What other scriptures warn against ignoring God's messages and signs? Seeing but Not Seeing – Ezekiel 12:2 “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.” God confronts Judah’s willful blindness. The verse is not describing a lack of physical sight or hearing; it is a heart‐level refusal to acknowledge what He is plainly revealing. Scripture repeats this warning from Genesis to Revelation. Echoes in the Law and the Prophets • Deuteronomy 29:4 – “Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.” • 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 – God “sent word to them through His messengers… but they mocked the messengers of God… until the wrath of the LORD… was stirred up beyond remedy.” • Isaiah 6:9-10 – “Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding…’” • Jeremiah 5:21 – “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see and ears but do not hear.” • Zechariah 7:11-13 – “They refused to pay attention… ‘Just as I called and they would not listen, so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the LORD of Hosts.” • Amos 8:11-12 – A famine “for hearing the words of the LORD” falls on those who long ignored them. • Proverbs 29:1 – “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.” Wisdom’s Plea in Proverbs • Proverbs 1:24-26 – “Because you refused my call… I in turn will laugh at your calamity.” • Proverbs 13:13 – “He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” • Proverbs 28:9 – “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayer is detestable.” Jesus’ Urgent Call to Listen • Matthew 13:13-15 – He quotes Isaiah to explain why the crowds “seeing, do not see; and hearing, do not hear or understand.” • Matthew 11:15 – “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” • Luke 19:41-44 – Jerusalem’s destruction comes “because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” • John 12:37-40 – Even with many signs, they “still did not believe,” fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy of blinded eyes. The Early Church Repeats the Warning • Acts 28:26-27 – Paul applies Isaiah 6 to those who “will hear with their ears and never understand.” • Hebrews 2:1-3 – “We must pay closer attention… how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” • Hebrews 3:7-8 – “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” • Hebrews 12:25 – “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.” • 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 – “Do not quench the Spirit… hold fast to what is good.” • James 1:22-25 – Hearers who fail to act are like people who forget their own reflection. Final Pleas in Revelation • Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22 – Seven times: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” • Revelation 3:3 – “Remember… what you have received and heard; hold it fast and repent.” • Revelation 16:9, 11 – Even under judgment “they did not repent or give Him glory.” Living Alert to God’s Voice Scripture consistently portrays spiritual deafness as deliberate resistance, not mere ignorance. The antidote is humble, responsive faith—hearing, believing, and obeying at once. Ezekiel’s generation discovered the cost of ignoring divine warnings; every generation since receives the same gracious but urgent summons: “If you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” |
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