11:7-10 How are we to understand what Paul says here?
11:7-10 How are we to understand what Paul says here?
This is the crux of Paul's discussion in V1-6 (CP V1-6). National Israel, who pursued after righteousness by the works of the law, has not attained it (CP 9:30-33).
Only individual Jews, called "the election" here, who have accepted Christ as their Saviour have attained it (CP 9:6). The rest of Israel were blinded to the gospel through rebellion and unbelief (CP Isa 29:9-13; Psa 69:22-23).
Paul quotes Isaiah in Ro 11:8 to signify Israel's utter insensibility to God's word, and its failure to recognize Jesus as Messiah, and in V9-10 he quoted King David's curse upon those who crucified Jesus, as Christ's reproach to Israel for their blindness and obstinacy in the face of God's grace.
Nothing that happened to Israel was God's fault. Israel brought it upon itself the same as Pharaoh did, as we saw in our study on Ro 9:14-18 (CP Jn 1:11; 5:39-40; Ac 13:44-47; 28:23-28; Ro 9:30-33; 10:17-21; 11:13-24; 2Cor 3:12-16).
See also comments on Mt 11:28-30, 13:10-11, 20:16; Jn 3:15-16, 3:36, 6:37, 12:37-40, Ac 2:37-38, 13:48, 28:23-29, Ro 3:24-26(A), 8:28-30, 9:7, 9:10-13, 9:14-18, 9:19-21, 10:14-17, 11:2, 11:4, Eph 1:3-6, 1:11-14, 2:8-10, 1Th 1:4; 2Ti 1:8-9; 1Pe 1:2, and author's studies Salvation -
A Free Will Choice or Predestinated?, Chosen by God? and Israel in God's eternal Purpose in his book Advanced Studies in the Christian Faith (Volume 1), and The Doctrine of Grace in his book Advanced Studies in the Christian Faith (Volume 2).