Archive for March, 2007

Hear the Word of the Lord

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

Submitted by Bobbi Hoag

Ezekiel 37:1-14

In the miracle of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37, everything hinges on “hearing the Word of the Lord.” By “hearing the word of the lord”, God is obviously not talking about just being within earshot of something that is being said so that it passes through your auditory sense! He’s also not talking about a religious sort of hearing that “nods the head” and hears “good advice, sound teaching, or positive platitudes”. NO!! He is talking about hearing His Voice! Hearing the Word at His mouth! Hearing the Voice of the Almighty, Sovereign Ruler, and Creator of the Universe! Hearing the same Voice that Moses heard, and Abraham heard, and Sarah heard, and Daniel heard, and Samuel heard, and David heard, and Joseph heard, and Elisha heard, and Ruth heard, and Peter heard and Matthew heard, and Mary heard, and Paul heard, and Lazarus heard, and the dry bones heard! They ALL heard the Word of the Lord. And as a result, miraculous, supernatural events took place in their lives. They were people of faith because “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”. (Ro. 10:17)

So back to Ezekiel 37. We see that the whole chain of events begins with Ezekiel HEARING the Word of the Lord himself and actually carrying Out that Word by the power and authority of God contained in that Word. In verse 4, Ezekiel HEARS God telling him to prophesy and to say to the dry bones that they too must HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD! Not the word of a mere man –but the Word of the Lord through this man chosen and empowered by God. An earthen vessel just like you and me. Verse 7 bears witness to the fact that Ezekiel prophesied as he was commanded which means according to verse 4 – that he told them to “hear the Word of the Lord.” What follows verse 7 is nothing less than miraculous and amazing and bears witness to the reality that the bones did “hear the Word of the Lord.” They didn’t hear “a good sermon” or “an interesting teaching, or a positive, encouraging word of advice”, or “a loving suggestion from a concerned Christian brother” – – NO!! THEY HEARD THE WORD OF THE LORD! They heard the Voice of God through Ezekiel and they received it and believed it and clung to it with determined faith. Like the Thessalonians who when they received the message of God which they HEARD from the apostles, they welcomed it not as the word of mere men but as it truly was THE WORD OF GOD which effectually did its work in them. There were supernatural results in the dry bones, in the Thessalonians, and in ALL who hear the Word of the Lord and not the word of mere men. (I Thess. 2:13 AMP)

What would have been lost and forever different if they had not “heard the Word of the Lord”? How long would they have continued in their dry, hopeless, cut-off state? But they DID hear! And Ezekiel DID hear! And, oh, the amazing power in the Word of the Lord as it is heard, believed, received, and released under the anointing and direction of the Holy Spirit. May we determine to settle for nothing less in our lives than hearing the Word of the Lord, clinging to it with determined faith, and walking in the power of it each and every day!

And your ears will hear a Word behind you saying, This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left” – Is. 30:21