1 Am I saying that God has turned his back on his people? Certainly not! I am one of the people of Israel, and I myself am a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God did not turn his back on his chosen people. Don't you remember reading in the Scriptures how Elijah complained to God about the people of Israel?
3 He said, “Lord, they killed your prophets and destroyed your altars. I am the only one left, and now they want to kill me.”
4 But the Lord told Elijah, “I still have seven thousand followers who have not worshipped Baal.”
5 It is the same way now. God was kind to the people of Israel, and so a few of them are still his followers.
6 This happened because of God's undeserved kindness and not because of anything they have done. It could not have happened except for God's kindness.