My God, the God of …
Text: Romans 15:8-13
God starts off the next set of verses with reminding us that the Jews are His chosen people, vs. 8. Out of all the people on earth, God reached down and chose the Jews. In Gen. 12, God makes a covenant with Abram, the father of the Jews. God tells Abram that He will make a great nation from him and that He will bless them. He gives Abram a promise that their name will be great and that all nations shall reap for themselves blessing or cursing based upon the relationship with Israel.
If you study history, you will understand that the world hates the Jews especially the Arabic nations. Also, if you study the history of America you will see that the world hates us because we have always backed the Jews and stood by them. This gives more credence to the fact of America and its Christian foundation. America must always stand by Israel no matter how it looks to the rest of the world. The world will always hate the allies of Israel so we must remember that the world will hate us. We must pray for Israel and for God to redeem them back to himself.
In the next couple of verses, 9-12, God then shows the breadth of His grace in the fact that He is also the God of the gentiles. God has given us the ability to become companions with the Jews. This is the grace of God. Redemption not only reconciles us to an all loving God, but it also reconciles us to each other. Ecc. 4:9-12 details to us what happens when we stand together. The Bible tells us that a two strand cord is not easily broken. Now when you look at the surface, this makes much sense. Of course two are stronger than one. Upon further study, the word cord carries the meaning of not just being spun together but sewn together giving it a multiplicity of strength. When we are united in the Lord, our strength is in each other as well as our Savior. Remember, redemption is reconciling us to God and each other.
Lastly, let us look at the fact that all need the grace of God. It is easy at times to think that a certain individual is not deserving of God’s grace, but let me ask you who is? No one is deserving. That’s why it is called unmerited favor. Let me ask you when was the last time you thought about witnessing to a wild man, Mark 5? How about a prostitute, John 8? Christ went to the most undeserving and His grace made a difference in their lives. His love broke the chains of bondage and set them free. If you know the Lord, the same happened to you. You were once bound and headed for death until the Master entered and gave you freedom. We must not forget that God loves all, gives grace to all and can change all no matter what their past contained.
So, let us pray for Israel, support them personally and nationally, and let us praise the Lord for allowing us to be grafted into the family. Also, let us remember that we are sewn together and our reconciliation is to God and each other; and we must remember that God’s grace is truly sufficient for all.