I used to hear the following passage harshly, as a prophetic judgement. And it is - a very sad one. But it is also a heart-rending lament.
To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don't really see.
They hear, but they don't really listen or understand.
This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
'When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.' -- Matthew 13:12-15 (NLT)
For they look, but they don't really see. They hear, but they don't really listen ... This is so very grievous because, while we many times ignore God, he bends down to hear us and see us. I think we all have had the experience of talking to someone and you have the feeling that they are looking right at you but not seeing you, and they are hearing your voice but not really listening. And then they abruptly interrupt and change the subject, and you know for sure, and it feels like a rejection.
Aren't these the two things that everyone craves? To be seen and to be heard? And as we are made in his image, could it be that this is what God desires too? Not for himself, at least not completely because he delights in his people - but for us. Out of love for us. Because to hear God is life.
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:4
And to see God is to be fully satisfied.
Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied (sated, satiated, surfeited). Psalm 17:15 (NLT)
And who makes us righteous, but Jesus? And why? So that someday, when we awake, we can dwell with God and see him face to face and be fully satisfied in him. But man in the main has rejected God, and because of this I believe God's great heart was broken long before he hung on the cross and cried, "Why have you forsaken me?"
As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there. Hosea 6:7
Oh, what a heartbreaking sentence! Maybe the most heartbreaking in the whole Bible - they were unfaithful to me there. The Spirit in me grieves every time I read it.
So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. Genesis 6:6 (NLT)
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland! Psalm 78:40
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!" Matthew 23:37
As he [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:41-42
If only ... but now it is hidden from your eyes.
... so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.
O Lord, don't let me break your heart! Give me grace to hear you and listen so to understand, to truly see you. And give me grace to let you heal me.
Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD. Hosea 6:3 (ESV)
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