God is beyond us but draws close in chapters 9-11 to show us that He is completely faithful to his promises, how he is in complete control and that his saving work of all types of mankind is the same. He is pulling us out of and forgiving us of our human rebellion against Him only through his grace and mercy provided through Jesus.

God has brought salvation to the Gentiles through the Jewish season of unbelief. Whenever God makes a corporate people, each person within it must come to saving faith himself/ herself and perseveres until the end. This is how God preserves His Children.

God’s relationship with all of humanity always has been and will be through His continued extension of a promise message which is then accepted by faith in those who are willing. It was never earned and the promise message was never absent. Ever since the resurrection of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection are the central and fulfilling piece of that promise message that all must hear and believe in order to be saved.

Jesus will end up being your delight and savior, or else he will get in your way, becoming a stumbling stone or your life plans and a rock of offense to your self righteousness.

When God explains his faithfulness to all his historical promises, the central piece he wants us to remember is that sovereign control, even over the whole of salvation. He knows we need to know this and stresses that we embrace this, even when we cannot fully understand how it harmonizes perfectly with His righteousness, mercy, compassion and justice. It does harmonize, but we are not shown now. He is in control and perfectly just in that control. We find our closure in this in the power and character of God himself.

In both the Old Testament and New Testament, salvation always has been and will be determined by the call of God expressed through promises, not genetic, biological birthrights or moral merit.