Why did Israel feel they had nothing to worry about before God?
Israel felt they had nothing to worry about because they regarded themselves as the children of the covenant, the prophets, and the promises. They assumed their physical descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob guaranteed God’s promises, so they believed they had it made. Paul, however, would show that entering those promises still required faith, not genealogy alone.
Les explains that the danger appears later in Romans 9: Israel became puffed up and arrogant. They reasoned, “Since we are the children of the covenant, since we are the children of the prophets, and of the promises, then what have we got to worry about? We’ve got it made.” Les says Paul is going to come and blow them out of the saddle. He stresses that no one enters God’s promises simply because they are in the right genealogy; they still have to enter in by faith. Romans 9:7 is repeated to show that being Abraham’s seed does not make all children, because Ishmael’s offspring and Esau’s offspring were children of Abraham but not according to the promises. It is in Isaac that the seed should be called, and that seed refers to Christ.