Article of Faith: The blind servants of God (2), By Femi Aribisala

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Our final destination is to be exactly like Christ.

I did not know how ignorant I was until I met the Lord. I did not know that people go to university to become even more ignorant.

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God says:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:19-25).

Irrelevant Knowledge

Both the literate and the illiterate (the educated and the uneducated) read the Bible, and they do not understand what they read. Isaiah says:

“The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.” (Isaiah 29:11-13)

Therefore, Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind. The blind, of course, refers to all mankind. But before He can open our eyes, we need first to admit that we cannot see.

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Jesus says:

“For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.” (John 9:39-41).

Actually, the blind can see. Blind Bartimaeus could see. God says to Isaiah:

“Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.” (Isaiah 43:8).

Pride Blinds the Inner Eye

Pride is the most dangerous sin of all. It blinds the hearts of men. Proud people think they can finesse God. Because they do not know they are suffering from blindness, they think they can outsmart God.

Isaiah says:

“Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, and their works are in the dark; they say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?” Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; for shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding.” (Isaiah 29:15-16).

“Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honour Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.” (Isaiah 29:13-14).

Mandate to Blind People

God’s prophetic mandate to Isaiah is to make people blind.

“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.” And He said, “Go, and tell 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 shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate.” (Isaiah 6:8-11).

But the irony here is that the prophets called to make people blind are also blind. Isaiah himself says:

“Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with intoxicating drink. 10 For the Lord has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.” (Isaiah 29:9-10).

Pause and wonder because, although they blind themselves, they do not know they are responsible for their own blindness. Their drunkenness is both self-induced and the judgment of God. As a result, we say a man is blessed when he might actually be under God’s curse.

“Hey, I just bought a Lamborghini.”

“Wow, you are blessed o.”

“So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up.” (Malachi 3:15).

Spiritual drunkenness sends us into a deep sleep. When we are drunk with wine, we can sleep it off. We wake up and are no longer drunk. Not so with spiritual drunkenness. With spiritual drunkenness, we are asleep even when we are awake. A man perpetually asleep is unproductive, insensitive, and vulnerable.

We need to wake up. Isaiah says;

“Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of His fury; you have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling and drained it out.” (Isaiah 51:17).

This applies to us:

“Do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11-12).

God closed the spiritual eyes of Israel. The prophets and the seers were their spiritual eyes. They interpreted spiritual phenomena to Israel. But since the Israelites were not interested in hearing the truth, God silenced the prophets and the seers. God gave them the blindness they wanted.

Famine of the Word

The spiritual blindness was coupled with the famine of the word of God.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God, “That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it.” (Amos 8:11-12).

Time of Healing

Thank God, Jesus declared the time of healing. In the days of His flesh:

“The deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 29:18-19).

When God’s people are restored, pride will no longer prevent us from hearing God’s word or seeing God’s work. We need to seek God with humility so our ears can hear and our eyes can see.

Joy is the reward for the humble. When we are humble, having an accurate evaluation of ourselves and a proper perspective of ourselves in relation to God and others, our lives are filled with exceedingly great joy.

Pride is the enemy of joy. We can be proud and have fun; we can be proud and be successful; we can be proud and be excited; we can be proud and be happy because of happy circumstances. But we cannot be proud and have joy in the Lord. To whatever degree we are proud, we are missing the joy in the Lord. The proud can never have joy in the Lord if they are unsuccessful or in poor circumstances.

The Healing Process

Solomon says:

“The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” (Proverbs 4:18).

Jesus opened the eyes of a blind man, but he could only see men as trees walking. Then He opened his eyes again, and he saw clearly. (Mark 8:22-26).

With the first touch, you see yourself and see men like trees. With the second touch, you see Jesus clearly for who He is.

Accordingly, Job confesses:

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5).

Our Promised Land, the final destination, is to be exactly like Christ:

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3).

Therefore, Hosea counsels:

“Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know; let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth. (Hosea 6:1-3). CONCLUDED.

[email protected]; www.femiaribisala.com