In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. (Matthew 13:14, NIV 1984).
Go and tell this people: “Be ever hearing but never understanding; be ever seeing but never perceiving.” Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. (Isaiah 6:9–10, NIV 1984).
The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.” (Matthew 13:10–13, NIV 1984).
My Musing – This prophecy of Isaiah occurred “in the year that King Uzziah died.” (Isaiah 6:1, NIV 1984). This would have been around 758 B.C. This prophecy reached its ultimate fulfillment when the Jewish people rejected Christ as their Messiah and called for His crucifixion. “‘Here is your king,’ Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!’ ‘Shall I crucify your king?’ Pilate asked. ‘We have no king but Caesar,’ the chief priests answered. Finally, Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.” (John 19:14–16, NIV 1984).
God is not making the hearts of the people “calloused.” Constant rejection of His word is. Hardening of the heart is a gradual process. In the beginning, they will not see or hear the truth. The longer this persists, a point is reached where they cannot see or hear the truth. “Otherwise,” [if they had not been so persistent in their rejection] they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.“
My Advice – “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:15, NIV 1984). For a day may come, when you can no longer “hear His voice.”
The Brew Is A Musing 