Response

Romans 11:4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”

What happens when you study your Bible? God speaks to you in ways you likely did not expect, taking you places in scripture you did not know, and his Spirit that dwells within you teaches you these things. I am a word study guy; many times God lays a word on my heart in prayer and I research that word. This morning the word was “response,” for I was in a prayer of thanksgiving for the response of my heart being drawn to him. The study led me to the passage above, where God responds to the prophet Elijah, and tells him that he is not alone. God has designed or allowed all that is happening in that season of his life. The passage took me deeper, speaking of the doctrine of elections and grace, and God’s sovereign design of it all. It reminded me of this women’s movement currently, and how twisted so much of it is.

Romans 11:7-9 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8 Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.” 9 And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them.

In our current events, God’s holy Word can still speak to us in a way we cannot comprehend, because even the events in the history from thousands of years ago, play out currently in our time. God does not see, God does not recognize, God limits our minds with time, but his Holy Word is alive in speaking to all that we see and struggle with this very day. The study takes us deeper into the Old Testament, into the prophet Isaiah, and to the book of Moses, both long before Jesus walked the earth, and Paul wrote the book of Romans.

Isaiah 29:10-14 For the Lord has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers. 11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.” 13 Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, 14 Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

Deuteronomy 29:4 Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.

God is at work in all these “movements” today, just as he was at work in the rebellion of Israel thousand of years ago. Some in any movement mock God, and God has blinded them and condemned them to eternal punishment. Some in any movement will be drawn to God, and they will have a response to him, and their lives will become a testimony to him from the delivery from their sins. All our lives can become a response to our heavenly Lord, Father, and Savior.