the consolation of knowing that the eternal One is not only wise and good, but also powerful to defend the right. This thought has nerved on the saints and heroes who have often shone as lights in a corrupt age.
2. Their influence must sooner or later be felt. Ye are the salt of the earth. Their example and efforts have a tendency to purify. There is consolation in the thought of this.
IV. Warning from the doctrine of the remnant.Not to be led astray by an evil majority (Exo. 23:2). An evil majority, headed by self-righteous scribes and Pharisees, lured Jerusalem to its overthrow. Massillon, preaching before the court of France in the days of Louis XIV., spoke of the last judgmentthe great testing-time when the saved remnant shall be finally severed from all others besidesin terms so awfully vivid that when the climax of his discourse was reached the whole of that brilliant assemblage rose to their feet as one man, conscience-stricken, cut to the heart. But there was no real reformation. The fashion of the time was too strong. The righteous minority in France was too small, too weak, to save the nation from the crack of doom which burst in the Revolution nearly a century later. Beware of the authority which in these days it is too much the fashion to attach to mere majorities (Mat. 7:13-14).G. E. P. Reade.
Rom. 9:25-33. Paul elects the non-elect.As He saith also in Osee, etc. This avowedly difficult passage deals with the doctrine of election, suggested by the question of the calling of the Gentiles. Paul here sets forth the groundwork of chaps, 9 to 11. He points out that the Israelites who were lost were ruined by pride, refusing to comply with the divine purposes. Some have built on this section of the epistle the doctrine of election, which Wesley thus expresses: By virtue of an eternal, unchangeable, irresistible decree of God, one part of mankind is infallibly saved, and the rest infallibly damned, it being impossible that any of the former should be damned, or that any of the latter should be saved. What is Pauls attitude towards this? The whole chapter deals fully with the question.
1. Paul notes the unhappy fact that the Jews were rejected by God.
2. This he remarks in order to show that neither ancestry nor a mans works will form any claim to justification.
3. He seeks to show that God has a free hand, is not bound down by any restriction at all. He has absolute right to do as He pleases, and name His own conditions for salvation. Hence He may reject the Jews who do not comply, and accept the Gentiles who do.
4. Paul, by his concluding statements, throws open salvation to all who are willing to accept Christ, even those whom the Jews thought were non-elect. The text suggests that Paul practically elects the non-elect.
I. Paul here teaches that salvation is for all who believe in Christ.
1. Here he is in harmony with Peter, his contemporary. Peter (Act. 3:25-26) declared the blessing of redemption to be first promised to the Jews. But the very word first implied that it was to be sent to the Gentiles also. Paul agrees in Gal. 3:8.
2. He is in harmony with the psalmists, who teach that grace is not exclusive (Psa. 72:17; Psa. 102:15; Psa. 102:22; Psa. 117:1).
3. He is in harmony with the prophets, who recognise the breadth and length, the height and depth, of the divine redemption (Isa. 45:22-23; also our text, Rom. 9:25). Is not this pointing to the salvation of the human race? The minor prophets teach the same (Joe. 2:28-31; Joe. 3:12-21; Hab. 2:13-14; Zep. 2:11; Zep. 3:8-9; Mal. 1:11; Mal. 3:1-3; Mal. 4:1-3).
4. Paul is in harmony here with his other epistles, where he develops the doctrine of salvation for all who believe with great force (e.g., Eph. 1:10; Col. 1:20). Is not this an election of the non-elect?
II. The once-indifferent may embrace salvation.Rom. 9:30. The Jews were first called; the Gentiles appeared to be excluded. The Jews exhibited this thought by their utmost scorn for Gentiles. But now, if willing to come, if accepting the conditions of salvation, they may be saved. Once they were outside the pale, because they followed not after righteousness, had no knowledge of it, no care nor thought about it. When they heard the gospel, they embraced it. Then its blessings were theirs. The moment of acceptance was the moment when the barriers of exclusion were broken down. It is so now. We are non-elect so long as we reject the gospel, and no longer.
