The points that I am taking from these Old Testament passages are that 1) it is God who closes their ears, 2) it is God who opens their ears, and 3) it is God who will open their ears so that His chosen people, the Elect, will be able to hear the Good News that Jesus will bring, repent of their sins and be saved (healed). Jesus, himself, made this connection clearly when He said to His disciples, “This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or...