What [is it] then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded,
Paul has just pointed back to Elijah's day, when God kept seven thousand for Himself while the nation drifted. Now he draws the same line in his own time. Israel as a whole missed what it chased, while a chosen few received it. Two questions follow: what was Israel looking for, and why did most fail to find it?
Israel pursued righteousness, but tried to get it by keeping the law. That road ended one way:
As a nation Israel had despised grace and sought righteousness by keeping the law, only to miss it and be blinded (v. 7). The remnant bowed to grace, and so was saved.
The failure was not for lack of trying:
We have already seen that the most eager seekers seemed to be the ones furthest from meeting the conditions of a successful search.
One group did succeed, and not by trying harder. The seven thousand of Elijah's day explain the believing remnant of Paul's day:
When Paul quotes the case of Elijah, he shows that God had not rejected Israel. The nation was in such a state that even Elijah pleaded against them. Yet God had kept seven thousand men for Himself. This was the election of sovereign grace. It was the same thing now. But it was by grace, and not by works. The election then has obtained the blessing, and the rest was blinded.
They did not obtain a different prize. They obtained the same one, in a Person:
The election the apostle speaks of is plainly what the grace of God drew out of a nation that had turned away and been blinded. What separated this saved remnant from the rejected nation was their faithful confession of Christ. In Him the election had obtained the very thing the nation was still groping for in the darkness of their unbelieving hearts.
Paul's labels run against expectation. He calls the believing minority "the election," and hands the majority the very name readers usually reserve for the faithful few:
Notice that the people we usually call the remnant, the righteous part of Israel, are here named "the election," while the mass of the nation is called the rest, or remnant. "Hardened" is also the right sense here rather than blinded, though blinding is taught elsewhere.
Commentators differ over the best word here. Some keep "blinded," others prefer "hardened."
This hardening was not a mood the nation drifted into. Writers describe it as a sentence passed by God, one their own prophets had already announced:
They have fallen under God's judicial sentence, as their prophets again testified. God had given them eyes that did not see and ears that did not hear.
"The election" reaches beyond one generation. And the sentence on "the rest" has a time limit:
reason
- Sought. Israel chased righteousness by keeping the law. Zeal alone left the most eager seekers furthest from what they wanted.
- Missed. Israel despised grace, so the prize stayed out of reach. Chasing is not the same as receiving.
- Obtained. The election received the very thing the nation groped for. They received it in Christ, by grace and not by works.
- Hardened. The rest fell under a sentence from God, one their own Scriptures had announced long before.
- Not forever. The blindness is not permanent. A believing remnant has existed in every age, past, present and still to come.
according as it is written, God has given to them a spirit of slumber, eyes not to see, and ears not to hear, unto this day.
Paul has just said that Israel as a nation missed what it was chasing. A chosen few within it received the blessing. The rest were hardened. Verse 8 is his proof from Scripture, and it raises two hard questions. If God Himself gave the spirit of stupor, is that unfair? And does it last forever?
Verse 8 backs up what Paul said in verse 7, so the wording of verse 7 matters. One writer says the right word there is "hardened", not "blinded", and points out who Scripture calls the elect.
How does the case stand, then? "Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened." Notice this. The group we usually call the remnant, the righteous part of Israel, is here called "the elect." The mass of the nation is called the rest, or remnant. "Hardened" is also the right sense here, rather than blinded — though blindness is taught elsewhere.
The words Paul cites do not come from one passage. He weaves several strands of the Old Testament together.
This leads the apostle to bring in the witness of Scripture. He uses words that seem to be blended from Isaiah 29:10 and Deuteronomy 29:4. Then comes David's even more terrible curse in Psalm 69:22-23. All of them speak of the ungodly in Israel. Here again the law, the psalms and the prophets gave their joint, overwhelming evidence. Their words are so severe that the apostle first had to bring in "strong consolation" from the unfailing faithfulness of God for at least a remnant, as we have seen. Only then did he settle every word by these "two or three witnesses" about the general state of Israel.
To say God gave the stupor sounds like God caused the unbelief. Commentators answer that the order runs the other way. The nation shut its own eyes first. Then God confirmed that choice as a sentence passed on them.
The blinding here is clearly a judgment — God Himself has given them sightless eyes and unhearing ears. But why? It is no arbitrary judgment. Matthew 13:13-15 shows plainly that Israel's willful blindness came first, and the judgment of blindness came after... It is the same with their ears. Mercy was offered to them, even after the resurrection of Christ, and they would not hear. They "stopped their ears" against the preaching of Stephen, and sealed their rejection of Christ by stoning His witness to death. So God has put His mark of judgment upon them. He has confirmed their deafness to this very day — a solemn warning to everyone who dares to treat Him lightly.
Isaiah foretold this blindness long before it came. One writer points to its cause, and to what the nation could no longer see.
