(Continued-Chapter Three-The Outline of Messiah's Career)

This principle is daily abused by shrewd, conniving people, especially politicians, who wish to deceive and at the same time protect themselves against the charge of lying. Thus used, it becomes the chief and most efficient type of evasion and camouflage. A study of this fundamental principle of life yields the following analysis: man's constitution and mental bias lead him, a finite creature with knowledge painfully limited and circumscribed, to set up his judgment as to what may or may not be, not only in the realm of ordinary affairs, but also in the region of the Almighty's activities. When something is told that does not accord with his preconceptions, he immediately discounts the message, modifies it in some degree, or rejects it altogether. Preconceptions without any factual basis prove to be a great hindrance to one's recognizing truth in general and the fulfillment of the Word of God in particular. On the other hand, when one's faith is grounded upon a sane and logical exegesis of the Scriptures, his conceptions and the hopes built thereon prove to be not only a shield against error, but a guide to the truth.

From the foregoing discussion it is clear that the subtleties of the human mind are indeed deceptive and will lead to dangerous errors unless one is a truth-seeker and examines every matter microscopically with an eye focussed, not upon vague possibilities and striking similarities--for there are many counterfeits--but upon indisputable facts. The price of truth paid by the honest heart frequently comes in his being misunderstood by his dearest friends or ostracized by his own people. At other times it assumes the milder form of financial reverses or the loss of social prestige. But truth is the most precious of all gems, and all the things which one may desire are not worthy to be compared with her. No price is too dear to be paid for her.

During our search in the field of psychology we learned the following facts: first, that there are organs of evidence other than the intellect, namely, the will and affections; secondly, that the human mind is so constituted that if the exact truth is stated in a way contrary to the expectations and desires of the hearers, they will not believe; and thirdly, that the honest heart must diligently seek truth and be willing to pay any price for it--even to the loss of all earthly things.

Let us now enter the field of Scripture for its answer as to why the devout men of Israel, according to Psalm 110, reject Messiah upon His first coming. We learn, in the first place, that the human mind is biased and the heart corrupt. Solomon's statement of the original condition of man's heart is absolutely correct: "Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions" (Eccl. 7:29). God has further given us His X-ray picture of the condition of the human heart since Adam's disobedience: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and is exceedingly corrupt; who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9). The historical record as given in the Torah (Gen. 2 and 3) corroborates the doctrine of the original innocency and present sinful condition of man's nature. By man's setting his judgment and will against God's expressed prohibition sin entered the world, biased him against God's law, and defiled his being. Hence the condition of all--Jew and Gentile alike--is the same, namely, a bent to do one's own will and pursue his own course without any dictation or restraint from the Almighty. Observation and experience verify these statements. Only by a definite and whole hearted yielding of the life to the will of God can man receive spiritual strength from God to counteract his natural rebellion against his Creator.

But do the Scriptures in plain language foretell that Israel's leaders will reject Messiah, and do they give the explanation for such unreasonable action? In several places this question is answered. Let us direct our attention to the information given in the second part of Isaiah's predictions. In this section of Scripture the phrase "servant of Jehovah" occurs frequently. A study of various passages shows clearly that it has different significations. In chapter 42, verses 1 to 7, the description of the servant is of such a personal nature that it is impossible to interpret the message as referring to Israel or to a godly remnant of the nation. The picture is rather of an individual who is raised up of God to be a covenant of the people, that is, to be the bond of union between God and Israel and to be a light to the Gentile nations,--a gigantic task. In the following chapters the Lord God speaks through the prophet to the Chosen People, but when we reach chapter 48 this Servant steps out upon the stage, as it were, and speaks for Himself.

