Chapter 9, verses 27-29. Verse 27. Zios also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah. Thus far the reading of God's holy word. May the Lord bless us in the reading and hearing and now in the preaching and hearing of his most sacred word. Let's pray. Our father in heaven, we thank you for your mercy, We praise you for your truth. We thank you that you are a God of grace, even to those who deserve your wrath, that you sent out your servants to bid them to the marriage feast. And so, oh God, as we hear that same call, give us hearts to believe, not to make light of your call. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated. We continue our consideration of Romans 9, the apostle dealing with the rejection of the Jews. Why did God reject them? Why did they reject his son, given all the privileges that they had? How do we explain this? The apostle has dealt with the sovereignty of God. His making of one lump vessels to honor and dishonor. He has proven that God has called not merely Jews, but also Gentiles into his kingdom. And now he quotes from the prophet Isaiah, what some have called the fifth gospel, the gospel of the Old Testament, which clearly portrays the good news concerning Christ's crucifixion, his Godhead, his manhood, his descent from David, his resurrection, his kingdom, his glory. So here Isaiah crieth concerning Israel. Now this name Isaiah is the Greek name for the Hebrew name that we call Isaiah. Isaiah is the Hebrew. Here notice the Greek is used from the Septuagint. Now many are trendy and they like to say, oh, I believe in the real Bible. I use the Hebrew words. So do I, I believe in the real Bible and it doesn't use Hebrew words. It uses Greek words, words suited to an Gentile audience. The Spirit uses Gentile language. Notice, Esaias crieth, it says. He raises his voice, screams, he exclaims. Sometimes this word means to shriek. It shows his zeal, his vehemency inside. Matthew Poole comments, hereby as noted, the prophet's zeal. or his openness and plainness. He cries concerning or even on behalf of Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea. Have you ever tried to count a bucket of sand? Could you imagine taking a bucket, let's say a half a gallon bucket, and trying to count every little granule? Could you do it? No. Now think, all the sand by the seashore. Could you count that? No, you couldn't. Innumerable. God promised this to Abraham. Genesis 22, verse 17. We read of it in Solomon's day. God fulfilled it. First Kings 4, verse 20. He promised, he fulfilled. I will make your seed as the sand by the seashore. And so he did. And though this was the case, Isaiah crieth, A remnant shall be saved. Freyberg says of this word remnant, it means the remains, the residue. Even of persons, it can mean survivors. If you have a ship with 500 people and only 12 of them live from a wreck, those are the remnant, the 12, the only ones who survived, the only ones left. Look at the next page over, Romans 11, four and five. But what saith the answer of God, this is where God's responding to Elijah, unto him, I have reserved, a related term, I have reserved to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then, Paul reasons, at this present time also, there is a remnant, again, a related word, according to the election of grace. In Elijah's day, among the millions of Israel, how many actually believed in God? 7,000. That's it. There was Elias, the prophet. Maybe Obadiah, the prophet. A couple other prophets among the sons of the prophets. And if you added them all up, 7,000. That's it. That's all you got. a pittance compared to the whole, the millions of Israel. So he says, at this day, how many Jews actually believed of that entire nation? How many stayed in Jerusalem? Josephus says 11 million. That means they didn't believe what Jesus said. When Jesus said, no stone left upon another, they said, no, that's not true. That's not going to happen to us. We're staying here. The temple will stand. Jerusalem will be victorious. And were they victorious? No. But they did not believe. Please open to Isaiah chapter 10, page 715 of your Pew Bibles. Isaiah chapter 10. The apostle is quoting from the Greek translation of the Old Testament of Isaiah, almost word for word. He's not necessarily giving the Hebrew sense, he's giving the approved translation, the authorized version of their day, you might say, the Septuagint, starting at verse 20. And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob shall no more again stay upon him that smote them, but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob unto the mighty God, for though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, Yet the remnant of them shall return. The consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption even determined in the midst of the land. Thus far, Isaiah. Now this concerns the Assyrian captivity. Verse five, O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger. God's going to take them into captivity through the Assyrians for all of their sins as the rod of God's anger. So now, who's coming back? Who's going to return? Who's coming back to the land of this remnant? A very small few, he says. Now this word shall return, you'll notice here, as we read it in verse 22, excuse me, verse 21, the remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob. And then now in verse 22, for though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return. From what? from captivity in Assyria, right? They will return from the captivity in Assyria. Now the Septuagint edition very nicely tees up for the New Testament and says, shall be saved, not shall return, but shall be saved. And this is exactly what the apostle says. Please turn back to Romans chapter nine. Verse 27, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant what shall return? Shall be saved. These survivors, these residue, they shall be saved. And note, God in the Old Testament is talking about a literal captivity. What's he talking about in the New Testament? Spiritual captivity, the bonds of sin and death, release from a greater bondage known as sin and hell. Scripture typology takes the political or the literal slavery or captivity and transforms it into the spiritual captivity of sin. You see that? It's no longer they shall return. It's they shall be saved. How? What's he been talking about in Romans? Salvation from Assyrian captivity? Is that even mentioned in the book of Romans? No. From the wrath of God, through