III. There are no vested interests in the matter of salvation.We may be Jews, having Abraham for our father; but that will not open the kingdom of heaven to us. Israel, the chosen people, not saved from disaster: only a remnant saved. We may say we are among the elect: that, if we do not live aright, will not save us. The question of elect or non-elect does not free us from active living faith in Christ. We must believe in Christ and live like Him.
IV. Outward observance of Gods laws will not secure our election.Israel followed after the law, observed it to the letter, but had none of the spirit of righteousness. Jews harboured hate, secretly served other gods, etc.; and God rejected them, even while their altar fires were burning and their feasts were religiously observed. Why rejected? Because they sought not their salvation by faith, but by works. There was no inward righteousness. It was all outward show. Not every one that saith, etc. It is a case of the last being first and the first last. Any who may have the form of righteousness may miss its blessings, if they have not the power of godliness. At the last there will be a sifting; the unworthy will be set aside. In this sense a remnant only will be savedonly those who have loved righteousness and accepted Christ as their Saviour.
V. If any are lost, the fault is theirs.They can never plead the existence of a hard-and-fast law that dooms some and delivers others. The lost are not so lost because of any decree of God. It is because they reject Christ and His offers of mercy. Therefore the need that preachers should still continue to plead with men, as those for whom they must give account. And therefore, also, the need and happy opportunity for the worst to come and plead forgiveness from the Saviour of men.Albert Lee.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Rom. 9:24-29
Pauls design.In the twenty-fourth verse the apostle explains whom he means by the vessels of mercy: Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. To call, as the word is used in Scripture, sometimes refers to the offer of salvation made by the preaching of the gospel, and sometimes to this offer rendered effectual by the co-operation of the Holy Spirit and embraced by those to whom it is proposed. Sometimes also, as in the next verse, it denotes to denominate in a particular mannerI will call them My people; and in this sense it often means to make them what they are calledI will call them My people being precisely equivalent to I will make them My people. Here the word is used in the last of these senses, and means whom He hath called or constituted His peopleeven us believers in Christ, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, whom God hath called to the obedience of the gospel, and thus constituted His Church and people. This application of the word, which is fixed by the following quotation, is a further proof that the preparation for glory, mentioned in the preceding verse, does not mean eternal glory, but merely the glorious distinction of being the Church and people of God. He goes on to show that the calling of the Gentiles, and the continuing of only a small portion of the Jews in the number of the people of God, need not appear incredible, seeing it might be clearly inferred from the Old Testament Scriptures (Rom. 9:25), As He saith also in Osee, I will call them My people which were not My people, and her beloved which was not beloved. The quotation is taken from Hos. 2:23; but the apostle has inverted the order of the two clauses and slightly changed the language, though without altering the meaning. It has been thought that this prophacy relates primarily to the Israelites, and only in a secondary sense to the calling of the Gentiles. But the words are certainly most appropriate when applied to the Gentiles. I will call them My peoplethat is, I will make them My peoplewhich were not My people, and I will render her beloved which was not beloved, are phrases which describe correctly receiving into the number of the people of God those who did not formerly belong to it. They do not so well describe restoring to the number of Gods people those who had belonged to it formerly. And as the apostle quotes the prophecy as descriptive of the calling of the Gentiles, we are authorised to hold this to be its proper application. To these prophecies, relating to the extension of the privilege of the people of God to the Gentiles, there is added another relating to the Israelites (Rom. 9:26): 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. This prediction relates to the displeasure of God with His people on account of their sins, and His refusing to acknowledge them as His peoplea refusal, however, which would be only temporal, for they would in due time be constituted the children of the living God. By joining these two quotations together, the apostle confirms the doctrine which he has been inculcating, that the Gentiles, as well as the Jews, were to have the offer of the gospel made to them, and to be admitted without distinction to share in the privileges of the people of God. But though the offer of salvation through Christ was to be given to Jews and Gentiles without distinction, it had been foretold that only a small number of the Jews would accept the offered mercy (Rom. 9:27): 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. The quotation is from Isa. 10:22, where the prophet alludes to the consequences of the destruction brought upon the ten tribes by the Assyrians. He crieth concerning Israel, said the apostlethat is, he openly and authoritatively declaresthat though their number before their dispersion be as the sand of the sea, only a remnantor, as it is in the original, the remnantshall be saved from the general calamity, or return from their dispersion. This prediction is quoted as an illustration of the divine procedure in the present circumstances of the Jewish nation. For as the ten tribes were at that time scattered among the heathen, and ceased to be the people of God on account of their sins, a very small portion of them only escaping this calamity, so in the present times the great body of the nation would suffer a similar fate on account of the heinous guilt which they had contracted, the small number which believed in Christ only being continued a part of the Church and people of God.Ritchie.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(25) As he saith also in Osee.The original of the prophecy in Hosea relates to the pardon and reconciliation promised to the apostate and idolatrous people of the northern kingdom. It is here typically and prophetically applied to the Gentiles. Those who had ceased to belong to the chosen people, and those who had never belonged to it, were to all intents and purposes in the same position.
