A few weeks ago I asked the question: Is hearing from the Lord biblical? I encourage you to go back and read what I said regarding this important question.

Today we are going to dig a little deeper into this very topic. We are going to take a look at several people in the Bible who we are told heard the voice of the Lord.

Moses

We are told Moses was able to talk to God face to face. God says of him:

Numbers 12:6-8 (ESV) “And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

We learn a few things here: God uses visions to speak to people. He uses dreams to speak to people. And His form can manifest in front of a person. 

Also notice what the Lord enjoys in a person: faithfulness. He loves it when His people faithfully seek after Him with a whole heart. 

Are you faithful to the Lord? Or are you flaky with God? Do you promise God something but then back out of the promise because it’s not convenient or comfortable? 

Have you ever said to God, “God, I’m going to get up early and pray!”? And then the alarm goes off, and you snooze for the next hour? Isn’t it great that even though we can be flaky with the Lord, he remains faithful to us? I know I’m thankful for this truth!

Moses learned to develop some really good habits in regards to his relationship with God. 

Exodus 33:7-11 (ESV) says, “Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”

But Moses didn’t start there. Even though the circumstances of his birth were supernatural, he didn’t really continue or grow up in that, at least not in the Lord’s ways. Actually he was trained as a prince of Egypt, and I’m sure there was all sorts of witchcraft and idol worship being taught to him. He likely had to participate in those evil rituals too. After four decades of living in Pharaoh’s house, the Lord started working in his life. He started his own social justice campaign, and it got someone killed, at his hands! Then he fled and resigned himself to a humble life of shepherding. 

Except God’s hand was at work in his life. He found a wife and started a family. He had a wise father-in-law and lived a quiet life. That is, until one day he had a God-interaction. 

Burning Bush Encounter

Exodus 3:1-6 (ESV) “Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”

 Notice in verse 4 it says, “when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see…”

To me, this means the burning bush encounter was not a done deal for Moses. What if he didn’t turn aside? What if he wasn’t curious? Perhaps the Lord would have tried something different to get his attention, like a fascinating water feature or a peculiar rock formation. Sometimes the Lord uses different ways and methods to get our attention, and when we respond, *then* He speaks. He’s looking for a response. He’s looking for our God-given curiosity to kick in. And then we ask, we seek, and we knock on His door. It’s only then that the plans and purposes that He has for us are made known. 

Because the one true God is a God who speaks. Where did we get this idea that God only uses the Bible to speak to people in our day? We are just like the people in the Bible. We are normal and ordinary men, as it was described of the apostles. Except, we’re not normal and ordinary when we respond to the call of God and get His power working within us! Then God-things happen. 

Up on the Mountain

Another Moses experience I want to direct you towards is when he went up on Mount Sinai. 

Exodus 24:9-18 (ESV) tells us, “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.” Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”

The elders of Israel and Moses, Joshua, Aaron, and two of Aaron’s sons went part way up the mountain. They saw into Heaven, as it describes the blue sapphire stones, also thought of as the sea of glass below God’s throne. 

Then, God called up Moses to the top of the mountain, and I believe he entered a portal to Heaven, being surrounded by Jesus. God showed Moses the various patterns of the tabernacle and the utensils and menora and all the other things, like the Ark of the Covenant. He saw it all, and the Lord also described to him all of these things. And he wrote it down for the entire nation of Israel to read again and study later. I believe he walked and talked with the Lord in Heaven in the midst of all of this encounter. 

And I believe the Lord can do the same thing today. If Moses can visit Heaven before the cross of Christ, how much more can we who are living in this day and time do now!

Moses is just one ordinary man who walked and talked with God. Next time we are together we will look at the life of the apostle Peter. I hope you will join me! I pray you have a blessed week, and begin to seek a more intimate relationship with your creator. 

Part 1