We are in chapter nine of Exodus with our word for today which is actually a phrase. אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה the word of the LORD or YHWH. It is used 21 times in the Old Testament, 2 times in our chapter. We find it used to describe reading from God’s written word or scripture. Deuteronomy 5:5 At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. Jeremiah 36:6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֨י יְהוָ֜ה the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. We see our word used to remind people who are experiencing an event that God predicted it beforehand. 1 Kings 2:27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli. We see examples of people rejecting God’s word and suffering the consequences. 1 Samuel 15:23, 26 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king…But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!” 2 Samuel 12:9-10 Why did you despise אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house. One of the consequences of rejecting God’s word is that he will stop talking to us at some point. Amos 8:11-12 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing אֵ֖ת דִּבְרֵ֥י יְהוָֽה the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for אֶת־דְּבַר־יְהוָ֖ה the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. We also see examples of people following God’s instruction. 2 Chronicles 11:4 So they obeyed אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה the words of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam. In our chapter we see both examples of following YHWH’s word and rejecting it.
Exodus 9:20-21 Then whoever feared אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to אֶל־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field. Notice this great understanding of how people responded to God’s word. Their inaction showed that they did not fear God whereas their action in taking the livestock into safety showed what was in their heart. The translation payed attention is literally שָׂ֛ם לִבּ֖וֹ אֶל־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה put or laid on their heart God’s word. They allowed it to sink into their heart so that they acted on it. The heart is vital to our connecting with God and following his instructions. Jesus had a lot to say about this. Luke 6:43-45 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. I’ll close with Jesus answer to the question about what the greatest commandment is. Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment...All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
