Rom 11:2-5 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 2. God hath not cast away . This is an explicit denial of the objection. Which he foreknew . The word foreknew is expressive not merely of foreseeing a thing, but implies in this place a previous purpose or plan. . The meaning of the passage is simply, God has not cast off those whom he had before purposed or designed to be his people. It is the declaration of a great principle of Divine government that God is not changeable; and that he would not reject those whom he had purposed should be his people. Though the mass of the nation, therefore, should be cast off, yet it would not follow that God had violated any promise or compact; or that he had rejected any whom he had foreknown as his true people. God makes no covenant of salvation with those who are in their sins; and if the unbelieving and the wicked, however many external privileges they may have enjoyed, are rejected, it does not follow that he has been unfaithful to one whom he had foreknown or designated as an heir of salvation. It follows from this, also, that it is one principle of the Divine government that God will not reject those who are foreknown or designated as his friends. It is a part of the plan, therefore, that those who are truly renewed shall persevere, and obtain eternal life. Wot ye not . Know ye not. What the Scripture saith . The passage here quoted is found in . Of Elias . Of Elijah . Greek, " In Elijah (ενηλια). This does not mean that it was said about Elijah, or concerning him; but the reference is to the usual manner of quoting the Scriptures among the Jews. The division into chapters and verses was to them unknown. (See the Introduction to the Notes on Matthew.) Hence the Old Testament was divided into portions designated by subjects. Thus , "At the bush," means the passage which contains the account of the burning bush. ; . Here it means, in that passage or portion of Scripture which gives an account of Elijah. He maketh intercession to God against Israel . The word translated maketh intercession (εντυγχανει) means, properly, to come to the aid of any one; to transact the business of any one; especially to discharge the office of an advocate, or to plead one's cause in a court of justice. In a sense similar to this it is applied to Christ in his office of making intercession for us in heaven, . In the English language, the word is constantly used in a good sense, to plead for one; never to plead against one; but the Greek word may imply either. It expresses the office of one who manages the business of another; and hence one who manages the business of the state against a criminal; and when followed by the preposition for , means to intercede or plead for a person; when followed by against , (κατα) it means to accuse or arraign . This is its meaning here. He accuses or arraigns the nation of the Jews before God; he charges them with crime; the crime is specified immediately. (d) "Wot ye not" (1) "of Elias" or, "in Elias"

Romans 11:2-5

Verse 2. God hath not cast away. This is an explicit denial of the objection.

Which he foreknew. The word foreknew is expressive not merely of foreseeing a thing, but implies in this place a previous purpose or plan. Rom 8:29. The meaning of the passage is simply, God has not cast off those whom he had before purposed or designed to be his people. It is the declaration of a great principle of Divine government that God is not changeable; and that he would not reject those whom he had purposed should be his people. Though the mass of the nation, therefore, should be cast off, yet it would not follow that God had violated any promise or compact; or that he had rejected any whom he had foreknown as his true people. God makes no covenant of salvation with those who are in their sins; and if the unbelieving and the wicked, however many external privileges they may have enjoyed, are rejected, it does not follow that he has been unfaithful to one whom he had foreknown or designated as an heir of salvation. It follows from this, also, that it is one principle of the Divine government that God will not reject those who are foreknown or designated as his friends. It is a part of the plan, therefore, that those who are truly renewed shall persevere, and obtain eternal life.

Wot ye not. Know ye not.

What the Scripture saith. The passage here quoted is found in 1Kgs 19:10-18.

Of Elias. Of Elijah. Greek, "In Elijah (ενηλια). This does not mean that it was said about Elijah, or concerning him; but the reference is to the usual manner of quoting the Scriptures among the Jews. The division into chapters and verses was to them unknown. (See the Introduction to the Notes on Matthew.) Hence the Old Testament was divided into portions designated by subjects. Thus Lk 20:37, Mk 12:26, "At the bush," means the passage which contains the account of the burning bush. Lk 20:37; Mk 12:26. Here it means, in that passage or portion of Scripture which gives an account of Elijah.

He maketh intercession to God against Israel. The word translated maketh intercession (εντυγχανει) means, properly, to come to the aid of any one; to transact the business of any one; especially to discharge the office of an advocate, or to plead one's cause in a court of justice. In a sense similar to this it is applied to Christ in his office of making intercession for us in heaven, Heb 7:25, Isa 53:12. In the English language, the word is constantly used in a good sense, to plead for one; never to plead against one; but the Greek word may imply either. It expresses the office of one who manages the business of another; and hence one who manages the business of the state against a criminal; and when followed by the preposition for, means to intercede or plead for a person; when followed by against, (κατα) it means to accuse or arraign. This is its meaning here. He accuses or arraigns the nation of the Jews before God; he charges them with crime; the crime is specified immediately.

(d) "Wot ye not" Rom 8:29 (1) "of Elias" or, "in Elias" Verse 3. Lord, they have killed, etc. This is taken from 1Kgs 19:10. The quotation is not literally made, but the sense is preserved. This was a charge which Elijah brought against the whole nation; and the act of killing the prophets he regarded as expressive of the character of the people, or that they were universally given to wickedness. The fact was true that they had killed the prophets, etc., (1Kgs 18:4,13) but the inference which Elijah seems to have drawn from it, that there were no pious men in the nation, was not well founded.

And digged down. Altars, by the law of Moses, were required to be made of earth or unhewn stones, Ex 20:24,25. Hence the expression, to dig them down, means completely to demolish or destroy them.

