Under Gods Command
Romans 11:07-08 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.”
09-10 And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.”
“The others were hardened” was God’s punishment for their sin. It was a confirmation of their own stubbornness. In judging them, God removed their ability to see and hear, and to repent; thus they would experience the consequences of their rebellion. Resisting God is like saying to him, “leave me alone!” But because God is always and everywhere present, his answer to the prayer might be to agree and make that person less sensitive, more hardened to him. The very possibility of that happening ought to keep us asking God specifically for ears that really hear and eyes that really see-openness and responsiveness to him.
These verses describe the punishment for hardened hearts predicted by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-13).
Lets Bring it home: If people refuse to hear God’s Good news, they eventually will be unable to understand it. We need to keep asking God specifically for ears that really hear and eyes that really see.
Under Gods command 