We are in chapter sixteen of Exodus with our word for today, which is actually a phrase. יְהוָ֑ה שָׁמַ֔ע The LORD hears or heard. It is used 26 times in Old Testament. God hears the prayers of his people. Psalm 4:3 Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; יְהוָ֥ה יִ֝שְׁמַ֗עthe Lord hears when I call to him. Psalm 34:17-19 The righteous cry out, and וַיהוָ֣ה שָׁמֵ֑עַ the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. Psalm 69:32-34 The poor will see and be glad— you who seek God, may your hearts live! יְהוָ֑ה The Lord שֹׁמֵ֣עַ hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them. Proverbs 15:29 יְ֭הוָה The Lord is far from the wicked, but יִשְׁמָֽע he hears the prayer of the righteous.
God hears the complaining of his people. Numbers 11:1 And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע יְהוָה֙ the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. This is the context of how our phrase is used in our chapter today. Exodus 16:9-12 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֣י שָׁמַ֔עthe Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord said to Moses,שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי“I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” Throughout the Bible we will see where God’s people really try God’s patience with their complaining. As we can all relate to. We will get more into this in the coming days as it will come up several times. For today we can be grateful that God is both patient and gracious to us. I’ll close with these two great passages for the Psalms. Psalm 28:6-7 Praise be to יְהוָ֑ה כִּי־שָׁ֝מַע the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 116:1-2 I love the Lord, for יִשְׁמַ֥ע יְהוָ֑ה he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
