What happens when God speaks?

We read that the whole party were struck to the earth, but only Saul heard the Lord's voice. "I heard a voice speaking to me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" (ver. 14). Fancy hearing your mother tongue from glory. That is what Saul heard that day. It would not do you much good, if I were talking to you in Arabic: you would not understand a word of it. But you can understand plain English. Paul was in a similar position. He heard a voice speaking to him in his mother tongue; that is, in Hebrew. An unknown voice, in that language, speaks to the smitten man. And, friend, be sure of this, when God speaks to a sinner, He always makes him understand. I quite admit, there were along with Saul those who did not understand what was said, for elsewhere we read, "They that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me" (Acts 22:9). When God speaks to a man, he is individualised: he is like a stricken deer. The deer-stalker goes out, and a herd may go by; but he only takes aim at one, and when the deer is wounded it will leave the herd to go alone to die. When a man is convicted of his sin by the Holy Ghost, he gets alone with God. Paul says, "I alone heard the voice." And what did it say? "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" What did that mean? It meant that Christ in glory, the head of the Church, owned His beloved people on earth as part of Himself — as forming His body; in plain language He says, Touch them, and you touch me. "Why persecutest thou me?"

But "after the fire a still, small voice." It is God speaking, however quietly, directly to the people's hearts that has true spiritual effect in changing them. It is by the Word of God that people are born again (1 Pet.1:23). God may use great public signs to warn or to awaken people, but such signs do not save them: they need to hear the voice of God. Some individuals will hear it, others will ignore it.

One remark I would like to make — it often escapes the attention of the children of God — as to the power of the word as received by the person. When God said, "Let there be light," there was light; and every word of God, if I might give it an epithet, I should call creative. When I find the word comes to me, I cannot say "I cannot." God says these things, and as sure as He says it, there is power given to me to do the thing He speaks of. These exhortations scare people, but are entirely met in that way. To the overcoming one Christ says, "He that hath an ear, let him hear," not to him that shall overcome. The person becomes an overcomer. Do not say, I cannot overcome. Has the word come to you? That word brings power with it. Every command comes to irritate the unconverted; but when sheltered in Christ it comes with the power of God, and there is power because God has put it on His own people.

Note those words, "And God said." As we travel through the chapter we shall find they occur ten times. "The worlds were framed by the word of God," as Hebrews 11:3 has told us; or we may adopt the words of Psalm 33:9, "He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." How significant in this connection is the opening of John's Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word;" that is, He was pre-existent to the first beginnings of creation. Moreover He "was with God, and … was God … All things were made by Him." So it was the Word, who later, "was made flesh, and dwelt among us," that uttered the words of power that created and made all things. Hence creation contains very definite word as to the power and wisdom and glory of God, though the revelation falls far short of that which reached us when the Word became flesh.

Notice another thing. Six times in the chapter the words, "And God said," has the appropriate sequel, "and it was so." The word of God is seen at the very outset to be powerful, never failing of its effect. How encouraging to be assured of this fact in the first chapter of the Bible, for we may be sure it applies to every word that God has spoken. When the end of the story is reached we shall be able to say with triumph, "and it was so," in regard to every promise He has made, every prediction He has uttered.

But is God as powerless as man? The latter has shown that he is very inventive, and that he can do very wonderful things; but to deliver himself from the dominion of sin, death, and the devil, is beyond his powers. What can God do? He says: “Behold, at My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness.” Here the creature is left far behind, nor is able to touch the utmost fringe of everlasting might. Nor is His power limited to earthly manifestations. He says again: “I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.” The heavens are under His control as well as the earth. He created both at the beginning. He made the heavens by His Word, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. And as to the earth: “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Ps 33). At these manifestations of His power we read that: “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job. 38:7). Creation was brought into existence by His Word, and by His Word it is upheld (Heb. 11:3; 1:3). He has no need to ask Himself the question, Can I do this? Or, Can I not? He has but to speak, and the thing is done.

