Yesterday we took a look back into the Old Testament to find the prophet Elijah at a very low point. King Ahab of Israel had married the idolatrous Jezebel. Jezebel was an idolatress and she set about turning the people of Israel away from the Lord to her god Baal. Essentially what she did was set up a state religion. She had many of the prophets of the Lord killed. She did all she could to stamp out the worship of the one true God in favor of her own religion. Elijah stood up to her and to her prophets and called down fire from heaven after the prophets of Baal had spent all day calling out to their false god to send fire down. Supporters of Elijah slew the prophets of Baal and Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah before the next day ended. So Elijah fled, fearing he was the only prophet left in the land, not knowing whether any of the faithful in the land would survive. But God told him, "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
This is where we pick up today. "So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." (Romans 11:5-6) Paul says, "Just as in Elijah's day, some of my fellow citizens remain faithful to the Lord today. A number of them have come to Christ. Their righteousness is not achieved by doing good deeds or by trying to keep the law, but by the grace of God. The Israelites who are faithful didn't receive grace because they are Israelites but because they trust in the Lord. If salvation was only for Israel then we wouldn't see the Gentiles being saved. It's by the same faith in the same Savior that both Jews and Gentiles receive salvation."
"What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but others were hardened, as it is written: 'God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear to this very day.'" (Romans 11:7-8) Paul has said previously that his people attempted to gain righteousness through works. They were focused on themselves and on their own performance. If any of us were good enough to earn salvation, why would we need God? We might even start thinking we are as righteous as He is. When we start thinking we can do things on our own without God's help, or that somehow we can earn salvation, we are as much of an idolater as if we were on our knees in front of the image of a false god. When we reject the one true God we always put something else in His place. We will serve ourselves and the desires of the flesh, essentially worshiping ourselves. We will worship some other deity or get drawn into the occult. We will chase money or fame or addictive substances. If we rely on ourselves for salvation, we are hopeless.
What does Paul mean when he quotes Moses and Isaiah saying that they people are hard-hearted and blinded? Is he saying they have no choice? Is he telling us God chose some of them and rejected others? No. Moses and Isaiah were speaking of people who had deliberately hardened their hearts toward God. Moses led the people forty years through the wilderness and it was a constant struggle. They complained against both Moses and God. They turned deaf ears to what Moses told them God was saying. Isaiah faced the same attitude in his day. He was trying to get the people to turn wholeheartedly back to the Lord or else their nation was going to be conquered. But they didn't listen to him any more than they listened to Moses. So I think what Paul is saying is that every time we refuse the Lord our hearts grow a little bit harder. We can grow so hard that nothing gets through to us. The Holy Spirit may be shouting to our consciences at the top of His voice, but we won't hear Him. It's not that God doesn't want to save us, but we can resist the pleading of the Holy Spirit for so long, and we can refuse to believe the word of God for so long, that we are in danger of remaining lost.
Next Paul quotes the words of King David, "And David says: 'May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.'" (Romans 11:9-10) The quote is from Psalm 69, which has a Messianic theme. It speaks of being hated for no reason, of being given vinegar to drink, and of being rejected even by family members. The one who is suffering these things is the one who pronounces what sounds like a curse on his enemies. It is as if he says, "Reject those who will never accept me. They have hardened their hearts against Your holy word and against Your prophets. They have hardened their hearts against me. If they continue in this manner, let them be what they want to be. Let them be deaf to the truth. Let them be blind to the truth. Let them remain in their sin because that is where they prefer to stay."
We don't ever want to reach such a point. When we feel the Holy Spirit calling us to believe and repent, we need to heed His voice. Each time we reject Him it gets a little bit easier and our hearts get a little bit harder. This is why Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, "Do not quench the Spirit." If He's speaking to your heart today, listen.
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