A Fourth Strand of Evidence That God Has Not Rejected the Jews
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.
What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.”
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 11:5-10
Leading up to the passage before us Paul has demonstrated from a personal point of view, a theological point of view and biblical point of view why he holds so strongly to his position that God has not rejected the Jews.
His fourth evidence that God had not completely rejected Israel was from his own observation. Just as in Elijah’s day there was a remnant of 7,000 ‘so too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace’ (11:5). It was probably sizeable. James was soon to tell Paul that there were ‘many thousands’ of believing Jews (Acts 21:20).
‘What then?’ (11:7). How does Paul apply this remnant theology to his own day and experience? ‘What the people of Israel sought so earnestly’ (the righteousness of 9:31) it did not obtain (at least not as a whole). The elect among them did, but the others (the unbelieving, Israelite majority) ‘were hardened’ (11:7). Presumably in this context they were hardened by God because the next verse says “God gave them a spirit of stupor’ (11:8). As with the hardening of Pharaoh and those he represented (9:18 cf. 11:25) a retribution is in mind where God gives people up to their own stubbornness.
This hardening is now explained in two Old Testament scriptures, both referring to eyes which can’t see. The first brings together parts of Deuteronomy 29:2ff and Isaiah 29:10. In the Deuteronomy text Moses tells the Israelites that, although they have witnessed God’s wonders, He has not given them ‘a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear’ (Deuteronomy 29:4). Paul quotes only the first part of the Isaiah text, to the effect that God has given them ‘a spirit of stupor’, which as the context makes clear, was self-induced before it became a divine judgement. Paul says this condition continues to affect Israel to the day.
“God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day” (11:8)
The second quotation in 11:9 comes from Psalm 69 and describes a righteous person’s experience of persecution. This victim of unprovoked hostility prays that God will both vindicate him and deliver just judgement on his enemies. Jesus had applied the scripture to Himself (‘They hated me without a reason’ [John 15:25]). Because of the messianic nature of the psalm, Paul is able to reverse its application. Instead of Israel being persecuted, she has become (in her rejection of Christ) the persecutor. The psalmist prays:
“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.” (11:9,10)
Their ‘table’ seems to be a symbol of the security and community they enjoyed at home which can somehow be turned into the opposite, ‘a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them’ (11:9). Because a back bent over was a picture of someone carrying a heavy load, ‘May … their backs be bent forever’ seems to picture people carrying a heavy load, whether grief, fear or oppression.
While most Jews have rejected Christ, some have not. Those who have are blind to the truth. God has given them over to their rejection of their own Messiah, but at the end of this dark tunnel is a ray of hope.