God made Israel senseless.

Romans 11:8-10 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.” And David says “Let their table become a snare and a trap, and a stumbling block and a retribution to them. Let their eyes be darkened to see not, and bend their backs forever.” From the day Jesus arrived on the planet until the day Paul wrote to the Romans, God blinded and deafened national Israel to the truth that Jesus is God in the flesh, sent by Him as their Messiah and Savior. Paul said that God gave them a stupor, in the Greek form it is a word literally communicating according to violent piercing. In English, the word stupor means a suspension or great decrease in sensibility. God put them into a senseless state so that they could not see or hear the truth. Another implication from the word stupor is apathy. Paul added David’s prophetic declaration against Israel to support Jeremiah’s prophecy (Jer. 5:21). As we live to love with Jesus, we can also expect that there will be people placed in our paths whose attitudes toward Jesus and thus the gospel and our witness range from apathetic to being violently senseless. Nothing you can do or say will change them. We must be careful not to listen to Satan’s accusations that the reason they aren’t believing or seeing God’s love in us is because we are doing something wrong. Since we are human and aren’t perfect, it is highly possible that we are not loving or sharing perfectly. However, that’s not why they can’t see or hear. It’s because God, for purposes only He knows in His wisdom, has put them in such a senseless state. When this happens, we should first realize that it could have happened also to us. Second, like Paul’s concern for his senseless brethren, we should be concerned and pray for them. Because salvation is by grace through faith that He gives by the power of the Holy Spirit, He can and may open their eyes and ears at any time—just like He did ours. Today let’s walk with compassion and grace toward everyone God puts in our paths as we live to love with Jesus. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com