“Be delayed and wait, blind yourselves and be blind; they become drunk, but not with wine, they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; and He has covered your heads, the seers. The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, ‘Please read this,’ he will say, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’ Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, ‘Please read this.’ And he will say, ‘I cannot read’” (Isa 29:9-12).
“Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law” Psalms 119:18
גַּל עֵינַי וְאַבִּיטָה נִפְלָאֹות מִתֹּורָתֶךָ׃” תהילים קיט 18″
In this oracle, Isaiah once again takes up the theme of Israel’s judicial blindness from Isaiah 6 (vv. 9-10). He describes Israel’s blindness as a total inability to see and understand the message of Scripture.
In light of Isaiah’s words, it is surprising how often I am asked by Christians why the Jewish people cannot see how clearly the Messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Bible point to Yeshua in the New Testament. For Scripture clearly testifies that there is a partial blindness upon the people of Israel (see also Rom 11:25; 2 Cor 3:12-16).
But Isaiah also testifies that this blindness is not permanent: “On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel” (Isa 29:18-19).
On that day, Israel will not only see but also understand how the Hebrew Bible in its entirety points to Yeshua. Israel will finally become an entire nation of Isaiahs (Isa 6:1-7) and Pauls (Acts 9:1-20), and then unprecedented riches of God’s blessings will be poured out upon all nations (Rom 11:12, 15).
So David’s prayer for himself in the book of Psalms should also be our prayer for the people of Israel:
“Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law” (Psa 119:18).
The post Psa 119:18 first appeared on ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry.
The post Psa 119:18 appeared first on ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry.