judge' (John 5:30); `I speak to the world those things which I have heard of

Him' (John 8:26).

A twofold charge is brought against the Hebrew believers in chapter 5

of that epistle:

(1) They were dull of hearing, and consequently (2) they failed to

become efficient teachers (Heb. 5:11,12).  The apostle made it plain

that what he taught others, he first of all had received himself (1

Cor. 15:3).  There are many who are dumb, simply because they are deaf.

They do not know that they can make a sound, nor do they know that

others can either.  The Lord once had a man brought to Him, who was

deaf and who had an impediment in his speech, and we read:

`He ... put His fingers into his ears, and He spit, and touched his

tongue; and looking up to heaven, He sighed, and saith unto him,

Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.  And straightway his ears were opened,

and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain' (Mark 7:33

The Lord had no need to say `be loosed' for the opening of the ear

released the tongue so that the man `spake plain'.