One should not think strange this sudden and dramatic change of speakers in the midst of the discourses of an orator like Isaiah. Many of the best teachers have the same dramatic power of enlivening their smoothly flowing messages by an impersonation. By this method a realism is gained and a vividness is procured which otherwise would not be possible. In the latter half of his book Isaiah, who ordinarily speaks as the Lord's representative, suddenly lays aside this role, steps forth with boldness, and enacts the part of the "Servant of the Lord" who, as we shall see, is none other than God Himself clothed with a human body. At one time, with unexpected suddenness, the prophet ceases his dramatization and drops back into his normal style, only to stir our hearts again with another graphic impersonation; while at another time his realistic representations, both at the beginning and end, blend almost imperceptibly with his normal style. In chapters 40-47 he delivers his message with divine unction and the dignity of an ambassador of God. But suddenly with 48:1 this style ceases. In delivering the message contained in verses 1-16 he, with an indescribable, gripping power, arrests our attention as he impersonates this Servant of the Lord who, standing in the midst of Israel at some future time, will speak with His own divine power and authority. Verse 16 brings this dramatization to a close with the following statement: "And now Jehovah hath sent me, and his spirit." With verse 17 the prophet resumes his normal style only to return to his impersonation* of this Servant in 49:1-13. Again laying aside his usual style for a third graphic representation of the Servant, Isaiah (in 50:2-9) once more plays the role of Israel's Saviour-Redeemer. This characterization blends imperceptibly into the prophet's own discourse.

Now let us give our attention to the message found in 48:1-16. In verse 1 the Servant of the Lord calls to the house of Jacob to give ear to His words. In verses 3-11 He discusses the object of predictive prophecy, namely, to convince the obstinate people that the Lord alone is God and can foretell the future: therefore they should not worship idols but be faithful to Him. These former revelations were made, affirms the Speaker, "because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; therefore I have declared it to thee from of old" (48:4,5). From this time the Servant will show new things that have been hidden from of old. These additional revelations will be given in order to convince the people of Israel and to draw them to God.

In verse 8 a very startling revelation is made. "Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from of old thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou didst deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb." Transgression has characterized Israel from the birth of the nation at the time of deliverance from Egypt to the time when this Servant is speaking. Throughout this period Israel has not heard in the sense of taking heed. The reason assigned for this continued stubbornness and rebellion is that "from of old thine ear was not opened." What does this statement mean? The English translation indicates that the verb in the original is in the passive voice, but a glance at the text shows that it is the Piel (intensive active) form פִתְּחָה and should be rendered "was open." Professor Delitzsch correctly understood the import of this message, as is evident from his translation: "Neither hast thou heard them, nor hast thou known them, nor has thy ear opened itself to them long ago, for I knew thou art verily faithless, and art called rebellious from the womb." In view of these facts it is manifest that the trouble lay with Israel and not with the Lord. According to this statement, the nation has refused to open its ear to the message of God. An additional reason for this unwillingness to receive the Word of God is: "Thou didst deal very treacherously and wast called a transgressor from the womb." The word translated "very treacherously' is the usual one to indicate the faithlessness of a wife toward her husband. (See Jer. 3, Isa. 54:5; Hosea 3.) Israel is God's wife but, as the prophets affirm, she has through the centuries played the harlot. On the one hand, an unwillingness to walk in the path of faith and an aversion to things spiritual, and, on the other hand, a desire to gratify the desires and promptings of the flesh automatically and inevitably close the ear to the things of God. Therefore, reasons this Servant, to the nation Israel thus given over to spiritual deafness the predictions, which constitute a clarion call to all whose ears are open to receive the will of God, prove to be only enigmas and dark sayings,--furnishing occasion for continuance in self-chosen pleasures. In the last analysis this self-delusion and the consequent rebellion border on presumptuous sin. Nevertheless, continues the Speaker, "For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off" (vs. 9). To defer means to draw out; hence to defer His anger means not to allow it to burst forth upon rebellious Israel and cut her off from being a nation. To do so would thwart the expressed plan of God, namely, that of blessing all nations through the seed of Abraham. For His own sake and glory, therefore, He will not cut her off, but, on the contrary, will overrule and guide her destiny until she comes back to Him to do His will.

