Rm 11, 1-10 Has God rejected his people?

Romans 11

(Rm 11, 1-10) Has God rejected his people?

[1] I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Of course not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. [2] God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? [3] "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life." [4] But what is God's response to him? "I have left for myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal." [5] So also at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. [6] But if by grace, it is no longer because of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. [7] What then? What Israel was seeking it did not attain, but the elect attained it; the rest were hardened, [8] as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of deep sleep, eyes that should not see and ears that should not hear, down to this very day." [9] And David says: "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; [10] let their eyes grow dim so that they may not see, and keep their backs bent forever."

(CCC 218) In the course of its history, Israel was able to discover that God had only one reason to reveal himself to them, a single motive for choosing them from among all peoples as his special possession: his sheer gratuitous love (Cf. Deut 4:37; 7:8; 10:15). And thanks to the prophets Israel understood that it was again out of love that God never stopped saving them and pardoning their unfaithfulness and sins (Cf. Isa 43:1-7; Hos 2). (CCC 219) God's love for Israel is compared to a father's love for his son. His love for his people is stronger than a mother's for her children. God loves his people more than a bridegroom his beloved; his love will be victorious over even the worst infidelities and will extend to his most precious gift: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son"(Jn 3:16; cf. Hos 11:1; Isa 49:14-15; 62 :4-5; Ezek 16; Hos 11). (CCC 220) God's love is "everlasting" (Isa 54:8): "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you" (Isa 54: 10; cf. 54:8). Through Jeremiah, God declares to his people, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you" (Jer 31:3).