Tag: turn and be healed

5.k. “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

Job 12:23  He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.

Isaiah 6:9-10    And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’  Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Psalms 107:40     he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;

Isaiah 59:10    We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men.

1 John 2:11   But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Isaiah 19:14   The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

These words of God were written thousands of years ago they still seem to ring true today.  When I look at our leaders and hear their speeches and read the news it is as if eyes are blind and any brain activity has ceased to function.  Boastfully they speak of things that are meaningless in the scope of eternity.  They speak of things temporal as if the course of these things alone will change the world forever.  God is not even a thought in their brains.  Self-serving, self-pride, self-worship, self-reliance, self-grandeur, and self-important all find there way to the surface of what comes out of their mouths.  It is these very people that lead capture the foolish weak-minded people and convince them with worldly speech on things they have no control over.  They speak of changes and future events as if they alone will accomplish that which only God is able to do.  God will confound and confuse these leaders and foolish followers to believe in this worldly wisdom as truth because they have denied God and that He exists.  We need to be mindful of this worldly wisdom and flowery speech and worrisome news reporting.  It can affect the hearts and minds of those who neglect and are complacent with God’s Word.  The reverence of God is the beginning of wisdom.  Without this ever-present reverence, we are never going to grow and mature in the wisdom of things of God.  If we would spend as much time in His Word as we do watching or reading news, or watching or reading about sports there would be such a change in the people of God that the whole world would see and know the difference God’s Word makes in the lives of those who intentionally choose to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow, and obey Him.

Turned their back to Me, not their face

Zechariah 11:15  Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.   For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.  “Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!”

Lamentations 2:14  Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading.

Ezekiel 13:3    Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

Isaiah 6:10   Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Jeremiah 2:26   “As a thief is shamed when caught, so the house of Israel shall be shamed: they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets,  who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us!’

Matthew 15:14    Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

We are given so many examples of the sinful nature we are born with and the consequences of it.  I can’t recall the last time I have heard preaching/teaching warning us of the consequences of a life that is not fully committed to God.  It seems as though all we hear is about God’s grace, mercy, love, and our place in heaven.  These are all true and foundational in our reason for repenting and turning away from sin to God’s redemption.  It seems as though through His great and steadfast love we come to Him for a moment in time and then live as though we are one and done on the decision to follow Him with our whole heart.  We give no thought to what it means to commit with our whole mind, soul and heart and live each day to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey.  Note the scriptures this morning -“As a thief is shamed when caught”….They know they have done wrong in their commitment to God.  Note the choice made – “they have turned their backs to me not their faces but in time of trouble they say save us”.   We are not to take our walk with God lightly.  This walk requires constant time in His word, courage, patience, faith, hope, commitment, heart deep desire to hear and be led by God.  Make God the first thing you commit to each day.