Osee.It may be questioned whether this word should be pronounced as a dissyllable, the double e being regarded as an English termination, as in Zebedee, Pharisee, &c., or as a tri-syllable, the word being considered as a reproduction of the Greek form of the name. (Lightfoot, On Revision, p. 156, n.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Osee Hos 2:23, quoted not verbally but in general sense. The Hebrew is: I will love her who was not beloved; I will say to her who was not my people, My people art thou. The apostle changes the order of the two clauses.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘As he says also in Hosea (Greek – Osee), “I will call that my people, who were not my people, and her beloved, who was not beloved”.’
Paul then cites Hosea in order to demonstrate that it has always been God’s intention that some who were ‘not My people’ should become ‘My people’. That some who were not beloved and elect, would become beloved and elect. (In many cases ‘beloved’ and ‘elect’ were seen as synonyms).
He declares that in Hosea we read, ‘I will call that My people who were not My people, and (I will call) her beloved who was not beloved’ (a Pauline paraphrase of Hos 2:23). It would certainly appear, at least at first sight, that this quotation from Hosea is backing up Rom 9:23-24, for in it he is seeking to demonstrate from Scripture that some of those who were ‘not God’s people’ would become so. But some question who are in Paul’s mind here. The previous verses from Rom 9:6 onwards have been referring to the election of only a part of Israel, with Gentiles only being introduced at the end as an additional final comment. Is he then continuing his argument on the election of only a part of Israel? Or is he now seeing the Gentiles as included? The direct connection with the previous verse would suggest that he is applying Hosea’ prophecy to ‘the called’ among both believing Jews and Gentiles, both therefore being seen as having been ‘not My people’, and now being ‘My people’. And the general impression at first sight is certainly that that is precisely what he meant. But against this is argued the fact that there is little doubt that the citation from Hosea only had Israelites in mind, because it was Israelites who were actually in the mind of Hosea.
However, if we take the view that Paul is drawing from Hosea’s wording, (that ‘not My people’ can become ‘My people’), the inference that this is God’s usual method of working, and that it is something which was evidenced by an Israel that had lapsed into Gentile idolatry and had therefore virtually become Gentile, having been cut off from God’s true Israel, then, it may well be that he sees this as evidence that God will reach out to believing Gentiles as well. That is indeed what the Jews themselves believed when they accepted into their synagogues both Gentile proselytes and Gentile God-fearers (uncircumcised adherents).