the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, through the redemption that's through his blood. That's how. I note then this doctrine. The Holy Ghost presents a clear set of types and figures from the Old Testament for the New Testament realities. The Holy Ghost very clearly takes types and figures from literal things in the Old Testament and transforms them into spiritual substance in the New Testament. Here are some examples. God refers to captivity and bondage in Egypt in Assyria, and in Babylon. What does he say about those passages in the New Testament? What do they have to do with? Bondage of sin and death, from which Jesus is our Redeemer, who redeems us from the curse of the law. What about the temple? Remember Solomon's temple we were reading about? What does John 2 say? Well, Jesus said, you can destroy this temple and I will raise it in three days. What was the temple? The temple of Solomon? Herod's temple? The second temple rebuilt after the captivity? No, his body. David to Christ. Israel to the church from returning from Assyrian captivity to salvation by Jesus Christ. This is why our shorter catechism rightly says, what does the preface to the Ten Commandments teach us? Because God is our Lord and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all His commandments. Wait a second, doesn't it say in the preface to the Ten Commandments about Egypt and releasing you from the house of bondage there? Yes. What's that a type of? Our redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. You see, this is a rebuke to a wooden or unbending letterism. They'll say, I only interpret the Bible literally. No, you interpret it letterally, not literally. Because literally, returning from Assyrian bondage means salvation through faith in Christ in the New Testament, you see. So it's an unbending letterism, casting off the types and figures that God himself employs through his holy apostles. not allowing the shadows to represent the substance, but insisting that the Old Testament language must be bound by its literal and primary reference. This is not the faith of a Christian. This is the faith of a Jew, where he says everything in the Old Testament is literally what it says. We must literally have a king sitting on a literal throne, in literal Jerusalem, reigning over the literal nations. Is that what we believe? No, of course we don't, because it's absurd. It makes no sense. And it's not how the apostles and Christ himself treat the scriptures of the Old Testament. Let us then read the sacred scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments with understanding. We must recognize the various types as scripture itself teaches us and let us delight in the wisdom of God. God can take in his providence the return from captivity and use it to demonstrate spiritual truths for all nations. Let us praise God for his wisdom intertwined in the scriptures. Now verse 28. For he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. Notice work. This is the word logos. He will make a short accounting. He will make a short work. He will draw the account to a close. You ever had somebody call you and tell you your account's about to be closed? That's what he's doing. Israel, your account is almost done, he's saying. Remember, this is about the children of Israel. You're going to have your account closed real quick. All done. You're going to have a few people left. The rest of you, your account will be closed. And this is an exact quotation of Isaiah 10, 22 in the Septuagint, almost word for word. God will bring this accounting to an end. It will be all over for Israel. That's what he's saying. He will cut it short in righteousness. He will chop it off. He will end it abruptly. There will be no dilly-dally, no wasting of time. This will be done justly. No one will be able to complain, we didn't get what we deserved. That's what he's saying. He will cut it short in righteousness. David Dixon comments. For God, after much abuse of his lenity, lenity is the opposite of cruelty, when someone is soft with you and they're kind with you. For God, after much abuse of his lenity, will in short time end his controversy with that people. following the exactness of justice because God determined quickly to execute and complete his severity in casting off that people. That's what Isaiah is saying. God's going to do it quickly. He's going to cut them off, take the remnant, you're not going to have a lot of time, you'd better come in now or else what? He'll send his armies. He'll burn that city with fire. Because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. A shortened accounting. The account will be shortened to very brief space. You got John at 30. You got Jerusalem destroyed at 70 AD. That's it. 40 years. That's all you got. That's all they got. How long have we had? Notice the mercy of God. Again, this is a quotation, the short work the Lord making upon the earth from the Septuagint of Isaiah 10, 23. I note then this doctrine, that God's purpose in the days of Christ and the apostles was to make a brief and final account with the bulk of the Jews. That's God's purpose. A brief and final account. 40 years, done. Your account's closed. Sorry. You can't be here anymore. You can't be part of this any longer. Of the millions and millions of Jews, how many believed? Thousands. Not much. Short account. Take out the remnant, destroy the rest. That's what the Lord was doing. That was His purpose in the days of Christ and the apostles. That's what He prophesied hundreds of years before in the days of Isaiah. It wasn't a mistake. It wasn't plan B. It wasn't that plan A was to offer the kingdom to the Jews. They rejected it. Let's try something else. No, this was plan A. They would reject Christ. They would crucify him and the gospel would go to the Gentiles. That's plan A. God's intent was a brief, a just, and a final settling of accounts. Millions would die, the city destroyed, the people hardened, their temple laid flat, their house left desolate, and only a very few faithful would come to faith in Jesus Christ. Again, a rebuke to those who think that God always had his purpose in only one place with only one people. No, not correct. Let us then marvel at God's sovereign decree. And let us not be as they were abusing God's lenity and kindness. His gentleness causes us, His goodness leads us to repentance. That's what it should do. And if we do not repent of our sins when God has been so good to us and made all things ready, and He slain the fatlings, and He slain the oxen, and He said, come, my dinner is ready. If we abuse that and set it at not, what will be done to us? That's the point of the parable, is it not? The second parable, cast into outer darkness, no wedding garment. Let us improve upon God's kindness to us, his patience by faith, by repentance and by new obedience, verse 29. And as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed. We had been as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah. Now this before is in Isaiah chapter one. Let's open there if you would please, page 707, back and forth to Isaiah. 