Romans 11:2

‘God did not cast off his people whom he foreknew.'

The idea of God casting off His people is taken from Psalms 94:14 where it says, ‘YHWH will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance', but this is then defined as referring to ‘the upright in heart (Romans 11:15), in contrast with ‘the workers of iniquity'. Thus it indicates that God will not cast off the faithful in Israel, the Israel within Israel (Romans 9:6).

‘His people Whom He foreknew.' On the basis of Romans 8:29 this could be seen as referring to the remnant, and be saying that those whom God foreknew, i.e. had entered into relationship with beforehand (the true Israel), He did not cast off. In other words the ones he cast of were those whose unbelief and disobedience demonstrated that they were not of the elect, that they were not a part of the true Israel. This can be seen as supported by his argument in Romans 2:28 that the only true Jews were those who were circumcised in heart, in the spirit, a firmly established Old Testament principle (Leviticus 26:41; Deuteronomy 10:16; Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 9:26). And we should note that it had always been the case that those in Israel who broke the covenant would be ‘cut off from among the people' (e.g. Genesis 17:14; Exodus 12:15; Exodus 12:19; Exodus 30:33; Exodus 30:38; Exodus 31:14; Leviticus 7:20; Leviticus 17:4; Leviticus 9:14; Leviticus 8:29; Leviticus 19:8; Leviticus 22:3; Leviticus 23:29; and often). Thus it could be argued that by refusing to accept God's Messiah, it was the unbelieving in Israel who were cutting themselves off from Israel. The rejecting of the Messiah was a crime far more heinous than those described in the references given. And this interpretation can be seen as supported by the illustration that follows where Paul demonstrates that among the nation of Israel there had always been a righteous remnant.

Some, however, see ‘foreknew' as referring to Israel as a whole, with the idea being that they were still as an entity His ‘chosen people', a people whom He had known before He chose them (Amos 3:2 a), and that Paul is saying that they have not been wholly cast off, but have had their election temporarily suspended. This on the basis of verses like 12, 15-16, 23-24, 26. They then cite Romans 11:28 which says, ‘as touching election they are beloved for the fathers' sake, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance', which, according to their interpretation, is seen as indicating God's concern for unbelieving Israel, for the first part of the verse refers to ‘the enemies of the Gospel'. But even if that interpretation was accepted it would merely be saying that these unbelievers, who have been cast out of Israel, are still loved by God in a certain way because of their connection with the fathers. They are like the lost sheep. It is not, however, saying that they belong now to what God sees as the nation of Israel. They are rather seen as those who, having been cast out, are still beloved of God because of their connection with the fathers whom God loved so dearly. Thus they are those whom He still longs to win them to Himself

We must not overlook the fact that the true Israel was seen by Paul as in existence. He saw it as the nucleus of Israel which had believed in the Messiah and had become ‘the church' (ekklesia), the word which was also used in LXX for ‘the congregation of Israel'. They were the branches of the olive tree as described in Romans 11:17 which had not been cut off. It was not, therefore, that God had cast off Israel. Rather He had cut off those who had proved themselves not to be ‘true Jews' (Romans 2:25). Israel itself, consisting of all who had responded to the Messiah, had been built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and His teaching concerning His Messiahship (Matthew 16:18), and their incorporation of Gentiles into Israel, was just what Israel had always done. So those who had been ‘cast off' were merely those who had refused to believe in the Messiah, a heinous enough crime against God, and they were cast off in the same way as many who claimed to be His people had been throughout their history in consequence of their disobedience, even though they were often in the majority. It should be kept in mind that ‘the nation of Israel' is not a New Testament expression. Israel are simply spoken of as ‘Israel', a notion which, as we have seen, is much more fluid. Indeed Paul speaks of an ‘Israel after the flesh' referring to those who still partake of sacrifices, presumably in contrast to ‘Israel after the Spirit' who partake of the bread and wine at the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion - 1 Corinthians 10:18). This was necessary as there was no way of speaking of the old nation except as Israel. But that did not mean that they were the Israel of the promises. For that Israel was made up of the elect, as Paul has already demonstrated (Romans 9:6). The concept is illustrated in 1 Corinthians 10:1. For the whole question see excursus at the end of the chapter.