I never met my great-grandfather Curtis on my mother’s side. He died before I was born. He used to walk the train tracks from Whitesville, Kentucky to Owensboro. He had no means of transportation and the tracks were the straightest path between neighboring towns. One day a train came up from behind him as he walked down the tracks and he was killed. My great-grandfather Curtis could no longer hear, so he did not know it was coming. God gave us five senses so we could navigate an often dangerous world safely and efficiently. When we lose those senses, the dangers of life increase exponentially.
The Bible talks a lot about leprosy. We now call it Hansen’s disease and there are still about 100 cases diagnosed in America every year. We have medications to treat it now, so we no longer have leper colonies here, but there are hundreds of leper colonies still operating around the globe. Leprosy is caused by a bacterium that eats away the flesh and along with it the nerve endings. Lepers lose their ability to feel anything in their limbs. They don’t know that their hand is lying on the burner or too near the fire. They cannot feel it. Pain is often thought of as an evil thing. Chronic pain is toxic, but pain is necessary and good. It tells us when we are in danger by alerting our brains through the sense of touch.
Blindness is easily seen as a bad thing. We can learn to accommodate it but only by heightening the other senses we still have. Recently it was announced that Dame Judi Dench was going blind due to macular degeneration. Her response is noble, but I feel her loss. God knows how Helen Keller must have felt without the ability to see, hear or speak. She was trapped in a prison of darkness and deafness with no way to communicate or express her most basic feelings and needs. She was not always impaired like that. She developed scarlet fever or meningitis-like symptoms at 19 months of age that robbed her of her sight and hearing.
Her “savior” was a woman named Anne Sullivan who taught her to read lips with her fingers. Anne taught her how to fully communicate by spelling words out on Helen Keller’s hand until she learned how to speak them. Helen Keller went on to be an author, a lecturer and a political activist. Can you imagine how liberated she must have felt?
There is another kind of problem people face in this regard. All of their senses work perfectly, but a brain injury or deterioration no longer allows them to accurately interpret the data presented by their senses. They have “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” The Bible tells us that this condition is the cause of the spiritual destruction of the human race. Mankind goes astray because they spiritually develop “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.”
We are born intact spiritually. We have a conscience and most of us have a functioning set of senses to teach us what is true. Paul told the Romans in chapter one of his Epistle to the Romans that “what can be known about God is evident within us having been revealed in all that has been created.” In the second chapter of Romans Paul goes on to say what can be known about right and wrong is implanted in all men in what we call their “conscience.” For these reasons we are, every one of us, “without excuse” when we stand before God to give an account of our lives.
Rom 1:18-23 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. NASB
Rom 2:14-16 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. NASB
Theologians agree that those who die before they reach the age of reason and those who are mentally ill will not be held accountable for sin because they are incapable of choosing to do good or evil. Civil courts also hold that children below a certain age and those with mental defects cannot be held criminally accountable for their actions. The rest of us are subject to judgment in both civil and heavenly courts because we are created with “senses” that warn us and direct us to do the right things. Therefore, we are “without excuse.”
So why do we then sin so frequently and do so many bad things? Partly it is because we are self-willed and we knowingly rebel against God’s Torah laws. We push aside the dictates of our conscience in order to satisfy our desires. But largely we offend God because we quit seeing evil as evil and good as good. Like Helen Keller, we become infected with a” meningitis of a spiritual nature” that prevents our heart from recognizing what our fully functioning senses are telling us.
We develop what the Bible calls “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” That spiritual illness eventually results in what the scripture calls “sin” or “iniquity”. Far too often we sin because we no longer think of evil as being evil. Our spiritual blindness and deafness are caused by an infected heart, the “brain” of our spiritual being. The specific sin that causes “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear” is idolatry; i.e., putting anything ahead of our relationship with God.
Both Old and New Testament agree that there are Two Great Commandments. The first is to “Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind and body,” and the second is like it, to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” From these two commandments flow all of the Law and the prophets, Jesus said. Under these two are ten sub-commandments and under them are 613 rules and regulations, about half of which are positive “Dos” and the other half of which are negative “Don’ts.”
The violation of the Second Great Commandment is to abuse, neglect or fail to assist our neighbor. The penalty is that “Whatever you do into others will be done unto you.” The violation of the First Great Commandment is idolatry, having anything as more important than God in our lives. The penalty for that is that we develop “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” It is idolatry that corrupts our heart and keeps us from understanding what our eyes see and what our ears hear.