Who then is this Speaker thus charging the entire nation with such flagrant unfaithfulness? A glance at verses 12-16 gives the answer. The use of the personal pronoun "I" which began in verse 3 appears without interruption throughout these verses. Continuing, the Speaker demands of Jacob (verse 12) obedience upon the ground of His eternal existence: "I am he; I am the first, I also am the last." In the next verse He declares that He is the one who created and controls the universe. These statements identify the Speaker as God. This position is beyond dispute.

The last statement of verse 16 calls for examination. "And now Jehovah God hath sent me, and his Spirit." What does this statement mean? By it the Creator of the universe informs disobedient Israel to whom He is speaking that the Lord God has sent Him. The impression which the language of the entire chapter makes upon the mind of one who has no theory to support is that the speaker is in the midst of Israel delivering His message and claiming that He has been sent by the Lord God. Unless there is positive evidence in the context, or unless this doctrine contradicts the plain teaching of other unmistakable passages, we must allow the language to deliver its message without modification. One seeks in vain for anything in the connection which would lead him to place a figurative or metaphorical interpretation on this prediction. Neither does the plain meaning contravene the teaching of any other passage. Therefore we must accept the plain meaning and believe that one of the Divine Personalities constituting the Divine Being, having been sent by another of them, comes to Israel and delivers the message of this prediction.

To Israel God further declares that He would have granted peace¹ like a river if only she had hearkened to Him. This statement is in accord with that of the Psalmist (81:13,14): "Oh that my people would hearken unto me. That Israel would walk in my ways! I would soon subdue their enemies. And turn my hand against their adversaries."

After the prophet Isaiah delivered the call for the captives to leave Babylon he again impersonated the Servant (49:1-13). In this passage the Servant speaks of His mother but says nothing of a father--a most significant omission. This fact is in perfect accord with Psalm 22:10 and Isaiah 7:14 which undoubtedly refer to the same person, namely, King Messiah. The task placed before Him is the restoration of all Israel and His becoming God's salvation to the ends of the earth. Only God can accomplish such a stupendous work. This truth is apparent to one who studies all that is involved in the salvation of a soul.

In verse 7 the Speaker tells of the hatred of the world against Himself, and of the ultimate success of His labors. "Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of Jehovah that is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee." This peculiar expression indicates that the hatred for this Servant permeates Israel's very being, and is the controlling factor in the life of the nation (since it is of her He is speaking). The passage simply states, however, that the hostility is present, but does not tell the occasion of it. The latter information must be gathered elsewhere.

For further light on this subject we will now turn to the third speech of the Servant (50:2-9). The prophet, representative of the Lord God, answers Zion's complaint that He has forsaken her (49:14-26), concluding with two rhetorical questions (50:1). He first challenges the nation to produce the bill of divorcement which He has given to Zion, its mother. Then the Lord demands, "To which of my creditors have I sold you?" To both interrogations the people of Israel must answer in the negative. The conclusion drawn from all the facts is that God has not cast off Israel, but that she has rejected him.

At this juncture the prophet with dramatic suddenness begins again to impersonate. But whom? The Servant of the Lord whom he has previously characterized? The context alone can decide. This unexpected visitor declares, "Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer?" These words are inappropriate indeed in the mouth of any prophet, for they imply that the speaker was in some other place prior to His coming to deliver his message to disobedient Israel. Certainly no messenger of God would use such words in referring to his birth, for none of them ever used language with this import. Could this stranger be a messenger from some of the Gentile nations? The thought is inconceivable.

When the Lord confounded the language of the peoples (Gen. 11:1f) He said, "Come let us go down" from heaven to earth (v.7). In Genesis 18:1 appear the words, "And Jehovah appeared unto" Abraham, and in verse 10, "I [ Jehovah ] will certainly return unto thee when the season cometh around," etc. At Sinai God said to Moses, "Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud" (Ex. 19:9), and in verse 11, "for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai." In Judges 6:11 concerning the Angel of the Lord it is said, "And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the oak," etc. Once more we see similar language in Judges 13:3: "And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto the woman"; and in verses 8,9: "And Manoah entreated Jehovah, and said, Oh, Lord, I pray thee, let the man of God whom thou didst send come again unto us ... and the angel of God came again unto the woman." These quotations show clearly that it was customary to speak of the appearance of angels to men, and especially of "the angel of Jehovah," as a "coming."

