Isaiah I
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:1 ESV)
Hear
My dog allows himself to be distracted. It is why we do not let him off his leash in the backyard. Birds tweet at him, probably mocking him. Other dogs are barking at him, or at least barking in his hearing-range. The wind whispers, or here in Kansas, roars at his perked up ears. And maybe even memories of PAST sounds haunt his walnut brain.
And when I speak, he often does not hear me.
But he should. Because I usually have good things to tell him. (Come and eat!) I sometimes have words of safety for him. (Look out! There is a car!) I even might have words of affection for him, to warm his heart. (You are a good boy.)
But foolishly, arrogantly, ignorantly, he does not hear me.
God speaks to us, too.
And while I do understand general revelation, and the Spirit’s voice through God’s people, God speaks most clearly, most loudly, most personally, and most poignantly through His Word, the Bible.
Through prophets like Isaiah. Through the written words of Scripture. Through the indisputable and clear and necessary and wonderful Word of God.
Isaiah is the first Big Prophet in the Bible, the first one with his writing gathered in one place, the first one with a book named after him.
And HE says, listen to God.
It is good advice.