Remnant: A Survey of Romans 11:1-10

Author’s note: This blog post is part of an ongoing series about the book of Romans. To see other Romans resources, click here.

It matters not how desperate the situation looks; God has not rejected his people. Even when vast numbers seem to reject their Creator, God is preserving a group – a remnant – whom He guides to glory.

In Romans 11:1-10, Paul opens with a “therefore,” linking his teaching back to what precedes it—ultimately all the way back to Romans 9:1. In chapter 9, Paul explained that God has not rejected his people, because it was always his gracious plan to choose some and not others. Misunderstandings about election often lead to the mistaken conclusion that God has rejected his people. 

In chapter 10, Paul makes it clear that the Jewish people bear their own responsibility in rejecting Jesus, since they pursued their own path to righteousness rather than receiving the righteousness God freely gives. 

Now, in the first ten verses of chapter 11, Paul draws from both chapters 9 and 10 and summarizes his answer: God has not rejected his people. Rather, as he will show, the remnant proves that God remains gracious, while the rejection of others is evidence of his justice.

The Remnant – An Evidence of Grace (vv. 1-6)

Although Paul has spent a great deal of time thus far arguing against the idea of God rejecting his people, most of the discussion so far has centered on the awkward fact that most Hebrews are outside the pale of God’s gift of righteousness in Jesus. Now he turns on the offensive and provides positive evidence for his contention. Paul points to the remnant as the evidence of God’s grace.

Rather than referring to a faceless minority, Paul begins by pointing to himself, both a thoroughly Hebrew individual and an apostle. He is so Israelite that he can trace his lineage to the exact tribe from which he descends, the tribe of Benjamin (9:1). What a trophy of grace!

Elijah is another case in point. In verse 2, Paul alludes to 1 Samuel 12:22, reaffirming the age-old principle that God does not reject his people. This is further confirmed by the anecdote from Elijah’s life found in 1 Kings 19:10, 14, and 18. This is an instructive passage, since it occurred some 900 years earlier. It would be easy to assume that Israel had always faithfully followed God, yet at the time of Jesus they rejected him. Elijah shows that even in the distant past, it was Israel’s normal habit to reject God, so that only a very small number of true believers remained—almost missed by the casual observer. Yet God’s word in response to Elijah’s query proves that the remnant, though hidden, is larger than normally assumed. Elijah had missed all 7,000, and believers in Paul’s time could have similarly underestimated the number of believing Jews.

Finally, by referencing “grace” in verse 5, Paul points back to the discussion in chapter 9. No one deserves to be part of the remnant; only God’s grace keeps the seawaters of apostasy from overflowing the entirety of the Jewish people. But if it is by God’s grace, then no longer can one argue that it is on the basis of works (this is the idea of verse 6, in which not yet is a logical rather than temporal term).

The Rest – A Hardened People (vv. 7-10)

In summary, God has continued his grace to the remnant, but all those outside the remnant “were hardened.” Israel has failed in their search (described in Romans 9:31). This is a dramatic statement, since it indicates not merely that these people failed to attain God’s righteousness, but they—like Pharaoh in chapter 9—are actually the recipients of God’s hardening judgment. This surely explains why the Jews were such rabid denouncers of Paul’s message in the book of Acts. Again, Israel’s rejection of God is not outside what we should expect based on the Old Testament prophecies.

Paul then cites three biblical references to affirm this point. These references come from the three sections of the Hebrew Bible: the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets. By drawing verses from these three sections, Paul is subtly showing that this is the clear teaching of the Hebrew text.

Verse 8 contains a reference from the Law (Deuteronomy 29:4) and one from the Prophets (Isaiah 29:10). Both texts refer to the hardness of Israel and its leaders. Just as that hardness existed in that day, Paul extrapolates it “down to this very day.”

Verses 9-10 then reference Psalm 69:22-23. This Psalm denounces the Psalmist’s enemies and is frequently quoted in the New Testament in reference to Jesus. Paul himself does this in Romans 15:3. The significance of these verses is not in showing that Israel has rejected God. Rather, it refers to the judgment that such hardening will bring. Since the unbelieving Jews were so hardened that they rejected God’s Messiah, they are now marked out for the destruction which Psalm 69 says comes on such people.

In sum, God has not rejected his people, even if most of them are hardened. However, in the upcoming section, Paul will share the encouraging news: Israel’s hardening is only temporary, and a great ingathering of ethnic Jews will eventually mark the inflection point of the world.

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