April 5 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: Romans 11:7-10 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

We saw at the beginning of this chapter that God is not finished with Israel In verses 1-2 we saw that Paul's conversion proved that. Then starting in verse 3 we saw that the Old Testament prophecies proved it. In verse 6 Paul contrasted "grace" and "works", and showed how each one nullifies the other. Now in verse 7 Paul shows reiterates that Israel wanted to have a relationship with God, but they could not obtain it because they tried to achieve it through their good works rather than accept it by faith (Romans 9:30-32) Those who are saved ("the election") did obtain what Israel did not, because they chose to receive God's grace by faith. He concludes with the phrase "and the rest were blinded". That word means "to be covered with a thick skin" or "hardened by covering with a callous". The word is used for someone or something that has lost the power of sensation. In other words, God blinded or hardened the nation of Israel because as a whole they refused to come to God in the way that He had established - by faith.

Bruce Hurt made the following comment:

"Why are they hardened? It is in essence a judicial act of God for Israel's refusal to heed the Word of God and in response to them first hardening their hearts. Let us be very clear on what Paul is not saying. He is not saying that divine hardening is the cause of Israel's rejection of the gospel, but a punishment for it. Their hardening was the result of their resisting the truth, just as Pharaoh’s heart was hardened because he first resisted the truth and thus first hardened his own heart. It is not surprising to see Pharaoh, a pagan idol-worshiping despot, harden himself against the Lord, but it might come as a surprise that most of God’s 'chosen people' would do the same thing!"

In verses 8-10 Paul shows that the prophets had foretold this. In verse 8 he recalls Isaiah's great vision of the Lord in His temple as found in Isaiah 6. The question is asked,

"Whom shall I send and who will go for us?"

"Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10).

"Their 'table to be made a snare' means that their blessings turn into burdens and judgments. This is what happened to Israel: their spiritual blessings should have led them to Christ, but instead they became a snare that kept them from Christ. Their very religious practices and observances became substitutes for the real experience of salvation."

It should be noted again that verse 9 states that this hardening is a "recompense". Israel was hardened because they deserved it, and it was a just retribution for their sin of rebelling against all the knowledge of God, and benefits from God, that they had received. Perhaps this serves as a warning to men today. When you know the Truth, and rebel against the Truth, God may harden your heart against the Truth.