How long did Israel enjoy the fatness of the root of Abraham?
Israel enjoyed the fatness of the root of Abraham from the time the promise was given to Abraham until Paul began going to the Gentiles. This period covers the era before the Gentile grafting, when Israel was the original olive tree and the recipient of the Abrahamic promise.
Les teaches that the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 was never abrogated; God has never taken it away, Paul never refuted it, and no one else has. God told Abraham, 'I will bless them that bless thee, and I will curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' From that promise until Paul went to the Gentiles, Israel enjoyed the fatness of the root of Abraham. Les explains that the Gentiles are pictured as an old, no-good olive tree that has been grafted into the beautiful original, which was Israel. He clarifies this refers to the whole Gentile system, not merely individual believers, though believers are certainly part of it.
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
More Questions
Who enjoyed the fatness of the root of Abraham before Paul turned to the Gentiles?
From the time the promise was given to Abraham until Paul went to the Gentiles, Israel enjoyed the fatness of the root of Abraham.
Who replaced Israel in feeding on the root and fatness of Abraham in Romans 11?
In the olive tree analogy, God removed Israel from feeding on the root and fatness of their father Abraham and put the Gentiles in their place.