Romans 11.10-Paul Quotes Psalm 69.23 As Further Support Of His Contention That Israel Was Hardened As A Result Of Unbelief
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday June 30, 2009
Romans: Romans 11:9-Paul Quotes Psalm 69:22 As Support Of His Contention That Israel Was Hardened As A Result Of Unbelief
Lesson # 360
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 11:1.
This evening we will study Romans 11:9 and in this passage, the apostle Paul quotes Psalm 69:22 as further support for his contention that Israel was hardened because of their rejection of Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow evening we will note Romans 11:10 in which Paul quotes from Psalm 69:23 to again further support for his contention that Israel was hardened because of their rejection of Jesus Christ.
Romans 11:1, “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”
Romans 11:2, “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?”
Romans 11:3, “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.”
Romans 11:4, “But what is the divine response to him? ‘I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.’”
Romans 11:5, “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.”
Romans 11:6, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
Romans 11:7, “What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened.”
Romans 11:8, “Just as it is written, ‘GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.’”
Romans 11:9, “And David says, ‘LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.’”
Paul in Romans 11:9 presents an additional witness from the Old Testament, namely David who in addition to Moses (Deuteronomy 29:4) and Isaiah (Isaiah 29:10) prophesied that unsaved Israel in Paul’s day would be judged for their rejection of Christ.
In Romans 11:9, Paul is quoting from Psalm 69:22 (LXX 68:23) and in Romans 11:10 he quotes from Psalm 69:23 (LXX 68:24).
Psalm 69:22-23, “May their table before them become a snare; And when they are in peace, may it become a trap. May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, and make their loins shake continually.”
Psalm 69:22-23 expresses David’s desire in prayer that the table of his enemies would become something that they would stumble over and in Paul’s day, Israel had rejected the Christ, the Lord’s Anointed One, the king of Israel and so Paul applies Psalm 69:22-23 to Israel in his day.
H.C. Leupold commenting on the table mentioned in Psalm 69:22, writes, “The figure involved in the expression ‘Let their table become a snare before them,’ becomes clearer when it is recalled that tables were originally that which was spread on the ground to have food placed upon it. A man might well stumble over such an object or become entangled in it and so be snared by it.” (Exposition of the Psalms, page 507; Baker Book House; Grand Rapids, Michigan)
“LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE” is explained by understanding that in the days of the Psalmist in the middle eastern world the table was often a leather flap laid on the ground, which the psalmist desires may start up as a snare and close upon those eating at the table as they sit securely around it.
Now, Paul is quoting Psalm 69:22 and this expression “let their table become a snare” and is applying it to unregenerate Israel in his day.
Paul is not saying that this flap was literally a snare to his fellow unsaved Jews in his day but rather he is simply taking the principle from the text.
Therefore, it appears that as he did in Romans 10:18 when he quoted Psalm 19:4 by way of analogy, so here in Romans 11:9, Paul is quoting Psalm 69:22 and the expression “let their table become a snare” by way of analogy.
The presence of the intensive personal pronoun autos, “their” functioning as a possessive pronoun is emphasizing that this table is a personal possession of Israel.
Therefore, it appears based upon what Paul has been teaching about the Jews in Romans chapters 9-11 that their own self-righteousness produced by obedience to the Law is what he has in mind (See Romans 9:30-33; Romans 10:3-4).
Now, in Psalm 69:22, David was praying that divine judgment would come upon his enemies, so Paul saw this prayer as being fulfilled in his day with his own unregenerate Jewish countrymen rejecting Christ.
By quoting Psalm 69:2 by way of analogy, Paul is saying that in the same way that David’s Jewish persecutors were judged by God for attacking him, the Lord’s anointed so in the same way God was judging Paul’s unsaved Jewish countrymen in the first century as a result of rejecting the Father’s Anointed, Jesus Christ.
So the table here is analogous to unsaved Israel’s self-righteousness produced by their own obedience to the Law, which does not measure up to Christ’s perfect righteousness and will serve to condemn them at the Great White Throne Judgment according to Revelation 20:11-15.
Romans 11:9, “And David says, ‘LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.’”
“A SNARE” is composed of the preposition eis (ei)$) (ice), which is not translated and the accusative feminine singular form of the noun pagis (pagiv$) (pag-ece), “A SNARE.”
The “SNARE” that David was referring to in Psalm 69:22 was the leather flap that served as a table and David desires that this flap would close upon those who were eating at it securely, thus, David was asking God to judge his enemies.
Paul is using the word pagis by way of analogy for judgment upon unregenerate Israel for rejecting Christ.
This prepositional phrase indicates that the unsaved Jews self-righteousness produced by obedience to the Law would be “tantamount to” or “equivalent to” divine judgment for them since their righteousness does not measure up to the perfect righteousness of Christ.
“A TRAP” is composed of the preposition eis (ei)$) (ice), which is not translated and the accusative feminine singular form of the noun thera (qhvra) (thay-rah), “A TRAP.”
Thayer indicates that from the time of Homer, thera has denoted “a hunting of wild beasts in order to destroy them.” (The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, page 290).
Therefore, figuratively it was used of preparing destruction for men.
In Romans 11:9, the noun thera refers to unsaved Israel being prepared for judgment as a result of their self-righteousness.
This prepositional phrase indicates that the unsaved Jews self-righteousness produced by actions in obedience to the Law would be equivalent to preparing them for divine judgment since their righteousness does not measure up to the perfect righteousness of Christ.
Romans 11:9, “And David says, ‘LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.’”
“A STUMBLING BLOCK” is composed of the preposition eis (ei)$) (ice), which is not translated and the accusative neuter singular form of the noun skandalon (skavndalon) (skan-dal-on), “A STUMBLING BLOCK.”
The noun skandalon means the bait stick of a trap or the stick, which triggers the trapping mechanism the moment a bird or animal makes contact with it.
Paul uses the word in Romans 11:7 in a figurative sense to denote that unsaved Israel’s righteousness produced by obedience to the Law in order to be justified would serve like the bait stick of a trap in that it would trigger divine judgment upon them.
This prepositional phrase indicates that the unsaved Jews’ self-righteousness produced by actions in obedience to the Law would be equivalent to triggering judgment from God.
“A RETRIBUTION” is composed of the preposition eis (ei)$) (ice), which is not translated and the accusative neuter singular form of the noun antapodoma (a)ntapovdoma) (an-tap-od-om-ah), “A RETRIBUTION.”
In Romans 11:9, the noun antapodoma means “retribution” and is applied here to unsaved Israel in Paul’s day and denotes that at the Great White Throne Judgment they will receive retribution for their righteousness produced by obedience to the Law to be justified rather than having faith in Christ to be justified.
Unsaved Israel’s self-righteousness produced by their own obedience to the Law, which does not measure up to Christ’s perfect righteousness, will serve to condemn them at the Great White Throne Judgment according to Revelation 20:11-15.
This prepositional phrase indicates the unsaved Jews’ self-righteousness produced by actions in obedience to the Law would be equivalent to retribution for them since their righteousness would serve as judgment against them because it didn’t measure up to Christ’s perfect righteousness.