Connect Romans 11:5 with Old Testament examples of God preserving a remnant. Grace preserves a remnant • Romans 11:5: “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.” • Paul is not inventing a new idea—he is pointing back to a steady pattern woven through the whole Bible: whenever judgment falls, God still safeguards a line of faith-filled people. • That remnant is not self-made; it exists “by grace.” God’s initiative, God’s choice, God’s protection. Romans 11:5 in its near context • Romans 11:2-4 recalls Elijah: when Elijah thought he was the last faithful Israelite, God replied, “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” (1 Kings 19:18, quoted in Romans 11:4). • Paul’s conclusion: just as in Elijah’s day, God still has His preserved people inside Israel—even if most of the nation seems hardened. Old Testament snapshots of God’s preserving hand 1. Noah (Genesis 6–9) – Genesis 7:23: “Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.” – Global judgment, yet eight souls carried safely through the flood. 2. Joseph and Jacob’s family (Genesis 45:7) – “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” – Famine threatened extinction, but God’s providence in Egypt safeguarded the covenant line. 3. The seven thousand in Elijah’s day (1 Kings 19:18) – Widespread apostasy under Ahab and Jezebel, yet God had quietly reserved thousands who stayed true. 4. Isaiah’s prophecies during Assyrian aggression – Isaiah 10:20-22: a righteous “remnant of Jacob” will return. – Isaiah 6:13 pictures a “stump” left after the tree is felled—holy seed within the stump. 5. Exile and return – Jeremiah 23:3: “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock.” – Ezra 9:8: after seventy years, a “brief moment of grace” allowed a remnant to rebuild temple and walls. 6. Micah and Zephaniah’s visions of hope – Micah 2:12: “I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.” – Zephaniah 3:12-13: a humble, purified remnant sheltered from future wrath. 7. Daniel and his friends in Babylon (Daniel 1–6) – Though captives in a pagan empire, they remained loyal and were protected—even in fiery furnaces and lion dens. Threads that tie the remnant together • Judgment and mercy run side-by-side: sin is answered with real consequences, yet God refuses to let His covenant promises die. • The remnant is never large; it often looks fragile. That very smallness highlights divine power, not human resilience. • Each episode keeps the Messianic line alive, culminating in Christ—through whom grace now gathers believing Jews and Gentiles into one body. • Romans 11:5 stands on all these Old Testament foundations: every prior rescue foreshadows the present “remnant chosen by grace.” Why the remnant matters today • God’s track record builds confidence: He will keep every promise to Israel and to the church. • Faithfulness may look lonely in any generation, yet we can trust that God still has His people—known and preserved by Him. • Grace, not numbers, secures our future. The same God who shut Noah’s door, fed Elijah, and stirred Cyrus keeps watch over all who rest in Christ. |
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