Romans 10: The Song of Moses
After Cain’s blunder in worship, the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Gen 4:6-7) In fact, he did not do well. But it was on him. And at the end of the most primitive genealogy, it is written:
“And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh.”— אנושׁ , from אנשׁ to be weak, faint, frail, designates man from his frail and mortal condition (Psalms 8:4; Psalms 90:3; Psalms 103:15, etc.). In this name, therefore, the feeling and knowledge of human weakness and frailty were expressed (the opposite of the pride and arrogance displayed by the Canaanitish family).—To Seth, to him also ( הוּא גּם , intensive, vid., Ges. §121, 3) there was born a son, and he called his name Enosh.” אנושׁ , from אנשׁ to be weak, faint, frail, designates man from his frail and mortal condition (Psalms 8:4; Psalms 90:3; Psalms 103:15, etc.).— ‘Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.’ and this feeling led to God, to that invocation of the name of Jehovah which commenced under Enos. יהוה בּשׁם קרא, literally to call in (or by) the name of Jehovah, is used for a solemn calling of the name of God." (Keil and Delitzsch)
They built altars everywhere to make burnt offering, but with the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, they went to a corporate worship and the sons of Aaron replaced the eldest son as the priests. But now there was something new. “In Romans 9:1-33 we have seen God's sovereign title maintained in having an elect people according to grace.” (L. M. Grant)
Paul taught: “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” (Rom 10:1-3) “What made the rejection of Israel so peculiarly pathetic was that they were not a mere godless and irreligious people. On the contrary, they had a sincere zeal for religion, but it was a misdirected and ill-judged zeal.” (C. J. Ellicott) “How many ways seem right to men, though the end is the way of death!... Zeal for God is of greatest danger, when not stemming from the knowledge of God.” (L. M. Grant) “Sincerity is not enough, for we may be sincerely mistaken. The proper word for zeal without knowledge, commitment without reflection, or enthusiasm without understanding is fanaticism. And fanaticism is a horrid and dangerous state to be in.” (John Stott) “Contrary to popular thought, both then and now, it does matter what one believes and to what one commits oneself because fervency of belief and depth of commitment of oneself may lead to untold tragedy and unmitigated disaster.” (D. Stuart Briscoe)
“The Jews were about as religious as anyone could be. They were fastidious about keeping the Law of Moses. In fact, to interpret that Law correctly, so that nobody missed it, they devised hundreds of extra laws. Keeping the Sabbath holy wasn’t specific enough for them, so they had rules about how far you could walk and about what constituted work on the Sabbath…. [Yet many such persons die in their sins!] But many will sputter, ‘That’s not fair!’ So in chapter 10, Paul shifts the emphasis to man’s responsibility. He shows that the Jews who were lost had no basis to blame God. … Religious people miss salvation because they think that their good works will satisfy God’s demand for righteousness, so they don’t trust in Christ for righteousness.” (Steven J. Cole)—> “For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Rom 10:4) “’End,’ in the proper sense of termination or conclusion. Christ is that which brings the functions of the Law to an end by superseding it. The Law pursues a man until he takes refuge in Christ; then it says, ‘Thou hast found thine asylum; I shall trouble thee no more, now thou art wise; now thou art safe.’” (Bengel).” (C. J. Ellicott) Now thou hast the Fount of righteousness, even the Source of it.
“For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the Law, ‘The man who does those things shall live by them.’ (Lev 18:5)— Rom 10:5. If you can keep God’s statutes and judgments, I will give you eternal life. “This appeal is made to Moses, both in regard to the righteousness of the Law and that of faith, in accordance with the usual manner of Paul to sustain all his positions by the OT and to show that he was introducing no new doctrine…. The man who shall perform or obey what was declared in the previous statutes… moral and ceremonial…. shall receive the reward which the Law promises… However, Moses did not affirm that in fact any one either had yielded or would yield perfect obedience to the Law of God. The Scriptures abundantly teach elsewhere that it never has been done.” (Albert Barnes)
Moses preached this message after the giving of the law. “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. “ (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)— Paul preached Moses’ sermon. “But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say?” (Rom 10:6-7) The revelation “at Mount Sinai took place in connection with Moses ascending Mount Sinai, and then descending with a copy of the law in his hands. His ascending symbolized ascent to heaven and to the presence of God. His descent symbolized descent from heaven, bringing the word of God to man. In this way, Moses mediated between God and the sinfulness of the people. He foreshadowed and typified Christ’s mediation (1 Tim. 2:5-6)… Christ’s ascent and descent fulfill the picture… in Deut. 30. Ephesians 4 uses similar language with respect to Christ: Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’(In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lowest parts of the earth(the grave)? He who descended in the one who also ascended far above all the heaven, that he might fill all things.) (Eph. 4:8-10).” (Nicholas T. Batzig)
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20 —The Choice of Life or Death —"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, that thou mayest live and multiply, and that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in the land whither thou goest in to possess it. But if thy heart turn away, and thou wilt not hear, but thou shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days in the land, whither thou goest over the Jordan to possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed; to love Jehovah thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him; for he is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."