But strictly speaking, in Hosea ‘not My people’ referred to a rejected Israel. It may thus be that this is simply a continuation of the argument that ‘not all Israel is Israel’. His point would then be that for a while Israel had been ‘not My people’, and were thus not of the elect, but that as a result of God’s activity some of them would become ‘My people’ (‘some’ because many would die in their ‘not my people’ state), indicating again that not all Israel is Israel. Most scholars, however, see Paul here as referring to the Gentiles, with Paul’s point being that a principle is revealed in the statement which demonstrates that God can make ‘not My people’ into ‘My people’. It may, in fact, be that Paul had both possibilities in mind.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 9:25-26. As he saith also in Osee Here are two quotations out of the prophet Hosea,first, ch. Rom 1:10 where, immediately after God had rejected the ten tribes, Rom 9:9. (Ye are not my people, and I will not be your God,) it is added, Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered: And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. As if he had said, “The decrease of numbers in the visible church, by God’s utterly taking away the ten tribes, Rom 9:6 shall be well supplied by what shall afterwards come to pass by calling the Gentiles into it. They who had been the people of God should become Lo-ammi,not my people: on the contrary, they who had been Lo-ammi,not my people, should become the children of the living God.” Again, Hos 2:23. I will sow her [the Jewish church] unto me in the earth; alluding, probably, to the dispersion of the Jews over all the Roman empire; which proved a fruitful cause of preparing the Gentiles for the reception of the Gospel; And, or moreover, I will have mercy on her [the body of believing Gentiles] that had not obtained mercy. See Jeffery’s “True Grounds,” p. 149.; and the notes on Hosea.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rom 9:25 . Of the it is shown that it is in accordance with ( ) a divine prophetic utterance. The required no confirmation from prophecy; but the other statement required it the more, inasmuch as it was exactly the Gentiles who had become believing that had been introduced as , in place of the Jews who had remained unbelieving.
.] in libro Hoseae : comp. Mar 1:2 ; Joh 6:45 ; Act 7:42 . The passage Hos. 2:25 (the citation varies both from the LXX. and the original text) treats of the idolatrous people of the ten tribes , to whom God announces pardon and renewed adoption as the people of God. The apostle recognises in this pardon the type of the reception of the Gentiles to salvation, and consequently, as its prophetically Messianic sense, a prediction of the calling of the Gentiles; and from this point of view, which has its warrant in the likeness of category to which the subjects belong (comp. Hengstenberg, Christol . I. p. 251), he has also introduced the deviations from the words of the original and of the LXX., transposing the two parallel sentences, and rendering the thought . . . (LXX.) by . . ., because the divine of the Gentiles loomed before him as the Messianic fulfilment of the saying. Yet we are not thereby justified in understanding and , Rom 9:26 , immediately in the sense of vocation (Fritzsche); for , to call any one to something , is without linguistic warrant, and the departure thus assumed from the original and from the LXX. would be unnecessary , and would amount to a mechanical proceeding. On the contrary, is to be left in its ordinary signification to name (comp. Hos 1:6 ); the divine naming , however, as “my people, my beloved,” of which the Gentiles were previously the very opposite, is in point of fact none other than just their calling to Messianic salvation , in consequence of which they are then named also from the human side (Rom 9:26 ), and are therewith recognised according to the theocratic status which they have obtained. The vivid thought laid hold of the expression the more readily, since in this word to call and to name form a single notion. Accordingly we must translate: I will name that which is not my people, my people; and her who is not beloved, beloved . Both expressions refer in the original to the significant names of a son ( ) and of a daughter ( ) of the prophet, which he had been directed to give them as symbolically significant of the rejection of the people, Hos 1:6-9 .
