Verse 12: "For though by this time you are under moral obligation to be teachers, you are having need again for someone to be teaching you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have become such as are having need of milk and not solid food."
Here in verse 12 we have the diagnosis for the condition we have confronted in verse 11. The charge of immaturity is seen in their deafness in verse 11 and their dependence in verse 12. They should be giving instead of receiving, but their need is for receiving instead of giving.
Ezra describes for us the inspired, divine pattern for development and spiritual growth: "For Ezra prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to do it, and to teach it in Israel" (7:10 NIV).
Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost procures 3 questions from this passage: (1) Is your life characterized by knowledge or lack of knowledge? (2) Is your life characterized by independence or by dependence? (3) Is your life characterized by the ability to use the word of God or by complete inability to apply the principles and precepts of Scripture to daily conduct?
The reason many Christians become dull of hearing is simply because they do not put into practice that which they hear. Every day is a brand-new opportunity, and we must face each day with the disciplines of life. To be in the Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with the Lord. Every day we must express the obedient heart by fulfilling the principles of Scripture.
Life would be a piece of cake if it weren't so daily.
This is true in every area of our lives: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Each day is a new stewardship and responsibility. As a result, too, it is often an opportunity for growth and spiritual development.
"For though by this time you are under moral obligation to be teachers, you are having need again for someone to be teaching you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have become..."
This phrase has already been seen back in verse 11. "You have become sluggish in hearing" in verse 11. "You have become such as are having need of milk and not solid food" here in verse 12. They have reversed the normal growth pattern. Whereas the focus is on their deafness in verse 11, it is on their dependence and deformity in verse 12.
Corrie ten Boom said: "'I praise You that' Jesus Christ is able to untangle all the snares in my soul, to banish all my complexes, and to transform even my fixed habit patterns, no matter how deeply they are etched in my subconscious."
(Ruth Myers, 31 Days of Praise, 74)