The references given above suggest the probable identity of the speaker in our passage, namely, a heavenly visitor. Absolute proof is to be found in the words which follow our quotation. The speaker continuing asks of Israel, "Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stink, because there is no water, and die for thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering." This visitor is the one who has power to redeem and deliver Israel. It is He who controls heaven and earth. Such powers and prerogatives God only has; therefore the speaker is none other than God (cf. Amos 5:7-9; 9:5,6; Ps. 104). We must conclude from all the facts, therefore, that it is the Servant of the Lord whom the prophet is again impersonating.

The first two questions, "Wherefore when I came . . .? when I called . . .?" constitute a Hebrew parallelism. Are we to understand the Servant to mean by these questions that He came in person to Israel and that she refused to respond to His call, or does He mean that He came in the sense of sending prophets with His messages? Let us investigate the latter query first. Jeremiah makes this statement: "And now, because ye have done all these works, saith Jehovah, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not" (7:13). This passage, apart from all other considerations, may have either meaning, but when we consider the phrase, "Rising up early and speaking," and compare it with a similar one occurring frequently, we see that it can have only the latter signification. For example, in verse 25 of this chapter God says, "I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them." For other examples see Jeremiah 25:4; 26:5; 29:19. In all of these quotations God speaks of Himself as a man who diligently arises early to perform his task. In His case the task was that of sending His prophets. Hence the context in each of these instances shows clearly that the Lord did not come in person, but sent His representatives, the prophets.

But what light does the context of Isaiah 50:2 throw upon the question as to whether He comes personally to the nation, or by sending His messengers? The following quotation gives the desired information. "The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that are taught. The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help me; therefore have I not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame" (50:4-7).

It is clear that the Speaker in this quotation is the one who stepped forth and asked the questions of verses 2 and 3, for He continues without any change of style the use of the personal pronouns "I," "me" and "my." Since, as we have seen, He is the omnipotent God in control of the universe, and since He speaks of Himself in terms of a man, the inescapable conclusion is that He has taken upon Himself the form of man. This fact is the more evident in such statements as: He "hath given me the tongue of them that are taught," "He wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that are taught," Jehovah hath opened mine ear," "I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward," and "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting." If language means anything at all, these quotations cannot be construed otherwise than that the Speaker is God incarnate in the midst of Israel.

From this passage we see that the eternal God assumes human nature in order that He may, without forcing man's will, woo him to Himself. When, according to this prediction, He comes to Israel, however, instead of their accepting Him and doing the will of God, the leaders of the nation reject Him. But what reason is here given for this failure to recognize and to accept Him? The last statement in verse 1 gives the answer: "Behold, for your iniquities were ye sold, and for your transgressions was your mother put away." Sin in the life blurs the spiritual vision, impairs the hearing, stupefies the moral sensibilities, and, if persisted in, finally paralyzes man's entire spiritual nature. But, someone replies, this statement cannot apply to the holy men of God in Jerusalem who worship God conscientiously. The prophet, who received his information directly from the omniscient God, nevertheless declared such to be the case. It is not to be inferred, however, that there are no righteous men among the leaders, but only that the influential majority is corrupt and leads the people astray.

Further light concerning Israel's blindness is found in Isaiah 28 and 29. A careful study of these chapters shows that the prophet is talking of "the end time"--the "time of Jacob's trouble." In the latter chapter he gives some wonderful statements regarding the blindness of the leaders. In order to appreciate his revelations it is necessary to have a comprehensive view of the entire chapter. In the first four verses he foretells the time when the Lord will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and describes the dire extremities to which the nation will be reduced in the final siege. But the Lord never cuts off hope, nor leaves His people to grope in the dark; hence in the next paragraph (vs. 5-8) He gives a bright promise of deliverance by divine intervention. Following the assurance of certain and final salvation, He shows the sad spiritual condition of the Chosen People and the reason therefore as it shall be at that time.

