Do You Put Your Fingers in Your Ears?

Stones in a rock wall - Israel.
Is your heart as hard as stone?
Do you hear the Lord's message?

Then this message came to Zechariah from the LORD: "This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other. Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the LORD of Heaven's Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the LORD of Heaven's Armies was so angry with them. Zechariah 7:8-12 (Underlined for emphasis.)

Meditate. Consider God’s message and anger in scripture.

 

Judge fairly, be kind and generous, and listen to God’s message. Unwillingness to hear results in a heart of stone and anger from God. That’s what I get from Zechariah’s message. This may have been a message to the Israelites before Jesus was born, but it is still a good message for today. Listen up.

Do you ever put your fingers in your ears…or use earplugs to keep out some noise like your neighbor’s dog or your snoring mate? Get your fingers out of your ears and listen to God’s message. Your heart may be hardened like that of Pharaoh when Moses challenged him to let the Hebrew people go (see Exodus 4-14). The Egyptians learned to know the Lord God of the Israelites—the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the mighty God, creator of the universe…and all powerful. Ultimately, they learned that He saved His people when the Angel of death went over their country. Hard hearts don’t listen or hear the message from the Lord.

Is your heart hard? Are you able to hear God’s message? Are you reading His word daily? Is the message from God being blocked because your fingers are in your ears?

 

Prayer – Lord Jesus, I’ve taken my fingers out of my ears—so I hear You loud and clear now. Show me how to judge fairly and to show mercy and kindness to others.

 

Verses of Salvation ~ Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations. My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm. Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth below. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end! Isaiah 51:4-6

 

© 2025 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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