Proverbs 20:12

November 9, 2023

“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both.”

This particular passage of Scripture out of the Old Testament was written by a wise King named Solomon, one of the wisest kings to ever live. Even though it is a small verse it is still very informative. Leading up to this passage, Solomon is disclosing throughout the entire chapter the dangers of being a lazy man. Some of these examples include:

Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”

Proverbs 20:4 “The lazy man will not plow because of winter; he will beg during harvest and have nothing.”

Proverbs 20:5 “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

Here we can see by these three passages of Scripture written by Solomon with the leading of the Holy Spirit that a wise man or woman will not allow themselves to indulge in sluggish activities. Things that are going to cause a person to be side tracked where he or she is not sober-minded are what will lead them down the wrong path.

That is why it is so important to keep your eye gates and ear gates set on the things of the Lord. When you are led by the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of wisdom) He will ensure that you do not head in a direction that is not pleasing to the Lord. A lazy person doesn’t take the time to read the Word of God: study it, digest it, and apply it to their daily lives. That is how they fall into the traps of the enemy.

We can never forget that we are facing spiritual warfare daily whether you are a believer of Jesus Christ or not. 1 Peter 5:8 out of the New Testament explains it perfectly when he states, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The enemy is walking around seeking people that are asleep and lethargic to devour.

That brings us to the Scripture out of the book of Proverbs that I am highlighting. Solomon makes a statement that the Lord has given us the hearing ear. The word “hearing” used is the Hebrew word “šāmaʿ” which means: to hear, listen, obey, and to have the power to hear. The word “seeing” used is the Hebrew word “rā’â” which means: absolute see, have power of vision, inspect, perceive, and consider.

So when we take a deeper look at what King Solomon is telling us we can conclude that he is pointing out the fact that we have the ability to hear and see simply because of the grace of God. Not only do we have physical ears and eyes, we also have spiritual ears and spiritual eyes that we need to ask the Lord to help us keep sharpened. The battle that we face is not against flesh and blood, but we are fighting a demonic kingdom in the spiritual realm that one cannot see with their own eyes.

If we do not realize that life is completely spiritual, we have already lost the battle. Part of the Lord’s work on the cross at Calvary was defeating the powers of the devil, principality, and every demon power, Colossians 2:15. Jesus Christ overcame the enemy, but that does not mean that we won’t have to fight. It is our responsibility to keep our Swords sharpened daily ready for battle in season and out of season.

God explains to us in Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge…” It is our obligation to have a clear understanding of the spiritual aspect of life written in the Holy Bible. One of the main reasons that God gave us His Word is for our protection against the snares of the devil.

Hearing and seeing is also given to us by the Lord so that we can hear the Word of God and see the Father of glory being reflected in our own life. One of the most important things that believers of Jesus Christ can do is get into the Lord’s Word and study it show yourself approved, 2 Timothy 2:15. By being a doer of the Word being led by the Holy Spirit, it will help you stay aligned to God’s Biblical law.

Saturating your ears and eyes with the Lord’s word is how a righteous man or a righteous woman increases the chances of going down the pathway of eternal life. Proverbs 12:28 reveals “In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.” No person is perfect and that is why the Lord’s grace and mercy makes room for forgiveness of sins because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

God created us with the ability to hear and the ability to see but that does not mean that we don’t have to be cognizant of the things that we allow into our ear gates and eye gates. As Christians we can’t watch or listen to whatever we want. The reason for that is because of the fact that the enemy can and will make his way into your life through the things that you look at or hear if you’re not careful.

The last part of the primary passage of Scripture that I am referencing out of the book of Proverbs states, “..the Lord has made them both.” So in other words King Solomon is reiterating the fact that God has created our eyes to see and our ears so that we can hear. How unfortunate it would be if we mishandle the gifts that the Lord has given us.

Never underestimate that fact that the ability to see and hear is a blessing. There are people that do not have the capability to see or the opportunity to hear; these are things that a lot of us take for granted. That is why we need to make it our mission as believers of Jesus Christ to use our eyes and ears for what God intended them to be used for.

Matthew 6:22-23 reveals “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” The heart of a man can be exposed through their eyes: if they are filled with the light of Christ, their light will be bright; but if they are filled with the things of this world, their eyes will be filled with darkness.

God commands us to be the light of the world to those that are lost and do not know Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. Godly men and women should want to have their light shining so bright that it would pierce through the darkness around them. Social media is bringing in such a demonic infiltration it is hard to contain. We have to be faithful ambassadors for Christ radiating light in the midst of darkness!

When it comes to our ears Matthew 11:15 makes it clear when Matthew states, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Let him hear what? What Matthew is exposing to us is that we should be hearers of God’s Word. We see that the Lord uses this phrase many times throughout the entirety of the Bible. Our ears need to remain prepared to listen to what God is saying at all times!

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