Were Hardened

Romans 11:3-8,25 - “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”… Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

1 Kings 19:18 - Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Romans 3:21-25 - But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Romans 9:18,32-33 - So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills…Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Isaiah 6:10 - Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes,  and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Application:

·         Elijah had been mistaken in his conclusion that he alone had remained faithful.

·         I am declared righteous in several ways: (1) freely, (2) by His grace, (3) through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus and (4) through faith.

·         Israel’s hardening is partial, not total. Israel’s hardening is temporary, not permanent.

·         God is said to have hardened the hearts of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

·         God’s rejection of Israel was not arbitrary but was based on Israel’s rejection of God’s way of gaining righteousness.

·         One day Israel will be able to see and hear.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV