ROMANS 11:8

“just as it is written: ‘GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.’”

I have known several blind people or others who were deaf, but I have never known a blind and deaf person. One of the most famous was Helen Keller who lost her sight and hearing after an illness when she was 19 months old. She was taught by her teacher, Anne Sullivan, how to communicate by feeling lip movements and reading braille. She eventually learned to speak. Check out the 1962 movie, “The Miracle Worker,” to see this remarkable story.

Paul uses an Old Testament passage to show the extreme disregard of the Gospel message by the Jews. He calls them blind and deaf. Scholars disagree which passage Paul is referencing. One is found in Isaiah 29:10 “For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes—the prophets; And He has covered your heads—the seers.” Another is Deuteronomy 29:4 “Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.” But my favorite is found in the calling of Isaiah as a prophet in Isaiah 6. In verse 10 we read, “Make the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes blind, So that they will not see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.” Regardless of which passage Paul had in mind, the message is clear. The Jews refused to see or hear.

APPLICATION

Go back to the phrase “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR,” in today’s verse. What does that mean? The Greek word for “stupor” is katanuxis, and it only occurs in this verse. Look at this description of the word. “The word refers to a condition of spiritual numbness—a deadening of the faculties of perception so that truth is heard without being grasped and seen without being perceived. It is not mere ignorance but a divinely permitted torpor that seals the heart against repentance until the appointed time of mercy.” (Topical Lexicon)

So, let me ask you again if you have known any blind and deaf people – spiritually? I bet you have. I have known many who could not see the truth or hear the truth. Some of these people were good people. They lived pretty moral lives, but they couldn’t see or hear how much God loved them and had a plan for their lives. They thought they were fine just like they were.

But just like Paul’s eyes were opened when Ananias laid his hands on him, anyone who wants to see the truth and hear the truth can once they turn to Jesus. Jesus healed the blind and deaf. He is still doing that today. If you know someone who falls into that category spiritually, continue to speak truth to them. Perhaps they will have their eyes and ears opened through the Holy Spirit’s wooing.

I was blind and deaf, Lord, until You opened my eyes and ears. Thank You for touching me.

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