God will have a people for Himself. He reserved seven thousand who hadn’t bowed the knee to Baal. He can have mercy where He wants to have mercy. He can make sure there are seven thousand hearts not turned to an idol, if He so chooses. God will ensure there is always a remnant. God’s covenant promises will stand because He will make sure some will stand in the promises.

We are saved by grace. It is God’s gift to us. We don’t achieve it by our works.

Paul says the rest of Israel is blinded. They have eyes that don’t see and ears that don’t hear. Why? Is God refusing salvation and blocking it for those who otherwise would be seeking it?

In Matthew we have recorded Jesus’ words quoting Isaiah: “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”

They didn’t see because they closed their eyes. They didn’t hear because they were hard of hearing. Their hearts were dull. Jesus wasn’t denying anyone salvation. They closed their eyes to the truth.

The miracle of salvation is that any are saved. Salvation is a work of God and His enormous mercy.

The Bible says God loves all and Christ died for all. When the Jews fail to embrace Christ, the gospel turns to the Gentiles. But even in that gift to the rest of the world, God’s working good for Israel, wanting to provoke them to jealousy, so that they would desire Him.

The Gentiles in being saved become part of the chosen people. We get grafted in as a branch on the olive tree.

We throw ourselves on God’s mercy, always trusting His goodness, and always knowing His perfect wisdom and knowledge are way greater than ours.

From Him and to Him are all things. To God be the glory forever!