Hardening And Melting

Isaiah 6:8-10

 

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! 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."

ESV

 

Isaiah is sent to the people of Israel to speak these words as a result of their continuing disobedience. Wiersbe, in his Expository Outlines on the Old Testament, speaks of the Word of God hardening and blinding the sinner who will not listen and yield. He says, “The sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay.” 

The melting and the hardening happen over time. Just as the truth convinces some, others disbelieve and turn away. The more they resist, the easier it becomes. The longer they remain on the path of resistance, the further they travel from the truth of God. They become more entrenched against the truth, or hardened. 

At some point God gives them over to their desires. He stands at the door and knocks, but at some point He stops knocking. Their choice brings about their circumstance, like the choice made in the Garden of Eden. 

The good news is that turning to God has the opposite effect. The heart is healed in its understanding that comes through eyes and ears that are opened to His Word.