“It would seem from the strong words of Moses, that he had very clear views of the final obduration of the Jews, and of the calamities which should overtake them in the latter day… His prospects towards heaven were luminous, and full of immortality; but when he turned his regards to earth, they were like the cloud in the desert, bright on one side, and dark on the other.” (Joseph Sutcliffe) “’I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are not a nation‘ (Deuteronomy 32:21)- as they followed gods that were not gods, so He accepted in their stead a nation that was not a nation…”(John Wesley), even the Gentiles, as it is written.
“But what does it say? ‘The word [rhema] is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (Deut 30:14) (that is, the word [rhema] of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom 10:8-10) Rhema is one of two Greek words in the New Testament which refer to the Word of God. Rhema is said to be the spoken [preached] Word of God, while logos is considered the "written Word of God.” The Rhema or Word of faith had left Paul's mouth and entered the mouths and hearts of the hearers. All that was necessary for them to do was to believe in their hearts and, like him, confess Jesus with their mouths.
Romans 10:11-21 The Song of Zion
“With this chapter (Joel 3 and here) we reach the heart of the prophecy of Joel. The description of the literal locust plague is now no longer continued. As we have shown the literal locusts in their different stages were symbolical of nations laying waste the land as the locusts had done. Dispensationally the first chapter stands for the entire times of the Gentiles, which began with Nebuchadnezzar Daniel 2:36-49 , and they continue till the time comes when the God of heaven sets up a kingdom that cannot be destroyed. The second chapter takes us at once to the end of the times of the Gentiles, when the day of the Lord is to be enacted.” (Arno Gaebelein)— Blow the trumpet implies war (Jer. 42:14). The trumpet was sounded in order to call people to arms (Judg. 3:27; Jer. 51:27), to start an attack (Judg. 7:18–22) or to call off an attack (2 Sam. 2:28; 18:16). In a city the trumpet was a sound of alarm, causing people to tremble because it signalled the approach of an enemy. It invited everybody to take refuge behind the city walls and prepare for defense (Ezek. 33:2–5; Amos 3:6; cf. Judg. 9:34–39). The expression is often used in prophetic literature to announce judgment in the form of a military attack (Jer. 4:5; 6:1; Hos. 5:8).” (Tchavdar S. Hadjiev—Joel— Tyndale OT Commentaries) “With it, the whole human hope of Judah was gone. “‘Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble’— We should be troubled when we hear the words of God, rebuking, threatening, avenging, as Jeremiah saith, 'my heart within me is broken, all my bones shake, because of the Lord and because of the words of His holiness' Jeremiah 23:9. — ‘for the day of the LORD is coming’ (1) - the day of antichrist, the day of general or particular judgment, of which James says, ‘The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Behold the Judge standeth before the door', James 5:8-9." (Albert Barnes)
"‘A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.’ (2) The locusts are but the faint shadow of the coming evils, yet as the first harbingers of God’s successive judgments, the imagery, even in tills picture is probably taken from them…” (Albert Barnes) “‘A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them.’ (3) Eternal destruction is is threatening from the four corners of the land. The Assyrian who came in Joel’s day to take Jerusalem is the type of the final Assyrian who threatens the land and the people with destruction... Then comes the rude awakening. They [many religious Jews] thought themselves safe.” (Arno Gaebelein)- by their keeping of the law of Moses. “The passage there is a reference to the eternal judgment. As Keil observed: ‘That these words affirm something infinitely greater than the darkening of the lights of heaven by storm-clouds is evident from the predictions of the wrath of the Lord ... at which the whole fabric of the universe trembles and nature clothes itself in mourning.’ [Keil] ‘These words give a theological and eschatological interpretation of the locust invasion.’ [John A. Thompson]...”(Coffman Commentary)
We need an Advocate with the Father! “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ (Joel 2:27) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same LORD over all is rich to all who call upon Him.” - "There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, but they stand upon the same level in point of acceptance with God. In Jesus Christ there is neither Greek nor Jews, Colossians 3:11. God doth not save any nor reject any because they are Jews, nor because they are Greeks, but doth equally accept both upon gospel terms: There is no difference… For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’ (Joel 2:32a)— Rom 10:11-13. Something must be done by us, that we may reap of this bounty; and it is as little as can be...” (Matthew Henry)
