The Plan Was Always Bigger

As He says also in Hosea:

“I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.”
²⁶ “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
‘You are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

²⁷ Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.
²⁸ For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”

²⁹ And as Isaiah said before:

“Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed,
We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah.” – Romans 9:25-29

Paul quotes Hosea to show that the inclusion of Gentiles in salvation was not a last-minute adjustment—it was always part of the divine blueprint. The Jews had the Scriptures, the covenants, and the promises, but many lived as if salvation was automatic, not by faith. Jesus confronted this mindset in John 5:39, saying, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” They missed the Messiah standing right in front of them. And today, we must be careful not to do the same—having access to truth is not the same as embracing it.

Paul’s use of Hosea is brilliant. In Hosea’s time, God told Israel they were “not My people” because of their unfaithfulness. Hosea’s own family became a living parable—his children’s names symbolized scattering, judgment, and rejection. Yet God promised restoration. Paul takes that same prophecy and applies it to the Gentiles, showing that if Israel could be temporarily set aside, then Gentiles could be graciously brought in. This levels the playing field. No one is automatically “in.” Everyone—Jew or Gentile—must come by faith. And if Israel is “not My people,” then they stand in the same need of grace as the Gentiles. God’s promises haven’t failed; they’re being fulfilled in ways that reveal His mercy and widen His reach.

Isaiah joins the chorus in Romans 9:27–29, crying out that “though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved.” God never promised salvation to every descendant—only to those who believe. The Lord of Sabaoth, the commander of heaven’s armies, could have wiped them out like Sodom and Gomorrah. But He left a seed—a remnant. That remnant is a testimony to His mercy. And here’s the application: if salvation is not automatic, then we must not assume we’re safe because of heritage, tradition, or knowledge. We must respond in faith. The door is open to all, but only those who walk through it by trusting in Christ will be called sons of the living God. The plan was always bigger—and it still is. Let’s not miss it.

“The inclusion of the Gentiles and the exclusion of many Israelites are not anomalies or contradictions of God’s purpose but the very fulfillment of what the prophets foretold. The remnant according to election is the evidence of God’s mercy and faithfulness.” – John Murray