“Did not Israel know?”
The full verse · Romans 10:19 · KJV
I , ? , will to them that are , and a I will .
Asked by
Paul: the apostle writing to the church at Rome, showing that Israel's own Scriptures foretold the call of the Gentiles (Romans 10:19-20)
The Scene
Paul has just shown that the message went "into all the earth" (Romans 10:18), and now turns to whether Israel understood what God had said.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul presses the point one step further. Israel had heard; but did they know? Barnes reads the question as a strong "yes": Israel's own Scriptures had told them the gospel would go to the Gentiles. Gill prefers to read the question this way: "did not Israel know, that the Gentiles were to be called by the grace of God, and that they themselves were to be cast off?" He also mentions that "Some supply the word" God, reading it as "did not Israel know God?" Either way, the question removes the excuse of ignorance.
The Response
What Scripture recordsPaul answers from Moses: "I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you" (Romans 10:19, quoting Deuteronomy 32:21). Then from Isaiah: "I was found of them that sought me not" (Romans 10:20). Finally God's own word about Israel: "All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people" (Romans 10:21). Israel had been told, again and again.
Historical Context
The world behind the words"First Moses" means Moses is the first witness Paul calls, followed by Isaiah (Romans 10:20). The quotation comes from the Song of Moses, where God says Israel "moved me to jealousy with that which is not God," so He would "move them to jealousy with those which are not a people" (Deuteronomy 32:21). Gill explains "them that are no people" as the Gentiles, "not as yet openly and visibly the people of God," and the "foolish nation" as people "without a true knowledge of God, Christ, and the Gospel." Barnes remarks that God has a right to bestow His favors on whom He pleases, and that "there is no doctrine that proud man hates so cordially as he does the doctrine of divine sovereignty."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyGod's dealings with Israel were never hidden. Moses had already warned that because Israel moved God to jealousy with idols, God would move Israel to jealousy with "those which are not a people" (Deuteronomy 32:21). God would bless people Israel looked down on, so that Israel would see what it had refused.
That jealousy is not God giving up. Paul later says that salvation came to the Gentiles "for to provoke them to jealousy" (Romans 11:11), and he hopes to "provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them" (Romans 11:14). The Father's hands stay stretched out (Romans 10:21).
Look Closer
How does Paul show that Israel did know?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, You kept Your hands stretched out to people who resisted You; where have I known Your will and still held back, and what would You have me do?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- What makes it hard to respond to something God has made plain in His word?
- Have you ever been stirred to seek God by seeing His work in someone you didn't expect? What happened?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Knowing is not the same as responding. Israel had the Scriptures that spoke of the Gentiles being called, and many still resisted (Romans 10:19-21). Hearing God's word many times can make it easy to stop listening.
When you see God at work in someone you did not expect, let it stir you toward Him, not toward resentment. God's purpose in that kind of jealousy is to draw people home (Romans 11:11, 14).
This does not mean God has turned His back on those who resist. He says, "All day long I have stretched forth my hands" (Romans 10:21). His patience is still an invitation.
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