Set Apart by God

We come now to a rather curious verse. It is curious both in its contents and in its placement at this point in Romans 11. What is Paul saying here? And why does he choose to say it at this point in his argument?

The key word in this verse is holy, as is clear from the word’s repetition. A holy “firstfruit” comes only from a holy “lump,” Paul writes, and a holy “root” makes for a holy “branch.” To make sense of all this, we must remember that the word holy does not primarily mean “pure,” “righteous,” or “glorious,” which are some of the concepts we associate with the term because of our keen awareness that God is holy. The truest meaning of holy, even when it is applied to God, is “set apart.” Holiness is not so much an attribute of God as an aspect of all His attributes; it is what sets Him apart as God. Therefore, Paul in this verse is speaking of things that are set apart.

The Old Testament can help us understand the first of the images Paul uses here. For instance, in the books of Moses, we find that the people of Israel were commanded to present an offering of “first-fruits,” the first produce they harvested each year (Num. 28:26–31). Elsewhere in Numbers, this offering is described as a cake made from ground meal (Num. 15:20–21). Such a cake would necessarily be made from dough mixed from the ground meal of the wheat that had been harvested first and set apart for the offering. Thus, if the part (the cake) is holy (set apart), so is the whole (the lump of dough). Paul’s second image is somewhat easier to interpret. If the root of a plant is holy (set apart), the rest of the tree must be holy also, for the root supports everything from the trunk to the branches.

Now we can discuss why Paul employs these images here. Most scholars agree that, in speaking of objects that serve as a source (a lump of dough or a root) in the context of a discussion of Israel, Paul is thinking of the calling of Abraham. God set Abraham apart, and therefore set apart the nation that sprang from him. And that has consequences for Israel even up to Paul’s time. As Dr. James M. Boice writes: “Because Abraham was set apart, so are his descendants, even to this day. . . They remain a people set apart for God’s purposes. To put it in other language, God is not finished with Israel yet.”