A sense of complete inadequacy presses upon the mind as one seeks to say anything at all of so vast and searching a subject — the blessed God, incomparable in power and majesty, speaking to men! Yet encouragement is found in His first recorded words in Genesis 1:28-29 where He speaks of blessing and giving, revealing thus the thoughts of His own heart of grace. Alas! another voice, one of untruth and evil interposed, and the voice of God must enquire of man "where art thou?" This important question of where we stand in relation to God must be settled if we are to understand, appreciate and respond to His speaking. Throughout the whole of the Old Testament the voice of God is heard in the expression of His righteous claims; His desires of blessing for all who respond to Him; His patience, His mercy, His full provision for man's every need and the rich reward for those who, like Abraham, obey His call. The Theophanies of Genesis 18 and Judges 13 will yield much regarding Divine Speaking to those who carefully read them. The bringing in of the true Isaac in whom all blessing for men and glory to God is enshrined (see Galatians 3); and the introduction of that name "Wonderful" enlarged upon in Isaiah 9:6, a word so often used of the Person and works of the Lord Jesus in the gospel. Blessed indeed to notice that in spite of man's persistent refusal of God's speaking throughout the Old Testament he so preciously reminds His people in Malachi — "I have loved you, saith Jehovah."

God being the living God, it is only to be expected that He would speak. Before sin came in He spoke freely to Adam, and face to face; afterwards He only addressed Himself to chosen men, who became thereby His mouthpieces. The prophets had to speak just what He gave them, and often they uttered words, the full meaning of which was hidden from them, as we are told in 1 Peter 1:10-12. When the Lord Jesus came to accomplish redemption God told out all His mind. He spoke not merely by Him as His mouthpiece, but in Him. The distinction, is not made in our Authorized version, but it should be, for the preposition in verse 2 is not "by" but "in." It is an important distinction, for it at once preserves the unique character of our Lord. When the Son spoke it was God speaking, for the simple reason that the Son was God.

And so we could trace it all through the Old Testament Scriptures. God was giving fragmentary revelations. He was speaking in many parts. You learn one lesson here, and another lesson there. And not only that, but He was speaking in many ways — to Joseph, for instance, through a dream; to Moses through the partial revelation of Himself upon Mount Sinai; to the nation of Israel in all the varied experiences of their history, giving them the truths of redemption in the Passover, the truths of access to Him in many a type and symbol in the Levitical ordinances. In this way He was speaking in divers manners as well as in many parts. Toward the end He is speaking through those whom we know as the Prophets, though every revelation of Himself is really prophecy.

You notice he distinguishes between the "times past" and the times present. But there is a very significant change in the word. He "hath in these last days spoken unto us in His Son." The "times past" were varied. We have the age before the Flood, and the time of government under Noah and his successors. We have the calling out of the nation of Israel, and their history is divided into various parts: the time up to the conquest of Canaan the time of failure during the life of the Judges the time of kingly authority and glory under David and Solomon and then of failure, going on down to the Captivity. Then we have the time of restoration. All of these are the times that are past, and during these times God was speaking, through whatever agency, "by the prophets." The term, then, does not refer exclusively to those who were technically prophets, — from Samuel on, — but to all who spoke for God, notably Moses, who indeed refers to himself as a prophet (Deut. 18:15). All Scripture, as inspired of God, is "prophetic Scripture." In contrast with that, we have the present times, described as "these last days." That tells us unmistakably that there is no further revelation to be had from God.

Of old He had spoken at sundry times (or, by divers portions) and in divers manners, taking His servants at times by surprise, as Moses in the desert when keeping Jethro's sheep, and Samuel in the darkness of the night in close proximity to Eli the high priest. Then too He communicated His mind by visions, dreams, oral communications, or written ministry, as it pleased Him to speak to the fathers through prophets. Now again had He spoken after centuries of silence, and a new dispensation had been inaugurated by a fresh Messenger, but that Messenger was His Son. Dreams and visions gave way to fresh revelation. Partial acquaintance the prophets of old possessed of the Divine mind, and that only as revelations were vouchsafed. One now had come — the Son, who, though as a man had His ear wakened morning by morning to hear as the taught ones (Isa. 50:4), yet in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). By Him Christian revelation began to be unfolded — a man, yet more than a man, and in that relationship to God in which no prophet had ever stood.