On the standing beside the noun with the article, where the denial refers to a concrete definite subject, see Baeumlein, Partik . p. 276.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
Ver. 25. And her beloved ] Jer 12:7 . God calls the Church the beloved of his soul, or (as the Septuagint and Vulgate read it) his beloved soul, .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
25, 26 .] It is difficult to ascertain in what sense the Apostle cites these two passages from Hosea as applicable to the Gentiles being called to be the people of God. That he does so , is manifest from the words themselves, and from the transition to the Jews in Rom 9:27 . In the prophet they are spoken of Israel ; see ch. Rom 1:6-11 , and ch. 2 throughout: who after being rejected and put away, was to be again received into favour by God. Two ways are open, by which their citation by the Apostle may be understood. Either (1) he brings them forward to shew that it is consonant with what we know of God’s dealings, to receive as His people , those who were formerly not His people that this may now take place with regard to the Gentiles, as it was announced to happen with regard to Israel, and even more, that Israel in this as in so many other things was the prophetic mirror in which God foreshowed on a small scale His future dealings with mankind, or (2) he adduces them from mere applicability to the subject in hand, implying, ‘It has been with us Gentiles, as with Israel in the prophet Hosea.’ I own I much prefer the former of these, as more consonant with the dignity of the argument, and as apparently justified by the , as He saith also in Hosea, implying perhaps that the matter in hand was not that directly prophesied in the citation, but one analogous to it. Chrys. takes the same view: , , , , , , , . ; Hom. xvi. p. 618.
The fem. is used because the Jewish people was typified by the daughter of the prophet, Hos 1:6 , who was called Lo-ruhamah, ‘not having obtained mercy.’ The sense, not the words of the LXX, is quoted.
By must not I think be understood, in any particular place, as Juda, nor among any peculiar people, as the Christian Church: but as a general assertion, that in every place where they were called ‘not His people,’ there they shall be called ‘His people.’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 9:25 f. This result of God’s ways with man His calling not only from the Jews but from the Gentiles agrees with His own declarations in Scripture. Rom 9:25 answers roughly to Hos 2:23 , LXX: I will love her who was not beloved, and will say to that which was not My people, Thou art My people. Not My people (= Lo-ammi) and Not beloved (= Lo-ruhamah) were the names of a son and a daughter of Hosea, who symbolised the kingdom of Israel, rejected of God but destined to share again in His favour. Paul here applies to the calling of the Gentiles words which spoke originally of the restoration of Israel an instance which shows how misleading it may be to press the context of the other passages quoted in this chapter. Rom 9:26 is also a quotation from Hos 2:1 (LXX): the is supplied by Paul. The application of it is similar to that of Rom 9:25 . In Hosea the promise is that the Israelites who had lost their standing as God’s people should have it given back to them, in all its dignity. This also Paul reads of the calling of the Gentiles. They were once no people of God’s, but now have their part in the adoption. But what is the meaning of “in the place where there shall they be called”? It is not certain that in Hosea there is any reference to a place at all (see margin of R.V.), and it is not easy to see what Paul can mean by the emphatic . The ordinary explanation the Gentile lands is as good as any, but seems hardly equal to the stress laid on .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
also, &c. = in Hosea also.
people. See Act 2:47. Quoted from Hos 2:23. Compare 1Pe 2:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
25, 26.] It is difficult to ascertain in what sense the Apostle cites these two passages from Hosea as applicable to the Gentiles being called to be the people of God. That he does so, is manifest from the words themselves, and from the transition to the Jews in Rom 9:27. In the prophet they are spoken of Israel; see ch. Rom 1:6-11, and ch. 2 throughout: who after being rejected and put away, was to be again received into favour by God. Two ways are open, by which their citation by the Apostle may be understood. Either (1) he brings them forward to shew that it is consonant with what we know of Gods dealings, to receive as His people, those who were formerly not His people-that this may now take place with regard to the Gentiles, as it was announced to happen with regard to Israel,-and even more,-that Israel in this as in so many other things was the prophetic mirror in which God foreshowed on a small scale His future dealings with mankind,-or (2) he adduces them from mere applicability to the subject in hand, implying, It has been with us Gentiles, as with Israel in the prophet Hosea. I own I much prefer the former of these, as more consonant with the dignity of the argument, and as apparently justified by the ,-as He saith also in Hosea, implying perhaps that the matter in hand was not that directly prophesied in the citation, but one analogous to it. Chrys. takes the same view: , , , , , , , . ; Hom. xvi. p. 618.
The fem. is used because the Jewish people was typified by the daughter of the prophet, Hos 1:6, who was called Lo-ruhamah, not having obtained mercy. The sense, not the words of the LXX, is quoted.
By must not I think be understood, in any particular place, as Juda, nor among any peculiar people, as the Christian Church: but as a general assertion, that in every place where they were called not His people, there they shall be called His people.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 9:25. , saith) God. Paul asserted the prior right of God in calling the Gentiles, and their actual calling, and now at last that the event is shown, he brings in one testimony from the Old Testament, and ch. Rom 15:9, etc., a number more in succession, by a method worthy of notice. The predictions, though numerous and quite clear from their fulfilment, yet in the first instance do not easily obtain belief. The strength of the following quotation is not in the verb I will call [name], but in the other part of the expression: , He called, is used as in Rom 8:30. Nevertheless naming immediately accompanies calling, and in a manner precedes it.- , . , ) I will call them my people, who were not my people, and her beloved who was not beloved, Hos. 2:25. The LXX. have, And I will have mercy on her, on whom I have not had mercy, and I will say to them who are not my people, thou art my people.-[ . , .]- loved) as one betrothed, as a bride.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 9:25
Rom 9:25
As he saith also in Hosea, I will call that my people, which was not my people; and her beloved, that was not beloved.-He quotes from Hosea to show that it had been the purpose of God from the beginning to call the Gentiles, who at that time were not the children of God and were not beloved for their trust in God; they would become faithful, and so be called the beloved.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Stumbling over the Cornerstone
Rom 9:25-33
There has been a notable transference of privilege from the Jew to the Gentile believer. This is not due to fickleness on Gods part, but to a fatal defect in the Hebrew people. The vessel that was marred in the potters hand suffered not from the clumsiness of the potter, but from some inherent flaw in the clay. The Chosen People stumbled over the law of faith and rejected their Messiah. The Gentiles, on the other hand, have exercised faith in Him, and have thereby attained a justifying righteousness. There is no caprice with God, neither shadow that is cast by turning, Jam 1:17. Any apparent change in His dealings is determined by our attitude toward Him.
Jesus is a stone of stumbling to the blind, but all who confide in Him and rest on Him shall not be put to shame. God has laid the foundation of our salvation deep in the waters of death and judgment. In the death of Christ He condemned sin in the flesh, and now we who are built into Him, as a stone is clamped to the foundation, shall rest secure when the last great storms sweep over land and sea.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
in Osee: Hos 1:1, Hos 1:2, Hosea
I will call: Hos 2:23, 1Pe 2:10
beloved: Rom 1:7, Eze 16:8, Joh 16:27
Reciprocal: Num 13:16 – Oshea Deu 32:21 – I will 2Sa 7:24 – art become 2Sa 22:44 – a people 1Ch 17:22 – thy people Isa 19:25 – Blessed Isa 43:6 – bring Isa 54:3 – thou shalt Isa 62:4 – shalt no Hos 1:10 – and it Joh 11:52 – the children Act 18:6 – from Eph 4:10 – fill 1Th 1:4 – your election Heb 2:10 – many Heb 8:10 – they shall 1Jo 3:1 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
-26
Romans 9:25-26. Osee means Hosea, and it is a prediction that the Gentiles were to become God’s people, even though the Jews thought them unworthy of it.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 9:25. As he saith also in Hosea (Rom 2:23). The Hebrew text is here followed more closely than the Septuagint. What has just been said of the Gentiles accords with (as) this prophecy; also, probably, suggests that this is a secondary (or typical) application of the passage, while Hosea refers to the book, as in our usage. On Pauls use of the Old Testament, see Excursus on Gal 4:19-30. Here we may say either that the prophecy lays down a general principle which is applicable to the calling of Gentiles, or that its primary reference was typical of this later event. The latter is more accordant with Pauls conception of the Old Testament, and with the peculiar character of the original prophecy.
