We are in Numbers chapter seven with our word for today. קוֹל noise, voice, sound, message, tidings, proclamation. Our word is used 505 times in the Old Testament. We find our word used in the sense of sound, the auditory effect produced by a given cause. Genesis 3:8 They heard the ק֨וֹל sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Joshua 6:5 When they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the ק֣וֹל sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him. Our word is used most of the time in the sense of voice, speech that is understood by human beings. This is how our word is used in our chapter today. Numbers 7:89 And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard הַקּ֜וֹל the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him. It is significant that the living God who created the universe has chosen to communicate his us his creatures in ways that we can understand. God loves us and wants us to know him. We see this throughout the Bible. Deuteronomy 4:6-8, 12, 33-36 when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? … Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the ק֤וֹל sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a קֽוֹל voice … Did any people ever hear the ק֨וֹל voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by … a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. Out of heaven he let you hear קֹל֖וֹ his voice. The reason why we don’t hear God is because our own freewill decision to sin against him has caused us to damage our ability to hear and understand God. Romans 1:18-20 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. This is why Jesus’ death in our place for the forgiveness of our sins is essential for not only our salvation but also for us to understand God’s will for our lives and connect closer to him. This passage says this well. Hebrews 5:11-13 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. When we allow God to save us and transform us to become more like him then we are able to identify good from evil. I’ll close with these great passages from Psalms that use our word displaying God’s power as well as his love for us in that he hears our voice. Psalm 29:3-5 The ק֥וֹל voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. The קוֹל voice of the Lord is powerful; the ק֥וֹל voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The ק֣וֹל voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. Psalm 31:22 But you heard the ק֥וֹל voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. Psalm 66:19 But truly God has listened; he has attended בְּק֣וֹל to the voice of my prayer. Psalm 116:1 I love the Lord, because he has heard ק֝וֹלִ֗י my voice and my pleas for mercy.