707 chapter one. We're going to see the sort of people that God is referring to. God's account. Here it is. God's laying out the ledger book. Here are your debts. Here are your assets. Let's settle this account. Verse 2. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. He's calling witnesses. Listen to this. For the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children. There's a point for God, right? He fed them. He brought them up. Point for God. Two points, actually. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have what? Gratefully returned obedience and love, right? No. Rebelled against me. Opposite point against Israel. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib. But Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Major point against Israel, right? You're dumber than an ass and an ox. You don't even know your proper place. Verse four. Ah, sinful nation. A people laden with iniquity. Oh, wow. That's a lot of marks against them. A seed of evildoers, another mark against them. Children that are corruptors, another mark against them. They have forsaken the Lord, another mark against them. They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, another mark against them. They are gone away backward. You see the account he's settling here? He's going to make this short work. Done. Why should ye be stricken any more? Mark for God, he chastened them. Ye will revolt more and more. Mark against Israel. The whole head is sick. Mark against Israel. The whole heart is faint. Mark against Israel. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it. Oh, that's disgusting. Mark against Israel. Wounds, bruises, putrefying sores, They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Your land, strangers devour it in your presence. And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city, except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant. We should have been a Sodom and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. You see that? Isaiah already said this. Who is it that kept back the flood of God's wrath to destroy them? Well, it's God himself. Except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant. Please turn back to Romans 9. Now you get the context. What's the account book look like? Except the Lord had left us the Lord of Sabaoth, Jehovah of the armies of heaven and earth. Except he had left us a seed, Here's God's grace. A small remnant, Isaiah says. Well, this is the same as a seed. You need seed to plant for the next year. You don't need that much. You eat the bulk of it, you plant the rest. The part that you plant is just a little bit. So God, if he hadn't left us with this little bit. William Plummer comments on this use of the word seed here, both in the Septuagint and in Romans. The idea in each case is the same as the portion of the crop saved for seed is very small compared to the whole. Just need a little bit of seed. That's all they got. Just a little remnant, just a little seed. If God had not done that, Who are the worst of the Gentiles? Let me think for a moment. Who are the example of wickedness among the Gentiles that we would be like if God had not shown mercy? The Israelites would have been like, had God not shown mercy? Oh yeah, Sodom and Gomorrah, remember them? Could you plant seed in Sodom and Gomorrah? No. The ground was burned with brimstone and fire, sulfuric acid everywhere. Can you grow in sulfuric acid? No. The whole plain destroyed. No fruit, no seed, no growth, no green. Absolutely barren, withered, without hope. It was only the mercy and grace of God that prevented the Jews from being absolutely obliterated, or as we say, nuked in our day. I note then this doctrine. The salvation of Jews and Gentiles is absolutely of God's free and sovereign grace. The salvation of Jews and Gentiles is absolutely of God's free and sovereign grace. Could he have made them like Sodom and Gomorrah? Yes. Did he? No. That's all his grace. That's all his mercy. Though the Israelites were not a people, though the Gentiles were not a people, God will call them his beloved. But here, notice, the apostle is teaching us, they were exposed to the wrath of God, even in the times of Isaiah. How much more when the sun shows up and the air is seized upon and killed, you see. They had stricken the prophets. They had killed them. They had dishonored and disrespected the mouthpieces of God. And then the sun shows up and what do they do? So God's going to cut them off. Their account was cut short in righteousness. God, in his most gracious purpose, still determined to save some. Though a very few, though a remnant, though as seed for planting next year. And if God had not determined to save that few, they would have been as the worst of Gentile cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. In exhortation then, would you see the riches of God's grace? First, you must see what you deserve at his hands. You must see the list and the accounts that God gave to Israel. I nourished you. I brought you up. What did you do? You rebelled. Then you had no soundness from the sole of your foot to the top of your head. You were dumber than an ass and an ox. You didn't know your place. Once we see that, ah, yes, the riches of God's grace, Here is what I deserve, utter destruction under divine justice, a short account, a quick drop into an endless pit of everlasting flames, outer darkness, wailing, weeping, hopeless gnashing of teeth. That's what I deserve. What do I get? What has God given me? What has he conveyed in the gospel? And once we have a sight of our sin and what God ought to give us by the order of justice, then we may see it is only of his grace that we are not like Sodom and Gomorrah. God, in his great mercy, left us a seed, saved a remnant even of the hard-hearted Jews. Let us then praise the Lord for the riches of his grace to us hard-hearted Gentiles. And thus far the exposition of Romans 9, 27 through 29.