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God preserved the southern remnant to bring in Christ through the line of Judah as was foretold in Gen 49:8-12.
”Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.“
Genesis 49:8-12 ESV
In Hosea 1:7, we saw that God provided Judah mercy so His purposes would continue. We will see that Judah is still under judgement for their role in Israel’s split, but they will be preserved once again and shown mercy a 2nd time. If we transition to Romans 9, Paul’s verbiage starts to become clear. Paul states that the gentiles can come to Christ as fulfilment of the prophecy of Israel to be as the sand of the sea. He states that this is because the south (who become ‘Not My People’ Lo-Ammi for rejecting Christ in Hosea) were preserved from judgement at the Babylonian Exile. Paul goes on in Romans 9 to state that God not only uses other nations, like Assyria and Babylon, to complete His purposes, but He also endures and delays the righteous judgement of His own people to bring about their reunification. For as Paul says, God endures vessels of wrath (in this case, the southern house of Judah) which are prepared for destruction to be used for His glory. Paul is stating in Romans 9 that the Jewish lineage and customs were preserved in order to fulfill prophecy. Their judgement was delayed so that the fullness of the gentiles (see Rom 11:25), which represent the lost sheep of the northern tribes, could come in (see also Jeremiah 50:6, Matthew 15:24). With this understanding, let us read Romans 9, where Paul is lamenting the Jewish rejection of Christ, but hopeful for what their rejection means for the gentile nations coming in. He states he is sorrowful for those in his lineage that would call themselves Israelites, but he states that being an Israelite is not about lineage, but a promise and faith. Recall that salvation is not about lineage, it’s about God’s people, Israel, who come to Him through faith and promise:
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
Romans 9:1-11 ESV
Continuing on with Romans 9:22, Paul identifies the gentiles as the fulfillment of Hosea’s prophecy, which was given to Israel’s two houses. He states that Christ redeemed not only the Jews, but the Gentiles also, and then he references those who were Not My People (the South), and her who was not beloved, No Mercy (the North), as though solidifying the identities of Hosea’s children. Again, within this passage, I’m asserting that those who were Not My People are Hosea’s 3rd child, Lo-Ammi, and her who was not beloved, are No Mercy (Lo-Ruhamah), Hosea’s 2nd child.
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
Romans 9:22-26 ESV
This same vision of the potter’s vessels prepared for destruction is seen in the writings of the prophet Jeremiah, who writes his prophecy some 70 years after the north’s destruction in 722BCE. In Jeremiah, we see both houses described as vessels of the Potter. God states that if He intends good for His creation and they turn toward evil, destruction is then decreed upon them. In essence, they become the Potter’s vessel’s of wrath. Jeremiah begins by rhetorically asking the Northern House of Israel if God is allowed to destroy His creation, and then answers that God is free to do as He wishes. Jeremiah then warns the south that they will follow the same path as the north as vessels of wrath.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’
Jeremiah 18:5-11 ESV
After Jeremiah, some 600 years later, Paul writes in Rom 9:22-26 (above) that we were witnessing the destruction of the south for their rejection of Christ in order that mercy may be shown to the previously scattered north.
Now in the last section of Romans chapter 9, verses 27-29, Paul references Isaiah 10:15-23, which concerns the southern remnant being preserved after the siege of Jerusalem. In Isaiah, we read about how he recalls the promise to Abraham in Genesis 28:14 to be as the sand of the sea and to spread in all cardinal directions. In Romans 9:29, Paul recounts God’s mercy and willingness to leave an offspring in to Isaiah 1:9.
”And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.“
Isaiah 1:8-9 ESV
Paul cites Isaiah 1:9 as the reason the south were preserved — in other words, preserved as booth in God’s vineyard, lest they become completely destroyed as Sodom and Gomorrah. In effect, we see a rationale provided for the staggered judgements upon the 2 houses.
