The Spirit of Slumber

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

“What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.” (Rom. 11:7-8) “For the LORDhath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.”(read Is. 29:9-13)

There are three important words of verse seven that will aid us in our understanding: 1) “seeketh” – or craves; 2) “election” – not referring to Israel but to a certain number chosen out; 3) “blinded” – petrified, hardened, made callous. Israel craves for the good news of the coming Messiah but God has refused to allow them to have it. God in His sovereign will has given the good news only to a certain chosen out number of mankind. God then took the remaining ones and hardened or petrified as rock their hearts making them callous to the Good News that THE Messiah had already come (First Advent). Their hardness remains unto this day because God has given them the “spirit of slumber.” Though they crave they are calloused to the truth because their hearts are hard as rock against the Gospel.

The word “slumber” carries with it the idea of being in a stupor, lethargic, and unresponsive. I fear that the spirit of slumber is quite prevalent in our world today. I frequently experiment with this. I will begin talking with folk about something worldly and the conversation is very lively; but when I switch it to speak of spiritual matters I notice they start yawning, getting sleepy, and become unresponsive. When I change it back to the worldly things they become lively again. It is an interesting but an alarming experiment.

According to Isaiah, God has even sealed up the eyes of many religious leaders who are supposedly learned in the Holy Scriptures. We live in days of a great spirit of slumber in and out of the pulpits of the proper knowledge of the Good News and the way of salvation.