Simeon

Simeon

Leah conceived again and she brought forth another son and she called his name Simeon. (Gen. 29:33) In the Hebrew the word Simeon is translated, “hearing.” She said, “The LORD has heard,”; therefore she called his name Simeon.

There is a powerful truth that has been restored to the church. It is called hearing. It is interesting that the Hebrew word shimon (Simeon) is derived from the root word Shama (to hear). It is spoken in Duet. 6:4, when the Lord said, “Hear oh Israel.” In Israel the recitation of the shema (Duet. 6:4-5) was made in the synagogue on Sabbaths and Holy days. The Hebrew shema is considered by rabbis to be the first most important command in the Hebrew law. It is referred to as the shema because of the first word in the command, “Hear.” The word hear in the Hebrew comes with the instruction to obey. It can easily translate “Obey.” When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus gave an amended version of the shema. “Hear oh Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord our God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other greater commandment than these.” (Mark 12:29-31).

The Holy Spirit has birthed in the church the ability to hear the voice of God. This is an amazing asset in the life of the believer. Without this functioning in your life you will never be able to get up close and personal with God. We place up most importance on God’s ability to hear us and little emphasis on us hearing God. But one of the most fundamental functions in the life of the believer is simply hearing His voice.

In the present Christian world we call the abnormal normal and what should be normal we treat as abnormal or hyper spirituality. But Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” (Jn.10:27). He is not speaking of pastors or apostles. He is speaking of sheep; basic Christianity. It should be natural, second nature to us to hear the voice of the Lord.

Leah cried out, “The Lord has heard.” And she spoke prophetically that his name was to be called Simeon.

A saint that nurtures the ability not only to hear God, but to distinguish His voice (Jn. 10:4,5) will become both fruitful in the kingdom and dangerous to the enemy. Most Christians do not think in terms of developing the ability to hear and recognize God’s voice, but it is paramount in successful Christian living. For the ministry it is life and death. As you develop your ability to hear God you will find that He will change the way He speaks to you as you mature. Much like the way a father speaks to his child from infancy to adulthood. As he speaks to us we learn to recognize His voice in the midst of the changing conditions of our life, sometimes He speaks through the fire, sometimes He comes like thunder, sometimes He’s a still small voice. Sometimes we try to discern the voice of God through our own metabolism’s response when He is speaking and we condition ourselves to recognize His voice by the way we feel when He is speaking. But time itself will alter your feelings and they become a weak indicator that God is speaking.

There seems to be two key elements to “hearing.” First is voice recognition and the second is understanding what is being spoken. Believe me when I say you can do one without the other. Jesus said, “The sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Jn. 10:4 The word “know” is taken from the Greek word oida which literally means to perceive. It’s interesting that in Spanish the word refers to the inner ear. The concept is voice recognition and by this we learn to follow. But voice recognition alone can be a weak arena to be in if we are unable to understand what is being spoken. We still function as little children when we say, “God is speaking to me!” “What is He saying?” “I don’t know.” Content is paramount. It is amazing when God speaks to man and it is equally amazing when God finds a man that is listening.

The scriptures tell us the LORD spoke to Noah. That alone is amazing, what is more amazing is that Noah understood what was being spoken. Grasp how powerful this was, considering the details in building the ark. Place yourself in Noah’s position and you were commissioned to build the boat. What kind of boat would be built? Could you follow instructions simply by listening to his voice? Would it float? We know Noah built the ark completely according to God’s instructions because it did float.

After 400 years of bondage, the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt with a high hand. Moses had reacquainted them with person of God. He first declared God’s name to them and then demonstrated God’s ability to them. When Moses brought them out, it was his design to bring them to The Mount and introduce them to God. (Exo. 3:12; Exo.19:17). When they came to the mount the Glory of God came down and for the first time they heard God speak. (Exo. 19:19). The people were terrified and withdrew from the Mount and they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen, but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” Understand that they were coming out of 400 years of slavery and were thrust into a situation of intense glory. They wanted to create a degree of separation between them and God. They needed their information diluted and second hand. The modern church has functioned much the same way. Because of Egyptian bondage and a slaves mentality, combined with a religious spirit that is prevalent in the church, we relegate ourselves to servitude and turn a deaf ear to the cry of intimacy from the Holy Spirit.

But the bride cries out, “Tell me, O you whom I love, where you feed your flock, where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions.” (SoS. 1:7). The spirit within us cries for intimacy. The bride does not want to get her information only second hand. She is not content just to hear the preacher’s declaration about God. She wants to hear His voice.

The prophetic grasp it, like the forerunner John who said, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice.” I believe there are last day ministries that God is raising up that function under this guideline; that the bride belongs to Him, that we are to be the friend of the bridegroom (not overtly friendly with the bride), and we rejoice at hearing his voice. The church has a tendency to change her message with the social climate in which she is in, but the groom’s message doesn’t change with political correctness. To often we only hear the voice of the bride and not the groom. But we are to be the friend of the bridegroom. Sometimes I think if the bride had her way she would show up at her own wedding in a black mini skirt rather than radiant glory. Shepherds have a tremendous responsibility to help make the bride ready, but there needs to be a degree of separation. The bride belongs to the groom. The church is never yours. At best you are simply His friend; the one He can count on, and you rejoice at hearing His voice.

He That Has Ears to Hears

Every Christian seems to understand that there is a mansion waiting for them at the end of life’s road. We sing about it and make reference to it’s size and location. Yet Jesus only mentioned mansions once in all of scripture (Jn. 14) and the phrase is not found in most translations. Jesus addressed those that had ears to hear at least seven times throughout the gospels as if He was constantly addressing an audience within an audience. Those who had ears to hear. He seems to be content to do the same today; speaking to an exclusive group. It behooves us to develop this ability to hear. Literally to develop a hearing ear. How do you enhance Simeon in your life? It is really very simple. First quiet your life. As David said, “Be still and know that I am God.” The NASB says, “Cease striving”. (Psa. 46:10). Turn down the noise factor and spend time with Him. You cannot enhance your hearing without spending time in His presence.

Written by Rusty Owens

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