Is. 59-61
Though evil and oppression abound, there is hope. God promises complete restoration to His people. Israel was brought low, but will one day be glorified. Jesus laid the foundation for it. He is the cornerstone on which God will rebuild His nation and restore His people. Having been grafted in through Christ, as Paul speaks of in Romans, these promises of glorified restoration are for each one of us who has entered into God’s covenant with us through Christ. “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Is 61:10a).
Rom. 11:19-36
I imagine there was a lot of conflict between Jews and Gentiles in the early church. It seems to be what Paul is addressing in Romans. Paul goes to great lengths to explain that there is a difference, and yet there is no difference. I have mentioned before that God used the Jews both to demonstrate and reveal His plan of redemption for the whole world, and to execute that plan. As I read it, this is what Paul is talking about.
God’s gave His old covenant through the Law to the Jews. You could say that He set them up to fail in this covenant, but this was for a purpose. Their failure is what brought about God’s new covenant through Christ. And even though they failed as a whole, there was a remnant that was faithful to God. Not that they were wholly obedient to the law, because nobody can be, but that they trusted in God’s mercy. They had faith, and it was counted to them as righteousness, even as our faith in Christ is. Now, under the new covenant through Christ, all who believe – both Jew and Gentile – are grafted into God’s family.