Heeding, Not Hearing

“For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, [and] as [in] the day of temptation in the wilderness:” (Ps 95:7-8 AV)

I thought this was very interesting.  The phrase, “to day if ye will hear my voice” implies they frequently heard the voice of God.  In fact, it is suggested they heard the voice of God daily.  This was certainly so.  Under the leadership of Moses, the people of God never lacked for the voice of God.  No matter the subject, they heard the voice of God all the time.  The voice of God might have been a matter of the law.  As they went to Moses at times of dispute, they would hear from him or the seventy elders the legal solution to their dilemma.  The voice of God was evident when instructed to move from one place to another.  In short, there was no lack of the voice of God.  The problem was, the voice of God was not a matter of hearing.  It was a matter of heeding.

The voice of God is all around us.  The voice of God is within us.  From preaching to reading the word to observing the active hand of God, God is not silent.  He is an active God who desires His creation to know Him and walk with Him.  Faith and humility are the keys that unlock this precious experience.  The hardened heart above is the child of pride.  It wishes not to listen.  The prideful heart hears.  What it does not do is heed.  The child of God can hear the word of God, but heeding it is another matter altogether.  The problem is not deaf ears.  Although the word of God talks about the hardened heart producing the deaf ears, I think the deaf ears are a lack of heeding and not hearing.  Conviction comes by way of hearing.  Accountability comes by way of hearing.  God speaks often and God thunders.  To miss the voice of God takes a deliberate choice on our part.

The foundation for the surety of the voice of God is found in the first phrase.  God is the God of Israel.  Israel is the nation of God’s earth.  His pasture.  They are in His hand.  They are in the direct providence of God.  Because of that, the voice of God is seldom in short supply.  In a manner of speaking, the New Testament saint can apply the same principle.  God is our Father.  We are His children.  The church is the bride of Christ.  We are His spokesmen for the grace of God.  We are that which Jesus died for and is precious in His sight.  Jesus is the head of the church and by extension, we are in His hand.  In fact, the LORD tells us as a child of God; we are in the hand of God and no man can pluck us out.  For that very reason, the voice of God is often and obvious.  Not to belabor a point, but the supply of God’s voice is not our problem.  It is heeding God’s voice that has always been the problem.  Listening and doing.  Trusting and obeying.  Hearing and following.  Understanding and applying.  Failing to do the second while trying to do the first is a recipe for failure.  Again, the voice of God is not a matter of hearing.  It is a matter of heeding.