27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”
Romans 9:27-29 ESV
So Paul begins verse 27 by stating Isaiah’s prophecy concerns Israel. But who is Israel? Does Paul think the north is Israel, the south is Israel, or both? Some say that Paul’s previous citation of Hosea’s prophecy in chapter 9 concerns only the gentiles, but Hosea’s prophecy concerns the Northern tribes of the House of Israel. So then the North must be the gentiles coming to Christ, therefore part of Israel as it states in Hosea that one head is appointed. But then Paul cites Isaiah’s passage which seems to concern only the Jews (the south). So does he think they are the entirety of Israel? A good interpretation is that Paul is referencing both prophecies in their relation to both houses, and both houses are viewed as Israel. For both houses were included in Hosea’s prophecy, and southern Israel was left as a booth/refuge/remnant in God’s vineyard to bring salvation to northern Israel.
Here is Isaiah 1:1,8-9, referenced by Paul in Romans 9:29, concerning the House of Judah:
1The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 8And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. 9If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.
Isaiah 1:1, 8-9 ESV
So to recap, in Romans 9:25-26, Paul references Hosea’s prophecy as to the identity of the gentiles coming to Christ. Hosea’s prophecy concerns the scattered northern tribes of Israel, with Judah (the south) being left as a remnant. Paul then references Isaiah 1:9 as fulfillment of the mercy shown Judah, so that they can bring in Christ. Through Christ, the northern house is saved and brought mercy in fulfillment of Hosea’s prophecy.
In 2 Kings 19, similar to Hosea’s prophecy, the south are shown mercy so that the line of David, the tribe of Judah, is preserved from the fall of the north by Assyria.
30 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord will do this. 32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 34 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
2 Kings 19:30-34 ESV
By being shown mercy, the southern tribe will be responsible for the way back for the gentiles, and will bear good fruit. Just as God provided a road from Egypt the 1st time, He will provide a 2nd road for the northern tribes from Assyria and the other nations where they were scattered. It is through Christ that the 2 houses shall no longer be jealous or harass one another.
See how this concept is laid out in Isaiah 11 below. Understand that the nations is interpreted gentiles from H1471, and vice versa:
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
[Continuing on with verse 9]
9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. 12 He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim. 14 But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west, and together they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them. 15 And the Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, and will wave his hand over the River with his scorching breath, and strike it into seven channels, and he will lead people across in sandals. 16 And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.”
Isaiah 11:1-3,9-16 ESV
Once again, in Isaiah 11:10, we see that the people that will take the road toward reunification, are Gentiles (H1417 – Goyee). If Israel is to be gathered again as a 2nd exodus from the nations (or gentiles), they must have been scattered first. Paul states that Christ came through the southern lineage to fulfill the promises to the patriarchs, and to save the gentiles who were shown no mercy (Hosea’s prophecy).
For the northern house, faith produced salvation through Christ, despite them not having the law. Yet the south as Israel in the flesh, (not spiritually) having had the law as a means to bring in Christ, did not attain righteousness. I contend that as Hosea’s 3rd child, ‘Not My People,’ the south is still in judgement for turning their backs to God and His Son.
30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.”
Romans 9:30-31 ESV
So in attaining righteousness with God, we see staggered judgement, and Paul goes on in the next verses to ask the questions that are raised. Paul states in verses 32-33 that the south stumbled over the corner stone in judgement. In these verses, Paul references Isaiah 28:16, where Isaiah warns the southern tribe they are not to be too proud of Ephraim’s destruction described in the previous verses, for they will someday stumble over the corner stone. We also see that Deut 29:19, Amos 9:10 corroborate the same, where the stumbling stone is for the overconfident drunkard, who is drunk with their religion/works, and stumbles over the most important stone, who is Christ, the one who proclaims the importance of faith, not works. Christ is the corner stone for God’s highway, the 2nd exodus of His people, Israel. So why did the south not attain righteousness Paul asks? Because they relied on the works of the law, and stumbled over the true message that was right in front of them – that God esteems the heart.
