Isaiah
28:13
13 But the word [dabar] of the LORD [Y@hovah] was unto them precept [tsav]
upon precept [tsav], precept [tsav] upon precept [tsav]; line [qav] upon line [qav], line [qav] upon line [qav]; here a
little [ze`eyr], and there a little [ze`eyr]; that they might go [yalak],
and fall [kashal] backward ['achowr], and be broken [shabar],
and snared [yaqosh], and taken [lakad]. KJV-Interlinear
13 And the word of the LORD will
be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line
upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and
be broken, and snared, and taken. ESV
All talk and no study, all pretense and no learning,
all outwardness and no substance, all opinion and no listening, and these are
the marks of the spiritual failure and phony believer.
So what happens when a people continue to disregard
their responsibilities and obligations for learning doctrine? That indifference
becomes a snare for failure, for discipline, for misery and suffering. And they bring it all on themselves.
And through the prophet Isaiah, God tells the Jewish
people, and anyone else who falls into the same category of disregard and
spiritual failure, that the doctrine that they should have been learning in
this own language, but was not, and thus nothing was learned, will now be
taught in a foreign language.
And that foreign language will have the same affect as
their original indifference had, namely they heard nothing, and so the
gibberish of the foreign language will sound the same, which means they will
continue to learn nothing.
Hearing nothing means learning nothing, means no
spiritual benefit, means no spiritual growth, means inevitable disaster and
misery.
For, God teaches us through repetition. Word by word, verse by verse, line by line, precept
by precept, category by category, principle by principle, and it is repeated. Word by word, verse by verse, line by line, precept
by precept, category by category, principle by principle, and it is repeated. Word by word, verse by verse, line by line, precept
by precept, category by category, principle by principle, and it is repeated. And repeated again and again, because we as
people have difficulty in learning the basic concepts of truth, unless they are
repeated to us, over and over, again and again.
And even then, people still do not listen and do not
learn.
Too often, people have doctrine right in front of
them, and yet they do not see it, do not reach for it, do not pursue it. They do virtually nothing, except repeat the
same common comments over and over again, but have no clue as to the real significance
behind them.
After the Cross, the Jewish people kept on holding on,
to their former beliefs. Namely the Levitical
Priesthood and all of the rules and regulations that they had been building up
for many centuries.
After the Cross, Jesus had fulfilled the Law, and now
its purpose was no longer necessary. The
Law pointed to the Messiah, who had now arrived and purchased salvation in
accordance with all of the rituals, and sacrifices and feast days and so forth.
So, even after another forty years, they continued to
reject Jesus and hold on to their temple.
So, God had to tear it all down, by way of the Romans, with whom the
Jewish people had become a rebellious people in the eyes of Rome, just as they
had become rebellious against God.
Truth would have avoided all of that suffering and the
Temple would have remained just another historical sight. But that was not to be.
Defiance toward truth and learning, always results, in
disaster. Always!
And just as indifference toward listening and learning
results in no spiritual benefit, so then, even hearing truth will have the same
effect as hearing gibberish, namely no benefit, when indifference remains.
Who among us can go to school, hear gibberish and come
out knowing what was said? No one.
Who among us can go to school, not listen and come out
knowing what was said? No one.
So, when doctrine is actually taught, then even those indifferent
types who attend and hear, do not really hear.
They pass through, never seeing, never hearing, never knowing. And in ignorance they drift away into oblivion.
Make sure that you are not one of these. Hold your tongue, park your opinion, and listen
and learn.
And more importantly, dedicate yourself to a lifetime
of daily study.
