ROMANS UNWRAPPED 175

"But to Israel He saith,  ALL DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED FORTH MY HANDS UNTO A DISOBEDIENT AND GAINSAYING PEOPLE."      Romans 10v21

So ends the section, where Paul is describing human responsibility in the matter of salvation, and Israel have rejected the gospel.   He outlines this in four different stages, and makes it clear that the problem is not of God but of themselves.  

• THEY HAVE NOT ALL OBEYED THE GOSPEL.   Romans 10v16                                     This was predicted hundreds of years before by the prophet Isaiah in the chapter describing the passion of Messiah "Lord who hath believed our report?"   Isaiah 53v1.   This prediction has now come to pass and in the main Israel have rejected the gospel.   Please note the language of Paul here; to believe is obedience; to do otherwise is disobedience.   This fact is imprinted across the Holy Scriptures.   To disregard, neglect, reject, or corrupt the gospel is marked down as rank disobedience to God.       Romans 1v5  "For the obedience of faith among all nations for His name."   Romans 16v26   "According to the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all nations for the obedience of faith."   2nd Thessalonians 1v8   "Taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."   Prior to that in Isaiah chapter 6 verses 9-13  the prophet was made to understand that he would be preaching to a nation, the large part of whom would reject him   "And there shall be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.   But yet in it shall be a tenth."   Thus Isaiah predicted that only a small remnant would remain faithful to God.  
• WAS THIS BECAUSE THEY HAD NOT HEARD?   Romans 10v18                              Paul answers by quoting Psalm 19v4.   there he is referring to the luminaries in the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars, which cover the whole earth giving light to all and sundry without exception.   In that Psalm not only light, but the benefit of heat for everyone.   There those created lights in the sky, says the Psalmist, were declaring the glory and the power of God in the heavens.    So likewise,  the human luminaries whom God has sent out into the world  "among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life."   Philippians 1v15-16.   This refers to all believers and there are other special luminaries;  "apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and  teachers."   Ephesians 4v11    These are the preachers whom God has sent.   What was the outcome of all this?   They had all heard.   Mark 16v20   "They went forth and preached everywhere."   Acts 1v8   "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth."   Acts 2v5   "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven.   Colossians 1v5-6   "The word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you as it is in all the world."   Colossians 1v23    "The gospel, which ye have heard and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven ."   Just like the heavenly lights which day after day proclaim the glory of God in creation to the entire world, so the light of the gospel has illumined the entire world.   They were illuminated by the gospel, but they rejected it.  
• DID ISRAEL NOT KNOW?     Romans 10v19-20                                                              Instead of questioning God, they should have known that this would happen because it was predicted in their holy scriptures.   Many hundreds of years before this time the scripture foretold that Israel would defect, and had they taken the time to read their scriptures, they would have understood this.   First of all Moses in Deuteronomy 32 v 21 predicted that God would provoke Israel to jealousy by the Gentiles, a people that they consider to be no people, and a foolish people, yet they would receive God and Israel would reject.   Secondly, Isaiah the prophet says the same in Isaiah 65 v 1   "I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me."   It was a well known documented fact in the prophecies, that Israel would reject and God would turn to the Gentiles.  
• ISRAEL REJECTED GOD, AND ARGUED WITH HIM, AND STILL DO TODAY.                                                                                                    Romans 10v21       "All day long I have stretched forth My hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying nation."  Isaiah 65v2   This is Paul's final argument to his nation.   A long-suffering God, has given Israel every chance, has waited patiently, has constantly held out His hands to them in grace, but they chose not to believe and they chose to argue with God.   They contradicted Him, and their present position, in being laid aside for a while, is of their own making and not of God's.  (Thankfully, this is a temporary situation, as we shall see later in chapter 11).

They did not obey, they all had heard, they should have known, they decided to reject the gospel.   The consequences of rejecting the overtures of a gracious God are serious indeed.   The consequences are eternal and final and God will have the final say.   Israel, having been taken up as a privileged nation, as a sample of the whole of humanity, have finally proved that the heart of man is at enmity with God and without the intervention of Christ the entire world would be doomed.  

"TODAY IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS    Hebrews 4v7