Romans 9:25-29 “As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.”
As we look at the book of the prophet Hosea (Osee), we see God’s judgment against Israel. This was not a threat of eternal banishment, but rather a pronouncement against them for their failure to honor God in their walk. Here, Paul quotes Hosea 2:23 when God speaks of a time of restoration that concerns both the Jew and the Gentile. In this we see the truth of Paul’s assertion that God has called both Jew and Gentile to worship Him (see verses 23 and 24).
We clearly see the mercy of God displayed here. In the same place where God declared we are not His people, He calls us the children of the living God. When we are convicted by the Spirit that we are sinners and not deserving of God’s mercy, we realize that we have no right within ourselves to expect God to save us. Yet, by that same blessed Spirit, He makes it known to us that we are justified in Jesus Christ and therefore called the children of the living God.
It is important to note that we are called the children of the “living” God. He is not some abstract principle. He is not some idea born from the imaginations of men. Our God is a living entity of love, wisdom, and power beyond our ability to fully comprehend: He has called us His children.
We see many examples in the scripture of God’s assurance that He will never leave Himself without a witness in the earth. Although the majority of Israel had gone after idols, God promised a remnant would be delivered by His mercy. The prophet Elijah had come to think of himself as being utterly alone in his stand for the truth. God assured him that He had held in reserve seven thousand that had never bowed to idols (1Kings 19:18).
God will finish the work. The work and will of God were completed in and by Jesus Christ. God, through our Lord Jesus, finished the work (completed the work entirely). God cut it short (made a concise end) of the work in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. God (and not man) did this upon the earth. Because the Lord of Hosts left us a seed (Jesus), we are not consumed as were Sodom and Gomorrha.
We are God’s people because He has called us. It is He who has saved (delivered) us both in this world and in eternity. He alone finished the work He determined. He has preserved a remnant here that will always glorify Him.
May we rejoice in the Living God and give Him praise and honor!