Exploring The Mind of God (Hebrew Word Study)Намуна

Tuning Your Instrument

But they harkened not, nor inclined their ear.  (Jeremiah 7:24 KJV)

The context of Jeremiah 7 is that the Israelites did not “harken” to, or heed, the Word of God. For us today, the Word of God is the Bible, which pretty clearly lays out what God expects from us. For example, God’s Word says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14 KJV). I don’t see how that statement could be any clearer. Of course, you can play around with the word adultery to mean quite a few things. Jesus did say that lusting in your heart constitutes adultery. (See Matthew 5:27–28.) Moreover, the Holy Spirit lives inside you, and He will make it very clear to you whether or not you have committed adultery. You will know if you have harkened to the Word of God.

Our study verse seems to suggest that although God is speaking to us, we are not inclining our ears in order to hear Him. I don’t know about you, but if God started to speak to me audibly out of a cloud, you can bet that I would “incline my ear,” or listen. Yet, quite frankly, I don’t recall any time in which God’s voice came out of a cloud to get my attention. So, what does it mean to incline our ears to Him?

In Tune with God’s Spirit

The Hebrew word translated “inclined” in Jeremiah 7:24 is natah. When you trace this word to its Semitic root, you find it is a musician’s term, used for the tightening of the strings on a musical instrument. We call this action tuning an instrument. The strings of an instrument need to be tightened in order to achieve just the right tension so that when they are played, they will be in tune or in harmony with all the other instruments in the ensemble. In fact, the Hebrew word that is rendered as “ear” is ’azan, which does mean “ear,” but when you trace the word to its Semitic root, you find that it is also a musician’s term, used for a musical instrument.

That’s right—this idea of inclining one’s ear is really a picture of tuning a musical instrument so that it is in line with the other instruments. Thus, knowing God’s mind and hearing His voice is really a matter of tightening the strings of your spirit or heart so that you are in tune with God’s Spirit, with His mind and heart.

In Harmony with One Another

My study partner and I recently went to a farmer’s market. As she was checking out her vegetarian delights, I wandered to a corner of the market where about a dozen amateur musicians were sitting under a tent, each with a different musical instrument. There were a couple of acoustic guitars, an electric guitar, a banjo, a violin, a base fiddle, a mandolin, and other various stringed instruments. I walked up to them just as they were tuning up. For a moment, all sorts of hideous sounds came from these instruments. Then someone started to play, and suddenly, each instrument joined in, with all the musicians playing the same song in the same key, creating a harmonious sound that was absolutely beautiful. I marveled at how each musician was picking or strumming their instrument in their own way and style, but the music still blended beautifully. I could not help but think of the words natah ’azan, “inclining one’s ear.”

Similarly, Christians may have different “instruments” of theology and doctrine, and they may have their own style of worship, with some “strumming” and others “picking.” Their “playing” may be formal, as with a violin; spirited, as with a banjo; or lyrical, as with a mandolin. However, if they are all in tune with God, they will be natah ’azan, inclining their ears, and they will be of the same mind, the mind of God, hearing the same message from Him.

God likes to listen to the beautiful music of prayer that is natan ’azan. If, together, we harken to God’s Word, we can accomplish more than we ever imagined.