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Romans 10:14c-21
The Apostle Paul has led the Israelites (and us) to a point of self-conviction for the refusal to accept the gospel. He uses the Prophets Isaiah, Nahum, Moses, and the Psalms to show how God predicted this attitude for the Israelites. God knows all things (1 John 3:20; Luke 16:15; Psalm 44:21) and He gave a warning to the Israelites before they were allowed to enter the Promised Land. He warned them when He gave them the Law through Moses (Leviticus 26). And then, before Moses died, the LORD gave warning through Moses once again in Deuteronomy 28, and then again in Deuteronomy 30. As if this wasn’t enough warning, God gave another warning to the Israelites before Moses died as He gave Moses a song to sing to them (Deuteronomy 31-32). Once Joshua began leading the Israelites into the Promised Land he too reviewed the Law, the blessings, and the curses to all Israel (Joshua 8:30-35).
Throughout the Old Testament, God sent word through the prophets of the need for obedience to Him from the Israelites to receive forgiveness and blessings. The Apostle Paul reviews some of this in his teachings from Isaiah, Nahum, Moses, and the Psalms. But the Israelites continued to turn from God and worship false, man-made gods from the nations in which they were instructed by God to overthrow and not take their ways upon themselves as it would corrupt them into lives of sin, which would in turn bring the curses upon them that they have been warned about over and over.
It is as if Paul is now pleading with the Israelites to open their hardened hearts and eyes to the truth of the gospel as God has given them plenty of time to prove themselves worthy of earning righteousness through keeping the Law, which they have failed miserably at and have twisted into their own way of earning righteousness of comparing themselves to one another as if they could prove to God that because they are “better” than someone else that would earn righteousness for them. God has sent “preachers” to them over and over again, but they have rejected the Law in which God gave them and preached to them, and in doing so, have rejected their own responsibility for the curses that have come upon them for their disobedience to God. And to top it all off, they have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, to whom they have rejected as well.
This is an example of our need to listen to God’s word and implement what we learn from it into our daily lives.
This is an example of our need for putting our faith in God through Jesus, whom He sent to save the world from sin and fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law for us.
This is a great example of showing us the need that we too have of breaking ourselves of our own earthly nature to twist things in ways that adhere to our own standards instead of God’s. We know that we cannot earn righteousness in the eyes of God, so we change the rules to benefit us as if that will make it all better. But this is only the trickery of Satan in this evil world working to keep us away from our Savior – just as he did with the Israelites – it is no different for us – the issue is our self-centered ways that are provoked by Satan. We must turn to God to help us break the chains that Satan has us bound in before we can be made right in the eyes of God – we must turn to Jesus and ask/plead with Him for forgiveness of the sins in our lives that we all must also acknowledge before Him and sincerely open our hearts to Him to fill with His Holy Spirit and make us a new person – in Christ.
Dear LORD,
You have shown us in the storyline of the Old Testament of Your reaching out to us to save us from the evil ways of this world and declare You Lord of lords, King of kings, and the only, Almighty, One true God of gods that can save us from sin, death, and the chains of Satan. Please help us to release our “self” to You that You may make us new people in Christ Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, amen.