“You live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 12:2).
I read one of the most intriguing, extraordinary accounts of perseverance and proof of God’s intelligent design in creation. In October 2022, a bird with the code name B6 set a new world record. Over the course of 11 days, B6, a young Bar-tailed Godwit, flew from its hatching ground in Alaska to its wintering ground in Tasmania, an island state of Australia. Its journey covered 8,425 miles, and B6 made the entire trip without taking a single break. For comparison, there is only one commercial aircraft that can fly that far nonstop, a Boeing 777 with a 213-foot wingspan and one of the most powerful jet engines in the world. During its journey, B6—a bird that could perch comfortably on your shoulder—did not land, did not eat, did not drink, and did not stop flapping while sustaining an average ground speed of 30 miles per hour 24 hours a day as it winged its way to the other end of the world. No doubt this marvel of God’s creation possessed great strength despite its small size. The bird’s ability to go extended periods without food and water without affecting its stamina is a wonder of the bird world. Furthermore, B6’s ability to handle stress in the face of drastic weather changes and other obstacles that might have killed its momentum and desire to reach its winter home is enough to make human beings jealous. B6’s odyssey is also a triumph of the remarkable mechanical properties of feathers. It was feathers that kept B6 warm overnight, while it flew above the Pacific Ocean. Feathers repelled rain along the way, formed the surfaces of its wings that kept B6 airborne, and drove the bird forward for nearly 250 hours without failing. Research shows that B6’s feather shape is largely optimized to allow the feather to twist and bend in sophisticated ways that greatly enhance flight performance. Its winged feathers are aerodynamically asymmetrical. That is, the trailing blade is three times wider than the leading one. Anything below that ratio, and the bird’s feathers would twist in a destabilizing manner and cause B6’s flying pattern to resemble a broken-winged bird trying to fly, and make flying long distances nonstop in record time impossible (https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2024/october/consider-birds-of-air.html).
This small bird is only one example of the wisdom and power of God. Moreover, B6 is visible, positive proof of intelligent design in creation for everyone who genuinely wants to see it. According to Psalm 19:1-4, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world.” God said in Psalm 50:10-12: “Every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine and all it contains.” The psalmist reminds everyone who has ears to hear that all of creation declares the glory of God twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. God’s audible voice is not heard; however, God’s glory is visible for eyes to see and for ears to hear in the sounds of nature.
Sadly, for many people in the world, God’s glory is trivialized through their unbelieving, defiant opposition, because their hearts are hard toward God. Paul described these enemies of God perfectly in Romans 1:18-22. He wrote, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.”
Friends, our hearts cannot love what our minds do not know. Furthermore, God has revealed Himself to us through conscience, creation, and Christ. The proof of His existence, power, and love is all around us. Yet, without eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to learn, hearts to receive, and wills to obey, we will never know our glorious, gracious Creator, Lord, and Savior, and that lack of knowledge will sentence us to life without loving Him and eternity without living with Him. The Bible gives us a sad snapshot of these sad humans in Ephesians 4:18: “[They are] excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.”
Romans 2:4-5 contains a terrorizing warning from God to every person who turns away from the clear evidence of God’s claim on their life in creation, God’s call to believe in Christ as God’s one and only way to escape Hell in their conscience, and God’s command to receive Christ as Lord by faith in His sinless life, sacrificial death, and spectacular resurrection from the dead. Listen carefully God’s caution preserved through the pen of Apostle Paul: “Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentance heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” In Ezekiel 12:2, God told the prophet, “You live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.” Israel persisted in ignoring God’s claim, call, and command and, therefore, were judged severely. Since the devastation of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BC, and the destruction of the southern kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians in 586 BC that resulted in seventy years of captivity, God has not changed His mind on punishing rebellious people. To twenty-first century people, God has given eyes to see His authority, power, and glory and ears to hear His claim, call, and command. Yet, most turn a blind eye, deaf ear, and rebellious heart to God. In the process, God’s word is the same: they are storing up for themselves wrath that He will pour out on them when Jesus returns on Judgment Day.
Friend, to the hard heart all the proof in the world is useless. Do not allow the abundant proof of God’s existence, of your sin and just sentence to eternal suffering in Hell, of Christ’s love for you and desire to rescue and save you proven by His sacrificial, substitutionary death for you on the cross and resurrection from the dead, and of God’s call to humble yourself, turn from your sin, believe in Jesus, and trust Him as Lord for salvation— do not let these wonderful grace gifts from God— prove useless to you. Do not rebel. Open your eyes, ears, and heart to Jesus.