We tend to think of idolatry as something that involves a statue or a physical object, but that is not the only way God sees it. Among the things that can and do become idols in our lives are our careers, our money, our personal goals and ambitions, our hobbies, our leisure activities, and everything from sexual activity to shopping. People are often idols
in that they are more important to us than God is. Jesus said we must love God more than we love even our parents, our spouses, our children, even our very lives.
Idolatry is subtle like a virus or a bacterium that is not visible but takes us over and shuts down or alters our physical being, often without us realizing it. When Jesus told the “rich, young ruler” to sell all that he had and “Come follow Me,” He was identifying an idol in that man’s life; i.e., his fortune. Religious behaviors and good works can and do become idols in our lives when they become more important or even substitutes for an intimate relationship with God.
If we choose something to be more important to us than is God, He will try to reach us through the prophets, through the Word and through the Holy Spirit. But if we insist on having our way, God will give us over to our own will and the resultant dulling effect it has on our hearts and minds. He will not force, coerce or compel us to good behavior. (Your mother might, but God will not ?.) Paul explains it in his letter to the Romans this way:
Rom 11:7-8 What then? That which Israel is seeking for, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; 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.” NASB
When Paul was able to preach to the Romans in person, he said it again, this way:
Acts 28:23 So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s house. He told them about the Kingdom of God and taught them about Jesus from the Scriptures — from the five books of Moses and the books of the prophets. He began lecturing in the morning and went on into the evening. 24 Some believed and some didn’t. 25 But after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul: “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26 saying, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; 27 For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I should heal them. ” NASB
Paul here is quoting Isaiah who is quoting God directly when God sent Isaiah to confront Israel on their constant and continuous decision to put other things ahead of their obedience to God. It had been 800 years since God delivered them from Egypt, met them at Sinai, provided for them in the wilderness and given them the Promised Land through miraculous victories over their enemies. They had been warned countless times, forgiven countless times and rescued from their consequences countless times.
It was time to deal severely with their idolatry, so he sent Isaiah with the ultimate bad news. God is going to judge them severely. It cannot be changed. It is too late to repent. God is going to let them suffer the consequences of their persistent idolatry and the consequences would last until the Messiah comes at the end of time. And the consequences were, you guessed it, “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.”
Isaiah 6:8-12 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand.’ 10 “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, houses are without people, and the land is utterly desolate, 12 “The LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. NASB
Isaiah, who frequently talks about “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear,” tells us just how stupid it gets. We cut down a tree and with one half we carve a god to worship and with the other half we cook our dinner.
Isaiah 44:12-20 The man shapes iron into a cutting tool, and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers, and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes, and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house. 14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak, and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image, and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for thou art my god.” 18 They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 And no one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” NASB
Paul explains exactly the same phenomenon, again to the Romans.
Rom 1:21-32 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. NASB
Isaiah was not the only prophet to warn the people of this problem. The same theme was taken up by many of the Old Testament writers including Jeremiah, Ezekiel and David.
Jer 5:19-21 “And it shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’ 20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah, saying, 21 ‘Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not; who have ears, but hear not. NASB
Ezek 12:1-2 Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. NASB
The problem of “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear” was not just a problem for the people of Israel. It was as old as mankind and common in all peoples. David points out that the idols of men are deaf, dumb and blind and render us all the same way:
Ps 135:15-18 The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, the work of man’s hands. 16 They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. 17 They have ears, but they do not hear; nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them. NASB
The problem with developing “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear,” is that we can no longer see truth objectively. We begin to believe that sin is okay and that the word of God is silly, old-fashioned, unsophisticated, puerile, outdated, simplistic and just plain dumb. We easily violate the Torah Law and we “also give hearty approval to those who practice them,” because we can no longer see the truth. We then live in a confusion of our own making. Our spiritual blindness and deafness is self-imposed. Therefore, we are without excuse.
The world tells us that sin is okay and we believe it because we idolize the world more than we love God. We become susceptible to the culture’s Jedi mind tricks. The world says, “It is okay to have sex outside of marriage” and we respond, “It is okay to have sex outside of marriage.” The world says, “Morality is subjective, cultural and changes over time,” and we respond, “Morality is subjective, cultural and changes over time.” The world says that, “Religion has no place in public life,” and we respond, “Religion has no place in public life.” The world says that “Man evolved from a monkey,” and we respond, “Man came from a monkey.”
