Results from not Receiving
- Bishop Keith Butler
- May 14, 2022
- 2 min read
And he said, 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 convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. (Isaiah 6:9-12)
Isaiah was prophesying about the diaspora in Isaiah 6:9-12. God said since the people would not understand or perceive what He was telling them, He would lift His hand of protection. Strangers would invade their nation; they would be taken away from their land and sent all over the world.
The scattering of the Jews all over the world is called the diaspora. Invaders overran the land of Israel, one after another, until most Jews no longer inhabited the land God gave them. Some always remained, but most Jews were spread out on every continent of the world. They went to Europe, Africa, Asia, and eventually, to the Americas.
They lost their homeland, their protection, and their livelihood because of disobedience. When God told them something, they would not receive it. They were quick to accept a word from another nation, from an “expert,” from false prophets and false teachers who were charismatic, but not from the Lord.
The results of not receiving God’s Word were disastrous. The Israelites ended up living no differently than the heathen, and with the same results. It was not the will of God for them to be disbursed. They were disbursed because of their hard hearts and stubborn ways.
Practical Application
- When the Lord speaks, don’t just hear it - listen. Pay attention and purpose in your heart to make a change about what God had said.
