“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.” (Isaiah 6:8–13, ESV)
I thought I would open up a discussion on this challenging text. According to the Lord's directive to Isaiah, it appears that God is telling Isaiah to make Israel deaf and blind. It appears as though God does not want them to be healed. How do you explain this and what do you make of the "burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled?" If God desires people to be saved, why would he send messengers to prevent people from "understanding" or being healed? Jesus also quotes this passage in reference to his parables. Was Jesus, the great healer, also striving to keep people from being healed?
I thought I would open up a discussion on this challenging text. According to the Lord's directive to Isaiah, it appears that God is telling Isaiah to make Israel deaf and blind. It appears as though God does not want them to be healed. How do you explain this and what do you make of the "burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled?" If God desires people to be saved, why would he send messengers to prevent people from "understanding" or being healed? Jesus also quotes this passage in reference to his parables. Was Jesus, the great healer, also striving to keep people from being healed?