Broken Branches 

Scripture Reading: Romans 11:15-24.

Memory Verse: "Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread (Isaiah 8:13).

Introduction: In his Romans commentary, Donald Barnhouse expounds on the subject of grafting:
  "Grafting is one of the most interesting phases of gardening and horticulture. Many plants are almost useless unless they are grafted to a rootstock that is different from their own. The best roses are grafted to strong roots which, if left to themselves, would not produce beautiful blooms. At the close of the last century, a great infestation practically destroyed all of the grape vines in France. The vineyards of France were saved only because strong roots of California vines that were immune to phylloxera were brought in and the scions of the famed French vines were grafted onto them. There is scarcely a grape vine in France today that is not growing on California roots.
  "Because of the existence of this figure of speech in the Bible, I have spent many hours studying the whole question of grafting. There is considerable literature on the subject, going back many centuries. Especially has there been discussion on the influence of the stock or root on the scion. The best authorities state simply that they do not have the answers to the problems involved. When a scion is grafted into a rootstock, the union is a growth from each. This double growth fuses into a mass so continuous that precise location of the line of union is frequently impossible even with the aid of a microscope. For this reason I am convinced that the symbol must be taken only in the broadest sense. There is no use in attempting to push the matter, because the entire Bible would teach us that all of the life of the individual must come from the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no life apart from Him.
  "Since there is no life apart from Christ, we must understand this entire metaphor in the light of what we have seen in the sixth chapter of this epistle. There we saw that Adam was considered as the federal head of the race in the first instance and that Christ was considered as the federal head of the race in the second instance. This means that God counted every descendant of Adam, the entire human race, as being in Adam and as having spiritually died in Adam's death; and that God counted every believer in Christ as having died and risen in the death and resurrection of Christ. God . . . made the unconditional covenant and promises to Abraham and Christ (Galatians 3:16). These promises were both national and individual. The individual promises have to do with the relationship of each individual soul with the Savior. The national promises have to do with God's overall dealing with the human race and the final consummation of His plan to triumph over all the forces of evil and bring righteousness to this earth. Abraham is the root of the olive tree and the branches are those that grow out of Abraham, whether nationally or individually. It is important to see this, lest one fall into the error of applying this only to the relationship of individual believers. There is yet a national fulfillment of these promises, and the failure to see this makes nonsense of many of the verses of this chapter."--Paul Achtemeier, Romans Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, pp. 183,184.

Lesson Questions:

1. What promise does the salvation of Israel hold for the whole world? Romans 11:15; Ephesians 1:18; 2:11-14; Isaiah 1:26,27; 11:10-12; 60:1-5.

2. What heritage did Israel's forefathers (the patriarchs) give them? Romans 11:16; Exodus 34:6,7; Genesis 17:1-8; Deuteronomy 4:37.

3. Are Gentiles now allowed to be partakers of the same promises and blessings as Israel? Romans 11:17; Matthew 21:43; Isaiah 9:2; Hosea 2:23; Acts 13:48; 15:7; Ephesians 3:6.

4. Why is it wrong for the wild branches (the Gentiles) to boast against the natural branches (Israel)? Romans 11:18; 1:16; John 4:22; Philippians 2:3,4.

5. What strong advice does Paul give to the Gentiles? Romans 11:19-21; 1 Peter 1:17; Hebrews 4:11; 3:12; John 3:36; Deuteronomy 10:12;
James 4:10.

6. Discuss the dual nature of God's goodness and severity. Romans 11:22; Hebrews 12:25-29; 2:1-4; 1 Peter 4:17,18; 1 John 4:7-10;
Ephesians 2:4-6.
The Gentiles are not to take credit for God's gracious choice of them, and He can break out ingrafted branches as He broke out natural branches. The choice depends on God's grace alone.--Donald Grey Barnhouse, God's Covenants, pp. 161-163.

7. How may the Jews be grafted back into the olive tree? Romans 11:23,24; Acts 3:19; Jeremiah 3:22; Micah 7:18; Isaiah 55:6,7; Hosea 14:1; Jeremiah 24:6,7; Ezekiel 14:22.