Is Anybody Out There Listening?
After hearing a particular sermon from an
Apostate religious group recently, (which was an insult to any thinking
person) and the continual bombardment of political commercials (mud-slinging)
I have once again become painfully aware of the apparent lack of intelligent
listening by a large portion of the population. Unhappily this is not
a modern aberration but one of the ancient societal problems that the prophets
had to deal with and plagues us to this day.
Isaiah 6: 10 “Make the heart of
this people fat, and make their ears
heavy, and shut their eyes; lest
they see with their eyes, and hear
with their ears, and understand
with their heart, and turn again, and
be healed.”
2 Timothy 4: 3 - 4 “For the time
will come when they will not endure
the sound doctrine; but, having
itching ears, will heap to themselves
teachers after their own lusts;
and will turn away their ears from the
truth, and turn aside to fables.”
Hosea 4: 6, 10
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because you have rejected
knowledge, I will also reject you, that you
shall be no priest to me: seeing
that you have forgotten the law of
your Elohim.” “And they shall
eat, and not have enough; they shall
play the harlot, and shall not
increase: because they have left off
taking heed to Yahweh.”
In the
“Old Testament,” “New Testament,” and especially today people have
grown tired of thinking about what they hear and see. They seem to want only
what promises to please their carnal desires or their egos. There is no
thought for the implications or consequences of what is being purposed as long
as it feels good for ME right NOW. The “dummying down” of the general
population is nearly complete. Attention spans are shorter than a “sound bite”
and we shouldn’t tire ourselves
“... much study is a weariness of
the flesh - Ecclesiastes 12: 12.”
This has lead to the condition
of the world we see today: politicians make contradictory promises, religion
abounds with turmoil, indecision and divisiveness.
COMPROMISE
is the watchword nearly everywhere you turn. Should this be so?
On the political/social realm
the history of mankind repeatedly shows that a group is strong only when
it has a solid foundation to build upon. This foundation must be one
that promotes truth, morality and holds true knowledge in high esteem. A
viable culture will result as long as the people know, understand and live
according to it’s tenants. Change should therefore only refine the culture.
Unhappily history also shows that mankind left to his own inclinations will,
at some point, apply “situation ethics” to whatever culture he is in, thus
defiling even the best culture (the one given to us by Almighty Yahweh) and
bring it to ruin. This is the history of man from Adam and is one of the
reasons for acceptance of the “Beast System” in Revelation 13.
On the religious front the
situation is no better. All that has been said about politics applies to
religion for both have become of the same nature. Because of personal
self interest religion has become a political entity in the image of
man not of Yahweh. There are those who can put out anything, call it a
“sermon” and get a group to “amen” it; as long as it “sounds good” and tickles
their ears.
Are we responsible to understand
what is being put forth to us? Of course we are!
The above references in Hosea and in 2 Timothy tell us that. It is a
given in the Torah:
Numbers 15: 39 - 40 “and it shall
be to you for a fringe, that you
may look upon it, and remember
all the commandments of Yahweh,
and do them; and that you follow
not after your own heart and your
own eyes, after which you used to
play the harlot; that you may
remember and do all my
commandments, and be holy to your Elohim.”
Deuteronomy 17: 9 - 13 “and you
shall come to the priests the Levites,
and to the judge that shall be in
those days: and you shall inquire; and
they shall show you the sentence
of judgment. And you shall do
according to the tenor of the
sentence which they shall show you from
that place which Yahweh shall
choose: and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach
you: according to the tenor of the
law which they shall teach you.
And according to the judgment which
they shall tell you, you shall
do; you shall not turn aside from the
sentence which they shall show
you, to the right hand, or to the left.
And the man that does
presumptuously,
in not listening to the priest
that stands to minister there
before Yahweh your Elohim, or to the
judge,
that man shall die:
and you shall put away the evil from Israel.
And all the people shall hear,
and fear, and do no more
presumptuously.”
So, we see that it was not
enough to follow the law in a simple-minded manner, but, one also had to
understand and apply the tenor [6310: peh, the mouth (the means of blowing);
specific edge, portion or side. Translations include: according to, eat (from
a Hebrew idiom), edge, end, entry, mind, part, wish.” From 6284: pa’ah: to
puff, scatter into corners. [From Strong’s Concordance] of the
sentence. The tenor (principal) of the law was to be applied in every corner
of one’s life. In order to function in society an Israelite had to have enough
intelligence to inquire, learn, understand the spirit behind a law as well as
it’s application, and, the consequences of both obedience and disobedience to
both the principal and execution of the judgment rendered. Anyone
who willfully disregarded the judgment in it’s principal or application would
face public execution (also see
Hebrews 10: 26 - 31
for a future reference). The
book of Proverbs is especially replete with references to the necessity of
wisdom and understanding, and the negative results of the “foolish.” Can you
discern between wisdom and the inviting, smooth, oily talk of the
harlot/foreign woman?
OK, we see that in the past
people had to use their understanding even to the point of being educated so
they could be in compliance with Almighty Yahweh. What about today and in the
future?
Matthew 24: 4, 11 “And Yahshua
answered and said to them,
Take
heed that no man leads you astray.” “And many false prophets
shall arise, and shall lead many
astray.”
1 John 4: 1 “Beloved, believe not
every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of Yahweh;
because many false prophets are gone
out into the world.”
Revelation 22: 14 - 15 “Blessed
are they that do his commandments,
that they may have right to the
tree of life, and may enter in by the
gates into the city. Outside are
the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the
idolaters, and everyone
that loves and makes a lie.”
Matthew 28: 19 - 20
“Go you
therefore, and make disciples of all
the
nations, immersing them into the name of the Son and of the
Holy
Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatever I commanded
you:
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
We must conclude that today we
must increase our understanding of what is transpiring around us especially in
the realm of religion. Today the excuses of the past have been removed from
all but the most primitive locations. Knowledge continues to increase at a
phenomenal rate, but wisdom and understanding are on the decline; the smarter
we get, the dumber we become. In the sermon that was referred to at the
beginning: if the people had LISTENED, and THOUGHT, and wanted to UNDERSTAND
what was being said they would have left before the speaker had finished.
To do justice to the subject
would almost require quoting the whole of Scripture; so we will leave it at
encouraging all to LISTEN with understanding as you HEAR:
“Hear, O Israel: Yahweh is our
Elohim, Yahweh is one: and you shall
love Yahweh your Elohim with all
your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your might. And
these words, which I command you this
day, shall be upon your heart;
and you shall teach them diligently to
your children, and shall talk of
them when you sit in your house, when
you walk by the way, when you lie
down, and when you rise up. And
you shall bind them for a sign on
your hand, and thy shall be frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write
them on the doorposts of your house, and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6: 4-9.
This article presents concern where listening in general
has declined from the author's era. We were taught to pay attention! Today,
this is the exception rather than the rule! The following article brings forth
some very relevant information on LISTENING.
Click
on arrow!
(All Scripture from T.S.S..
Emphases mine throughout).
Yours in the knowledge of
Messiah:
Finnegan
AKA The Mick
