Unlimited: Found by Those Who Did Not Seek
May 3, 2023 870
And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me” (Romans 10:20).
Here is a great irony, that often those who don’t look for God find him, yet those who seek him with the greatest zeal never do. Is God playing hide-and-seek with us poor humans? Paul is here restating the reality he had explained earlier in Rom 9:30–31. The Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, obtained it by faith, yet Israel, who pursued righteousness through the law, failed to attain it.
This highlights the questions that Paul has been asking all along. Is God righteous? Is God fair in how he saves us? It highlights that salvation is not through our own desire to be saved, or on our effort (Rom. 9:16), but entirely on God’s merciful goodness.
God cannot be found through the law, or through its works.
Rom. 10:20 actually suggests that we cannot seek God, but instead he will reveal himself to us. We are lost and incapable of coming back to him. But he graciously finds us. This is the lesson of Christ’s Parable of the Good Shepherd (Luke 15:3–7.)
However, the most important thing that Rom. 10:20 highlights is that God cannot be found through the law, or through its works. The reason why Israel did not find God is because they sought him through the wrong means: they sought him through the obedience and works of the law and not through faith (Rom. 3:20.)
Spiritual Application
How earnestly have you sought God in your life? Did you find him and his righteousness through your seeking, or through his gracious revelation to you?
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