If God’s love and promises are in fact so unswerving, then why does it appear that Israel, the longtime recipient of God’s promises, is on the outside looking in? This is the question Paul bitterly wrestles with in Romans 9-11. As the verses go by, the layers of his answer slowly fold back. First, God’s unpredictable mercy has a way bringing new people to the table, while those who assumed their automatic place at the table may not have a seat now. Second, Israel has long had an unhealthy love for Torah (Jewish law), preferring to keep their big religious machine oiled and running instead of actually hearing the gospel.
Now, in Romans 10, Paul continues to peel back the layers of his answer. He brings Deuteronomy 32 into the conversation: “I will use those who are not a nation to make you jealous; with a foolish nation I will provoke you.” (Romans 10:19) So, God’s eagerness to locate his merciful presence outside the covenant people of Israel serves to make that covenant people jealous, hopefully splashing some cold water on their faces. (As always, today’s Church should heed this warning just as much as ancient Israel should have.)
The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.
Faith comes by hearing.
I (God) have been found by you when you weren’t even looking. I have shown myself to you when you didn’t even ask for it.
These are Paul’s words in Romans 10 (some borrowed from the Old Testament) to awaken the Church to the nearness of God, to remind us that God does not require any religious means by which to mediate his presence to us. He and his word to us are already as close as our mouths and hearts. He is not summoned by religious protocol; he makes himself known whenever and wherever he likes.
This is the only real desire in our hearts – to be with God, to experience God in ways that are unmediated by constant words and rules and maintenance. I think this is why Paul keeps using the word “hearing.” “Faith comes by hearing.” (10:17) He uses it seven times in this passage. In the midst of Paul’s broader point in Romans 9-11 – that Israel is finding itself on the outside looking in, due to God’s mysterious mercy and due to Israel’s unhealthy love of Torah – it is a deliberate act of silence and listening that slices through that big religious machine and creates a space for the gospel and for faith.
Somehow, Paul’s anguish (see Romans 9:1-3) keeps leading us toward a beautiful announcement of God’s presence and mercy. What God really wants is to be near us, to hear from the deep places of our hearts that speak with groans too deep for words, just as we hear from the deep places in his heart. We can’t let our quiet moments go to waste, because they are inherently quiet moments with God. And we can’t substitute the straightforward act of showing up at church and shows of piety for actual intimacy with God. There is no substitute.
The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.
Faith comes by hearing.
I have been found when you weren’t even looking. I have shown myself to you when you didn’t even ask for it.
God is close and present, ready to hear and be heard. Let us be quiet enough and still enough to hear him. Let us find time and ways to regularly practice that quietness and stillness and listening.
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