If you think back to Saul's failures, he failed because he was more concerned about pleasing the people and being popular with the people than he was concerned with obeying and pleasing God. What do you think would be the root cause of that? PRIDE! I like to say that pride is the original, original sin! It was the downfall of Satan. It was Saul's pride and disobedience that set him up to be handed over to be tormented by evil spirits. What does Paul teach us in Romans 1:19-24...since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. 24 Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. Three times in Romans chapter 1 we see that God gives sinners over after they exchange the glory of God for some created thing. The Psalmist states basically the same thing in Psalm 81:12, So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own plans.
1 Sam 19:9 Now an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his palace holding a spear. David was playing ⌊the harp⌋,
1 Sam 16:14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord began to torment him,
1 Sam 18:10 The next day an evil spirit from God took control of Saul, and he began to rave inside the palace. David was playing ⌊the harp⌋ as usual, but Saul was holding a spear,
It is amazing how in our reading in 1 Samuel we see Saul's blindness that drives him to seek to kill David, to order the slaughter of all of the Lord's priests. He was acting like a mad blind man. THAT IS WHAT A HUMAN BECOMES SEPERATED FROM THE LIVING GOD. We were created for an intimate relationship with our Abba, our heavenly Father...when we turn from that relationship our hearts will be filled with something, we will worship something. We are slaves to what we worship!
In our reading in John we SEE Jesus healing a blind man setting the stage for the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees to be made known. Part of this teaching is a little difficult to process. Why was this man born blind? Let's see what Jesus has to say...John 9:1-5 As He was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples questioned Him: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “⌊This came about⌋ so that God’s works might be displayed in him. 4 We must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” [Here we have another "I AM" statement by Jesus]
On the surface you might think, I did, you mean God made this man go through the first 20 years of his life BLIND just so that HE could display HIS works in him? LORD, surely YOU could of thought of another way, YOU are God! Consider the words of Helen Keller who said, The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision. This from a woman who accomplished incredible things and lost her sight and hearing at 18 months of age.
Remember that God's economy is vastly different from ours. A man shared a story with me several years ago about an incident at a Charasmatic church. He told me that one of the Pastors in the church had been prompted to go and lay hands on a man in a wheelchair and he did not do it. The Pastor had confessed this to my friend and was deeply grieved because the man left the service still in his wheelchair. My friend was very upset that his Pastor would do such a thing. I asked my friend..."what if God did not intend to heal the man physically, but wanted to save his eternal soul. Big deal if you heal a man so that he can walk or see if he still goes to hell!
My simple point in all of this is do not be quick to call God into judgement...IF YOU CAN'T TRACE HIS HAND TRUST HIS HEART! What heart? The same heart that would move God the Father to send Jesus. This is how Paul puts it in Romans 8:32, He did not even spare His own Son, but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? TRUST THAT HEART!
What does God's Word say about spiritual blindness? Check this out!
Scripture often employs the imagery of blindness to describe the spiritual condition of persons who are either unable or unwilling to perceive divine revelation. The things of God are perceived not by observation and inquiry, but by revelation and illumination (Matt. 11:25–27; 1 Cor. 1:21; 2 Peter 1:19–21). It is the Lord who “gives sight to the blind” (Ps. 146:8; Isa. 42:16).
The figure of blindness is a favorite device of Isaiah, who repeatedly announces to rebellious Israel that God has afflicted them and their apostate prophets, priests, and rules with blindness (43:8; 56:10; 59:10). Zephaniah reveals that this condition is divinely imposed upon the hardhearted (1:17). Appropriately, then, the Messiah’s ministry would be marked by opening the eyes of the spiritually blind (Isa. 42:7, 16, 18). At the outset of his public ministry, Jesus lay claim to the messianic office by revealing that he would fulfill Isaiah’s prophetic promise to proclaim “recovery of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18).
Some of Jesus’ strongest outbursts were directed at the Pharisees, who masqueraded their superficial conformity to Jewish ceremonial laws as sincere and sufficient righteousness in the sight of God. Jesus follows the form of Isaiah in castigating the Pharisees as “blind guides
of the blind” (Matt. 15:14; cf. 23:16–26; John 9:39–41). He announces that he will impose judgment on these self-righteous legalists, “so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (John 9:39).
Paul tells the Corinthian believers that blindness aptly describes the spiritual state of pagan unbelievers. He points out that this blindness is inflicted by the “god of this age [who] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). The New Testament reveals that believers are subject to spiritual blindness. Peter deems those who fail increasingly to exhibit diligence in pursuit of spiritual virtue as blind or nearsighted (2 Peter 1:9). And the exalted Lord of the church views the lukewarm but haughty Laodicean church as wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3:17).
Spiritual blindness, then, refers in some instances to the inability of unbelievers to comprehend spiritual truth, specifically failure to recognize the true identity of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. It is vital, therefore, to conduct all Christian witness in dependence on the Holy Spirit, who works to counteract the cataracts of Satan and to reveal the truth of God. But spiritual blindness can also afflict believers who fail to perceive their true spiritual condition. To avoid the plague of spiritual blindness and escape the condemnation of leading others into spiritual ruin, believers must be quick to appropriate and obey the Word of God. Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. (1997, c1996). Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed.). Baker reference library; Logos Library System. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
Father in heaven,
give us eyes to see the wonderful things in YOUR word, give us eyes to see Jesus, eyes of faith...to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Open the eyes of our hearts Lord, to know YOU, to love YOU...enable us to live lives that are pleasing to YOU, enable us to live to an audience of ONE...YOU! Father as we behold YOUR glory in the beautiful face of YOUR Holy and precious Son transform us and conform us to HIS image...beholding is becoming.
Work this for YOUR glory and our Joy in YOU,
love,
m