The Voice Of God
Robert Wurtz II with Ben Wurtz
And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. (Exodus 15:26 KJV)
And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:3–6 KJV)
I have chosen these passages to illustrate one of the things that distinguishes God’s people from all the rest of the people on the face of the earth. We have it clearly in both passages, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God (Exodus 15:26a) and again, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed.” (Exodus 19:5a) Our translation obscures the fact that in both verses we have the doubling of Hebrew words for emphasis. You will recall terms such as King of kings, Lord of lords, Song of songs, and Holy of holies. The doubling shows that thing or person in the ultimate. In Exodus 15:26a the Hebrew word for hearken is doubled (hearken, hearken). In Exodus 19:5a the Hebrew word for obey is doubled (obey, obey). This is ultimate hearing and obeying.
It is interesting that when the children of Israel were near the mountain, they heard the sound of a trumpet (shofar) so loud that the people trembled. Between the shofar and the voices, it was an incredible experience. The writer to the Hebrews tells us:
For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded.” (Hebrews 12:18–20a NKJV)
This is interesting because when John heard the voice of Jesus in Revelation chapter one, it was as the sound of a trumpet (shofar). Could it be that the children of Israel were actually hearing the voice of God, as it were, a shofar? Some suggest no; however, the evidence is inconclusive. Nevertheless, it can be said with certainly that the Children of Israel heard God speaking, and the event was very loud. In fact, it waxed louder and louder (Exodus 19:19). There is little doubt that everyone present heard God speak. Their argument was that the phenomenon was so fearful that they couldn’t endure what was said. (Hebrews 12:26)
God Dealing Specifically
Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, “They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways. (Hebrews 3:7–10 NKJV)
Moreover, the Lord spoke to Isaac saying:
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. (Genesis 26:4–5 KJV)
Notice again, the first thing mentioned is that Abraham obeyed my voice. This is what set Abraham apart from the rest of the pack. He wanted to know and do God’s will. Jesus put it even more pointedly when He quoted Deut. 8:3, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4 KJV) The word “proceeds” is in the present. God is speaking; it is our responsibility to hear what the Spirit is saying. In fact, God prefaced His word to Israel in Deut 8:3 when He stated, And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:3 KJV) Bread is a mere detail in man’s dependence on God (Bruce quoted in A.T. Robertson)
When God Deals and Reveals
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