THE PROMISED EXALTATION OF A CHOSEN PEOPLE
THE REMAINDER OF ISRAEL: Currently Blinded

The sad story of the nation of Israel is one of repeatedly turning away from God. That is a synopsis of the Old Testament. God sent prophet after prophet calling on them to repent, but they rejected the light. Finally, He sent His Son, as the Light of the World, and they sought to extinguish Him by snuffing Him out on the cross, and sealing His lifeless corpse in the darkness of a tomb. But, He wouldn’t stay dead! In the dawn of Resurrection Morning, God raised Him from the dead. Still, the Jews refused to believe the witness. The disciples took the testimony into the synagogues and were met with hate from most—all but a remnant of spiritual Israel who received the Messiah.

You cannot do that without it having a spiritually deadening effect. Think of the way a callus develops. As you are working with that shovel or post-hole diggers, the skin of your hand blisters and pain ensues. Yet, if you press through the pain, and keep working day after day, the pain lessens and a callus develops. You can stick a pin into that hardened flesh and be impervious to pain. That happens to our souls—when we are pricked by the Holy Spirit—the pain of conviction of sin—and then resist those pangs of conscience, little by little a judicial hardness sets in,until one gets beyond feeling.

It happened to Israel.

7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
8 Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.”
9 And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, And bow down their back
always.” (Rom.11:7-10)

But, hear this solemn warning: that isn’t just true of a nation, but of an individual also. The Bible says, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts,” (Heb.3:15). One of the devil’s deadliest ploys is procrastination. He says something like this, “Sure you need to be saved. Of course, you are going to be saved—just not today. Tomorrow will be soon enough.” And we listen to the serpent’s forked tongue and reject the still, small voice of God. Then the next day, and the next…always tomorrow and for most, tomorrow never comes. Friend, this is the most urgent matter we face! It is far more important than life and death—it’s a matter of heaven and hell!