You Are What You... See?

Again a message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, you live among rebels who have eyes but refuse to see. They have ears but refuse to hear. For they are a rebellious people. [Ezekiel 12.1-2] 

What is it about eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear?

Jeremiah used this same phraseology:

Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. [Jeremiah 5.21]

There's more however... Isaiah had something to say along those lines too:

Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.” [Isaiah 6.10]

 And, if that's not enough, the Psalms address the matter in quite profound and revelatory talk:

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 115.4-8]

We can see that Ezekiel associates rebellion with eyes and ears that respectively neither see nor hear. In fact, every scripture above that references eyes that don't (won't) see and ears that don't (won't) hear has to do with the rebellion of idolatry. The passage from Psalms removes all doubt of this fact.

We've always heard the phrase, "you are what you eat." We might consider Psalms 115.4-8 in that same way, "you are what you see and hear." If what you see is blind, you are blind. If what you hear is deaf, you are deaf...

Isaiah's version of eyes that don't see and ears that don't hear is what Jesus quoted:

For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ [Matthew 13.15]

Jesus associates the condition of powerlessness (miracle-less-ness) to idolatry as He quotes Isaiah here. 

Jesus (God With Us) will not force the matchless goodness of His irrefutable miracles and undeniable healing upon us. We must look only upon Him and listen only to Him. The prophets of the Old Testament assure us, along with Jesus, that what we see and hear has much, if not everything, to do with what we are and experience. If we look to idols, we will only have what idols provide. Think about that for a moment in the context of today's debt, insurance, medicine and technology.

Are we content with man's outstanding achievements in debt, insurance, medicine and technology? I mean, they are nice, but how do they match up to God's glorious goodness and power as documented in the Bible? Have we settled for less? The thing is, we cannot hold to them (looking upon them and listening to them) and hold to God too. God simply will not allow it - His glory will not allow it:

“You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. [Exodus 20.3-6]

What we look upon and listen to matters. According to the Bible, we can expect that our lives will reflect what we "see and hear."

Father, Your Word is clear, what we look upon and listen to determine the circumstances of our lives. May our eyes and ears be opened only to You - to Jesus Christ - and may the healing (blessings) upon our lives reveal only Him to the world. So be it.