Dough and the roots: is there any hope when the next generation of ‘Israel’ don’t believe what the previous generation believed? Will grace be found by them?

This whole chapter we are reading is about one thing and that is the end salvation of the Jews.

“If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.” (Romans 11 v 16)

Paul is convinced that in the end the fact that Israel is a chosen people (and within its history there are many examples of faithful men and women who walked with God within that covenant) they will be saved. Perhaps that is the thought behind the dough and the tree. If the holy covenant-keepers as part of the dough meant that eventually the whole will also be saved and if the holy roots mean that eventually the future generations of the branches of the tree will also be saved, then there is hope in 2022 and ahead. That could be what Paul is saying. At some point some future generation and who knows it could be in our lifetime will see Israel turning to Christ. This won’t be because of any historical claim, ‘we are the true people of God’ but it will be the same way as the Gentiles, ‘saved by faith in Jesus Christ’. The work of grace towards the Gentiles will have shown the way for the Jews. It is all by His grace.

So is it possible that this principle could work for our families whether Jewish or Gentile. Dare we believe that those members of our own ‘Israel’ who are the present generation will turn to Christ because within their heritage are faithful, saved members of God’s family? It could be so. We may dare to believe that the holy part of the dough and the roots of a family will eventually speak to the next generations of the grace of God.