“The Chosen People chafed, not only at the freeness of God’s justifying grace, but because there was no difference made, so far as salvation was concerned, between them and the Gentiles. Surely there ought to be a special doorway for them into eternal life, apart from that trodden by the feet of the ordinary heathen world! Were they not the children of Abraham, the friend of God? Here the Apostle was compelled to withstand them. No, said he, it cannot be! There is no difference between Jew and Greek. All have sinned, and the same Lord is over all, rich to those who call upon Him, of whatever nationality.” (F. B. Meyer)
“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’ (Isa 52:7)— Rom 10:14-15. “The watchmen discover afar off, on the mountains, the messenger bringing the expected and much-wished-for news of the deliverance… They immediately spread the joyful tidings, Isaiah 52:8, and with a loud voice proclaim that Jehovah is returning to Zion, to resume His residence on His holy mountain, which for some time He seemed to have deserted.” (Adam Clarke) “This passage is applied by Paul to the ministers of the gospel, … Isaiah was describing the certain return of the Jews to their own land (from Babylonian). He sees in vision the heralds announcing their return to Jerusalem running on the distant hills.” (Albert Barnes)
Paul used two words/ phrases: No Distinction (Romans 10:12) and Whosoever (Romans 10:13)-- "Hodge has the following clear word on the construction of Paul's defense here: ‘As invocation implies faith, as faith implies knowledge, knowledge instruction, and instruction an instructor, so it is plain that if God would have all men to call upon Him, He designed preachers to be sent to all, whose proclamation of mercy being heard, might be believed, and being believed, might lead men to call on Him and be saved. This is agreeable to the prediction of Isaiah, who foretold that the advent of the preachers of the gospel should be hailed with universal joy.’ etc.” (Coffman Commentary)
But they refused knowledge: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me." (Hosea 4:6) “The whole chapter of Isaiah from which this is taken, and the three that follow, are so richly Messianic, that there can be no doubt ‘the glad tidings’ there spoken of announce a more glorious release than of Judah from the Babylonish captivity, and the very feet of its preachers are called ‘beautiful’ for the sake of their message.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
“But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘LORD, who has believed our report?’ [Isaiah 53:1]— Romans 10:16. Some may claim that their Scriptures never proclaimed such a Suffering Servant and conversion of gentiles to the faith—therefore there is no requirement for them to believe in Him, but let’s first look to Isaiah 53:1-12. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom 10:17) "By reading the Bible, you’ll get to know God and the Lord Jesus better, and your faith will increase. The more you study the Bible, the more you’ll see it in your practice both in word and in deed.” ( G. de Koning)
“But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: ‘Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’ [Psalm 19:4a]— Romans 10:18.— and their words to the end of the world. “Their unbelief was not owing to the want of hearing for they have heard.” (John Wesley) More from the Psalm: “In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race…. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:4b-5;14)
“But Isaiah is very bold and says: ‘I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.’ [Isaiah 65:1a] But to Israel he says: ‘All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.’ [Isaiah 65:2] First Moses says: “I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.” [Deut 32:21]— Romans 10:19-21. In the previous chapter - Isaiah 64, "they had pled, that they were 'all' his people; they had urged, because their nation had been in covenant with God, that he should interpose and save them. Here an important principle is introduced, that they were not to be saved of course because they were Jews; and that others would be introduced to his favor who belonged to nations which had not known him, while his ancient covenant people would be rejected. The Jews were slow to believe this; and hence, Paul says that Isaiah was 'very bold' in advancing so unpopular a sentiment.” (Albert Barnes)