March 1, 2024
There Are None So…
Pt. 1, Blind
The original author of the proverb, “There are none so blind as those who will not see”, has probably been lost in antiquity but it has appeared in English literature even as far back as the middle of the 16thCentury, used by the English writer, poet, and playwright John Heywood (1546) [1] [2]. The phrase was purportedly also used by Welch theologian Matthew Henry (1662-1714) [3] [4], and in the year 1736 it was used by clergyman and author Jonathan Swift [5] in his work, Polite Conversation. In the colonies (what would become the United States of America) it first appeared in 1713 in the Works of Thomas Chalkley,[6] a Quaker preacher and author. But regardless of who said it first, the concept surely finds its origin in God’s inspired Word to humanity, The Bible. Jeremiah cried out to his nation Judah, Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, 21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: 22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence… (Jeremiah 5:20-22).
The prophet Jeremiah was sent by our gracious God primarily to the nation of Judah (the two southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin) as that nation stiffened its neck in rebellion and followed its idolatrous sister called Samaria (also called Ephraim or Israel, i.e., the 10 Northern Tribes) into the manifold judgments of slavery and captivity. One-hundred thirty years earlier God had given sister Samaria into the hands of the Assyrians; the final deportation is believed to have taken place in about 722 B.C. [7] Sadly, the Southern Kingdom did not learn from her sister’s rebellion and subsequent deportation. In fact, in those 130 years of “grace”, Judah became even more idolatrous and wicked than her sister Samaria (see Ezekiel 23)! [8] And so God raised up Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans (Babylonians) and He gave idolatrous Judah into their hands, to be judged for 70 years.
So, what was God’s point when he cried out through the prophet Jeremiah, “You have eyes… and see not!” His point was this: the saddest delusion of all is that of wanton self-delusion! And self-delusion CAN turn into a divine sentence of reprobation. Just like her sister Samaria, Judah saw the glory of God, the creative prowess of God, the power of God as He controlled nature and the Earth, the providence and provision of God, and yes, even the passion of God as He brought judgment… and yet, because of their lusts and sin, they threw God aside as an inconsequential, unappreciated parent! Consequently, first Samaria, and then Judah, fell under the terrifying judgment of Divine reprobation. Oh, they had eyes (i.e., they understood God and righteousness and sin and judgment), but because they refused to see (i.e., they CHOOSE to ignore God, and righteous living, and instead choose sin and rebellion, and they shrugged at His warnings of judgment), eventually they could no longer see; they became, spiritually-blind as a divine judgment! Through the prophet Hosea, God cried out this chilling sentence to the 10 Northern Tribes: Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone (Hosea 4:17). God had given them over! And now some 130 years later it was Judah’s turn to learn the consequence of willfully ignoring their Creator.
So, what does this all have to do with us today? We live in a proud, pretentious, and perverted nation, a nation where, …the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their own means; and my people love to have it so… (Jeremiah 5:31). Our nation, which at one time had a clear and healthy 20-20 spiritual vision, now wallows and revels in unrighteousness. Like the ancient kingdoms, we became a nation that even, …when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools… (Romans 1:21, 22). In our proud imaginations, we SEE a creation that is intricately complex and marvelous, and yet we refuse to glorify and bow our knees to its (and our) Creator. We look past and around our Creator because if we dare acknowledge Him, we will then be responsible for obeying Him! Well, I’m sorry to inform you that whether we acknowledge or ignore our Creator, we are still held responsible to obey and worship Him with a heart of love and appreciation!
In an open affront to God, we attribute the origin of space, matter, and life to… GRAVITY? Renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking proclaimed,
Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. The universe didn't need a God to begin; it was quite capable of launching its existence on its own.
It is not necessary to invoke God to set the universe going. [9]
If you want these statements reduced to their simplest expression what Hawking said is this: Nothing gave rise to Everything. There are none so blind as those who will not SEE!
God bless and consider!
[1] Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings. 1996. ed. Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House, New York.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Heywood
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Henry
[4] http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/matthewhen189365.html
[5] Irish clergyman and satirist; author of Gulliver’s Travels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift
[6] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Chalkley,_Thomas_(DNB00)
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_captivity
[8] Ezekiel 23 is an inspired allegory picturing the two nations (1-Samaria, or Ephraim, or Israel) and 2-Judah) as wanton, spiritually-whorish sisters, who were insatiate in their idolatrous rebellion. Ezekiel writes that Aholibah (Judah), became more corrupt in her inordinate love than her sister Aholah (Israel): …she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms(Eze 23:11). And as a consequence, God would bring the nation of Babylon against Judah, to destroy it and to deport her citizens (see Ezekiel 23:22-35).
[9] Hawking, Stephen and Mlodinow, Leonard. 2010. The Grand Design. Bantam Books, Random House, New York, NY.