I well remember my parents (and others) forcefully saying to me, “You’re not hearing me!” To which I would reply something along the lines of, “How can I NOT hear you when you’re yelling at me?” Such conversations never ended well for me. Of course, my elders’ point was, though hearing the sounds of their voices, I was not obeying their words—there was an implicit connection between hearing and obeying.
As in English, the Old Testament language of Hebrew uses the imagery of listening/hearing and associated words in various ways—physically, metaphorically and symbolically. On a raw physical level, when God (often through His prophets) calls upon the Israelites to “hear”, He actually means, “Listen up, I’m going to tell you something.” The ear was created by God, and the ability and willingness to use it reflects our dependence upon Him as Creator.
But while the physical act of listening is important in the Old Testament, key metaphors and imagery dominate the symbolic use of hearing.
- Open ears symbolize the willingness to hear and obey God: “Mine ears you have opened” (Psalm 40:6).
- The ear is central to spiritual perception: “Ears that hear and eyes that see—the Lord has made them both” (Proverbs 20:12) highlights their divine origin and spiritual purpose.
- Attentiveness and eagerness to receive God’s word and guidance: “Incline your ear to me; rescue me quickly” (Psalm 31:2).
- The call to hear is the call to obey: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4), implying acknowledging and following God’s commands.
- Spiritual deafness and the hardening of the heart illustrates the rejection of God’s Word: “Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes” (Isaiah 6:10).
- The sound of God’s voice and the hearing of faith: As the Lord revealed Himself at Mt. Sinai through His spoken word, so hearing that spoken word remains the avenue of faith: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
In essence, “hearing” in the Old Testament is a spiritual act involving attentive listening, understanding and obedient action in response to God’s will. As we prepare to “hear” God’s Word this Sunday in worship, read 1 Samuel 3.
- What does the calling of Samuel (verse 1-10) tell us about Eli, Samuel and really the entire culture in which Samuel was raised?
- Interestingly, the text tells us that Samuel at this point “did not know the Lord” (verse 7). What do you make of this? Clearly Samuel had heard of the Lord. If chapter 2 is chronologically presented, Samuel was even ministering before God (see chapter 2 verses 11, 21, 26). How could he not “know the Lord”? Hint: see the end of verse 7.
- Verse 10 tells us that “The Lord came and stood, calling.” Wow! What do you make of that? How different a God than often pictured?
- Why do you think God chose Samuel to speak doom to Eli and his family? What is important about Eli’s household that would prompt the selection of Samuel for this task?
- Verse 19 says that none of Samuel’s words “fell to the ground”. The meaning is pretty obvious, but why use this particular turn-of-phrase? Why this imagery?
By Henry Knapp