Forgetting the power of God,
or underestimating it.
I think that quite often men do CORRECTLY understand various prophecies, either from Revelation or of the prophets of old, or of in between things such as the eventual conversion of the Jews as a nation, and then immediately reject what was said, because they do not understand how that could ever happen! So the initial correct reading flies out the window, forever forgotten, and never again to be considered, because they thought, “That could never be!”
I think really this happens all the time, and it becomes unthinkable to ever reconsider these things.
“Those
along the road are those who hear, then the devil comes, and takes
away the word from their heart, that they may not believe …”
Lk
8:12
No better example of this sort of blindness can be seen than that of,
Israel in the wilderness.
Psalm 106 touches on some of these things at times. It does seem to have been written during the Jewish captivity in Assyria and Babylon, Psa 106:47. Although the author is unnamed, he zeros on Israel’s failings in these matters time after time. The Psalmist remarks on when Israel came to the Red Sea.
Indeed they had already seen incredible powerful actions of God while they were still in Egypt. But when the irresistible force met the immoveable object of the Red Sea, they forgot everything they should had learned, and fell apart when Pharaoh’s army approached on their rear. They had no reason really to distrust God’s power, but instead fell back on “common sense,” and failed. “Nevertheless, God saved them for His name’s sake.”
“Our
fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt.
They
didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses,
But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.”
Psa 106:7
But then it says,
“13
They soon forgot his works.
They didn’t wait for his
counsel,
14 But gave in to craving in the desert,
And
tested God in the wasteland. ”
Psa 106;13-14
They wanted something better to eat, but instead of humbly asking, howled protests in the wilderness.
“21
They forgot God, their Savior,
Who had done great things in
Egypt,
22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham,
And awesome
things by the Red Sea.”
Psa 10621-22
“24
Yes, they despised the pleasant land.
They didn’t believe his
word,
25 But murmured in their tents,
And didn’t listen
to Yahweh’s voice.”
Psa 106:24-25
And so do we many times.
For a fact, many astonishing
things happen
in history.
And that is not merely in Biblical history, but also in secular history. Who would believe the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), or the Russo-Finish War or the Battle of Midway in World War II, IF they had been related in the Bible?
But we should be men of faith, not stumbling at what we may think could never happen. Then it is easier to get what we need out of prophecy.
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901