“What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 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.’ And David says: ‘Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see and bow down their back always’” (Romans 11:7-10).
Unlike our present day Bibles which divide the Old Testament into four major sections (Law, History, Poetry, and Prophecy), the Hebrews arranged the same books into three sections—the Law of Moses, the Psalms (or Writings), and the Prophets (see Luke 24:44).
This tidbit of information is potent when you consider the fact that at the end of Romans 10 and the beginning of Romans 11, the apostle Paul buttresses his irresistible, Scriptural arguments against Jewish objections to the gospel by quoting from each of these three sections of the Hebrew Old Testament.
In Romans 10:18-21, Moses (in the Law) is quoted in verse 19; David (in the Writings) is quoted in verse 18; and Isaiah the prophet is quoted in verses 20 and 21. Then, in Romans 11:8-10, Isaiah and Moses (in verse 8) and David (in verses 9-10) are quoted.
Implicit in Paul’s use of these quotations from the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets is the powerful point that there is no section of the Old Testament which did not point to the coming of Christ and His gospel. Not only is the gospel of Christ the power of God to salvation, it was specifically promised before through the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets.
It is by the mouth of three independent witnesses that the truth of the gospel being the fulfillment of God’s eternally purposed plan for human redemption is established.
Don’t take my word for this. Take the word of Moses, David, and Isaiah on the matter!