Thine altars. There was one great altar in the front of the tabernacle and the temple, on which the daily sacrifices of the Jews were to be made. But they were not forbidden to make altars also elsewhere, Ex 20:25. And hence they are mentioned as existing in other places, 1Sam 7:17, 16:2,3, 1Kgs 18:30,32. These were the altars of which Elijah complained as having been thrown down by the Jews; an act which was regarded as expressive of signal impiety.

I am left alone. I am the only prophet which is left alive. We are told that when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them and hid them in a cave, 1Kgs 18:4. But it is not improbable that they had been discovered and put to death by Ahab. The account which Obadiah gave Elijah when he met him, (1Kgs 18:13) seems to favour such a supposition.

Seek my life. That is, Ahab and Jezebel seek to kill me. This they did because he had overcome and slain the prophets of Baal, 1Kgs 19:1,2. There could scarcely be conceived a time of greater distress and declension in religion than this. It has not often happened that so many things that were disheartening have occurred to the church at the same period of time. The prophets of God were slam; but one lonely man appeared to have zeal for true religion; the nation was running to idolatry; the civil rulers were criminally wicked, and were the leaders in the universal apostasy; and all the influences of wealth and power were setting in against the true religion to destroy it. It was natural that the solitary man of God should feel disheartened and lonely in this universal guilt; and should realize that he had no power to resist this tide of crime and calamities. Verse 4. The answer of God, (οχρηματισμος). This word is used nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, an oracle, a divine response. It does not indicate the manner in which it was done, but implies only that it was an oracle, or answer made to his complaint by God. Such an answer, at such a time, would be full of comfort, and silence every murmur. The way in which this answer was in fact given, was not in a storm, or an earth- quake, but in a still, small voice, 1Kgs 19:11,12.

I have reserved. The Hebrew is, "I have caused to remain," or to be reserved. This shows that it was of God that this was done. Amidst the general corruption and idolatry he had restrained a part, though it was a remnant. The honour of having done it he claims for himself, and does not trace it to any goodness or virtue in them. So in the case of all those who are saved from sin and pain, the honour belongs not to man, but to God.

To myself. For my own service and glory. I have kept them steadfast in my worship, and have not suffered them to become idolaters. Seven thousand men. Seven is often used in the Scriptures to denote an indefinite or round number. Perhaps it may be so here, to intimate that there was a considerable number remaining. This should lead us to hope that, even in the darkest times in the church, there may be many more friends of God than we suppose. Elijah supposed he was alone; and yet at that moment there were thousands who were the true friends of God: a small number, indeed, compared with the multitude of idolaters; but large when compared with what was supposed to be remaining by the dejected and disheartened prophet.

Who have not bowed the knee. To bow or bend the knee is an expression denoting worship, Php 2:10, Eph 3:14, Isa 45:23.

To Baal. The word Baal in Hebrew means lord, or master. This was the name of an idol of the Phenicians and Canaanites, and was worshipped also by the Assyrians and Babylonians under the name of Bel. (Comp. the Book of Bel in the Apocrypha.) This god was represented under the image of a bull, or a calf; the one denoting the sun, the other the moon. The prevalent worship in the time of Elijah was that of this idol. Verse 5. At this present time. In the time when the apostle wrote. Though the mass of the nation was to be rejected, yet it did not follow that all were to be excluded from the favour of God. As in the time of Elijah, when all appeared to be dark, and all the nation, except one, seemed to have become apostate, yet there was a considerable number of the true friends of God; so in the time of Paul, though the nation had rejected their Messiah,--though, as a consequence, they were to be rejected as a people; and though they were eminently wicked and corrupt,--yet it did not follow that all were cast off, or that any were excluded on whom God had purposed to bestow salvation.

A remnant. That which is left or reserved, Rom 9:27. He refers here, doubtless, to that part of the nation which was truly pious, or which had embraced the Messiah.

According to the election of grace. By a gracious or merciful choosing, or election; and not by any merit of their own. As in the time of Elijah, it was because God had reserved them unto himself that any were saved from idolatry, so now it was by the same gracious sovereignty that any were saved from the prevalent unbelief. The apostle here does not specify the number, but there can be no doubt that a multitude of Jews had been saved by becoming Christians, though compared with the nation--the multitude who rejected the Messiah--it was but a remnant.

The apostle thus shows that neither all the ancient people of God were east away, nor that any whom he foreknew were rejected. And though he had proved that a large part of the Jews were to be rejected, and though infidelity was prevalent, yet still there were some who had been Jews who were truly pious, and entitled to the favour of God. Nor should they deem this state of things remarkable, for a parallel case was recorded in their own Scriptures. We may learn from this narrative,

(1.) that it is no unparalleled thing for the love of many to wax cold, and for iniquity to abound.

(2.) The tendency of this is to produce deep feeling and solicitude among the true friends of God. Thus David says, "Rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they keep not thy law," Ps 119:136. Comp. Jer 9:1, Lk 19:41.

(3.) That in these darkest tunes we should not be discouraged. There may be much more true piety in the world than, in our despondency, we may suppose. We should take courage in God, and believe that he will not forsake any that are his true friends, or on whom he has purposed to bestow eternal life.

(4.) It is of God that all are not corrupt and lost. It is owing only to the election of grace, to his merciful choosing, that any are saved. And as in the darkest times he has reserved a people to himself, so we should believe that he will still meet abounding evil, and save those whom he has chosen from eternal death.

(f) "then at this present time" Rom 9:27