The Depth of the Knowledge of God - Quite Unsearchable

This morning I am reflecting on some verses from Paul's letter to the Romans.  It is his perspective on Israel  (Jewish people) and their future salvation.  Much of the time I feel like the truths that Paul is bringing to light are just touching on the greater truth, and there is much more hidden in God.  This is definitely one of those times.  Here are the verses - Romans 11:25-36 NIV:

[25] "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, [26] and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. [27] And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” 

[28] "As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, [29] for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. [30] Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, [31] so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. [32] For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." 

[33] "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 

[34] “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 

[35] “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” 

[36] For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

As I was reading through these verses this morning, I was very aware of the "long-game" of God.  We tend to think in the very short-term, a few years, maybe a decade or so, but God thinks and plans over centuries, even over millenniums,  and beyond.  We really have no way to fully grasp what He is doing, and as the verses of the ancient song say, quoted by Paul here, His ways are unsearchable, and beyond tracing out.  We just can't grasp the complexity and intricacy and length of His plans!  As great as our great thinkers are, none compares to God.

That being said, we also can't fully know His thoughts about things, as His thinking goes far beyond our ability to grasp.  We can receive an inkling of an idea about how He feels, how He thinks, how He loves, how He responds, but no one has ever fully grasped the depths of all of God.  Take these verses for instance.  Paul is writing about the Jews, and essentially says, God hardened their hearts that a way might be opened for us Gentiles, but that God still loves the Jews, and plans to bring them to salvation, as His plans are to "have mercy on them all", Jew and Gentile alike.  Paul flat out says, "all Israel will be saved".

We read this and think how is that possible, as many of both have passed over into death, how can God plan to express mercy to them all, how can all Israel be saved?   I guess we could press forward and say that from the time of Jesus, all Jews have been made aware of the possibility that He was their Messiah, and have rejected that, and that might be enough for us.  However, I think there is a deeper mystery that Paul is glimpsing.  These are the Chosen people of God, His delight among all nations, and His affections, as His gifts and calls, are irrevocable.  God is never changing, and if they were His chosen people, they still are!  

I was thinking about how that works in God's perspective, and it just doesn't make sense for for them to receive judgment for God's hardening of them, so that the way would be opened for the Gentiles (see verse 25 above). They are His Chosen people, He saved them out of Egypt, established them as their own Kingdom, gave them the Covenant of the Law, and set them up for the coming Messiah.  Then when His Son comes, they miss it, due their hardening and He judges them for their ignorance?   Yet He still loves, them calls them His Chosen people, and has spoken blessing and promise over them here through Paul!  I don't think we have all the facts here, nor can we.  

As I was thinking though this all, I had an idea that is a bit out there and completely new, so please forgive any radical theological implications.  I was thinking that death doesn't mean the same thing to God that it does to us.  We think death is the end, and that our judgments are based on our lives here, but what if that isn't the only consideration in God's perspective?  We know that we are destined for eternity, and our lives here represent the smallest part of our real existence.  We know that Jesus has destroyed the power of death (see Hosea 13:14 - the promise, and Heb 2:14 - the fulfillment).  

This gets me wondering, what is the power of death?  Jesus clearly rose from the dead, and thus death has no grip on Him.  He demonstrated the ability to speak commands to those souls already dead for Lazarus and the son of the widow of Nain, to name a couple.  We are promised that we will be like Christ when He comes again (1 John 3:2), which to me means we will be resurrected beings, no longer under the power of death.  In the Book of Revelations, John is given a message about a second death, ( See Rev. 20:6) and this seems to be the final judgment.  This would indicate that that there is a mid-stage of spiritual life that exists from the first death, to the final second death....  crazy stuff, for sure. 

My point in all of this is simply that we don't fully grasp the reality that we live in, because this reality is hidden in God, and we don't fully grasp Him or His ways.  We have to believe that what He says is true, but certainly not the end of all the truth, for we can't comprehend much of His truth.  His ways are far beyond us, His thoughts are far beyond our comprehension, He thinks and acts over centuries, millenniums and ages, and we must simply say:

[33] "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 

[34] “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 

[35] “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” 

[36] For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

(Rom 11: 33-36 NIV).

Amen and Amen!