Romans 11:1-10 – Remain
pliable before God
Is Israel totally hopeless? Has God given up on Israel? This is the key
and natural question confronting the Jews, because in the Old Testament times we see much of
the nation was spiritually lost. And in the New Testament, we see the bulk of
the Jewish nation rejected God’s Messiah willfully when He came.
Paul began chapter 11 by strongly asserting that God had not rejected
His chosen people. He showed that there is a future for the Jews. In the
process, he also showed us how Jews are to be regarded. Israel has hope simply
because their future rests in God and not on man or themselves. It is true that
their failure is no small thing, but the God Who called them to Himself is a
Faithful God. And Israel’s future rests on the grace of that Faithful and
Sovereign God.
Verses 1-10 argue the case that God has not discarded His people
because there is a believing remnant. Paul used his own conversion as an evidence
of a believing remnant. He said in verse 1, “By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant
of Abraham….” Paul’s conversion was extra-ordinary. He was a
blood thirsty persecutor of Christianity and the church, but grace showed him
where he belonged. And mercy re-wrote his life. Looking at Paul’s conversion
extraordinaire, we are confident that no one is beyond the ability of God and
His grace to touch. Paul stands as a living testimony that God is not through
with the Jews yet.
Illustrating
with the account of the experience of Elijah and his encounter with Jezebel and
the prophets of Baal, God assured His prophet that the remnant of Jews who
believed in Him were more than he thought. Elijah thought he alone was the only
one who worshiped Jehovah. God then told him that there were 7,000 others who honored
Him. From Paul’s argument here, we see that God is not through with Israel. There
exist a remnant who still believe in Him just as it was in the days of Elijah. God
still has a plan for the Jews and we are confident that He has the power and
capacity to bring it to pass.
Why has the
majority of the Jews remained in unbelief? The reason is given in verses 6-7.
Paul said it’s due to their hardened hearts. They persist in the wrong track,
working earnestly, thinking that they can make themselves righteous. What’s
surprising is that hardening can happen to God’s people. Paul went on in verses
8-10 to support with Old Testament Scriptures. He showed from Isaiah 29:10 and Psalms
69:22-23, how the chosen race became hardened before God. It must be noted that
the hardening did not take place at the onset. It happened through the process
of time. It became a divine judgment for not using their God-given faculties to
perceive His manifested power and to glorify Him.
There’s a
sobering effect in what Paul said here. Whether we are Jews or not, the fact
remains that hardening of heart can happen to anyone. Yes, even us. There is a
universal principle that if we hear the truth and choose not to respond to it,
over time we will reach a point where we will not be capable of responding to
it. It’s like conscience, when we choose to ignore its warning, over time we
become dull to it. Let’s not let that happen to us. Stay pliable to God!
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