Numbers 12:2 And they said, Has the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? has he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. And the Lord heard it. Compare with this the words," And the Lord hearkened and heard" (Malachi 3:16). We are thus reminded that God listens not only to take note of our sinful words, but to record every loving, faithful word, spoken of him or for him. What a proof of the omnipotence of God! Wonderful that he should attend to every prayer addressed to him. Still more so that he should listen to every word spoken not to him but to others. But at the same moment he can hear the brooks murmuring over their rocky beds, the trees clapping their hands, the floods lifting up their voice, the birds singing in the branches, the young lions roaring for their prey, and every sound of joy or cry of pain, every hymn of praise or word of falsehood issuing from human lips (Psalm 139:3, 4, 6). Without speaking of direct prayers we may seek illustrations of the truth that God listens to everything we say to one another, records it, passes his judgment on it, and lays it up in store as one of the materials of his future verdict on our lives. We may regard this truth - I. AS AN ENCOURAGEMENT. As illustrations - 1. Turn to the scene described in Malachi 3:16. A few godly persons are trying to keep alive the flame of piety in a godless age (verses 13-15). Apply to social means of grace for mutual edification. 2. See that Christian man on a lonely walk, courteously conversing with a stranger, and seeking to recommend Christ to him. The stranger may go away to pray or to scoff, but that is not all. God hears and records the words as one of the good deeds done in the body (2 Corinthians 5:10). 3. A godly mother in the midst of daily duties, not only praying but soliloquizing, as in Psalm 62:1, 2, 5-7. Whether or not she may say Psalm 5:1, God does "give ear," and the words are "acceptable" (Psalm 19:14). 4. Sufferers lamenting; e. g. Hagar (Genesis 16:11); Ishmael (Genesis 21:17); Israel in Egypt (Exodus 2:24); mourners in Zion (Isaiah 30:19). II. AS A WARNING. The truth has its shady as well as its sunny side. We may apply to - 1. The swearer's prayer, not intended for the ear of God, but reaching it. 2. Calumnies and backbitings, e.g., against Moses (verses 1, 2), or other servants of God (cf. Zephaniah 2:8); perhaps disliked because their lives are a rebuke to others (cf. Psalm 94:4, 7, 8, 9; John 15:18). 3. Impure words. The youth would be ashamed all day if his mother accidentally heard. But God heard. 4. Solitary words of repining or rebellion. Spoken in haste, they are soon regretted, and you say, "Well, at any rate nobody heard them." Stop and think again (Numbers 11:1; Psalm 139:7). The ear of God, like his eye, is in every place." Therefore Matthew 12:37. This truth leads us by a single step to the heart of the gospel (Acts 20:21). And if we say Psalm 17:3, God will hear that too, and give us strength to serve him with "righteous lips" and "joyful lips" (Psalm 19:14). - P. Parallel Verses KJV: And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. |
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