Rejecting Christ, and the grace of God proclaimed by the Holy Spirit through His servants, the nation falls into the spiritual blindness foretold by the prophet Isaiah. Because they willfully reject Christ, they can no longer see their need, or the grace of God that can meet that need.
One writer sees a pattern here, not a one-off event. God has acted this way before, and He may act this way again — even with Christendom, the part of the world that bears Christ's name.
In the time before destruction, the people choose to be ignorant. After that God shuts up their understanding and pours a deep sleep over them. This will happen to Christendom also. There will be "strong delusion" because they did not want the truth... It had been the same with the nations that did not keep the knowledge of God, and were given over to a state of blindness (Romans 1:22-24). God had already said of Israel, "Make the heart of this people dull," a word used for the last time in Acts 28. So it holds true for the nations, the Jews and Christendom, and it will be true for the Jews again.
The verse says the blindness has lasted to this day. It does not say it will last forever. Later in the same chapter Paul sets two limits on it — how far it reaches, and how long it lasts.
This, indeed, is what will happen, for the blindness that has come on Israel is only blindness in part. The nation is not blinded so as never to see again. It has not fallen so as never to be restored, or been cast off so as never to be received back. Their time of being cast off will end when the full number of the Gentiles has been brought into blessing.
- Refusal first. The nation shut its own eyes first. God only confirmed the choice they had already made.
- Sentence second. God then sealed that choice, giving eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. The mark is still on them today.
- Scripture third. Paul stacks law, psalms and prophets together, so the verdict rests on more than one witness.
- Warning fourth. The same pattern reaches beyond Israel. Choosing not to know invites the deep sleep, and Christendom is not exempt.
- Mercy last. The blindness is only partial, and it lasts only until the full number of the Gentiles is brought in. Israel is not blinded forever, nor cast off forever.
And David says, Let their table be for a snare, and for a gin, and for a fall-trap, and for a recompense to them
Paul sets David's words from Psalm 69 beside Isaiah and Deuteronomy to explain why most of Israel missed what it sought. The verse raises hard questions about whose voice speaks, what the "table" means, and why God blinds anyone.
The prayer belongs to David, but commentators trace it further back. One writer traces the words to the Lord Jesus Himself, and sets this call for retribution against what He prayed on the cross.
Psalm 69 is quoted also in verses 9 and 10 — the words written by David, but actually coming from the lips of the Lord Jesus... These are solemn words of retribution. They stand in marked contrast to the lowly words from the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But that forgiveness could only apply to the remnant who would receive it — as many did, even after the crucifixion. The rest cannot remain a matter of indifference to Him: He pleads against them for present governmental judgment.
A table is where a person is fed and safe. So why does David ask for Israel's table to become a trap?
So David foretells that their very privileges would become a snare to them. Boasting in their outward privileges they despise the grace of God. As a result their eyes are darkened, so they cannot see the goodness of God, and their backs bow in bondage to their enemies.
The Greek word behind "stumbling block" is exact. It ties this verse back to Romans 9, where Christ Himself is the stone men trip over.
When the Lord was on earth He became this stone of stumbling to the Jews. He is still the same to them and to the house of Israel, where their disobedient unbelief still rejects Him. Romans 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:8... Scripture uses the word skandalon for the same thing: it literally means "the catch of a trap," which snares you the moment you touch it. Romans 9:33 (offence); Romans 11:9; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Peter 2:8 (offence).
The blinding in these verses comes from God's hand. But it is a sentence on a path the nation had already chosen.
The blinding here is plainly judicial. God Himself has given them eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. But why is this? It is no arbitrary judgment. Matthew 13:13-15 shows clearly that Israel's wilful blindness came before their judicial blindness.
Some read these quotations as proof that God condemned certain people before they ever existed. One writer rejects that:
It is excellent and right that Scripture calls hardening something God inflicts after men have already proved their ungodliness. It is false and bad to say that Paul argues here that the blinding was not deserved, but came from an eternal decree of rejection. Scripture teaches no such doctrine. It nowhere says that anyone is rejected before the foundation of the world.
Paul does not rest his case on a single passage. Verse 9 is the third witness in a stack of them.
This leads the apostle to bring in the testimony of Scripture. He uses the words (apparently mingled) of Isaiah 29:10 and Deuteronomy 29:4. Then comes the still more terrible prayer for judgment from David in Psalm 69:22-23. All of them speak of the ungodly in Israel. Here again the law, the psalms, and the prophets gave their combined and overwhelming evidence.
The chapters Paul quotes hold more than threats. Commentators read the judgment and the promise together.
Judicial blindness has come upon them for their unbelief. The apostle gives three quotations from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 29:10 and Psalm 69:22-24). They show that the Lord knew their unbelief beforehand and foretold the judgment coming on the nation. A careful study of these chapters will show that the threatened judgments and the judicial blindness are not permanent... The curses spoken over them have come true word for word. The promises of blessing and glory are still unfulfilled, and they too will come true literally.
