Daily Thought

When Moses appealed to his nation, he cried, ‘Hear, O Israel’, Deut. 5. 1; 6. 3, 4; 9. 1; 20. 3. The nation as a whole was to mark the importance attached to his words, and to respond accordingly. When the Lord Jesus spoke, He often appealed to individuals, saying, ‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear’. He used those inviting words, when He acknowledged the greatness of the then-imprisoned John, Matt. 11. 15; when He outlined the kingdom parables, 13. 9, 43; when He warned the people about the hypocritical Pharisees and scribes, Mark 7. 16, and those who were considering following Him, Luke 14. 35. Now we hear the same appeal to the first hearers of these seven church letters. Three times He makes this appeal to the individuals before addressing overcomers, but in the last four letters the appeal is after His message to the overcomers.

The Lord’s appeal reminds us that the Creator planned for man to hear. In Eden, before Adam’s fall, he communed with his God. After he sinned, Adam and Eve ‘heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day’, Gen. 3. 8. Man still has the ability to hear, but, because of sin, not always is there an inclination to hear what God is saying. Stephen pointed out to his accusers that they were ‘uncircumcised in heart and ears’; their own actions in stopping their ears confirmed the validity of his charge, Acts 7. 51, 57. Even Christians may be reluctant to hear ‘what the Spirit saith unto the churches’, Rev. 3. 13, 22, for which cause the Lord Himself appeals tenderly, ‘Let him hear’.

Through the word of God, the Spirit still speaks to the churches. His voice through His servants is as pertinent today as it was in the first century. He may use verbs like ‘repent’, ‘remember’, ‘rebuke’, and ‘chasten’. He may comfort, reminding us that He knows, vv. 8, 9. He may speak of keeping us, v. 10, or of the Lord’s love, v. 19. He may require us to buy gold tried in fire, or prescribe anointing for our eyes, v. 18. His is a varied ministry as these letters show. He has a ministry to meet every need. Where an assembly is not hearing, He may for a time stand knocking and saying, ‘Let him hear’.