Romans 11:33-36
1. Read the Old Testament sources listed below and savor the distance beyond and higher than we that our God is.
2. Find at least two other doxologies in Romans and compare them: Romans 8:38-39; 16:25-27. What might the placement of these doxologies hint about the structure and themes of the letter?
3. Review the outline on the back of this page to understand what is the purpose of this doxology at the end of chapter 11.
4. What joy or excitement comes to you from this text? What questions arise for you out of the reading of this text? What did you learn that was new to you, or a new way of looking at something? What does this text tell you about God and about yourself? About humans in general?
Old Testament Sources
11:33 Job 5:9; 9:10; 11:7; Isaiah 43:15; 55:8
11:34 Job 15:8; Psalm 36:6; 92:5; Isaiah 40:13; Jeremiah 23:18
11:35 Job 41:3
Outline of Romans 9-11
According to Richard B. Hayes, Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul (New Haven, CT: Yale University P, 1989), 64.
9:1-5 Lament over Israel
9:6-29 Has God’s word failed? Defense of God’s elective purpose.
9:30 - 10:21 Paradox: Israel failed to grasp the word of faith attested by God in Scripture.
11:1-32 Has God abandoned his people? No, all Israel will be saved.
11:33-36 Doxological conclusion.