Esaias also cries concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
Esaias.
Isaiah 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Isaiah.
Isaiah 10:20-23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth…
a remnant.
Romans 11:4-6 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal…
Ezra 9:8,14 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage…
Isaiah 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea:
This phrase alludes to the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 22:17, where He promised to multiply Abraham's descendants as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. It highlights the vastness of the Israelite population, symbolizing God's faithfulness in fulfilling His covenant promises. However, it also sets up a contrast with the following statement about the remnant, underscoring that physical descent alone does not guarantee spiritual inheritance or salvation.
Only the remnant will be saved:
The concept of a "remnant" is a recurring theme in the Old Testament, particularly in the prophetic books. It refers to a small, faithful group of Israelites who remain true to God despite widespread apostasy. This idea is seen in passages like Isaiah 10:20-22 and Micah 2:12. Theologically, the remnant represents God's grace and mercy, preserving a faithful lineage through which His purposes are fulfilled. In the New Testament context, this remnant includes those who accept Jesus as the Messiah, both Jews and Gentiles, as seen in Romans 11:5. The notion of salvation here is not just physical deliverance but spiritual redemption, pointing to the ultimate salvation through Christ.
- Paul reaches back to Isaiah 10:22–23, where the prophet “cries out” with urgency. Isaiah’s voice is not quiet reflection; it is an impassioned proclamation of God’s word in a time of looming Assyrian judgment.
- By quoting a prophet who had already witnessed partial fulfillment in his own day, Paul shows that this pattern—announced judgment, preserved remnant—has long been part of God’s dealings (Isaiah 1:9; 37:31–32).
- The cry also underscores that the message originates with God, not human opinion. Just as Isaiah once stood against the complacency of his generation, Paul now speaks against any presumption that lineage guarantees salvation (cf. Matthew 3:9).
- The statement is laser-focused on ethnic Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Romans 9:3–4).
- God’s covenant people possess undeniable privileges—“the adoption, the glory, the covenants” (Romans 9:4-5)—yet the prophets often addressed them when they strayed.
- Paul’s wider argument (Romans 9–11) balances two truths:
• God has not rejected His people (Romans 11:1–2).
• Yet not all within the nation partake of the promised blessing (Romans 9:6–8).
- By specifying “Israel,” Paul prepares his readers to see how God’s faithfulness and justice coexist in the historical unfolding of redemption.
- This phrase recalls God’s ancient promise to Abraham: “I will surely bless you… and multiply your descendants as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore” (Genesis 22:17; see also Hosea 1:10).
- The physical increase of Israel is evidence that God kept His word of multiplication. From Egypt’s 70 souls (Exodus 1:5) to the millions in Paul’s day, the nation grew precisely as God said.
- Yet sheer numbers never guaranteed spiritual fidelity. History records:
• Mass idolatry in the wilderness (Numbers 14:29-30).
• The divided kingdom’s decline (2 Kings 17:7-23).
• Exile despite population strength (Jeremiah 25:11).
- Paul leverages this contrast—abundant descendants, yet spiritual peril—to caution against confidence in statistics.
- “Remnant” points to those within Israel who respond in faith and thus experience deliverance (Isaiah 10:20-22).
- In Elijah’s day, God preserved “seven thousand” who had not bowed to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). Paul applies the same principle: “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5).
- Salvation is never automatic; it flows from God’s sovereign mercy received by faith (Romans 9:16; 10:9-13).
- This truth has two edges:
• Warning—external association with God’s people cannot replace personal trust (Jeremiah 7:4).
• Hope—God always keeps a faithful core, ensuring His promises never fail (Zephaniah 3:12-13).
- The remnant concept also foreshadows Gentile inclusion: if only some Jews are saved, room remains for believing non-Jews, fulfilling Hosea 2:23 and Isaiah 49:6 (Romans 9:24-26).
Romans 9:27 preserves both the grandeur of God’s covenant faithfulness and the sobering reality of human responsibility. Israel’s vast numbers prove God keeps His word to Abraham, yet Isaiah’s cry reminds us that only those who trust and obey experience salvation. Paul cites this verse to affirm that God’s promises have not failed—He is righteously preserving a remnant according to grace while extending mercy to the nations. The result is a panoramic view of a God who multiplies people, judges sin, and saves all who call on the name of the Lord.
(27) Crieth.--With reference to the impassioned utterance of the prophet.A remnant.--Rather, the remnant, with an emphasis upon the word. "The remnant, and only the remnant."
Shall be saved.--In the original, shall return--i.e., as it is explained in the previous verse, "return to God." St. Paul has followed the LXX. in putting the consequences of such conversion for the conversion itself.
Verses 27, 28. - Esaias also crieth (κράζει, denoting loud and earnest utterance; cf. John 1:15; John 7:28, 37; John 12:44; Acts 23:6; Acts 24:21) concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant (not, as in the Authorized Version, "a remnant." The idea seems to be, as it is in the original, that it is the remnant only that) shall be saved: for he will finish a word (not the work, as in the Authorized Version) and cut it short: because a short (rather, cut-short) word (again, not work) will the Lord make (i.e. accomplish) upon the earth. The Greek of ver. 28, according to the Textus Receptus, is difficult, so as to have compelled our translators to render the participles συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων by futures, "will finish," etc. But we have the high and early authority of the uncials א, A, B, for omitting part of the sentence, so as to make it read more intelligibly, thus: The Lord will make (i.e. accomplish) a word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short. The longer form, however, agrees, though not quite exactly, with the LXX., which differs itself greatly from the Hebrew, though not so as to affect the main drift of the passage as a whole. The passage is from Isaiah 10:22, which had primary reference to the remnant of the house of Israel that should "return unto the mighty God" (Isaiah 10:21) after the then predicted devastation of the nation by the Assyrian king. The series of prophecies with which this is connected begins at Isaiah 7, which gives an account of Isaiah's memorable visit to Ahaz King of Judah, on the occasion of the combination of Pekah King of Israel, and Rezin King of Syria, against Jerusalem, in the course of which visit he predicts the birth of Immanuel. He took with him his son, who bore the symbolical name of Shear-jashub ("A remnant shall return"). Subsequently another son was born to the prophet, to whom was given the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz ("Swift of spoil, hasty of prey," as Ewald renders; or, "The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth," as in margin of the Revised Version); the latter name having been previously written on a great roll (Isaiah 8:1). The primary drift of the prophecies in Isaiah 7. and the following chapters is that the confederacy of Pekah and Reziu against Jerusalem shall fail, that their own lands would ere long be devastated by the Assyrian king, who would sweep irresistibly over Judah too; but that God's people may still trust in the LORD'S protection, who would preserve and bring back a remnant, though a remnant only. The three names, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, Shear-jashub, and Immanuel ("God with us"), are throughout significant of the leading ideas of the whole series of predictions; the first expressing the certainty of coming judgment, the second the return of the remnant, and the third God's own presence with his people. Now, without pausing to consider what primary historical fulfilment of the prophecy about Immanuel there might be in the way of type, we cannot but perceive, in the language and tone of much in this series of prophecies, a distinct Messianic reference. We cannot, for instance, otherwise understand Isaiah 9:6, 7; and in Isaiah 11. there succeeds an ideal picture of peace and blessing under the "rod out of the stem of Jesse," which is undoubtedly Messianic. Hence the relevance of the passage, not only as showing God's way of dealing with his people in times of old, but also as an intimation of how it should be when the Messiah should come.