32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 9:32-33 ESV
So, again, the south (Judah) brings in Christ, but are under judgement for turning their backs to God, but not their face (Jeremiah 32:33). Similar to the North, they are vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. The south saw the overwhelming whip that was unleashed on the north, but believed themselves immune (Deut 29:19, Amos 9:10). So we read in Isaiah 28 that a stumbling stone of offense will be laid at their feet, who is Christ, and they are to stumble over it through reliance on other means of salvation, drunken with pride and arrogance. And their stumbling stone will be made the cornerstone (Ps. 118:22; Is 8:14; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:33; Eph. 2:20; I Pet. 2:4-6, Rom 9:32, Rom 11:11, 1 Pet 2:7-8).
“Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine! 2 Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he casts down to the earth with his hand. 7 These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. 14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! 15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter”; 16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
Isaiah 28:1-2,14-16 ESV
The Potter’s vessel’s are made to stumble in judgement. They are drunk with religion and works, but are hypocrites for they do not fulfill the very things they teach. If they proclaim salvation is from works, their salvation is never fully attained. So they stumble over Christ, who proclaims ones faith above works.
As an extension of the potter’s vessel’s stumbling stone, we see Paul mention Judah’s blindness in Acts 28. We see that Paul is brought to Rome after being shipwrecked in Malta. He calls on the local Jewish leaders to hear his case. They listen to him night and day, but some reject what he says. In their rejection, Paul quotes Is 6:9-10 to them as the rationale for why he preaches to the Gentiles. Paul proclaims through Isaiah that Judah has been blinded in judgement, just as their forefathers were after the death of King Uzziah (~750BC). Judah has become potter’s vessels of wrath prepared for destruction to save vessels of mercy (their northern brethren). For this reason, salvation will be preached to the gentile northern house, and they will listen. We know that in this way, Judah will then be made jealous, and all Israel will be saved.
So Paul references Isaiah 6 in Acts 28 as being prophecy for Judah’s blindness. In Isaiah 6, we see a warning brought to the House of Judah by Isaiah after the death of Judah’s King Uzziah (750BC – prior to the scattering of the northern house in 722BC). King Uzziah had disobeyed God, and the Southern House of Judah was in disrepair. While Uzziah did many things right in the eyes of God, Judah still sacrificed to other Gods on their high places. We read of two accounts in 2 Kings and then 2 Chronicles:
4 Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. 5 And the Lord touched the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house.
2 Kings 15:5 ESV
16 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, 18 and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.” 19 Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. 21 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. And Jotham his son was over the king’s household, governing the people of the land.
2 Chronicles 26:16-21 ESV
After King Uzziah, his son Jotham reigns, but the people are still corrupt and do not follow after God:
Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the temple of the Lord. But the people still followed corrupt practices.
2 Chronicles 27:1-2 ESV
It is within this context that we read Isaiah 6:9-13 to a fallen House of Judah. God is warning them that they will be blinded in judgement. This is the very same warning that is echoed by Paul to local Jewish leaders. In Isaiah, we see him in a vision with God, and in the conversation, God declares to him that Judah will hear but not understand, they will see but not perceive, and in effect, become blinded. Isaiah asks God how long Judah will be blinded, and His reply is that it will occur until the scattering is complete and His people are pushed to the outermost aspects of earth and the land is forsaken. It is at that time, that the root of Jesse will begin to gather the fullness of the gentiles back to Him into His millennial rest:
“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.”
Isaiah 6:9-13 ESV
This brings us to Paul’s quotation of Is 6:9-13, which we can now read with better understanding of the context.
17 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: 26 “‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 27 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
Acts 28:17,23-28 ESV
So the south were made Potter’s vessels of destruction in judgement after fulfilling their role to bring salvation through Christ to their scattered northern brethren. In this way God staggers judgement on the two houses. The north is scattered far to the ends of the earth, but brought near through Christ. The south is near to God as a refuge within His vineyard, but stumble over His stumbling stone in Christ and receive their judgement. They are to made jealous of the northern reconciliation and freedom experienced in living the Torah as it was meant, and in so doing, be saved.
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