ROMANS UNWRAPPED 179

"God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear."   Romans 11v8

The solemn truth of Divine hardening is set against the background of the grace of God, the glory of God, and the suffering of Messiah.   In verse 5, Paul having mentioned the basis of blessing with God, namely the grace of God, shows how that this means of blessing is directly opposed to the entire thinking of the Jewish people.   They attempted to achieve favour with God by means of their own works and adherence to the law, but they were unable to do so.   In the process of this they completely rejected the grace of God, preferring instead to hold their religion, their way, as the right way.   In this they followed the age old error of Cain, who rejected God's way and established his own.   The way of grace (unmerited Divine favour) is the only way, but they chose to establish the system of human merit.   Paul makes clear that these two systems are diametrically opposed to each other, and you must choose between one or the other.   They chose the wrong way and fell out of favour, and the elect (those who believe God) found it.   The result is that the bulk of the nation of Israel has turned its back on the grace of God, who having demonstrated they were unable to keep His law, sent the Messiah to die for their sins and their shortcomings.   It is a serious matter to turn away from the grace of God.   In reality God could have obliterated this nation at any time, instead He chose to reveal His Divine favour in the Person of Christ, and they rejected Him.   Divine hardening has come in only after Israel's rejection.   Not only did they turn away from Divine light, they turned away from Divine love.

In verse 8, Paul quotes from Isaiah chapter 6, and the whole context of this chapter is concerning the glory of God.   The apostle John quotes these same verses in his gospel where the comment is  "these things said Isaiah when he saw his glory and spake of Him."   John 12v41    A study of the context of Isaiah chapter 6 will reveal that the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up.   The sight was so awesome that this holy man felt himself to be so unworthy in the presence of such an One that he said  "woe is me for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts".   Paul, using the background of this chapter, is conveying to his readers, that not only did Israel turn away from the grace of God, they turned away from the glory of God.   The vision that Isaiah saw was of a throne surrounded by angelic hosts who did God's bidding, immediately and constantly and who absolutely adored the One in whose presence they dwelt.   To turn away from such an One, to doubt such an One, to argue with such an One, and to reject such an One, was to disobey the proclamation of supreme Deity, and to do it with impunity.   It is in that context that Divine hardening has taken place.  

Thirdly, Paul sets the background of the teaching of Psalm 69 in verse 9.   The context of Psalm 69 is that of the suffering of Messiah who would come to bring the message of God to the nation.   Instead of receiving Him they heaped upon Him more and more suffering in their outright rejection of Jesus Christ.   "We will not have this man to reign over us."......   "Away with him,"..... "crucify Him."..."His blood be upon us and our children,"    This was the verdict of the mass of Israel, of their rulers, of their spiritual leaders.   The rejected Divine grace. the impugned Divine glory, they intensified the suffering of the Messiah, and God, as a result, has brought upon them judicial hardening.   The lesson is clear, as it is solemn, those who turn away from Divine light and love and Divine purpose will find themselves cast out.   The same Pharaoh, who multiple times hardened his heart against the Lord, found himself unable to respond to God at the end.  

The glory of God rules the universe, the grace of God brings blessing to the world; but ignore it, reject it, we do so at our own peril; but this is not the end of the story.

This warning of Divine judicial hardening is repeated in the new testament: Matthew 13v13-15; John 12v37-41; Acts28v25-27. We do well to heed the warnings.