GENTILE BENEFITS IN THE REJECTION OF ISRAEL 
Romans 11:11‑22
Who are the Gentiles? This term appears regularly on the pages of our English Bibles, but some are confused about their identity. Actually everyone who is not a direct descendent of Abraham physically is a Gentile. The word as it appears in our English Bible translates the Greek word for "nations". For a Jewish man Israel was the nation, and the others were nations ‑ ‑ or Gentiles.

Before us in our text the Apostle justifies the ways of God with the nation of Israel. Because of the rejection of the Son of God on the part of Israel, they were judicially blinded by God Himself. Or to use the parable of the Apostle, Israel was God's favored olive tree. He tended the tree carefully. When some of the natural branches of the tree failed to bring forth the expected fruit, God cut them out of the tree. He then proceeded to graft into the olive tree some wild branches‑‑Gentiles.

Did God do the right thing in rejecting the natural branches? Actually in the end God used the rejection of the natural branches to bring some great benefit to the Gentiles. This is the way God works! He will even cause the failure of man to work out in such a way that in the end they contribute to the accomplishment of His purpose.

Since we are numbered with the nations, and not the nation of Israel, let us count our blessings that God provided us through the spiritual failure of Israel. We will see each of them as another witness to the over‑ruling power of God's grace.

THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR THE GOSPEL
"I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid". This repeats the question that opened this chapter in different words. The stumbling of Israel does not mean their complete and final fall.

Instead, the fall has turned out to be a blessing to the nations. "But rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.” This is a matter of history. A careful study of the Acts of the Apostle reveals that in each city visited by Paul, the Gospel was shared openly with the Gentiles only after it was rejected by the Jews. It was always the Jews first and then the Greeks. The rejection of the Gospel by the Jews only hastened the spread of the Gospel among the nations of the world.

Paul evaluates it like this, "Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?'' While he is using logic to build expectation concerning the restoration of the Jews, he at the same time reveals the great benefit that has come to the nations.  "Riches'' suggests that the coming of the Gospel to a people is earth's greatest privilege. See in the open door to reconciliation with God through the cross of Christ earth's greatest treasure. Israel rejecting this treasure brought it to us.

While we Gentiles should never rejoice in the fall of Israel, we should rejoice over the manner in which God overruled their fall to benefit us. When you count your blessings, what do you put at the top? When you think about being an American, what are you most grateful for? The privilege of hearing the Gospel should be somewhere near the top. Thank God that we were born into a century where others knew the Gospel and were free to share the Gospel with us. Have you ever wondered why you were born in America and not in Soviet Russia? Surely it has to be an expression of God's grace. Instead of being taught "Jesus Loves Me", I could have been taught, "Premier Stalin Loves Me.''

THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE USED OF GOD
God has a special purpose in mind in bringing the Gospel to us. He purposes to use us, the people of the nations who have become Christians, to provoke Israel to jealousy.

"I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy (v 11) Do you see the purpose of God? "For to provoke them (the Jews) to jealousy?''

As he speaks of his ministry, Paul comes back to this theme again, "If by any means I may provoke to emulation (same word used in v. 11‑jealousy) them that are my flesh, and might save some of them".

What is your reaction to this? Some Gentiles seem to be bothered that God would still be so concerned about the Jew. They rather resented being used by God to be a demonstration of God's goodness to the Jew. However, we need to keep in mind that God in His sovereign choice has chosen the nation of Israel, and that as a nation God is still mindful of the promise that He made to the fathers of Israel‑‑Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David especially. Because of this, they are still beloved. So it is really a very precious thing that God is seeking to do through us.

Another reaction may well be that you see little about us that would provoke anyone to jealousy. This would be my judgment too. However, that is an indictment of us‑‑not God. He has made available to us Gentiles the riches of His grace in Christ. Our present spiritual poverty is the result of our failure to appropriate the riches he has made available, not the poverty of God or inability of God. Surely our poverty should cause us to repent.

We need to avail ourselves of this opportunity. God purposes to so fill your life with the riches of His grace that the Jewish man who has rejected His grace will be attracted to it. Has your life ever convinced anyone that the Christian life is the best life? While men are to be won to Christ by our verbal witness, they should be attracted by our full and rich life in Him.

THE OBJECT LESSON IN THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF
In presenting the gracious thing the Lord God has done for us Gentiles, the Apostle utilizes a parable. He likens Israel to an olive tree. In time God found that the branches of this tree were not producing the olives he desired, so He did a thing contrary to nature ‑‑‑ He cut off the natural branches of the olive tree, and grafted in some branches taken from a wild olive tree. Usually the wild olives would be of an inferior quality, so usually the process of grafting would follow just the opposite pattern‑‑natural branches would be grafted into a wild olive tree.

This says something significant to us about our Christian faith. Some Christians want to ignore the Old Testament and deny that the Christian faith has anything to do with Judaism. But listen to the Apostle, "And if some (surely an understatement) of the branches be broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree." We are the beneficiaries of an association with this olive tree. Spiritual blessings have already come to us because of promises God made to Abraham and other Old Testament worthies. The salvation we know is of the Jews.

The reaction of some Gentile Christians is anticipated by Paul. They will be inclined to feel superior since they have actually replaced the natural branches in God's olive tree. But there is no room for any such boasting or pride.   "Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee." We Gentiles are still just branches; the root and trunk of the tree are still Jewish.

"Thou wilt say then, the branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded because they were superior to them, but because they were overcome by unbelief.” The wild branches were not grafted in because of a moral or spiritual superiority, but totally on the basis of their faith through the grace of God.

This brings us to the object lesson the Lord would share with us. God designs to use the fall of Israel through unbelief as an object lesson to teach us the dangers of unbelief. "For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also not spare thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." ( v. 21‑22) What a message!

There is nothing more dangerous than spiritual presumption! Israel presumed on the kindness of God, and experienced His severity. Will we follow her example? When you see the wandering Jew in the earth, when you sense his spiritual blindness, just remember that his present condition is the judgment of God upon his unbelief.

This has a message for the individual Christian from the nation. We must be careful to walk by faith and obedience. Unbelief is the suicide of the soul. This has a message to Gentile Christian churches. Our privileges can be withdrawn. We can be cut off. We must take advantage of the benefits that have come to us through the failure of Israel.