Easy to Read Version|읽기쉬운성경

God Has Not Forgotten His People
11
1So I ask, "Did God force his people to leave him?" Of course not. I myself am an Israelitea. I am from the family of Abrahamb, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God chose the Israelites to be his people before they were born. And he did not force them to leave. Surely you know what the Scripturesc say about Elijahd. The Scriptures tell about Elijah praying to God against the people of Israele. He said, 3"Lord, they have killed your prophetsf and destroyed your altarsg. I am the only prophet still living, and they are trying to kill me now."h 4But what answer did God give to Elijah? God said, "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have never given worship to Baali."j
 5It is the same now. God has chosen a few people by his gracek. 6And if he chose them by grace, then it is not what they have done that made them his people. If they could be made his people by what they did, his gift of grace would not really be a gift.
 7So this is what has happened: The people of Israel wanted God's blessing, but they did not all get it. The people he chose did get his blessing, but the others became hard and refused to listen to him. 8As the Scriptures say,
"God caused the people to fall asleep."l
"God closed their eyes so that they could not see, and he closed their ears so that they could not hear.
This continues until now."m 9And David says,
"Let those people be caught and trapped at their own feasts. Let them fall and be punished.
 10Let their eyes be closed so that they cannot see. And let them be troubled forever."n		  
 11So I ask: When the Jews fell, did that fall destroy them? No! But their mistake brought salvation to those who are not Jews. The purpose of this was to make the Jews jealous. 12Their mistake brought rich blessings to the world. And what they lost brought rich blessings to the non-Jewish people. So surely the world will get much richer blessings when enough Jews become the kind of people God wants.
 13Now I am speaking to you people who are not Jews. I am an apostleo to the non-Jewish people. So while I have that work, I will do the best I can. 14I hope I can make my own people jealous. That way, maybe I can help some of them to be saved. 15God turned away from the Jews. When that happened, he became friends with the other people in the world. So when he accepts the Jews, it will be like bringing people to life after death. 16If the first piece of bread is offered to God, then the whole loaf is made holyp. If the roots of a tree are holy, the tree's branches are holy too.
 17It is as if some of the branches from an olive tree have been broken off, and the branch of a wild olive tree has been joined to that first tree. If you are not a Jew, you are the same as that wild branch, and you now share the strength and life of the first tree. 18But don't act as if you are better than those branches that were broken off. You have no reason to be proud of yourself, because you don't give life to the root. The root gives life to you. 19You might say, "Branches were broken off so that I could be joined to their tree." 20That is true. But those branches were broken off because they did not believe. And you continue to be part of the tree only because you believe. Don't be proud, but be afraid. 21If God did not let the natural branches of that tree stay, he will not let you stay if you stop believing.
 22So you see that God is kind, but he can also be very strict. He punishes those who stop following him. But he is kind to you, if you continue trusting in his kindness. If you don't continue depending on him, you will be cut off from the tree. 23And if the Jews will believe in God again, he will accept them back. He is able to put them back where they were. 24It is not natural for a wild branch to become part of a good tree. But you non-Jewish people are like a branch cut from a wild olive tree. And you were joined to a good olive tree. But those Jews are like a branch that grew from the good tree. So surely they can be joined to their own tree again.
 25I want you to understand this secret truth, brothers and sisters. This truth will help you understand that you don't know everything. The truth is this: Part of Israel has been made stubborn, but that will change when enough non-Jewish people have come to God. 26And that is how all Israel will be saved. The Scriptures say,
"The Savior will come from Zionq; he will take away all evil from the family of Jacobr.
 27And I will make this agreement with those people when I take away their sins."s		  
 28The Jews refuse to accept the Good Newst, so they are God's enemies. This has happened to help you who are not Jews. But they are still God's chosen people, and he loves them because of the promises he made to their ancestorsu. 29God never changes his mind about the people he calls. He never decides to take back the blessings he has given them. 30At one time you refused to obey God. But now you have received mercy, because the Jews refused to obey. 31And now they are the ones who refuse to obey, because God showed mercy to you. But this happened so that they can also receive mercy from him. 32All people have refused to obey God. And he has put them all together as people who don't obey him so that he can show mercy to everyone.

