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.