1. So I ask, “Did God force his people to leave him?” Of course not. I myself am an Israelite. I am from the family of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
2. God chose the Israelites to be his people before they were born. And he did not force them to leave. Surely you know what the Scriptures say about Elijah. The Scriptures tell about Elijah praying to God against the people of Israel. He said,
3. “Lord, they have killed your prophets and destroyed your altars. I am the only prophet still living, and they are trying to kill me now.”
4. But what answer did God give to Elijah? God said, “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have never given worship to Baal.”
5. It is the same now. God has chosen a few people by his grace.
6. And if he chose them by grace, then it is not what they have done that made them his people. If they could be made his people by what they did, his gift of grace would not really be a gift.
7. So this is what has happened: The people of Israel wanted God’s blessing, but they did not all get it. The people he chose did get his blessing, but the others became hard and refused to listen to him.
8. As the Scriptures say, “God caused the people to fall asleep.” Isaiah 29:10 “God closed their eyes so that they could not see, and he closed their ears so that they could not hear. This continues until now.” Deuteronomy 29:4
9. And David says, “Let those people be caught and trapped at their own feasts. Let them fall and be punished.
10. Let their eyes be closed so that they cannot see. And let them be troubled forever.” Psalm 69:22-23
11. So I ask: When the Jews fell, did that fall destroy them? No! But their mistake brought salvation to those who are not Jews. The purpose of this was to make the Jews jealous.