The Replacement Theory

What a strange mission God sends Isaiah on. 

Isaiah 6:9–10 (ESV) And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Texts like this are not our go-to portions of scripture when we need help from God's Word. We don't like to face up to the fact that sometimes people are hardened beyond repair. That was Isaiah's calling. To confirm their hardness. They already stopped their ears to God's voice. They already saw what God had done to discipline and punish and warn but they got to a point where they no longer cared. What a sad state of affairs. What a strange mission.

Amazingly, these words are quoted in the New Testament 6 times! That means the most frequent application of this text is in the time of Jesus and the early church. 

On the surface of things, you would suppose perhaps that those times must have been so dark no one was saved. You would probably think that the entire generation was wiped out. But you'd be wrong. In the midst of that great rejection of those who heard and did not understand God's Word still made effect on 1000s. There were those who followed Christ and celebrated his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. There were 3000 on the day of Pentecost, 2000 a few weeks later in Acts 4. God's Word that made some hardened also broke many more open. 

In the final quotation of this passage in the New Testament, Paul refers to that very reality as the Jews were hardened by the same Gospel that saved the Gentiles in massive numbers. 

Romans 11:8 (ESV) as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”

Then Paul asks:

Romans 11:11 (ESV) So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

What are we to make of this? 

God always has reserved for Himself a people who will hear even when it seems like most aren't capable of it. This means you must never discount the power of His Word nor cease to preach it with confidence even when MOST seem to reject it. 

The last verse of Isaiah 6 is a subtle reminder that God will raise up a righteous generation on the heels of a wicked one. 

Isaiah 6:13 (ESV) And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.

Ultimately Christ is the holy seed who sprouts from the stump of Israel. The nation was cut down by Babylon, Media, Persia, Greece and Rome. But those empires are fallen and history revolves around the Son who was born in obscurity to Mary. 

We need to remember this NOW. 

It would appear that the Bible and its message are outdated, backwoods nonsense from another millennium. It would seem that our culture has grown tired of its influence. And for many, that is 100% accurate. The Bible is derided by more people than any other ancient book. In fact, some people make a living out of mocking the Words of scripture. 

But here's what we forget. The Word still has power. And as some reject it, many more will receive it! Many will realize it's the message they've been looking for all along. They are the "poor in spirit" broken down by the false messages of this world that finally find the true message of God. 

So Isaiah must do two things with the same word. First, he must reveal the hard-heartedness of God's deafened people. He will both give them a final chance to repent and also speak life into the next generation of faith who will respond. Out of that generation will be the faithful exiles who are taken to Babylon. Some of whom (Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abed-Nego) will utterly change the world.

God may be doing just that right now. And if we have hearing ears, we have hope.