Jesus came to restore the truth of God to God’s people, at least to those who wanted to hear it. Jesus warned His listeners to listen carefully to what He had to say. He often finished his teachings by saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matt 11:14-16, Matt 13:9, Matt 13:43, Mark 7:16, and many others.)
The Bible tells us that God reveals Himself to those who sincerely seek Him, but He does not “cast His pearls before swine;” i. e., those who have no regard for those “pearls.” If someone desires to NOT hear the truth because they love their false ways, God will not allow them to hear the truth, He will not force revelation down anyone’s throat. That’s why Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. Revelation is ALWAYS a gift given only to those who really seek it, who want it is spite of its cost to them. He called it a pearl of great price that makes one “buy the whole field” in order to “obtain the treasure” (Mt 13:44-46).
Matt 13:10-17 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And He answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 “For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 “And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; 15 For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I should heal them.’6 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears , because they hear . 17 “For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. NASB
God’s truth is freely available to anyone who wants to understand it. The purpose of the Bible, the words of the prophets, the words of Moses’ Law and the teachings of Jesus is that we might come to know God better, to serve him more correctly and to relate to Him more intimately. God’s message is given to be understood (see below), but only by those who want to understand it, not by those who do not want to hear it.
Mark 4:21-2421 And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a peck-measure, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22 “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it should come to light. 23 “If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.” NASB
Often we say we want to know the Lord, but what we really want is to stay out of trouble, to avoid Hell. This is the problem with the unbiblical emphasis of teaching people to accept Jesus only as their Savior. It focuses on avoiding Hell. The Bible teaches us to lead people to accept Jesus, first and foremost, as their Lord. It focuses us on obedience to God and to His king, Jesus. It focuses up on the fact that God is our Master and we are to be disciples, servants and obedient sons and daughters.
Salvation does proceed from that relationship, but salvation is not the main focus of Jesus’ message. Lordship and discipleship are the main focus. Jesus sometimes got frustrated with His disciples for focusing on the wrong point. They focused on miracles. He wanted them to focus on having a personal relationship with God from whom all miracles come.
Mark 8:17-21 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? 18 “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “And when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.” 21 And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” NASB
The question really is, “Do we in our day understand?” The Lord is always reminding me to make these lessons practical (and He usually uses my wife to tell me that ?). So why is this important to you and me? Are we just to understand how Israel went wrong in the olden times, or is there an important message for you and me now, in this age. You bet your sweet bippy!!! (Only those who have ever seen the TV show “Laugh in” will understand that remark ?).
Let’s get back to that train barreling down the track just about to clobber us from behind. If we do not know that the judgment of God is about to come upon us for our behaviors, and if we do not think we have any behaviors to be judged, that train will make an awful mess in our lives when it hits. We will be like lepers who do not know that our lives are going up in smoke. We will not be able to feel the fire, to smell the fire or understand that we are in trouble. We probably already do everything we think God wants from us, at least the big things He requires.
But are we aware that we may be blind and deaf to things that are harmful to our spiritual well-being? Are we in daily conversation with God about the things He wants to change in us? Can we point to the recent work He had done in our lives, the recent changes that have been made in us? Are we actively engaged in focused Bible study, small group accountability and daily conversations with the Lord wherein we ask Him to show us our sin and send His Holy Spirit to take it out of our lives? Do we identify with David as he prayed in Ps 51.
Ps 51:1-4 For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge.
David was so repentant for his sin, that he wrote a Psalm about it and then published it. The Psalms were organized by David into a regular liturgy used in the Jewish Temple and synagogue worship. He created 5 divisions of Psalms and rotated them throughout the calendar year. He did not try to hide his sin, but instead, he acknowledged it openly as a part of his repentance and as an example to his subjects.
He begs God to “wash him from his iniquity and cleanse him of his sins.” He is asking God to deal not only with this particular offense, but also his sin nature in general; i.e., his iniquity. We also should be asking God daily to take away our iniquity. David acknowledges that although he has sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba, his real offenses have been against the Lord. He also acknowledges that God is right to judge him for these sins. He does not justify himself in any way.
