This is the second in a series of talks I shared at a retreat last month. (We will return to Deuteronomy 27 next week.)
Today we will think about how we listen to God. Not many of us have heard an audible voice, and I don’t think that we should be expecting that. But how do you know whether that internal nudge, that idea that pops into your mind, is the Holy Spirit, Satan, or last night’s dinner speaking? Obviously, the best way to listen to God is to read the Bible, but how do you know which part to read, and what do you do with the parts that seem irrelevant to our particular current experience? Or has God stopped speaking to his people since the Bible was written down?
Let’s start by looking together at Deuteronomy 18:15-22. In this passage, Moses reminds the Israelites of their experience at Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai). The people of Israel were overwhelmed by the direct presence of God, feeling like they would die if they continued hearing his voice, so they asked for a mediator. At that time, God provided Moses for them. Moses’ task was to listen directly to God and then communicate his word to the people. But the Book of Deuteronomy records Moses’ last words to the people of Israel, before his death. What will they do without him? How would they hear God’s voice after Moses has passed away? Thankfully, Moses promises here that they will not be left alone without a prophet to mediate God’s word to his people. All they need to do, Moses says in 18:15, is listen to him. Remember those words: Listen to him.
After Moses, God raised up many prophets from among the people of Israel to communicate his word to them. The next significant one we read about is Samuel, who was appointed as one who listened to God after the dark ages of the Judges, when everyone did as they saw fit, and guided the people in how to follow God rightly. When Samuel was still a boy, he heard Yahweh’s voice calling him, even before he knew who Yahweh was. Eli had to teach Samuel how to respond to God: ‘Speak, for your servant is listening’ (1 Sam 3:9). I wonder how often God has called us and we haven’t recognized who was speaking – or perhaps we heard, but did not listen or obey.
After Samuel, we read of Nathan, and later Elijah and Elisha. We also have the writing prophets, like Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. Jeremiah himself referred to this passage in Deuteronomy when he said that God put his words into Jeremiah’s mouth (Jer 1:9 cf Deut 18:18). God raised up prophets for his people so they could listen to him.
Moses also mentions false prophets in Deut 18:20-22. These are prophets who speak a message in God’s name that does not actually come from God, as well as prophets of other gods. Elijah contested with the false prophets of Baal (1 Kgs 18). Jeremiah had to deal with false prophets who purported to speak Yahweh’s word (eg Jer 5:31). For example, Hananiah prophesied that the people of God would be saved from Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon; but Jeremiah insisted that all that had been prophesied by those who came before, like Isaiah, would come to pass (Jer 27-29). Prophet against prophet, who would win? Jeremiah tells his opponent, ‘Listen, Hananiah! Yahweh did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie’ (Jer 28:15). Of course, Jeremiah is the prophet who is telling the truth, and although it is not what the people or the king want to hear, it is Jeremiah’s word that comes to pass. He is the true prophet, the one who – in this case – prophesies doom and judgment. But so often the only prophecy we hear is positive words of affirmation – words our itching ears want to hear, as Paul says in 2 Tim 4:3.
In the New Testament we are warned about false prophets also. Jesus warned about them (Mt 24:24 // Mk 13:22), as did Peter (2 Pet 2:1) and John (1 Jn 4:1). On the other hand, there were also prophets who were sent and gifted by God, even after the revelation of the word of God through Jesus. Paul lists prophecy as a gift to be eagerly sought; the one who prophesies speaks to God’s people for their edification, encouragement, and comfort (1 Cor 14:1-3). God continued to raise up prophets to communicate his word to his people. Agabus is an example of a prophet in Acts, as are the four daughters of Philip the Evangelist.
The story of Agabus is particularly interesting. He appears twice in Acts: once to prophesy about the coming famine (11:28); and secondly to prophesy that Paul will be bound and imprisoned in Jerusalem (21:11). Both times he was correct. However, Paul’s interpretation of Agabus’ prophecy was different to his friends’ interpretation. Agabus knew he would suffer and his friends, including Luke, told him not to go. Paul heard that he would suffer, and determined to go anyway because he was sure it was God’s will.
How do we know which prophecies are true and which are false? And how do we know how to respond? Moses’ simple answer in Deut 18:20-22 is that the one whose prophecy comes true is a prophet sent by God, and if the message doesn’t come to pass, that is a false prophet, or at least a prophet who has spoken presumptuously or arrogantly – the sense of that word is that they spoke out of their own thinking and not on God’s behalf. But how does that help us in the moment the prophecy is spoken? How do we know at that time that a prophecy is the word of God?
When I met my husband, he was doing some research on why people enter ministry. He had seen many people come under the influence of what he was concerned was false prophecy. A magnetic speaker would put his hand on someone in the congregation and announce, “God has called you to the ministry! Leave everything behind and dedicate your life to serving him.” And that poor soul would leave his job, sometimes his family, and enter a life that he had never actually been called to, because he believed the false prophet. Then his life would become a mess, because he wasn’t really called, and so he would potentially mess up other people’s lives too. We need to be careful to discern between true and false prophecy. A more recent, and for some of you, much more relevant example has been the amount of prophecy regarding American politics and the rise of Donald Trump. We need to be careful to discern between true and false prophecy.
But also note what Moses says about the false prophets: do not be afraid of them. I have seen a translation of 18:20 that says the false prophet should be killed or put to death, but it is a simple verb, saying “That prophet will die”. In other words, let God take care of it. He will call to account both the false prophet, and the one who does not listen to God’s word spoken by the true prophet.
Most importantly: Jesus fulfilled this promise from Deuteronomy 18. When Jesus was transfigured on the high mountain – a symbol of Horeb, where Moses and Elijah had both heard from God – Peter, James and John saw him talking with those same famous prophets, Moses and Elijah. Then they heard a voice coming out of the cloud (of heaven) which said: ‘Listen to him’ (Mark 9:7), just as Moses said in Deut 18:15. Peter explicitly quotes this verse during his speech in Acts 3:22. In fact, as we know, Jesus was more than a prophet, embodying the very word of God himself. John describes Jesus as ‘the word made flesh’ (Jn 1:14). The writer to the Hebrews speaks of Jesus as the ultimate revelation of God, far beyond how he spoke to our Jewish forefathers through the prophets (1:1-2). If we want to hear from God, there is no better place to start than listening to Jesus.
Mary, the sister of Martha, knew this (Luke 10:39). Although there was much to be done, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to his word. Is that a possibility for us? I don’t just mean, are we too much like Martha, too distracted or too worried or too upset – although that it a valid thing to think about. I mean, can we really listen to Jesus’ word?
Jesus’ teaching and preaching is mediated to us through the New Testament writers, especially in the gospels. We should take time to dwell there and listen to Jesus. As I said earlier, the Bible is the best place to listen to God speaking, whether in our own personal study or in a group setting in God’s house, like the writer of Ecclesiastes says (Ecc 5:1).
What about other ways of listening to Jesus? Is it still possible to sit at his living feet and hear his actual words, apart from the text of scripture? What about the hymn, ‘I heard the voice of Jesus say’? It starts from the Bible’s text but then extrapolates extra words:
I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘Come unto me and rest.
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast’.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘Behold I freely give
the living water, thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live’.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘I am this dark world’s light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy days be bright’.
Is that really a thing? Can we imagine, like in Immanuel journaling, reasonable, appropriate words of Jesus, and do we make them real by thus imagining? What about that still, small voice; how do we know when it is Jesus, and when it is my imagination and the longing of my heart? If we hear it, can we be sure we interpret it correctly? Please feel free to respond to these questions in the comments.
ReadtheWordwithJessica 