"Tarry ye and wonder; take your pleasure and be blind: they are drunken but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered. And all vision is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned" (Isa. 29:9-12).

The statements, "Tarry ye and wonder: take your pleasure and be blind," though in the form of a command, are forceful warnings to the religiously indifferent and pleasure-loving leaders of the people. Exhortations similar to these are seen in Amos 4:4,5: "Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning ... for this pleaseth you, 0 ye children of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah." The people well understood the warning although it was expressed as an exhortation. The Scriptures abound in such ironical statements, the meaning of which is clearly discernible from the context. We need not think strangely of such language, for the same usage is current with us. Parents frequently warn their children by urging them to do the thing which the latter know is positively prohibited, giving the warning by a rising inflection of the voice. At other times disapproval is expressed as a most solemn command, but is couched in terms of the consequences of the act. Such usage the prophet adopts in the passage under consideration. Hesitating to obey the Word of God, staring in unbelief and wonder at the Lord's providential workings in the life of the nations, and living in self-chosen pursuits and pleasures result in spiritual blindness, declares the prophet in the first two lines of the passage given above. The price of sin and disobedience are very dear. Rebellion against God brings its own punishment. On this point I wish to quote Delitzsch's comment. "They are drunken and dull, not merely because they are given up to sensuous drunkenness . . ., but because God has surrendered them to error and dissoluteness--He who, although He wills not evil, yet makes the evil which the creature calls into existence the means of punishing evil תַּרְדֵּמָה is here the impotence of utter spiritual stupidity. This doom has fallen on the nation in all its members; even the nation's eyes and head, the prophets, even those who should look out for the good of the nation and guide it, are blind--blind leaders whose eyes are fast closed . . . and over their heads a covering is drawn, as over sleepers at night."

It is evident from this chapter that the leaders of Israel, because of their wanton living and their failure to take the Lord seriously, are punished with judicial blindness. The drift of the thought in chapter 28 is that they actually hold up the message of God to ridicule, and in unbelief and mockery make a pun upon the words spoken by the man of God. Therefore the written Word is meaningless to them. An additional reason (29:13,14) why the Word exerts no power in the lives of the people is that it is taught by rote and as if it were merely the commandment of men.

A further reason for the ineffectiveness of God's Word in the life of Israel is that, as punishment for the indifference with which divine messages are received, the Lord pours upon the entire nation "the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered" (v. 10). The expression, "the spirit of deep sleep," is a Hebrew idiom referring to the one who causes this spiritual sleep. The same idiom occurs in the phrase, "the spirit of grace and supplication," found in Zechariah 12:10, and means the spirit who grants favor to Israel and causes the nation to humble itself before God in prayer. But what spirit will bring blindness or spiritual sleep upon the nation? This question may be answered by an examination of 1 Kings 22:13-23. Ahab, king of Israel, wanted Jehoshaphat king of Judah, to join him in a campaign against Ramoth-Gilead, but the latter would not agree to do so, notwithstanding the favorable replies of four hundred false prophets, until he had consulted Micaiah, the true prophet of God. Ahab protested, saying, "I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil" (v. 8). Nevertheless at Jehoshaphats insistence Ahab sent for Micaiah. The messenger summoning the prophet told him how the four hundred prophets had foretold success for the contemplated expedition and insisted that he agree with their predictions. To all his pleadings the man of God nobly replied, "As Jehovah liveth, what Jehovah saith unto me, that will I speak" (vs. 13,14). Then, standing in the presence of the two kings, Micaiah ironically foretold victory for the allies. Ahab, immediately recognizing the character of the prophet's words, put him under oath to tell without disguise what the Lord had revealed to him. Sensing the king's momentary seriousness, Micaiah spoke boldly the message of God. But being determined, regardless of consequences, to carry out his own plans, the king of Israel burst forth in a rage, and turning to the king of Judah said in substance, "I told you so."

