When God Turns Away

23 So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. 24 And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. 25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, 26 saying,

"Go to this people and say:
' Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.'" [Isaiah 6:9-10]

28 "Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles , and they will hear it!"

Acts 28:23-28 (NKVJ)

Will God's grace be available to all people forever? What happens when God turns away? In the passage above, Paul has gone to the Jewish leaders, as was his practice, and explained Jesus to them beginning with the Law and the Prophets. His "sermon" lasted from morning until evening! And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.

Paul, who was also Jewish, had a great love for his people, desiring that they should all come to the knowledge of the truth. In frustration at their disbelief, he quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, shown above. Then look at the sobering words of verse 28, " Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!" Why is this sobering? The implication is that there is a time when unbelief is so great that God turns away.

In this case, when God turns away from the Jewish people, He sends Paul to the Gentiles, because they will hear it!

Our world is filled with spiritual blindness; this blindness has even reached into the church of God. Satan's deceptions are so crafty that even God's very own people would be deceived without the intervention of Christ. On what are you depending? Yourself? Even as Christians, we must always remember that it is through the power of God that we are kept faithful to Him.

Pray today that you are not deceived and that you will never experience a time when God turns away.