Read Isaiah 6 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
6:1-13 {p} Isaiah’s vision of YHVH’s glory/ his call to prophesy of the judgment and the remnant
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn back and be healed. Isa 6:10
Heart is לב leb, Strong’s H3820, a concrete object meaning, “heart,” from Strong’s H3823 לבב labab, a primitive verb meaning, “to be hollow.”
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff (teach, yoke, to, bind)
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)
The parable being told by the Hebrew Root Word is of that which is yoked (lamed) within (bet) the house (bet); i.e., the heart is a hollow organ (as a house is hollow), and is meant to hold something within it (as the house holds the family within it); that is, the life-giving blood, which it then distributes to all corners of the body. In the same way, the spiritual heart is hollow and is meant to hold something within it that it distributes to all corners of the person. (What is it meant to distribute? Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Psa 119:11).
They have closed up their fat hearts … Psa 17:10
Fat heart is חלב cheleb, Strong’s H2459 a concrete object meaning, “fat;” from an unused, unnamed root meaning, “to be fat.”
chet ח = wall (outside, divide, half)
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff (teach, yoke, to, bind)
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)
The parable is of an enclosure surrounding (chet) the heart (lamed + bet). A spiritual fat heart is the same as a closed heart. It is walled off, and the Word of God cannot enter. A fat heart is death to the spiritual man just as a fat heart is death to the physical man.
Does God sovereignly close up someone’s heart so that they cannot hear, even if they are seeking to hear? I do not believe that is what Isa 6:10 is saying. David has the sense of it from Psa 17:10 – they have already closed their fat hearts, so that they cannot hear. Yeshua echoes this understanding when quoting Isa 6:10 in the Gospels. Those who take heed how they hear, who have ears to hear, will be given more light, sight, and understanding. Those who do not take heed have already chosen, and God honors their choice.
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
Luke 8, Having ears to hear – Christine Miller
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