But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: "I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will anger you by a foolish nation."
Truth to Learn
God’s gentle prodding is to provoke us to action. If we continually resist Him, it may provoke us to anger.
Behind the Words
In the phrase “did Israel not know?” Paul uses the same double negative, mē ouk, that he employed in the previous verse. We could paraphrase it as, “did Israel really not know?”
“Provoke” is from paradzēloō, which is made up of para, meaning “beside” or “alongside” and dzēloō, meaning “to be zealous.” It refers to coming alongside and exciting or provoking someone, like one would prod an animal to make it move.
The words “anger you” are from a similar word. It is parorgidzō, which means “to come alongside and anger someone” (perhaps by continually prodding them).
Meaning Explained
Paul starts off this verse with, “Did Israel not know?” The implication is that Israel should have known, but they didn’t. The question that we have to ask ourselves is, “Know what?” Clearly, Paul has been talking about all people having evidence of God’s supremacy and man’s inability to be as righteous as God. But I don’t think that’s what Paul is referring to in this verse. Based on what he says in the following verses, I think Paul is referring to the fact that Israel clearly should have known that God was going to turn from the Jews and the message was going to go out to the Gentiles.
In order to make this point, Paul now quotes Moses from the fifth book of the Bible. In Deuteronomy 32:21 he says:
They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not a God; they have angered me by their vanities. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will make them angry by a foolish nation.
Here’s a summary of what Moses is talking about in Deuteronomy 32: The greatness of God (verse four), God’s care for Israel, (verses nine and ten), the way Israel turned from God (verses sixteen through eighteen), and how God will respond by provoking Israel (verse twenty-one). Israel continually turned away from God and resisted Him so that in the end He provoked them to anger.
Paul’s point is clear. If the Israelites had studied their scriptures then they would have known that God would turn to the Gentiles because of the unfaithfulness of Israel. The problem was that too many of the Israelites did not know what was written in their scriptures.
Application
Let us all take a word of caution from this. Do you know what God wants and expects from you? Do you know what He instructs us to be and to do? Do you read and study your Bible so you will understand God’s plan for you? Do you know what God has in store for you and the future of mankind?
If you do, that’s great! If you don’t, why not? Do you want God to provoke you to anger like He did to Israel? Or will you listen to Him and be stirred to action?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved
