What other scriptures emphasize God's attentiveness to the cries of His people? Verse in focus: Isaiah 37:17 “Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.” Hezekiah’s plea rests on a truth that runs like a golden thread through the whole Bible: the living God notices, hears, and acts when His people cry out. The passages below trace that truth from Genesis to Revelation. Echoes from the Exodus • Exodus 2:23-25 — Israel’s groans “went up to God… God heard… God saw… and took notice.” • Exodus 3:7 — “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people… I have heard them crying out… and I am aware of their sufferings.” • 2 Samuel 22:7 — David models the same confidence: “In my distress I called upon the LORD… and my cry reached His ears.” Songs of the Psalmists • Psalm 18:6 — “From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.” • Psalm 34:15-17 — “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry… The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears.” • Psalm 40:1 — “He inclined His ear to me and heard my cry.” • Psalm 116:1-2 — “Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.” Prophetic Promises • 2 Chronicles 7:14 — “Then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” • Jeremiah 29:12-13 — “You will call upon Me… and I will listen to you.” • Jeremiah 33:3 — “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and unsearchable things.” • Micah 7:7 — “My God will hear me.” • Isaiah 58:9 — “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” New-Testament Continuity • Luke 18:7 — Jesus affirms that God “will bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night.” • James 5:4 — “The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.” • 1 Peter 3:12 — “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer.” • 1 John 5:14-15 — “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us… we know that we have the requests we have asked of Him.” • Revelation 8:3-4 — the saints’ prayers rise like incense before God, and He responds with action on earth. Putting the Passages Together • God’s hearing is personal. Scripture never speaks of an impersonal force but of a covenant Lord whose eyes and ears are turned toward His people. • God’s hearing is responsive. The Exodus, the monarchy, the exile, and the church age all showcase a God who not only listens but intervenes. • God’s hearing is conditional in one sense—humility, righteousness, and faith matter—yet the consistent pattern is grace: He stoops to hear even weak, trembling voices. • Isaiah 37:17 stands in this flow: Hezekiah expects God to hear because that is what God has always done. The same assurance belongs to every believer who calls on the name of the Lord today. |
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