Useful Bible Studies > Romans Commentary > chapter 9
When God rescues his people, some people from other nations have always benefited. God’s special people are the Jews (also called the Israelites) (9:3-5), but God wants to help the people from every nation (Genesis 12:3). So when people from other nations join with the Jews, those people benefit from God’s kindness to the Jews (see Romans 11:17).
For example, when Israel’s people left Egypt, many people from other nations left with them (Exodus 12:38). Those people received their freedom because God had freed the Jews. Several centuries later, when David established peace in Israel, many of his most loyal soldiers came from other nations (2 Samuel 15:18-22, also, the soldiers called Ammonites, Hittites and Moabites in 1 Chronicles 11:39-46).
In the same way, God sent Jesus to Israel’s people - but people from other nations benefited too (Mark 7:24-30). All the first Christians were Jews - but soon Gentiles (people from other nations) started to become Christians too (Acts chapter 10; Acts 15:1-29). Paul was ‘the apostle (a church leader whom God sent) to the Gentiles’ (11:13) - but in every place, he began his work among the Jews (Acts 13:42-48; Romans 1:16).
God unites his people, both Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:11-16). When Gentiles trust in Christ, they join God’s holy nation - they even become his royal priests (1 Peter 2:9), with the right to have the closest possible relationship with God (Hebrews 10:19-22).
Next part: God's love for the nation that lost his love (Romans 9:25)
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