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11 I ask then, did God reject his people? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God didn’t reject his people, which he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says about Elijah? How he pleads with God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have broken down your altars. I am left alone, and they seek my life.”1 Kings 19:10,14 But how does God answer him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”1 Kings 19:18 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened. According as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.” Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 29:10 David says,

“Let their table be made a snare, a trap,
    a stumbling block, and a retribution to them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see.
    Always keep their backs bent.”Psalm 69:22,23

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Israel’s Rejection Is Not Final

11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.(A) God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?(B) “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” But what is the divine reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”(C) 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.[a](D)

What then? Israel has not achieved what it was pursuing. The elect have achieved it, but the rest were hardened,(E) as it is written,

“God gave them a sluggish spirit,
    eyes that would not see
    and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”(F)

And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
    a stumbling block and a retribution for them;(G)
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
    and keep their backs forever bent.”

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Footnotes

  1. 11.6 Other ancient authorities add But if it is by works, it is no longer on the basis of grace, otherwise work would no longer be work