I Hear You

The journey toward Canaan begins with Abraham’s descendants, the sons of Israel, in a place of bondage and oppression. Though there is no mention of prayer or of the people remembering God’s promise, He hears their groaning. He hears and remembers His covenant. This has nothing to do with man’s heart being toward God; it is He who is inclined toward us, He who hears, and remembers the covenant He made. Then He looks on us and… my NIV says that He was concerned. Some translations say something about respect which I have to say made me burst out laughing… but the ESV, AMPC, and original Hebrew say that He knew them. It’s the same word we now know and love that describes an intimate knowing: yada.

What is remarkable about this is that God intimately knows and understands us in a heartfelt way that begins with hearing. He heard, looked on, and knew us.

Then the Lord commissions Moses along with Aaron to tell the people that He had watched over them and seen what was done to them in Egypt. He was going to bring them up out of misery and into the good, spacious, flowing land He promised; and would testify to this with signs so that the people would believe. When Aaron told them everything and performed the signs, they believed. Then something awesome happens: they heard that the lord had visited them and had seen their misery; and bowed down and worship. (Exodus 4:31)

This is the start of going to Canaan, becoming in sync with God. It begins with Him: He hears, sees, and knows; then we respond to what we hear of how He sees us. Without even trying, we have been brought in sync by hearing the God who heard us.

Thousands of years later, a man named Nathanael was brought to Jesus. On seeing Him, Jesus said “here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” (John 1:47-50)

At hearing how Jesus saw him, Nathanael knew he was seen and known so deeply that it could only have been God.

This is the same Lord who Israel recognized and worshiped when they heard how He saw and knew them. Now we along with Israel, and like Nathanael, are about to see greater things… But first a song! “Have you heard Him, seen Him, known Him…