⁷ What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; ⁸ just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day.” ⁹ And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them. ¹⁰ “Let their eyes be darkened to see not, And bend their backs forever.”

Does God harden the hearts of otherwise innocent people who want to be saved so that they cannot possibly believe and be saved? We would answer this with Paul’s signature statement, “Me gnoito,” absolutely not. For Scripture makes it abundantly clear that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom 10:13). Faith is available to all. Let’s look more closely at the Scripture Paul quotes.

In Isaiah, God gives His people “a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not…” because they “draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote…” (Is 29:13). Indeed, from the beginning of the book of Isaiah, God makes clear that Israel has “revolted against Me” (Is 1:2). They “…acted corruptly … have abandoned the Lord” (Is 1:4). Further, “Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a few survivors, we would be like Sodom, we would be like Gomorrah” (Is 1:9). God could have rightly destroyed all of Israel, hardened them all.

But in grace, the God of Israel saved some. On what basis? Not because some were more righteous, or kept the law better. As Paul reasoned earlier, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). God would have been absolutely fair to not save any of them. How then did He select the remnant? Isaiah 53:1 answers this in the form of a question: “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Faith is the answer. God’s chosen remnant are those who believed Isaiah’s message that God would save His people by sending a Messiah who would be “pierced through for our transgressions … crushed for our iniquities … the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him” (Is 53:5). Further, “the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Is 53:11).

We conclude God hardens those who deserve condemnation, but who have hardened themselves by refusing to believe His provision for their sin. They are not innocent people who otherwise desire to believe and be saved.

Lord, help me to accept things that are beyond my ability to understand.