“But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,” -Romans 9:6
Moving from his glorious praise for the blessings Israel has received and for the special distinction they possess among nations as the sons of God, the children of promise, Paul moves to a new and related argument.
Given the Jews, having received the promise, had outright rejected it crucified their anointed offspring, their Messiah, it appears the covenant God made with Abraham has failed. It’s as if Paul is responding to this fair assumption by raising the question of exactly who are the children of Abraham, the children of the covenant, that received these blessings and this distinction among the people of the earth?
The first thing Paul clarifies is that not all who are the physical offspring of Israel (Jacob) truly belong to the covenant. Not all are spiritual Israel (Israel or Jisraël means he will rule as God Cf. Genesis 32:28) because the covenant has conditions.
Paul will lay this out the qualifications in full in the following verses but in short he will explain that to qualify one be a physical descendant of Abraham and Isaac who has received the sign of circumcision, and one must believe the promise. Therefore, the Jews who have rejected Christ have also rejected the covenant. They are not the children of promise.
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