PLEASE LISTEN TO GOD!

READ PSALM 81

HOW FOOLISH WE ARE, TO EVER STRAY FROM GOD’S WORD

Psalm 81:8

Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

Are you not amazed with the patience of God? The LORD God spoke to Israel many times; they listened for a time, but then stopped. God had to punish them to get their attention, and again they returned for a season, only to turn away and seek other people’s gods again.

Psalm 81:9

There shall be no strange god among you;

you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

God used the prophet Hosea to graphically describe their behavior.

Hosea 1:2

When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.”

God goes on, by the word of the prophet Hosea, to charge the children of Israel with refusing the knowledge of God by not listening to Him.

The Israelites followed other gods and refused to listen to the true God.

Psalm 81:11-13

“But my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel would not submit to me.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,

to follow their own counsels.

Oh, that my people would listen to me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!

As the children of Israel sang this psalm, they were to remember the desolation and the consequences of not heeding to God, despite His yearning for them to remain faithful to Him.

As we read this, we must assess our own hearts. Are we listening to God? Or are we allowing other gods to distract us or drive us away from God?

We, too, are prone to be this foolish!

James 1:22-25

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

The first step of a wise person is to listen to God’s Word.

Are you taking time to feed your soul with the Word of God? Are you attending a church where the Bible is central? That means that the preacher is explaining the text and not voicing his own moral opinions. A church where the preaching is clear, where the Bible has not been replaced with entertainment and programs? Are you participating in Bible Studies?

The second logical step is to then apply what you learn from your study. God speaks through His Word and expects us not overlook the truths we read or hear.

Are we careful to ask ourselves how we can change what we do because of what we have learned? Are we surrounding ourselves with godly believers who can observe our lives and lovingly encourage us in our Christian walk?

We certainly should not want to replicate the sins of the children of Israel! Are there times when we stray? Certainly yes, but knowing that God desires for us to repent and return to Him is a great encouragement to do that. The history of Israel portrays for us a God Who would not overlook sin, but was merciful and forgiving when they repented.

 God desired that they would listen and walk in His ways, so that He could bless them.

Psalm 81:14-16

I would soon subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.

Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,

and their fate would last forever.

But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,

and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

When believers feed themselves in the Word and apply it to their lives, they find much satisfaction. May this be our resolve today! May we ask God for the strength to make appropriate decisions for our spiritual lives!