Saturday, January 11, 2014

Romans 10:18-21

Passage

But I say, did they not hear?  On the contrary!  “Their voice went out into all the earth!  And their breath went out into the ends of the inhabited world!”  But I say, did Israel not know?  First Moses says, “I will provoke you to jealousy upon those who are not a nation.  I will provoke you to anger upon a senseless nation.”  And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I was found by the ones who did not seek me.  I became evident to the ones who did not ask for me.”  And with reference to Israel he says, “All day long I held out my hand to a people being disobedient and while speaking in opposition.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Now Paul begins to lay out a full accusation against the Hebrew people using the standard that we’ve studied over the past few days.  Paul knows that the Hebrew people were called by God to proclaim His name to the Gentiles – a calling they refused to embrace as a whole.  Paul asks whether or not they heard.  Then he quotes scripture to say that the Hebrew did indeed hear and they did know.  After all, God’s voice has gone out to all of the world.  They have heard, and they have not obeyed.

Has God’s voice come to you?  Are you a part of those who have heard?

Second Thought:

The second question is whether or not the Hebrew people knew.  In other words, did they understand?  Did they comprehend?  Paul’s response in quoting Moses and Isaiah is actually brilliant.  If the Gentiles can comprehend the message, surely the Hebrew people can comprehend it!  He’s basically saying that people have no excuse.  The message is easy.  Understanding the message is not the problem.  The problem is our submission to God’s call.  The problem is not one of comprehension but of obedience!

Do you believe God’s message of salvation is simple?  What is that message?  How obedient are you to God’s call out of that message?

Third Thought:

This is truly the theme of this chapter.  Salvation comes from God, but it falls to us to respond.  God’s message is simple, but we wrestle with obedience.  We are truly no different than the Hebrew people in our wrestling with obedience to God.  God holds His hands out to us all day long.  It is ours to choose as to whether we are to be a disobedient people and who speak in opposition to what God is trying to say to us.

How receptive are you to God?  Why is it hard to be obedient to His calling?  Why do we struggle so much with this concept as a human race?


Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 11:1-6

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