What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”
And David says:
“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.” Romans 11:7-10
So why did God give Israel a spirit of stupor, causing them not to see and hear? Entire volumes of data have been researched and written on this and most other major doctrines of the Bible, including this passage. Part of the very short answer lies in the fact hat they were not ready to see and hear. Even though God was watering the seeds of belief, they were still not ready to believe. The information was all there for them to see if they would only notice. We would say it was “as plain as the nose on his face.”
Having 20/20 hindsight, we can see what’s been written and boast about what we would have done had we been in their shoes. Well, not really. If history is any indicator at all, we and any generation of unbelievers since then – Jewish or otherwise – are pretty much alike. We doubt. We fear. We ridicule what we don’t understand. In the end, though, we want proof.
We still want proof. We want proof that if we pray God will answer.
We want proof that if we make a certain life choice it will turn out fine.
But, like Israel back then, we don’t get that proof. We may have the benefit of hindsight after the fact, but that’s all we’re going to get in terms of physical proof.
It brings us back to Faith, faith in God to work out the little things and the big things. It took faith back then; it takes faith today.