How are you ears? Our ears need check-ups from time to time.
The Bible speaks of uncircumcised ears: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51). These are ears that resist the truth. A person with such ears can become so angry and hardened that they will literally “stop their ears” (“cover their ears”, NASB) (Acts 7:57). Sometimes Christians who are drifting away from the Lord become this way; they don’t want to hear any more of the pleadings of truth from their brethren.
There are also ears that are dull of hearing: “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest ‘according to the order of Melchizedek,’ of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing” (Hebrews 5:9-11). The same word for “dull” here is translated “slothful” in Hebrews 6:12. These are ears that have become lethargic. There is a slowness of spiritual understanding not due to some physiological or mental deficiency, but a slowness of their own making by not growing as they ought to have grown. Perhaps somewhere along the line they became satisfied with what they knew and did not continue to long after the spiritual food of the word of God.
Some ears are hard of hearing: “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them” (Acts 28:27). On this occasion, Paul was explaining and testifying of the kingdom of God to Jews. Those who disbelieved are described as hard of hearing.
Some ears itch: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:2-3). Itching ears strongly desire novel teaching. Perhaps they have grown tired of hearing the same gospel preached for so many years. Perhaps they see other religious groups growing more numerically and then desire to have teaching like theirs, even though it is not rooted and grounded in Scripture. It could be that the sound doctrine is too hard and narrow. Having itching ears, they’ll find a teacher who suits their desires, and then they can be assured they will feel good.
But then there are hearing ears: “But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:16-17). Hearing ears in this context were ones which listened to the words of truth from the Savior and gladly received them. And hearing ears today will do the same, longing to hear the truth from the Scriptures.
No, we’re not talking about the physical functioning of our ears then. We’re concerned about the ears of our heart, that is, our willingness and desire to hear truth and receive it. How are your ears? Have you examined them lately?
-Larry Jones