A Brief, Biblical Investigation of Hearing
There ain’t no way to find out why a snorer can’t hear himself snore.
Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad
Pretty soon we’ll be able to hear the voices of our friends (and
telemarketers) in every nook and cranny on the face of the earth. (Can
you hear me now?) But it isn’t getting any easier to hear the voice of
God. As we explore the biblical idea of vocation and calling, we’ve got
to give attention to hearing as well. Here are a few questions and
passages that may fuel reflection and discussion.
1. What are some of the great and compelling biblical stories about hearing?
2. How do you hear God’s voice?
3. What prevents us from hearing?
Genesis 12:1-4
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country,
your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show
you." I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will
make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those
who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on
earth will be blessed through you." So Abram left, as the LORD had told
him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he
set out from Haran.
Exodus 3:1-6
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his
father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far
side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the
angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.
Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses
thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does
not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God
called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said,
"Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your
sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then
he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he
was afraid to look at God.
Exodus 33:9-11
As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of
cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke
with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the
entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the
entrance to his tent. The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a
man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but
his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD
is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you
today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk
about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when
you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and
bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your
houses and on your gates.
1 Samuel 3:1-11
The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD
under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not
many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he
could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God
had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the
LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel
answered, "Here I am." And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you
called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he
went and lay down. Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up
and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli
said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." Now Samuel did not yet
know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli
and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD
was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he
calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' "So
Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there,
calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said,
"Speak, for your servant is listening." And the LORD said to Samuel:
"See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of
everyone who hears of it tingle.
1 Kings 19:9-13
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What
are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied, "I have been very zealous for
the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant,
broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword.
I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." The
LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the
LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind
tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but
the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake,
but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a
fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a
gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face
and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to
him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Psalm 46:1-6
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-3
Guard your steps when you go to the house
of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools,
who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do
not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in
heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.
Zechariah 7:8-14
And the word of the LORD came again to
Zechariah: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true
justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the
widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not
think evil of each other.' " But they refused to pay attention;
stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made
their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the
words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier
prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry. " 'When I called, they
did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD
Almighty. 'I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations,
where they were strangers. The land was left so desolate behind them
that no one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land
desolate.' "
Matthew 13:1-23 The Parable of the Sower
John 10:1-6
" I tell you the truth, the man who does not
enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a
thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of
his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to
his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he
has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep
follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a
stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not
recognize a stranger’s voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but
they did not understand what he was telling them.
John 14:25-26
" All this I have spoken while still with you.
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I
have said to you.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
William Butler Yeats, The Second Coming
