Psalm 5:1 To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my groaning. Azan Azan emer Yehovah biyn hagiyg is the transliterated phrase. Azan Azan is listen listen (or pay attention pay attention). The repetition is like putting an exclamation point on these two words – Listen to me! emer is speech. I’m sure the next word is obvious. biyn means understand, and hagiyg is mutterings or murmerings… So the verse, more literally says: Pay attention/Listen! to my speech Yehovah! Understand my mutterings. It’s kind of a different idea. It sounds frustrated, like I get when things aren’t going well. It’s not a question of whether God will hear, it’s a cry of “listen up!” I know most translations say consider my groanings or meditations, and perhaps there’s something beside the literal meaning of the word that changes it’s meaning, but when I read mutterings I think of those times when I’m irritated, and I don’t say what I’m thinking out loud, but rather half-speak it. God not only hears those words, He also understands them and our frustrations. David knew this and he wasn’t afraid to express his feelings to God. Neither should we today be afraid to bring those things and feelings before Him. He does pay attention and He does understand, even when I vent. That’s quite comforting when I’m frustrated.
Numbers 9:8 And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.” Does anyone else think it’s interesting that Moses told the men who had come to inquire about Passover to be still so he could hear from God? The word for stand still here also means to stand firm. In other words, don’t run! But it does mean to stand still. It implies that until they stop and are quiet and rest and listen that Moses won’t be able to hear God’s voice. What does that mean for us today? Maybe we need to stand still, too. I know that I spend a large portion of my day running around like crazy, chasing children, discussing a lesson plan, listening to music or commentary, blaring the TV, etc. I am rarely still. When I am still, it takes all of 5 minutes for me to pass out from exhaustion. My life is often quite non-conducive to hearing from God. I have no idea how to be still. The only truly still time I have is in the morning when I write here in this blog (and even that is often disrupted by a sleepy little monkey who thinks 5am is a perfectly acceptable time to be awake). It’s hard to hear when we’re moving. So many things distract us (like not falling over something, navigation, the wind rushing by, the scenery). I need to learn to stand still so I can better hear what God has to say to me. No one said the lessons of the Bible were easy to apply. Sigh.
Micah 2:6 “Don’t say such things,” the people say. “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!” This reminds me of when I’ve asked people for advice about a decision, but then not wanted to listen to them when they said something I didn’t want to hear. You know, like when I’ve already got an answer I’m hoping for, and they don’t give it… Yeah. And then I ignore their warnings and disaster is the result of my not listening. Although I don’t think I’m quite as blatant as the people in this verse, in my heart it’s the same. I know that God uses people to help direct me in His path. I need to learn to listen to them even if it’s not what I want to hear. Yes, it’s a good idea to pray about any advice given and check it against God’s Word, but if it’s good advice from a Godly mentor or friend, it’s worth considering, even when it isn’t what I had hoped for.