Spiritual deafness is more a problem of the heart than the ears.

Scripture Read: Judges 3:15-30 But when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him. Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them. When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “He is only relieving himself in the cool room.” They waited until they became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the floor dead. Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. It came about when he had arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them. He said to them, “Pursue them, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross. They struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years.

Application: The period of Judges is a very bloody record in the history of Israel and for most of us it is not the experience we have encountered in life. Still, the lessons that are taught are invaluable. A particular lesson concerning “hardness” is taught in the story of Ehud. First, consider the hardness of the hearts of the Israelites. It took them 18 years under the harsh rule of Eglon before they called out to God. This is one of the most amazing truths about sin and judgment. One would think that if an individual committed sin and then came under judgment from God, they would immediately soften and ask for forgiveness and deliverance. Not so with sin, for some reason it hardens the person and makes them even more defiant. We see this clearly at the end of the age when God is releasing the plagues upon the earth; man continues to be hard.

Revelation 16:9–11 Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.

The other lesson concerning hardness is seen in Eglon and what it took to hear God. Eglon was very deep into idolatry; some of the false gods were extremely evil, requiring the sacrifice of children in fire. Eglon’s heart was so hard that he was no longer able to respond to any conviction his heart would communicate concerning false gods, so when God did speak it was in judgment. The scene that is portrayed after Ehud states: “I have a message from God for you” is very graphic but carries a very sharp point. (pun intended!) When our heart becomes so hard we no longer can hear our Lord speak to us concerning our sin, when God does speak it may be in abrupt judgment! We need to allow the Holy Spirit the freedom to keep our heart soft to the voice of God, so when God has a message for us, it will be through a word not a sword!

Meditation Questions: When you realize you have sinned, how long does it take for you to bring it before the Lord? Are there sins in your life right now that you are unwilling to deal with? What does that say? When was the last time you were convicted about a sin with no one but the Holy Spirit speaking to you? What does that show you?  When it feels like God is being silent, what do you do? Do you take time on a regular basis to reflect on your life and consider whether there is hidden sin? What does that say?