Jeremiah 7:24: “But they harkened not nor inclined their ear.”

I get the part of not harkening unto the Word of God which is the context here.  I mean God spells out in his Word what we are to do and not to do.  The Bible tells us not to steal, so if I steal I am not harkening unto the Word of God.

But this matter of not inclining one’s ear has me a bit baffled.  This is to suggest that God is speaking to us and we are not inclining our ear to hear him.  Hey, let me tell  you, if God is speaking to me, I am inclining my ears to hear Him. My problem is how in the blazes does he speak to us.  Does he speak audibly?  There may be an occasion, but it is not his standard way of speaking. Does God use events?  A couple weeks ago I felt a prompting to pray for Haiti and Florida. If you are following the news you heard about the Category 4 Hurricane that is now striking Florida after wrecking devastation on Haiti. Was that the voice of God?  I did not hear anything audible, I just felt something. Coincidence maybe?

I recall reading about an experience David Wilkerson and his church had before 9-11.   A couple months before 9-11 David Wilkerson and his church felt a strong leading in their spirits to set aside a special time of prayer.  This prayer grew into a deep sense of desperation. On 9-10 David Wilkerson called everyone together to prepare sandwiches and the church went to work preparing hundreds of sandwiches for an event they knew nothing about until the next day, on 9-11. This was surely a church which had inclined ear to God.

Taking a look at this expression in the Hebrew I find the word incline to be natah. The word really has the idea of stretching out, it is used for the tightening of the bow strings on a bow to shoot an arrow or the tightening of the strings on a musical instrument. We call this tuning an instrument. This involves tightening the strings of an instrument to get just the right tension so when the strings are struck they will be in tune or in harmony with all the other instruments.  The word ear is ’azan which means ear, but it is also a word that is sometimes used for a musical instrument.

I believe this is more than just paying attention to hear the voice of God but it is also a picture of tuning a musical instrument.  The writer is illustrating the idea of hearing the voice of God with that of tuning of instruments, or even the playing of musical instruments so that it is in harmony with all others.  I recall going to a Farmer’s Market.  Off in one area were a group of musicians playing various musical instruments.  They appeared to be just jamming, playing various musical riffs. There were guitars, banjos, an accordion, some sort of drum etc.  Yet they were all in harmony, all playing the same chords with the same rhythm.  When they came to a stopping point one of the members mentioned a favorite song, “In the Sweet Bye and Bye”  The person suggesting the song began to play on her guitar and suddenly all the other musicians with their various instruments joined in.  I was glad I was wearing sunglasses as it could not help but tear up as I heard this precious old song being played by some many different instruments, yet all were perfectly in tune with each other.  That is what it means to incline your ear to God. I watch the various musicians who were focused on their instruments.  Some were quietly picking away at their instrument, some strumming a few chords, and after about a minute or two all were playing the melody as if they had rehearsed it for days.  As they got into it many were adding creative little runs or riffs, their own little style, yet they still remained in tune with each other. In a way all were doing their own thing, but all the time were keeping in tune and in time with each other. It was almost as if each could go solo and play their own version of the melody while the others played softly in the background as a backup. They all were as one yet each with their own creative identity. It was as if they could anticipate each other’s moves and sounds.  Yet, they all just sat back and played as if they were playing from some gut feeling.

I really believe this is what Jeremiah meant when he said hitu eth ’azenam incline your ear. Having gone through a dark period recently I am making a special effort to be in tune with God.  Perhaps that is why I began praying for Haiti and Florida long before the storm developed. If we stay in tune with God and follow His rhythm then whatever we do we do in accordance to that tune and rhythm, we can even create our own version of the tune so long as it stays in tune with God.  Hearing God’s voice and following God’s voice should be as free and flowing as following another musical instrument. I don’t know about you but staying in tune with God takes a lot of work and discipline but it is so worth it.