I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day. And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.”

A doppelgänger is a biologically unrelated look-alike. We all have someone living somewhere in the world who is very similar to us, both in looks and personality. There is also the idea that people who looked, thought, or acted like us lived at another point in history. How interesting is that to think that someone very similar to you may have lived in early colonial America or ancient Egypt or even someone who witnessed the events of the life of Jesus? There are many striking similarities between Paul of the New Testament and Elijah of the Old Testament. Both were Jewish men full of zeal and passion. Both were bold preachers trained in Mosaic Law. God called both Elijah and Paul to deliver a difficult message to their countrymen during a difficult time. Both ended up preaching to and leading a remnant of those who would believe their message within a wider population that firmly rejected it. Both were persecuted by those they were sent to share God's words with. Both dealt with internal and external struggles: wars within the mind and external struggles with those who wanted them dead. Both were willing to take their bold message before the highest officials (Kings and Emperors) in the kingdom. Many scholars have pointed out that there are repeated echoes of the story of Elijah going to Sinai and what Paul tells us of his trip to Arabia. Just as Elijah stressed at Sinai, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty” (1 Kings 19:10), so Paul tells us he “was extremely zealous.” Just as Elijah complained at Sinai that his enemies were trying to kill him, so we see in Acts that the Jews were trying to kill Paul before his journey to Arabia. Just as God told Elijah to return to Damascus (1 Kings 19:15), so Paul returned directly to Damascus from Arabia (Galatians 1:17). With these two similar people and different periods in mind, it makes sense why Paul would bring up Elijah here in today's passage to make his point about God's possible rejection of his chosen people. If Israel’s rejection of the Gospel was somehow both consistent with God’s eternal plan (Romans 9:1-29) and Israel’s own choosing (Romans 9:30-10:21), then does this mean that Israel’s fate is settled, and there is no possibility of restoration? Paul declares that this is not the case. Despite their present state, Israel is not permanently cast away. In the same way, people in your own life who may have rejected God have not lost all hope. There is still time for your unbelieving friends and family to repent and turn to Christ. Continue to pray for and believe for their restoration. Think about Paul, who had previously aligned his heart and mind against Jesus and his followers but then had one U-turn moment that changed him from the inside out.

Back in Elijah's day, things were so bad under the reign of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel that Scripture records Elijah prayed against his own people! Elijah thought that God had cast off the nation and he was the only one left serving the Lord. But God showed him that there was a remnant of faithful people. As it was in the times of both Elijah and Paul, God has always preserved a remnant of believers he has called, guided, and protected to carry his truth and proclaim that message to any who would listen. This idea of a remnant is woven throughout the entire Bible. Abraham represented a remnant: a small group of God-honoring people who lived among a broader population focused on indulgence, selfishness, and honoring their flesh. Noah and his family were a remnant, and also Gideon represented a remnant in the time of Judges. Esther and Mordecai represented a remnant of believers within Babylon, and Nehemiah led a remnant from exile to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Even Jesus was the leader of a remnant, those called out as the Ecclesia, who had chosen to accept and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. In each of these cases, God works out his plan of redemption and restoration through a small group that willingly shares what God has blessed them with to a wider audience. Paul refers to the opposite of the remnant as those having a "Spirit of Stupor." This describes an attitude of deadness towards spiritual things or apathy towards the eternal, similar to what would later be described as a spirit of anti-Christ. There would always be those who carried a spirit of stupor towards anything the remnant would say. This adversarial attitude leads a person to care more about the physical temporary life, their pleasures, and desires, rather than the eternal, spiritual things that are much more important. We often think God needs a lot of people to do a great work, but He most often works through a small group or through a group that starts small and multiplies by God's power. A small church can transform a community. A small group of faithful Jesus followers can dramatically change a high school or college campus. Even one Christian can transform a family through the power of Jesus. You can be that person. You don't need to simply be one of a thousand to make a change for Christ in your workplace or community. Even a single spark can start a fire, and even one person who is willing to share Christ can be a part of the multiplication of the Gospel. But, like Paul and Elijah and everyone who was part of a remnant, it requires that you keep your eyes fixed on God and care more about pleasing Him than pleasing the people who do not yet believe in your world.