Romans 11:7-10

                                                                     Romans 11:7-10

What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”

And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”

What happened to bring Israel to the place where they were not open to the Gospel?  Paul shows that this failure to see the Messiah and understand the Gospel was foretold by both Isaiah and David.  Having a hard heart had basically become the nation’s identity.  This reality should not come as a surprise and cannot call into question the sovereign plan of God.

 

THE HEART OF ISRAEL BECAME UNRESPONSIVE: There is a consequence to rejecting the truth and failing to respond to the Gospel.  That consequence is a hardened heart.  For generations God called Israel to Himself, revealed Himself to them and provided for them in miraculous ways.  Despite all the patriarchs, prophets, and promises, Israel still turned to a variety of forms of idolatry and rejected the Messiah.  Though some were elect and came to faith in Christ, the vast majority were hardened to the Gospel and continued to reject.  Their eyes could not see and their ears could not hear and they were doomed to an eternal state of rebellion.  Don’t reject the revelation or the leading of the Lord.  The consequences are far more severe than we might imagine.

 

THE DIET OF ISRAEL BECAME OFFENSIVE: David stated that their table became a snare and a trap.  I presume that this is a reference to the dietary laws in which so many from the nation of Israel placed their trust.  As so many other religious rituals, the dietary laws were meant to be a physical reminder of a spiritual reality but were not to be seen as an end in themselves.  The diet that was supposed to remind them that they were to be different and set apart from the nations only produced pride in their lives but they didn’t eat pork but did practice idolatry and immorality.  When Christ came to offer them forgiveness through faith, they rejected Him in favor of their useless religious rituals.  We must be careful not to trust in the rituals we perform.  Baptism, communion, church attendance, devotions, and many other biblical practices are not a substitution for a relationship with God through faith.

 

APPLICATION:  Do not reject the revelation of God or the promptings of the Spirit.  Be sensitive to what God calls us to do and how He calls us to live.  Peruse a genuine relationship with the Lord and don’t get caught up in trusting Christian rituals.

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