Title: Remnant (Romans 9:27-29)
Contents
Remnant (Romans 9:27-29)
If we look at history, we can find that history was developed by the dreamy and conscious creative minority rather than by the majority, and was saved from the crisis. According to the book of Judges, because the people of Israel did evil, God delivered them into the hand of Midian for 7 years. After that, he set up judges Gideon to attack Midian, and God told Gideon to send 22,000 men out of the 32,000 army back home. Of the remaining 10,000, he told him to take out only 300 soldiers who did not kneel and drink and lick the water with their hands, and then go out and fight. Gideon went out with 300 elite men and won the war.
Even in our day today, God is looking for a minority like the 300 Gideon army rather than the majority of the chaos. God is still looking for a creative minority among us today who are armed with the Word and the Holy Spirit and who can go out and fight with confidence and courage in faith.
In Romans 9:27 and below and Romans 11:5, which we read today, the words <remnant> and remnant are recorded.
Romans 9:27 is a quote from Isaiah 6. The great prophet Isaiah faces a great crisis after the death of King Uzziah, who had trusted and supported him more than God. I fell into despair as if everything was falling apart. However, these human crises and frustrations are new opportunities to open our eyes to God and open our hearts to God. As he enters the temple, prays and meditates on the Word, he experiences the presence of God and realizes and confesses his sin. Then he heard the Lord's call, "Who will go for this people?" and said, "Here I am. Send me.>
In response to his response, God reveals the fact that the Israelites will be captured and destroyed in the future. However, he prophesied that the <remnants> would form the people of God again. Citing this prophecy, Paul reveals that only these <remnants> will be saved even today, showing that God's great providence and will have been realized through them.
Romans 11 is a quotation from 1 Kings 19. When the prophet Elijah accused Israel of completely falling in worship of Baal under the reigns of Ahab and Jezebel, God said that there were still 7,000 people who had not bowed their knees to Baal. When quoting these words, Paul explains that there are still <remnants> who have been chosen by grace.
1) <Reima> is a minority.
At the time of Elijah, there were 7,000 devout believers who did not bow their knees to Baal, but it was a very small number compared to all the people of Israel. Also, the precious people of Israel were only tens of thousands. Compared to King David's heyday, where only 1.3 million men were counted, there were indeed a few <remnants>. In any age, the group that was saved was not the Majority, but the Minority.
Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and many go in by it, and the gate is narrow and narrow that leads to life, and few find it.” The way to salvation is narrow and there are only a few who will be saved. When Jesus preached the gospel of salvation in the world, He first called a few, and then chose the method of preaching to the many through the few.
He resisted the temptation that he would give the world all at once if he bowed down to Satan once, and he called his disciples one by one from the Sea of Galilee, Judea and Samaria. Moreover, the Lord did not choose the way to build the kingdom of God through miracles, but the way of the cross. He chose the path of preaching the gospel to each and every person.
Even historically, when the church is in crisis and its life is shaken, there are many examples where a few confident people united and rescued the crisis. This was the case with Luther's Reformation, who carried the bonfire of truth in the dark ages of the Middle Ages, the reform movement of Calvin and John Knox, and the revival movement of Wessler in the 18th century. At a time when England was in a state of unspeakable corruption and corruption, a few Christian young people in Oxford gathered together to pray and meditate on the Word, leading to a great spiritual awakening that turned England upside down and a purification movement that ignited a revival and renewed the world. unfolded
The remaining people are talking about a life in which everyone can walk along the highway, but if it is the path that pleases God, and if it is the path of truth and life, we can risk our lives.
2) <Leima> is the victor over tribulation.
The <Leimas> of Elijah's time were saints who endured underground to escape Jezebel's terrible persecution. If you go to Turkey, you can see how Christians lived underground to escape persecution and persecution to create a huge underground city and live as it is. They gave up all their worldly wealth and glory solely for the sake of God and faith. They were willing to live a life of martyrdom and a life of a simple community that shared everything. But they were happy and had no worries or worries, and they rejoiced and rejoiced at the hope of the kingdom of God. Rather, he enjoyed inner wealth.
In Revelation 7:14, the people who were saved before the throne of God and put on white clothes are called “those who come out of the great tribulation.” In Revelation chapters 7 and 14, the number of those who have been saved is 144,000. To the Hebrews, numbers had a symbolic meaning. For example, 3 is the number of God, 4 is the number of the earth pointing to the east, west, north and south, 6 is the number of humans, and 7 is the perfect number by adding 3 and 4. And 12 is a number multiplied by 3 and 4 to represent a perfect number. 144,000 comes from 12,000 multiplied by 12. In other words, it represents the remnant who overcame all the tribulation of the world and triumphed through faith to the end.
3) The salvation of <Reima> still belongs to the future.
The remnant of Elijah's era (Leima) and the remnant of the return period (Leima) represent those who have been saved and are victorious in the present, but also become the shadows of the saints who will be saved in the kingdom of God in the future. In other words, the ultimate salvation of the saints still belongs to the future. The history of the past becomes a prediction of the future. When we study history, we do not simply learn about past events, but rather discover the great principles of history that link the past, the present, and the future.
And from that principle, we want to gain wisdom to deal with the future. We must clearly grasp the qualifications of <Leima> who will enter the kingdom of God in the <Leima> of Elijah's time or <Leima> of the return period, and put it into practice in our lives.