I will call that my people, etc. This passage refers to the fact that the prophet had Seen told (Hos 1:6; Hos 1:9) to give to a daughter and a son the names Lo-Ruhamah (not having obtained mercy) and Lo-Ammi (not my people). The former name symbolized the visible deprivation of mercy, the latter visible rejection as a people. The Apostle uses the LXX. equivalent of these names (not beloved for Lo-Ruhamah), inverting the order, to emphasize the thought not my people, which was prominent in his mind. I will call is substituted for I will say to, without altering the sense, for calling here means to name, as do the words of the original prophecy. But undoubtedly the Apostle in this application had in mind the calling of the Gentiles to salvation. The original reference was to the ten tribes, not to the heathen; but they had become idolatrous, and any typical significance of the language addressed to them would apply to the reception of the Gentiles.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Our apostle having hitherto vindicated the wisdom and righteousness of God in the rejection of the Jews, and calling of the Gentiles; lest the Jews should stumble and take offence at it, in these and the following verses he proves, that the calling of the Gentiles was long before foretold, both by the prophet Hosea, and the prophet Isaiah; by the prophet Hosea,
I will call them my people, which were not my people. Hos 2:23
And, Instead of, ye are not my people, it shall be said, ye are the sons of the living God. Hos 1:10
Which expressions signify and import God’s receiving the Gentiles into the church as an act of free and undeserved mercy, whom the Jews looked upon as castaways, as strangers, as dogs; accounting themselves only to be of his family and household. Next he produces the testimony of Isaiah.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
And, first, Rom 9:25-26 : the proclamation by the prophets of the calling of the Gentiles; then Rom 9:27-29 : that of the rejection of the mass of the Jewish people.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
As he saith also in Hosea [Paul does not seek to prove his question about God’s grace to the wicked which he exercises instead of his right to immediate punishment — that needs no proof. That God wishes to save all, and hath no pleasure in the damnation of any, has always been Scripturally plain. What he now seeks to prove is his last assertion about impartiality. He has shown out of the Scriptures that God has elected between the apparently elect; he now wishes to also show, out of the same Scriptures, that he has elected the apparently non-elect–viz., the Gentiles–and that the apparently elect, or Jews, are all to be rejected save a remnant. The first quotation is a compilation of Hos 2:23 and Rom 1:10 . The translation is from the Hebrew, modified by the LXX., and by Paul, but not so as to affect the meaning. It reads thus:], I will call that my people, which was not my people; And her beloved, that was not beloved.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 25
Osee; Hosea 2:23.–And her Beloved; meaning, I will call her Beloved, that is, I will make her so; referring to the Gentiles, who were originally not among the chosen people of God, but were now received under the Christian dispensation.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
9:25 {25} As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
(25) Our vocation or calling is free, and of grace, even as our predestination is: and therefore there is no reason why either our own unworthiness, or the unworthiness of our ancestors should cause us to think that we are not the elect and chosen of God, if we are called by him, and so embrace through faith the salvation that is offered us.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The inclusion of Gentiles in this group is in harmony with Old Testament prophecy. It foretold the calling of the Gentiles and the preservation of a Jewish remnant. Hos 2:23; Hos 1:10, in their contexts, refer to a reversal of Israel’s status. Some interpreters say that this is a direct fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. [Note: E.g., McClain, p. 183; and John A. Battle Jr., "Paul’s Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9:25-26," Grace Theological Journal 2 (1981):115-29.] Others claim that this was an initial partial fulfillment that does not eliminate a future complete fulfillment. [Note: E.g., Darrell L. Bock, "The Reign of the Lord Christ," in Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church: The Search for Definition, pp. 37-67; W. Edward Glenny, "The Israel Imagery of 1 Peter 2," in ibid., pp. 156-87; and idem, "The ’People of God’ in Romans 9:25-26," Bibliotheca Sacra 152:605 (January-March 1995):42-59.] A better explanation, I think, is that Paul saw an analogy between God’s present calling of Gentiles and His future calling of Israel. [Note: Johnson, "Evidence from . . .," p. 209-11; Witmer, p. 479.] Gentiles were not a distinct people, as were the Jews, but constituted the mass of humanity. Nevertheless, by God’s grace, believing Gentiles became members of the new people of God, the church.