Romans 9:25-26 - The People of God

Romans 9:25-26 - 25 As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’” 26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

Message: The People of God; The inclusion of Gentiles, declared by Hosea

Time: Romulus founded ancient Rome about 753 BC. By 600 BC it had become a wealthy, flourishing city with a monarch. Around 500 BC, the monarch was overthrown. A republic resulted and after war, Rome became the only great power in the Mediterranean, succeeding the empire of Alexander the Great. Before and after the birth of Christ, Rome's dominion continued to expand to about two thirds the size of the continental US. At the time Paul wrote, Rome had a population of about 1,000,000. Most were slaves. It was a vast empire, but had many religions present. It is unknown how the church started in Rome, but Gentiles and Jews both were involved. Paul was writing to address a problem, but he wanted to be there and perhaps, make Rome his base for his missionary journey's

What the Lord is Saying:

God's calling not based upon 'into what family' a person was born
Verse 25 is a quotation from Hosea 2:23. Paul may have used Hosea because God had directed Hosea to name his children Lo-Ammi and Lo-Ruhamah. These two names had special meaning. At Sinai, God covenanted with Israel for them to be His people. Gomer is the wife of Hosea and Lo-Ammi is their second son and his name means, "Not my people." Their daughter was named Lo-Ruhamah. This name means "not loved" or "Not having obtained mercy."

Hosea 2:23 states, “I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’ "

In this verse, Lo-Ammi and Lo-Ruhamah are referenced. Paul is further describing to the people of Rome that God's choosing or calling will result in His people not responding and those that were not His originally people responding.

Promise: Paul once again is confirming with these people that the Lord does the calling and that calling is irrespective of whether a person is a Jew or Gentile by birth.