As a last resort and final attempt to persuade the wilful king to abandon his proposed campaign, the man of God laid bare before the stubborn monarch the workings of the spirit world. God, declared the seer, permitted an evil spirit to come to earth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of the false prophets in order to entice Ahab to his own destruction. Hence the messages favorable to the royal plans, instead of being of divine origin, were inspired of Satan. Satan always camouflages his activities and makes them as nearly like the true work of God as possible. For example, he tried to duplicate the miracles of Moses at the time of the Exodus. Since Ahab wanted confirmation of his own plans and did not wish to turn from them even though God should register His disapproval, the Lord permitted an evil spirit to speak lies through wicked men that Ahab might perish in his own rebellion. This principle of divine retribution the prophet Isaiah set forth in the following words: "Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations: I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear; but they did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not" (66:3,4). The deduction from all the facts given above is that, if one does not have a consuming passion for the truth of God, he lays himself open to self-deception or blindness effected by evil spirits. These factors doubtless operate in the case of Israel's leaders in blinding them so that they do not (as is assumed in Psalm 110) recognize Messiah when He comes.

A startling statement relative to the blinding of those who do not want the truth of God is given by the prophet Jeremiah: "Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness" (Jer. 13:16). From this passage it is evident that if one does not receive God's message and give Him the honor due His holiness, He will cause blindness by sending spiritual darkness into the soul. It is indeed a fearful and dangerous matter to treat lightly the Word of God. When God draws the curtains of darkness around one who has thus spurned the light of His Word, that one cannot possibly see the truth. Only as a last resort, let it be remembered, does God bring such spiritual night upon anyone. Yet on the other hand let no one think that he can treat the Word of the Lord with indifference and not suffer thereby. God's threats are not in vain.

Additional light concerning the hardening of the heart is seen in the commission given to Isaiah (chap. 6). He was commanded to go to the people of Israel and continue delivering his messages. "He spake, Go and say to this people: Hear always, and understand not; and but see ever and perceive not" (6:9, Delitzsch's tr.). The use of the infinitive absolute following the finite verbs, as in this case, indicates that the message should be given over and over again. Such repetition was to insure to everyone an opportunity of hearing the message. But the Word of God is like the sunshine which melts wax but hardens clay. The honest heart yields to the message of God, but the impenitent soul becomes more bold in resisting the pleadings of mercy. Hence the "preaching of the Word, which is designed to be a blessing to man, becomes a means of hardening the heart when one is indifferent or hostile to it. Furthermore, if one receives it in a passive manner and will not take time and thought to consider it seriously, he exposes himself not only to the deadening influence of such an attitude but also to judicial blindness as the penalty for his wilful lack of appreciation of things spiritual. Science proves that certain people are wilfully deaf, that is, when they have adopted the practice of not giving attention to that which does not appeal to them, they sooner or later lose that keenness of hearing with which they were by nature endowed, and become more or less deaf. This same law obtains in the spiritual realm. The prophet so stated this fact in the words, "Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed" (6:9,10). God wills that all shall hear and heed, but when one will not gladly receive the message, his heart is hardened thereby. The prophet's commission, therefore, is expressed in terms of the effect which his message has.

The findings of the foregoing investigation in the field of Scripture may be summed up as follows: the human heart is corrupt and deceitful; God, being desirous that all men know His will and do it, has exhausted all moral and spiritual resources in an effort to influence men to this end for their own good; truth inherently has power to harden the heart of all who are either indifferent or hostile to it; God sends spiritual blindness upon everyone who does not have a passion to know and obey the truth; and the only safe and reasonable course in life is to prize truth and the will of God above every earthly consideration.

Footnotes:
* It is to be understood that the Spirit of God used the dramatic powers of the prophet to make the message more gripping. Hence the dramatization and its message together constitute the very Word of God.

¹ Verses 14, 20-22 undoubtedly refer to the return of the exiles from Babylon under Cyrus. But a careful study of the chapter shows that, though the return under Zerubbabel does appear in the prediction, the passage sweeps out into a much larger circle of events that go far beyond anything in the historic past. Thus the prophecy of the restoration from Babylon of the 50,000 exiles blends with that of the great final restoration and future exodus of Israel from all the nations whither she has been scattered. (See Jer. 23:7,8.)

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