Verse 9 asks God for judgment. So may a Christian pray it? Writers separate the cry of God's earthly people, Israel, from the Christian's calling.
They rightly cry for judgment when God is at work in them in living power. We are one with Christ in heaven. We look for Him to take us there to Himself. And we pray for grace as He did, even for His blinded murderers.
- Privilege — the table is what fed and secured Israel. Boasting in that privilege, while despising grace, turned their food into a snare.
- Trap — "stumbling block" translates a word for the catch of a trap. What they tripped over was Christ Himself.
- Sentence — the blindness is God's sentence, but it is not random. Israel's wilful blindness came first. God hardens men after they have proved their ungodliness, not by a decree passed before they existed.
- Witnesses — Paul stacks the law, the prophets, and the psalms. The verdict rests on all of Scripture, not one text.
- Limit — the curses came true word for word, and the promises of blessing will too. Meanwhile the Christian prays not for judgment but for grace, as Christ did for those who killed Him.
let their eyes be darkened not to see, and bow down their back alway.
Paul closes his chain of quotations with two hard images: darkened eyes and a back bent down "forever." Two questions press on any reader. Is God punishing people for a blindness He Himself caused? And does "forever" mean Israel is finished for good?
Paul does not argue Israel's condition from his own observation. He stacks up quotations drawn from across the Scriptures.
This leads the apostle to bring in the testimony of Scripture. He uses the words (seemingly mixed together) of Isaiah 29:10 and Deuteronomy 29:4. Then comes the still more terrible curse David calls down in Psalm 69:22-23. All of these speak of the ungodly in Israel. Here again the law, the psalms, and the prophets gave the same overwhelming evidence together.
These words come from Psalm 69. Who is really speaking them changes how they sound.
Verses 9 and 10 also quote Psalm 69. David wrote the words, but they really came from the lips of the Lord Jesus... These are solemn words of retribution. They stand in sharp contrast to the lowly words from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But the forgiveness could only apply to the remnant who would receive it — and many did, even after the crucifixion. He cannot treat the rest as if they did not matter. He pleads against them for God's judgment on them now, in this present life.
The darkening is not random. It fits what Israel had done with the gifts God gave them.
So David foretells that their very privileges would become a snare to them. Boasting in their outward privileges they despise the grace of God. As a result their eyes are darkened, and they cannot see the goodness of God. Their backs are bowed down in bondage to their enemies.
The darkening is God's act. Commentators are careful to say what came before it.
The blinding here is plainly judicial. God Himself has given them sightless eyes and ears that do not hear. But why is this? It is no arbitrary judgment. Matthew 13:13-15 shows clearly that Israel's willful blindness came before their judicial blindness... God offered them mercy, even after the resurrection of Christ, and they would not hear. They "stopped their ears" against the preaching of Stephen. They confirmed their rejection of Christ by stoning His witness to death.
The same order appears in God's dealing with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
God did not make Pharaoh wicked. God leads no one into sin. But when Pharaoh had proved himself wicked and stubborn, God hardened his heart in judgment. This hardening, however, never takes place until man has proved himself to be wicked.
"Forever" reads like a life sentence. The chapter itself sets a limit on it.
Blindness is on Israel till the Church is complete. Then Israel's judicial blindness will cease... the nation as a whole was in outer darkness; for a time blindness was on it, and a veil lay on their hearts. When the full number of the Gentiles has come in, their condition as a nation will change.
And even in the darkness, the blindness never covered everyone. Grace kept a remnant.
When Israel had all but abandoned God in the days of Ahab, God kept for Himself no fewer than seven thousand who were true to Him at heart, though only Elijah stood out as a public witness. This was the fruit of His grace, and the same grace still works... As a nation, Israel despised grace and tried to gain righteousness by keeping the law. They missed it, and blindness fell on them. The remnant bowed to grace and was saved.
This is not only Israel's story, closed and filed away. The same warning falls on whoever holds the privileges now.
If Israel's willful blindness has brought down the blindness God has laid on them for nearly 2000 years, what shall we say of the Gentile Church? She closes her eyes more and more against the truth of God. Will God spare this willful blindness? No. When the full number of Gentiles is saved, God will open Israel's eyes.
- Eyes closed. God's blindness is a judgment, never a whim. Israel closed their own eyes first.
- Eyes darkened. They got what they chose. They cannot see the goodness of God, and the privileges they boasted in became their trap.
- Eyes still open. The blindness never covered everyone. Grace kept seven thousand in Elijah's day, and grace keeps a remnant still.
- Eyes to be opened. "Forever" has a limit. When the full number of Gentiles has come in, Israel's blindness will cease.
- Eyes on yourself. The same warning stands now. Those who hold the privileges today can close their eyes the same way, and God will not spare that blindness.