Isaiah 6:10

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their eares heauy, and shut their eyes: lest they see with their eyes, and heare with their eares, and vnderstand with their heart, and conuert and be healed. Isaiah 6:10 (KJV)

Context: To understand the meaning of this verse, it’s important to consider the broader context of Isaiah 6. In this chapter, the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God’s glory in the temple, where he sees the Lord sitting on a throne, surrounded by seraphim. Isaiah becomes aware of his own sinfulness in the presence of God and is cleansed by a seraphim with a burning coal. Then, the Lord asks whom He shall send, and Isaiah responds by saying, “Here am I, send me.”

In Isaiah 6:10, God instructs Isaiah to deliver a message to the people of Israel. The phrase “Make the heart of this people fat” refers to a spiritual condition of stubbornness or hardness of heart. It signifies the people’s refusal to listen to God’s message and their resistance to repentance. God further emphasizes this by saying, “make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes,” meaning that the people’s ears are dull and their eyes are closed to God’s truth.

The purpose behind God’s instruction to Isaiah is twofold. Firstly, it serves as a consequence for the people’s ongoing disobedience and rejection of God’s commands. Their refusal to listen and understand is a reflection of their hardened hearts. Secondly, this spiritual blindness serves as a means of judgment, preventing them from repenting and being healed. God withdraws His revelation from them, allowing them to experience the consequences of their rebellion.

Although this verse seems harsh, it’s important to note that it reflects God’s justice and mercy. By allowing the people to experience the consequences of their disobedience, God is both just in His judgment and merciful in His desire for repentance. The spiritual blindness and hardness of heart are not arbitrary punishments but rather the natural outcome of their persistent rejection of God’s truth.

While the primary focus of this verse is on the people’s hardened hearts, it also carries an underlying message of hope. The phrase “and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed” is part of the condition that the people would have met if they had not been hardened. The phrase also implies that there is still a chance for the people to turn back to God. Despite their current condition, God desires their repentance, conversion, and eventual healing. It reveals God’s longing for His people to return to Him, even in the midst of judgment. Scripture confirms this in Matthew 13:14-15 and John 12:40, where Jesus cites Isaiah 6:10 to describe the people’s hardened hearts.

In summary, Isaiah 6:10 conveys a message of spiritual blindness and hardened hearts as a consequence of the people’s ongoing disobedience. It emphasizes God’s justice and mercy, while also highlighting the reality of judgment for persistent rejection of truth. This verse serves as a reminder to us of the importance of receptive hearts and attentive ears to God’s truth, as well as the need for repentance and turning back to Him.