John 12:37–41

But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:

“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”

Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

The first quote is from Isaiah 53:1; the second is from Isaiah 6:10. They’re too long to include here, but click on the links below to read all of Isaiah 6 and 53. They’ll make your hair stand on end.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=is+6&version=NKJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=is+53&version=NKJV

Right after the second quote above (from Isaiah 6:10) comes a particularly chilling dialogue.

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,
The LORD has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.” — Isaiah 6:11–12

This isn’t about some enemy nation; it’s about Israel. Israel is to be made utterly desolate. And why?

He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts.

This chills me because it feels like the path our nation is on right now. Some of the things going on aren’t just wrong; they’re crazy wrong. It’s hard to imagine how people could believe some of the bizarre ideas that have become popular.

Only blinded eyes and hardened hearts could produce such nonsense.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Saturday DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.