Are you a good listener?
Am I? Consider this remarkable story.
“Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding…. He read out of it from daybreak until noon … ALL THE PEOPLE LISTENED ATTENTIVELY. Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose…. Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up…. All the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.” Nehemiah 8:2-5,9.
Imagine the scene. One leader standing on a large platform, reading with the loudest possible voice, from daybreak till noon (SIX HOURS!), and thousands upon thousands listened to him. Not only that, THEY LISTENED ATTENTIVELY, SO DEEPLY ENGAGED THEY WEPT!
Do we listen that way? Have we EVER listened that way? Where could you go to find a group that could pay attention from dawn till noon? Who has that kind of attention span?
Can you imagine listening to someone READ the Bible for six hours? And could you be so deeply moved that the reading made you WEEP?
What did these Israelites know that we don’t know? Why were they able to ENGAGE with the written or spoken word so much more deeply than we do? Be honest—our minds wander if a single paragraph is dull or has two or three difficult Hebrew names. What is wrong with us? What have we lost? Is it TV? Devices? How do you explain our short attention span?
… Talk about being SOFT.
What happened to humanity?
God, give us mental strength, toughness, and discipline to read more, listen longer, and give You and Your word the serious attention and dedication it deserves.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 