25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
-Romans 11:25-32
It's clear in the Bible that Israel was historically God's chosen nation. From early on with Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt to David's kingship to Jesus coming into the world as a Jewish man, God always had plans to redeem and reveal his glory and mercy through the nation of Israel.
In this passage, Paul alludes to this as he reminds us of how God had used Israel for his purposes and had a special covenant with the nation. Not only does Christ come out of a Jewish lineage, but God also called and had covenants with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as he references them in verse 28. This was extremely significant and should not be forgotton as Paul states that their callings "are irrevocable", reminding us of God's faithful and unchanging characteristics.
But as we have been seeing more in the new testament, there seemed to be a shift away from just Israel and now involved the Gentiles. It's interesting that Paul even describes this contrast by referring to Israel as "enemies" of the gospel, referring to those from Israel that do not believe in Jesus Christ. However, Paul also reiterates the fact that God loves all people, Jewish or non-Jewish, and all have been disobedient and received God's mercy. No group is above the other.
The history of Israel and gentiles are very different, almost even opposities. Israel began as the beloved nation led by God but eventually rejected Jesus as the Christ. Gentiles origanally were not associated with God but eventually accepted the gospel and Paul's teachings as he preached outside of Israel to the Gentiles. However, we see in this passage that regardless of how things were and what groups people belong to, it still comes down to the truth of who we are - sinners who are disobedient but have recieved God's mercy and love, and now we all have the opportunity to embrace Jesus and be redeemed by Him. God loves all equally and calls each of us in different ways, and everyone has the opportunity to respond!
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