Ps 51:5-9 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness. Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice. 9 Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
He points out to God that our sin nature is in us from conception as a result of the Fall. He has it (sin nature). His parents had it. It is there from the beginning. He has a bias for sin. So do we if we will admit it. David pleads with God to wash him and cleanse him; i.e., to sanctify him, so that he will not operate in that sin bias but rather in the Spirit of God.
Paul says that we are born into the fallen world but are born again into the Kingdom of God. We can dwell in either one, but it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to change us. We should ask God to kill (crucify) our flesh and renew a right spirit in us; i.e., the Spirit that Adam and Eve had before the Fall. He also asks God to forgive AND forget his sins
once they are dealt with. So should we. David had a well-developed theology for an Old Testament man.
Ps 51:10-13 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee.
Here is the heart of his prayer and we should pray it ourselves as often as we pray the Lord’s Prayer. David asks for a restoration of relationship with God. He knows that all salvation is based in relationship and that all relationship is based in trust. He knows that it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that allows him (and us) to walk in ways that are pleasing to the Father. He knows that only the Holy Spirit in us can help us to “stop sinning.”
Ps 51:14-17 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation. Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Thy praise. 16 For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it. Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. NASB
Here David is asking God to not only remove his sin, but also his guilt. God will do that if we ask. Paul said so in Romans 8:1 when he wrote, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Our inner joy comes from being no longer guilty as much as from being no longer sinful. David also realizes and acknowledges that God wants a broken spirit and a contrite heart, not sacrifices and other religious ritual. God seeks to have a right relationship with us. That is the definition of righteousness.
David sinful actions with Bathsheba caught him by surprise. Oh, he knew it was sin, but it had not dawned on him just how far he had strayed from God until he woke up one day and heard the prophet tell him the truth. Like a frog in the water, David was gradually being boiled alive in his iniquity, but he did not see it until it was too late. They say “It’s good to be king” and kings do have special privileges, but “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” unless we are in daily conversation with God about it.
David had not been talking to the Lord for a while and he had developed “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” I am sure David’s conscience was screaming at him like a train whistle, but he could not hear it. Now he was hearing it, but it was already mowing him down. Like a top executive of a Fortune 500 company doing the “perp walk” on TV in handcuffs, David was asking “What happened?” So David asks God to help him not let that happen again.
1 Cor 3:10-15 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds upon it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day (of judgment) will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. NASB
Once we become Christians, we all build on “that foundation which is Christ” in us. Some of us build on it things that have no lasting spiritual or eternal value (hay, wood and stubble). Others build on it with things of spiritual and eternal value (gold, metal and precious jewels). When judgment day comes the first man will show up in Heaven smelling of smoke because everything he built after his salvation
was spiritually worthless. God was talking to Him all those years but he was not listening. He had developed “eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear. “
Think of it as developing spiritual cataracts.
Another man began as soon as possible after salvation to seek the Lord about how he could become sanctified, set apart to God, dedicated to God’s service, made able to participate more and more in God’s service, cleansed of his sin and of his iniquity so He could be more pleasing to his Lord. That man built with gold, metal and precious jewels,
things which survive the purging fire of God’s judgment. That man had asked God to give him “eyes that could see the truth and ears that could hear the truth.”
So instead of a depraved mind, he obtained a renewed mind. He was not caught unaware of his sin or his judgment, because that discussion occurred daily in this lifetime. He showed up in Heaven smelling of the sweet fragrance of Jesus’ cleansing blood. Both men, as far as I can see, went to Heaven. This is not a message about going to Heaven or Hell when we die. This is a message for believers about how to live in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in this lifetime.
Isaiah tells us what happens when the king of Heaven rules in the land or when we allow Him to rule in our hearts individually. He heals blind eyes and deaf ears, and He heals the hearts of those who have “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” Our minds will then be able to discern truth and our mouths can then speak it clearly. We will no longer have “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.” We will then be able to walk more pleasingly with God.
Isa 32:1-5 Behold, a king will reign righteously, and princes will rule justly. 2 And each will be like a refuge from the wind, and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land. 3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, and the ears of those who hear will listen. 4 And the mind of the hasty will discern the truth, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly. 5 No longer will the fool be called noble, or the rogue be spoken of as generous. NASB