Tonight, I do hope you can attend our (online) Bible study as we continue in our study of Isaiah 6. Tonight's focus is on Isaiah 6:9-10. There is much to give thought to. Notes are attached.

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LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

JULY 30, 2025

Isaiah 6

vv. 9-10

8 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.”

9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

10 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.”

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This is an unexpected word!

It is a word of judgment—and challenging irony—and warning. There are many other similar passages

in Scripture.

“Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let

him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.’”—Ezekiel 3:27

“As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD: Go serve every one of you his idols,

now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane

with your gifts and your idols.—Ezekiel 20:39

“Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices

every morning, your tithes every three days; offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is

leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of

Israel!” declares the Lord GOD.—Amos 4:4-5

Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the

holy still be holy.” “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay

each one for what he has done.—Revelation 22:11-12

Jesus sheds light on the passage in the way that he quotes it, revealing that those in Isaiah’s day were

responsible for their spiritual blindness and deafness—and pointing to the crowds that were listening to

him as being in a similar condition.

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he

answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to

them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an

abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I

speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do

they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

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For this people's heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many

prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what

you hear, and did not hear it.—Matthew 13:10-17 (italics mine)

John’s analysis provides a complementary perspective, one in which the action God has taken is

emphasized:

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done

so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the

prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”a

Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

“He has blinded their eyes

and hardened their heart,

lest they see with their eyes,

and understand with their heart, and turn,

and I would heal them.”

41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even

of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that

they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more

than the glory that comes from God.—John 12:36-43 (italics mine)

This is Paul’s reference to the same passage to the “local leaders of the Jews” upon his initial arrival in

Rome:

And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy

Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

“‘Go to this people, and say,

“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

27 For this people's heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed;

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.’

28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they

will listen.”—Acts 28:25-28 (italics mine)

There seem here to be at least two observations on this passage:

1. The people are held responsible and accountable for their dull hearts and their resistance to

God’s repeated messages to them.

a Isaiah 53:1

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2. There also is a word that a judgment has been pronounced on them—and so they may now be

consigned by God to continue in their unbelieving state

8 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and

unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what

can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For

his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly

perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So

they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as

God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish

hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged

the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and

animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts

to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they

exchanged the truth about 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 up

to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that

are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women

and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts

with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 And since they

did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what

ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil,

covetousness, malice …”—Romans 1:8-29 (italics mine)

9 “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs

and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because

they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong

delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned

who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.—2 Thessalonians

2:9-12

Two general observations:

1. We do not see descriptions in Scripture of people being consigned over to sin and darkness by

God for no explicable reason whatsoever except that God decided to do it. God does not

judge people arbitrarily, but he looks at the heart and the actions of a person that flow from

his heart.b

2. By the same token, Scripture does not support the notion that some (many!) Christians seem to

have, namely, that God has guaranteed that everyone has an opportunity to be saved every

moment they live until they die—that the door of opportunity is always open. The Bible

never encourages such a point of view. On the contrary, the Bible is filled with warnings to

those who would resist God, who would put him off, who would test his patience and grace.

People can only come to Christ if God opens the door, and there is no promise that God will

keep that door open no matter what a person does. Jesus never chased after anyone who

rejected him. He did not have pleading or encouraging words for the Scribes and Pharisees

and Sadducees who rejected him. It is never safe or wise to presume upon God.

b Some disagree with this view and have done so for hundreds of years. We will not settle this matter for all people tonight or,

probably, in this life. So, we serve God together, understanding that Christian understandings differ on this point.