Turn to the Lord and see

Turn to the Lord and see

Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. – Jeremiah 5:21

Jeremiah 5:21-23

 21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.

 22 Have you no respect for me? Why don’t you tremble in my presence? I, the LORD, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set.

 23 But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned away and abandoned me.

Myopia is an eye disorder in which distant objects appear blurred while near objects appear normal or seen clearly. Myopia occurs when light rays bend (refract) incorrectly. Images are focused in front of the retina rather than on it. It is also referred to as near-sightedness or short-sightedness.

Myopia is corrected with glasses or refractive surgery. LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis) is the most common surgical procedure performed to repair myopia. It is done with a computer-controlled cold laser.

“Although we have much sympathy for a man who cannot read because his eyes are sightless, our attitude is much different toward one who has never learned to read because of laziness or stubbornness. In a country where everyone has an opportunity to learn to read and write, illiteracy is regarded as an inexcusable tragedy.

Spiritual illiteracy is a little different. God is not sparing in His denunciation of those who have had a chance to know Him and His salvation but have despised the opportunity” (Burton L. Goddard).

Spiritual myopia is characteristic of fallen humanity, it is part of our fallen DNA. We are born spiritually blind and our perception of reality is limited and out of focus. Consequently, spiritual truth and reality are fuzzy and out of focus.

2 Corinthians 3:14-16

 14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.

 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.

 16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

REFLECT & PRAY

The Father is always working on earth to accomplish His divine purposes. God is orchestrating history. He is present and in the middle of human activity, and He chooses to involve His servants in carrying out His redemptive plans (Blackaby).

Father You are always speaking. Forgive my stubborn tendency to think I have all the answers. Open my ears that I may hear.

INSIGHT

The Father reaches out to those that do not know Him. He beckons and calls. But sadly most folks are obtuse and resistant.

Jeremiah 5:21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see And ears that do not hear.

Through Jeremiah, the Father presents his indictment against the people of Judah. They have refused to use their eyes to see and ears to hear the Lord’s voice. They did not hear nor believe Jeremiah’s warnings. Jeremiah did not mince words. He called them “foolish and senseless people.”

Sadly, people are clueless regarding their moral blindness and deafness. They are ignorant of their hapless condition. Judah was as unaware and senseless as the lifeless idols they worshiped.

Habakkuk 2:18-19

 18 “What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation – a god that can’t even talk!

 19 What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols, ‘Wake up and save us!’ To speechless stone images you say, ‘Rise up and teach us!’ Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside.

Their “gods” were incapable of helping them in their times of distress. Idols are capable of doing less than nothing. In fact, they do nothing at all because they are dead.

“Judah did not understand what was about to happen because it had no fear of God. The emphasis in ‘should you not fear me?’ is on the object (literally ‘me should you not fear?’). Judah feared and worshiped other gods, but not the true God in whose presence they should have trembled” (F. B. Huey).          

Isaiah 41:23-24

 23 Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead. Then we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything – good or bad! Do something that will amaze and frighten us.

 24 But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all. Those who choose you pollute themselves.

Isaiah 44:19-20

 19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”

 20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

Isaiah 46:7 They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

Jeremiah 10:5 Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.

The Father performed phenomenal and astonishing works of wonder on their behalf. But no matter how spellbinding and powerful His actions were, they just didn’t get it. They were obtuse, almost resistant and inoculated to comprehending what they had seen, heard, or lived through. Moses spoke to this situation at the end of their 40-year wilderness wanderings. They had seen the mighty hand of God free them from slavery in Egypt and sustain them in the wilderness. But they were dull and thickheaded (Deuteronomy 29:2-6).

Deuteronomy 29:4 But to this day the LORD has not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear!

“‘To this day’ suggests that Israel had not yet understood these saving events. Her disobedience and rebellion originated from a mindset that could not fully understand the implications of God’s saving works. Thus apart from divine enlightening, people always remain insensitive to God’s work” (Jack S. Deere). What a horrific dilemma.

2 Corinthians 3:14-15

 14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.

 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.

As Paul delineates their dilemma, he also provides the antidote. How marvelous!.

2 Corinthians 3:16-17

 16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

The veil that lies over people’s hearts is removed when they turn to the Lord in faith.

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© Dr. H 2022