⁵ It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. ⁶ And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

⁷ So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. ⁸ As the Scriptures say,

“God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”

⁹ Likewise, David said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve. ¹⁰ Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”

Hard Hearts

At Bikers’ Church, I often teach people the importance of context. Whenever we read any Scripture, we need to always keep in mind the overall context of the passage, the book, and the entire Bible. Simply put, the Bible doesn’t contradict itself.

When you read this passage, you might think that these poor Israelites didn’t have a chance. After all, God hardened their hearts. Only a few remained faithful to the notion of Grace.

But I think that what this passage is really saying is that God simply said, “Ok.” He allowed them to the choice that they had already made. He didn’t push grace on them. If they chose to reject grace, God will let them. As we’ll see tomorrow, he will never give up home for them (or us), but God will allow them to choose their own path.

That idea always amazes me. God, creator of all things, loves me so much that he wont force me to love him in return. He wants the best for me, but will allow me to chose grace or reject it. And if I tell him I want nothing to do with him, his heart will be grieved, but he will honor our request. Sort of. (But that is for tomorrow’s passage).

My prayer: Thank you for loving me the way you do. It’s undeserved. The idea that I can choose to accept your love or reject it is incredible to me. The idea that sometimes I do reject it, is horrifying. I pray that I never take it for granted. Amen.

Until tomorrow.