Romans 11:7-10
The key word of this passage is "hardened". Paul is saying that even among God's chosen people, he has still chosen to harden and blind some to the truth. He is basically continuing his argument from chapter 10: even among the nation who rejected the Messiah there remains a remnant of those who accept him.
Paul proves his point by quoting two passages of Scripture. One, from Isaiah, is used mainly within the context that Isaiah intended. The other would receive a failing grade from any bible college professor worth his salt. When I went to college, there were all kinds of rules about interpreting and using Scripture: consider the genre, the context, the original intent of the author, etc. Here, Paul takes poetry written by David against his enemies and uses it to describe those of the nation of Israel whose hearts God has chosen to harden. He breaks all the rules!
I don't understand God. First he chooses the children of Jacob as his special nation and then he chooses some (actually the vast majority) within that nation to be hardened and blinded to the truth. I don't understand how this brings God glory. It also puts some fear into my heart: if God would choose a people and then reject the majority of them, how secure am I? I think Paul tells me in the rest of this chapter that I am not very secure.
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