What has Hearing God Looked like Through the Ages?
Since the beginning of history, there have been various ages, seasons of time where mankind’s ability to hear God’s voice went through different expressions. We know that Adam and Eve walked and talked with God as God came to talk to them during the cool of the day in the garden of Eden, but what happened after original sin?
The Age of Conscience.
From around 4000 to 2500 BC.
After the time that Adam and Eve were banned from the garden of Eden, there was no set way to hear or relate to God. Mankind was a law unto themselves and lived life according to their own conscience and desires. We know of very few people that talked to God in this 1500 year period after Adam and Eve’s sin. We know of Enoch who walked with God and was no more. Then we know of Noah through whom God saves all of mankind.
We see clearly the ultimate results that happens when mankind is left themselves. Things became so corrupted, so bad that even God said hey it’s time to end this perversion of God’s purpose and so we have the flood that just about wiped the human race from the map.
This is without even touching things like the Nephilim and its demonic influence and interaction with humans on the earth. While, I believe that things like the Nephilim certainly did happen, I also believe it is the fitting spiritual picture of what happens when mankind, tries to go it own way. We ultimately end up with spiritual results that are extremely far from God’s purpose and design for our lives.
The Age of the Patriarchs.
From around 2500 to 1500 BC.
In the age of the patriarchs, we’re aware of a few people that God chose to personally talk to and interact with. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are well known as patriarchs and fathers of the nation of Israel as well as the Christian/Jewish faith. For some reason, it was God’s will to choose these patriarchs to talk to. These divine interactions were dictated by God himself and not something the patriarchs were able to bring about themselves. A few of those interactions are as follows…
- God spoke to Abram when He told him to leave his father’s house and go to the place that God would show him. Because of Abraham’s obedience, God promised to bless him and make him the father of many nations.
- In the same way God challenged Isaac to not travel to Egypt during famine like the rest of the world was doing, but to follow God instead. Because of Isaacs’s obedience, God blessed him, even giving him a 100 fold return on what he planted during the season of famine.
- Jacob, had a visitation from God when he saw the ladder going from earth to heaven. God eventually re-names Jacob to Israel and continues the blessing of multiplying their family to become a great nation.
- We know that another member of the same family Joseph was able to hear God as he proclaimed to the baker, cup bearer, and ultimately to Pharaoh that interpretation of dreams belong to God. This ability to hear and respond to the voice of God ultimately paved the way for Israel’s preservation and multiplication.
Again the distinction of the age of the Patriarchs is that out of everyone on the earth, God picked just a few Patriarchs to speak to.
The Age of Law.
From around 1500 BC, till the death and resurrection of Christ.
The Age of Law began when God gave the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai, also known as Mount Horeb. It was there on the top of the mountain when God spoke out of a dark cloud of fire to not only Moses, but also to all of the people of Israel. This experience was so overwhelming and terrifying to the people of Israel that they requested that God only speak to Moses and that they would follow what God said through him.
Moses then ascended the mountain and as part of the law, it was established that God would speak to his people through the prophets and that if the people of God did not listen and obey to the voice of God through the prophets, then God himself would destroy them.
On the other hand if a prophet tried to lead the people away from God, then the people had permission from God to kill the prophet. How would someone know a prophet was from God? God would predict the future through that prophet and what was declared would come about. If the prediction did not come true, then this person was not a prophet. This back and forth mutual balance between the people and the prophet was created by God and established by the law.
In this age of the law, we know that God spoke to quite a few prophets and a few leaders. When the people of God and the prophets heard and responded to the voice of God, they were very blessed. When either the people or the prophets did not obey what God said, then the result was ultimately the oppression and destruction of the nation of Israel.
The Age of Spirit.
AD till now.
The age of the Spirit began with the Christ’s death, resurrection, and the release of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which was a HUGE game changer. Previously, the blood of goats and rams granted temporary reprieve from the consequences of sin, which was separation from God; but now the blood of Jesus fulfilled the law so that we don’t have to. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice that satisfied the requirements of the law for all time.
The law being fulfilled in Jesus also led to a new dispensation in regards to the prophets of old. At the beginning of the New Testament we see the prophet John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus and it’s easy to think of him as a model of a New Testament prophet. However it would be more accurate to refer to John as the last of the old covenant prophets. We see the evidence of this in Jesus words as he said that the least of the kingdom of heaven were greater than John (Luke 7:28). This is because God’ Spirit was now available for all who believe.
Thus the prophecy of Joel came true that God was pouring out his Spirit on all flesh. This transition to the age of the Spirit from what was known before was so dramatic that scripture says that if the rulers of this age had understood what was going to happen, they never would have crucified Christ (1 Cor. 2:8).
David Sr.
Now, instead of being ruled by our own conscience, instead of waiting for God to initiate with us like the patriarchs, instead of waiting to hear what God says through someone else called a prophet; God’s Spirit has come to live inside of us and is available without measure, twenty-four-seven. We no longer have the spirit of this world, but we have the Spirit that is from God so that we can understand all that God has freely given us. This allows us to have the mind of Christ and be God’s hands and feet to the world around us.
Next week, we’ll talk a little more about hearing God in the age of the Spirit, but meanwhile…
Go with God