Praise to God
 33Yes, God's riches are very great! His wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain what God decides. No one can understand his ways. 34As the Scripturesc say,
"Who can know what is on the Lord's mind? Who is able to give him advice?"v
 35"Who has ever given God anything? God owes nothing to anyone."w		  
 36Yes, God made all things. And everything continues through him and for him. To God be the gloryx forever! Ameny.
aIsraelite Belonging to the nation of Israel (see “Israel”).
bAbraham The most respected ancestor of the Jewish people. Through him God promised to make a great nation and bless all the people of the earth. Read Gen. 12:1-3.
cScripture Part of the Scriptures or “Holy Writings” - the Old Testament.
dElijah A very important Israelite leader and prophet who spoke for God during a 25-year period ending about 850 b.c. In the time of Jesus, the Jews were expecting Elijah to come again before the Messiah. See Mal. 4:5-6.
eIsrael Another name for Jacob (see Gen. 32:24-28) and for the nation God chose to accomplish his plan of blessing the world through the Messiah (see “Messiah”). The people of Israel were the descendants of Jacob’s twelve sons. In the New Testament this name is sometimes used in a broader sense to mean all of God’s people.
fprophet A person who speaks a message from God. Many of the books in the Old Testament are messages spoken or written by “the prophets,” who were some of those God chose to speak for him. God often used dreams or visions to tell or show his prophets what they should say.
galtar A raised area, pile of stones, or table where sacrifices were offered as gifts to God. An important altar was the one in front of the Temple in Jerusalem. See also “golden altar.”
h11:3 Quote from 1 Kings 19:10, 14.
iBaal A false god worshiped by the Canaanites. They believed he brought rain and storms and made the land produce good crops.
j11:4 Quote from 1 Kings 19:18.
kgrace The love and kindness that God shows in his complete willingness to give people favors he does not owe them and blessings they don’t deserve.
lIsaiah 29:10
mDeuteronomy 29:4
nPsalm 69:22-23
oapostle A follower of Jesus chosen to represent him in a special way. During his earthly ministry, Jesus named twelve men as apostles. They had the specific responsibility and authority to represent him and proclaim his message throughout the world. Later, he appeared to Paul and gave him a similar commission, especially to non-Jewish people. Barnabas, Paul’s missionary companion, and James, the brother of Jesus, are also called apostles, as well as several others in the New Testament. Some of these occurrences of the word, however, have the more general sense of “messenger” or “representative.”
pholy When referring to people or things, holy means set apart or chosen for a special use; especially, belonging to God or used only for him. It can also mean pure or perfect, worthy of God and fit for his service. When God is called holy, in addition to the idea of pure and perfect, it often means he is completely separate or different from and above everything else that exists. In the New Testament God’s people are holy because they have been made perfect and pure through Christ and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, keep themselves away from sin and live only for God.
qZion The southeastern part of the mountain that Jerusalem is built on. Sometimes it means the city of Jerusalem, the people of God living there, or the Temple.
rJacob Or “Israel,” ancestor of the people of Israel (also called Israelites and, later, Jews). See Gen. 32:24-28 for the story of how Jacob was given the name Israel. He was the father of twelve sons from whom the twelve tribes of Israel descended, and the name Jacob continued to be used for the nation or people of Israel.
sIsaiah 59:20-21; 27:9
tGood News In the Gospels this is usually the news about the coming of God’s kingdom (see above) or its representative Jesus the Messiah. In other places it is, more specifically, the news or message of God’s grace - that he has made a way through Jesus Christ for people to be made right with him and enjoy his blessings now and forever.
uancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the other people that person is descended from. In the New Testament it usually refers to people who lived during Old Testament times.
vIsaiah 40:13
wJob 41:11
xglory A word that refers to the special qualities of God. Often it means brightness, referring to the way he appears to people. Sometimes it means majesty or power, referring to a kind of greatness that cannot be compared to anything in human experience. It can also include the ideas of wealth, honor, fame, or respect, especially in expressions of praise.
yAmen A Hebrew word meaning “That’s right,” “True,” or “Yes.” It is used to express strong agreement with what has been said.