God Speaks

One truth that comes to us clearly from the Bible is that we worship a God who speaks. Our God is a communicating God. In fact, He communicates to us in a variety of ways.

In Psalm 19 two ways were disclosed. The first is through the creation. The writer of this psalm says that the "heavens declare the glory of God". He says there is constant communication from God through the heavens and that this communication is known to all. There is none who are hidden from this speech.

The psalmist also points to the law, another method of communication the Lord has used and continues to use. This law not only teaches us how to live, but it also reflects the very character of the lawgiver: perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, more worthy than gold.

In Jeremiah 43 we saw another mode of communication. In this chapter we saw God communicating through His prophet. Often the Lord chose to send His message through a human vessel. Jeremiah was chosen to communicate just prior to the days of Judah's exile to Babylon.

God also communicates to us through pain, oddly enough. When the Philistines inherited the ark of the covenant, they thought that they had gained a trophy for their victory in battle. Instead they inherited a plague. Each city that took the ark came to be infested with mice and afflicted with tumors. God was communicating through their pain that He is God, and there is none like Him. He is untamable, not a creation of human hands.

So, we see that God is a God who communicates. But we must ask, "How do we respond to that communication?" The Philistines seemed to listen. They sent the ark away and learned a great lesson about the God of Israel. The people of Judah, on the other hand, rejected the Word of the Lord. The message was not one they wanted to hear, so they set it aside, but they did that to their own peril.

The psalmist (Psalm 19) had a great viewpoint regarding God's communication. Refering to the law he declared that it was worth more than fine gold. He also stated this wonderful truth, "Moreover, by them (the law) your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward."

Knowing their value, the psalmist then petitioned the Lord. He said, "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgressions."

Brothers and sisters, we have a God who speaks. Are we listening? The Word of the Lord is of supreme value. Do we believe this? If we do we will be petitioning the Lord to keep us in the path of His Word all the days of our lives. We will seek by the Holy Spirit who resides within to walk in all the ways of our Lord. May God help us to do so!