I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Of course not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what is God’s response to him? “I have left for myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal.” 5 So also at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if by grace, it is no longer because of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. 7 What then? What Israel was seeking it did not attain, but the elect attained it; the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of deep sleep, eyes that should not see and ears that should not hear, down to this very day.” 9 And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes grow dim so that they may not see, and keep their backs bent forever.”
This passage begins with Paul asking a rhetorical question emphatically rejecting the idea that God has abandoned Israel. His own lineage as an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, serves as proof of God's continuing relationship with the Jewish people (cf. Phil. 3:5). God has not rejected his people with whom he has a predestined covenantal relationship (cf. Amos 3:2). God is faithful to His covenant with Israel, even as some within Israel have rejected Christ. Paul then recalls Elijah's story from 1 Kings 19:10-14, where Elijah, despairing of Israel's faithlessness, believes he is alone in his faithfulness to God, but God reveals that seven thousand Israelites have remained faithful. Even in times of rejection, God maintains a group loyal to His covenant. Paul draws a parallel between the past and the present to emphasize that God continues to preserve a faithful remnant within Israel “at the present time.” However, the remnant’s faithfulness and perseverance are not due to human effort or adherence to the Mosaic Law but to God’s free and undeserved favor through grace. God’s promises to Israel remain intact.
Paul clarifies that salvation is based solely on grace, excluding human works as a means of achieving it. Grace is a free gift from God and cannot be earned ( Eph. 2:8-9 and Gal. 2:21). The elect, those who believe in Christ, both Jew and Gentile, have received what Israel as a whole sought through the law but could not attain - righteousness before God. God hardened, i.e. allowed blindness to fall on those who rejected Christ. This hardening is not total or final but serves a redemptive purpose within God’s plan to extend salvation to all nations (Rom. 11:11-12). Paul quotes from Deut. 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10, refer to the “spirit of deep sleep” given to Israel, where God allows Israel’s spiritual insensitivity as a response to their long-standing rebellion and rejection of His prophets. It is a metaphor for those within Israel who have not recognized or accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Quoting Psalm 69:22-23, Paul evokes a psalm of lament where David curses his enemies, invoking judgment on those who oppose God's anointed. The “table” represents blessings that become sources of stumbling for those who reject Christ - a paradox indicating that blessings can lead to judgment when misused. The “eyes” and “backs” refer to spiritual blindness and oppression as consequences of rejecting the Messiah (Isa. 6:9-10).
Almighty God, we thank You for Your boundless grace. When we as a nation falter You preserve a remnant and call us back to You. Open the eyes and hearts of Your faithful to recognize Your merciful love showered upon us in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Help us to walk humbly in Your grace, trusting in Your plan to bring all to salvation. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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