What is a remnant in the Bible?

from the old testament

• The first place we see a remnant is with Noah and his family. God judged the earth for its great sinfulness, but He kept Noah and His family alive, set apart to Himself to restore life to the earth (Genesis 6:17–18).
• God preserved a remnant of His people when He placed Joseph in charge of Egypt, providing His people with food through him when the great famine came to the land (Genesis 45:7).
• God reassured Elijah that He had preserved a remnant of Israelites who had not bowed to Baal at a time when Elijah was exhausted and frustrated and most Israelites were worshiping false gods (1 Kings 19:18).
• During King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib of Assyria threatened the southern kingdom of Judah. At that time the Lord spoke to King Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah: "the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD will do this" (2 Kings 19:30–31). Sennacherib's plans were foiled when God struck down 185,000 Assyrian warriors in their camp.
• God did judge His people for their sin of worshiping idols (Deuteronomy 28; 2 Kings 24). Before Sennacherib's threat, the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive by Assyria around 740 BC (2 Kings 17). The southern kingdom of Judah was taken captive by Babylon, who had also conquered Assyria, in several stages between 607 and 586 BC. Second Kings 24 describes King Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem. God preserving a faithful remnant does not mean He excuses sin.
• About seven years prior to Nebuchadnezzar's siege, God had warned the people through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25). In part, He said, "This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste" (Jeremiah 25:11–12).
• While Daniel was in Babylon, he realized the seventy years were coming to an end and sought God in prayer (Daniel 9). Ezra 1:1 records, "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing." The proclamation was for the Israelites to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The local people were to assist with the needed items (Ezra 1:1–4). The remnant heeds God’s voice and lives to fulfill His plans and purposes.
• While God judged His people for their sins, His intention was always to purify His people and restore them to Himself. We see that many of the Israelites returned and that they turned back to the Lord (Ezra 8:35–36; Nehemiah 8—10; Haggai 1:12–14).
• Isaiah 46:3–4 records this assurance from God to preserving the remnant of Israel: "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried in the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save."

from the new testament

• In Romans 9:27–28, Paul, quoting Isaiah, refers to the remnant of Israel that will be saved. This highlights the idea that not all of ethnic Israel is part of the true Israel, but rather a faithful remnant will be preserved.
• Paul reminds us in Romans that even though God has extended His grace to all people, He has still kept a remnant of Israel by His grace and is still unfolding His plan for the Israelites (Romans 11:5).
• Revelation 12:17 refers to the remnant of the woman's offspring, which symbolically represents the faithful believers, Jewish and possibly Gentile, who keep God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. They are the target of the dragon's (Satan's) wrath.

implications for today

God offers salvation to all of humanity, not just Israel. Sadly, only a remnant will turn to Him in faith and receive His grace (Matthew 7:13–14). However, that remnant will be innumerable. Revelation 7:9–10 describes a scene John sees in heaven of those who will come out of the end-times tribulation as "a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" Imagine just how many have been justified before God by His grace through faith throughout the centuries (Romans 4; Galatians 2:21; 3:7–9; Ephesians 2:1–10). Just as God is faithful to the remnant of Israel, so is He faithful to the remnant of humanity who have become His children through Jesus Christ (John 1:12; 3:16–18; Ephesians 1:3–14). He is worthy of all praise!