Once upon a time

God spoke to man

He told Adam not to eat of the tree in the garden

He told Abraham to lay his son upon the altar

He told Noah to build an ark

He told the Israelites to repent, turn, follow Him,
hear His Voice, obey

It seems amazing, really

to think that things were once so

seeing how very different they are now

imagine hearing the Voice of God

like they did

But what if you didn't have to imagine?

What if He still spoke?

What if He still expected His people to hear?

What if He still required of His people that they obey?

What if you are missing it?

What if you are missing Him?

What if He forbid you but one thing you simply
could not understand?

What if He asked you to lay your dreams upon the altar
to be bound and burned?

What if He told you to spend your days doing that which
all others deemed crazy and foolish?

What if He spoke to you?

Would He speak to you directly?

Would He speak to you through a prophet?

Would He only speak to you through a book?

Would He tell you what you expect He would say?

Or something to harden your heart like those Isaiah
was sent to?

The Pharisees were well-versed in Scripture

yet they rejected and crucified the living God

the long-awaited Messiah

The rich young ruler loved and obeyed the written law

yet he refused the authority of and walked away from the loving, breathing, speaking LORD

the Savior come to set him free

You are good and obedient and wise in your own eyes . . .

Are you any different?

"No more prophets in the land?" the old man said

and wept

he had gone to a better place

a place where God's Voice was heard by all

but he wept for those he had left behind

those who would never believe in the God he knew

because they would never hear the Voice he loved so

"Silence!" the people cried

and one by one

the prophets were crucified

along with any person who heard the Voice of the Lord
their God

There was a time

when God spoke to you

Like Adam, He forbid you something you could not understand

like Abraham, He asked you to sacrifice your dreams

like Noah, He asked you to forsake your reputation
and simply choose obedience

like Israel, He spoke to you and expected you
to hear and obey

It would seem unbelievable, I am sure

to think that things would ever become so

seeing how very different they were then

hearing the Voice of God

like they did

and obeying or disobeying

but knowing

that He had spoken

Imagine a day

when those who claim to know and follow and love God

the very God of Adam and Abraham and Noah and Israel

when those who profess to be redeemed and cleansed
by the Messiah

would call every prophet evil

the act of hearing the Voice of Jehovah and speaking His Words "works of darkness" (Eph. 5)

would say that God can no longer speak

would despise, lie about, shun and slay all who say
that they hear Him

But you don't have to imagine

"No more prophets in the land?" the woman said

even she had left

and gone to a new land

a land where God's Voice was welcome and beloved

but even now, she did not weep for those she had
left behind those who would not believe in the God she knew

because they hated the Voice she loved so

"Silence!" you pled

and with that one word

our friendship was forever dead

along with my hope for you

But remember

remember

when the days grow dark

when you draw close to the end of your path

when all is truly silent

and you long for a Voice in the darkness

remember

that there was a time

when God spoke to you

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting
on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had
six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another
and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

The whole earth is full of His glory!”

And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him
who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am undone!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King,

The LORD of hosts.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;

Your iniquity is taken away,

And your sin purged.”

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

“Make the heart of this people dull,

And their ears heavy,

And shut their eyes;

Lest they see with their eyes,

And hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart,

And return and be healed.”

Then I said, “Lord, how long?”

And He answered:

“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant,

The houses are without a man,

The land is utterly desolate,

The LORD has removed men far away,

And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

But yet a tenth will be in it,

And will return and be for consuming,

As a terebinth tree or as an oak,

Whose stump remains when it is cut down.

So the holy seed shall be its stump.”

Copyrighted material, used with permission.