People are called upon to listen attentively to God's word, to his Son and also to words of wisdom. Christians must not only listen to God's word but also put it into practice. Those who refuse to listen to God's word or to correction are condemned.
The importance of listening
To God's word and his spokesmen
1 Samuel 3:10 See also 2 Chronicles 20:15; Psalm 81:8; Jeremiah 26:3–6; Micah 1:2; Acts 2:14, Acts 13:16, Acts 28:28
Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
To Jesus Christ
Matthew 17:5 parallels Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35John 10:27 See also Matthew 15:10 parallel Mark 7:14; Luke 10:16, Luke 10:39; John 10:8, John 10:16
While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”
My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
To words of wisdom
Proverbs 19:20; James 1:19 See also Psalm 34:11; Proverbs 5:7, Proverbs 7:24, Proverbs 8:32–34, Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 13:1, Proverbs 15:31; Luke 2:46; James 2:5
Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
Believers should not listen to false prophets or ungodly suggestions
Jeremiah 23:16 See also Deuteronomy 13:1–3, Deuteronomy 13:6–8; Jeremiah 27:9, Jeremiah 27:14–17, Jeremiah 29:8–9; Ezekiel 13:19; 1 John 4:1, 1 John 4:5–6; 2 John 1:10
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
The wicked refuse to listen to God
Ezekiel 3:7 See also Exodus 7:13 Pharaoh's refusal to listen; 2 Kings 17:14, 2 Kings 17:40, 2 Kings 18:12; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 81:11; Isaiah 65:12JER Isaiah 7:13, Jeremiah 7:26–27, Jeremiah 12:17, Jeremiah 13:11, Jeremiah 17:23, Jeremiah 22:21, Jeremiah 25:3, Jeremiah 25:7, Jeremiah 29:19, Jeremiah 32:33, Jeremiah 34:14, Jeremiah 35:15, Jeremiah 35:17, Jeremiah 37:2, Jeremiah 38:15, Jeremiah 44:5, Jeremiah 44:16 Ezekiel 20:8; Zechariah 7:11–12; Malachi 2:2; Luke 16:29–31
But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.
Those who refuse to listen to correction are condemned
If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
God's people must not only listen to God's word but also put it into practice
Luke 11:28; James 1:22–24 In Hebrew and Greek the verb “listen” is related by the verb “to obey”. See also Ezekiel 33:32; Matthew 7:24–27 parallel Luke 6:47–49; Romans 2:13
But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
Examples of people listening
Genesis 18:10 Sarah at the tent entrance; Genesis 27:5 Rebekah to Isaac; 1 Samuel 3:9–10 Samuel to God; Proverbs 19:27 a son to instruction; Luke 2:46 Jesus Christ to the teachers of the law; Luke 5:1, Luke 20:45; Luke 10:39 Mary to Jesus Christ; Acts 16:14, Acts 16:25, Acts 26:29
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.