11. What indicates that some of the Hebrews had lost their spiritual alertness, and why is it dangerous to be in such a condition?

¹¹ Paul wrote very frankly to these Christians. They had ‘become dull in their hearing.’ (Heb. 5:11) This did not mean that their ears failed to function, but, rather, their spiritual hearing and alertness to spiritual things were weak. They had shown some indifference toward Jehovah’s Word and purposes, being careless about their spiritual needs. Perhaps they did not realize the danger of their position. Someone had to alert them. So Paul described their current need as requiring someone to teach them from the beginning the elementary things of the sacred pronouncements of God.

Perhaps you have seen someone in a small boat hurry away when reaching the shore, without tying up the boat. If one is watching one sees that the movement of the boat away from the shore is slow at first, depending upon the currents and the wind. But as time passes, the boat drifts farther and farther out into the lake. On the other hand, if one had not been constantly watching, one might be shocked a little later to see the boat far out in the middle of the lake. So the process of drifting is generally a slow one, and this is what can happen to Christians when they stop paying “more than the usual attention to the things heard,” when they become ‘dull in their hearing.’