Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your own people also, and your father’s house; So the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him. (Psalm 45:10-11)
Within these verses, important concepts are mentioned that all of us need to internalize. First of all, we should remember that this psalm is believed to be about King Messiah, in some instances, describing His character and attributes. However, these verses address His “daughter,” which is understood to be His people and, by inference, His bride. That being understood, let us consider that she is told to “listen,” or more literally, to “hear.” In Hebrew the word is שמע sh’ma — a word that has significant meaning and influence in the Jewish world.
According to the Messiah, the first and most important commandment is “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:29-30). As in the verse from the psalm, the Hebrew word sh’ma is translated as “hear.” The point is, when it comes to our commitment to God, having a willingness to love and serve Him is predicated on our ability to hear Him. In short, hearing is more important than seeing.
Never do I recall Messiah saying, “To him who has an eye, let him see.” I do recall that on several occasions He said, “To him who has an ear, let him hear.” Again the point is that, as His people — as His “daughter” — we must be willing and able to hear Him. It is imperative that we filter out all the other voices and noises in order to clearly hear His Voice and understand His Word to us. No one has seen God but all of us have the potential to hear Him, so let us incline our ear and consider what He has to say to us today.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments