Can You Hear Me Now?
Hebrews 5:11-13 NASB
Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
There was a popular tv commercial for Verizon that began in 2002 and ran for nine years. The gist of the commercial was that Verizon had good cell phone coverage in the nation. It is interesting to note that the emphasis on actually hearing a phone call has decreased significantly. The advent of smart phones changed the landscape for phone companies. Can you hear me now is not the selling point. Unless you are the writer of the book of Hebrews.
As the author writes the letter of Hebrews, he is not holding back on his words. He is blunt when he says that he has many things to say but it’s too hard to explain because these believers have become dull of hearing. In other words, they could not hear the author now. The question of can you hear me now was not even posed to these believers. Their dullness made it hard for the author to speak into their lives and explain some things regarding Jesus and His place in the God’s Kingdom.
The author even goes as far as telling these believers that they should be teachers. They should have been more mature and advanced, but they were not. They were so dull of hearing that it had slowed their spiritual growth and maturity. These believers were in the need of spiritual milk and not meat.
A couple of things stand out to me. The book of Hebrews is not light reading. And yet the author calls what he is sharing milk and not meat. There is some stout stuff here, but it’s called milk. Infants drink milk but good parents want to see their babies grow up and eat meat. The second thing that stands out is that these words were written to people who were already struggling with the persecution they faced. You might think the author would go light on them for that reason, but they were not coddled. The author spoke the truth in love but did not allow the difficult circumstances to dictate what he shared. The author keeps going and if what he is sharing in the rest of the book of Hebrews is milk then I would love to know what is considered meat.
i do know that I am praying that the Lord will show me what I need to know and what I need to do to keep from being dull of hearing. I want to hear Him now and keep hearing Him in the days ahead.