“I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am. Send me.’ And he said, ‘Go, and tell this people, “In hearing you hear, but do not understand. In seeing you see, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people fat, make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and convert and be healed.”’ Then I said, ‘Lord, how long?’ And he answered, ‘Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant, the houses without man, and the land is utterly desolate, and the LORD has moved men far away and there is a great forsaking in the midst of the land.’” Isaiah 6:8-12
God’s judgment upon those who do not heed His Word and repent can be a hardening of the heart so that they hear but do not understand and see but do not perceive. And this hardening of the heart (or withdrawal of His enlightening Holy Spirit) continues until they are swept away in God’s judgment and suffer the temporal and eternal punishments for their sins. Those with understanding see it happening in our own nation and land.
O Lord, have mercy on us and grant that we see the error of our ways and look to You for pardon and forgiveness in the shed blood of Jesus, Your Son, and our Savior. In His name, we pray. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Common Version of the Bible.]