God's Purposes with Israel in the New Testament Age (3): Israel Hardened by God (Romans 11:7-8) by Rev. Angus Stewart
I. The Unsuccessful Seeking
II. The Sovereign Hardening
For more on eschatology, see http://www.cprf.co.uk/eschatologyresources.htm
Homer C. Hoeksema: “Hardening takes place through an operation of the word of God. The problem with hardening is never that a man cannot intellectually understand the word of God. As we have noted, the Lord instructs the prophet to preach clearly, sharply, emphatically, openly, and promiscuously to all, so that it is certain that the objects of his preaching hear the word of God. When the word of God is thus proclaimed, it enters into a man’s natural understanding. The more clearly and the more persistently that word is proclaimed to him, the more sharply his ungodly heart with all its powers sets itself against the word. That is the hardening process. Sometimes you can see that very clearly as covenant children grow up under the preaching of the word and catechetical instruction. A young man or a young woman begins to rebel and to skip catechism and church. The pastor or the elders come to him and admonish him, ‘It’s your duty to be in catechism class; it’s your responsibility to be in church on Sunday.’ At first he probably says, ’Yes, I was wrong; I’ll come back,’ and he does for a while. Soon the same thing happens again. When the elders go to him and admonish him, he is not so ready to listen. He probably says, ‘I don’t care for it’ or, ‘It’s dry’ or, ‘I can’t understand the preaching,’ although he can, of course, if only he uses his God-given brainpower. Very reluctantly he comes for a little longer, but soon the same thing happens again. The elders want to go to see him; perhaps they make an appointment, but when they come, he is not there. He does not want to listen to them. When finally they catch up with him and admonish him, he says, ‘No, you can talk all you want, but I’m not coming to catechism, and I’m not coming to church; I’m going out into the world.’ He is hardened. There is a process in operation in hardening, a process that takes place under the preaching of the word. The more clearly and more persistently the word of God comes to the ungodly, the more their ungodly heart with all its powers sets itself against the word. Thus the hardening and becoming ripe for destruction take place through the means of the good word of God” (Redeemed Through Judgment, vol. 1, pp. 114-115).