He Awakens My Ear

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Keraza Magazine issue 37-40 October 2, 2015

Isaiah the Prophet says, "The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away" (Isaiah 50:4-5). These expressions might be considered among the strongest verses in the Holy Bible in describing the work of the Holy Spirit in us, which should be the condition of everyone walking on the path of the Lord, being led by God's spirit.

If we scrutinize this verse, we find in it three main actions of the Holy Spirit in the soul:

1) The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned:
It would have been more eloquent, since he is speaking of how to speak a word in season to him who is weary, to have said "the tongue of the teachers," instead of, "the tongue of the learned," yet, "the tongue of the learned" is a humble tongue, bearing the spirit of discipleship to the Holy Spirit, regardless of the person's rank or knowledge, one speaks what the Holy Spirit utters on his mouth, speaking from practical experience the Holy Spirit made him to pass through, not from theoretical academic teachings. "Then He said to them, 'Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.'" (Matthew 13:52).

2) He awakens Me morning by morning:
The work awakens expresses the Holy Spirit's work of rebuking, alerting, warning, and stimulating. As for "morning by morning," it reaffirms the need for our relationship with the Holy Spirit who dwells in us to be a daily ongoing relationship renewed every morning: "Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). This symbolizes a soldier who awakes every morning awaiting the daily orders from the commander; his greatest fear being is severing communication with the command tower as this means his defeat and unavoidable death.

3) He awakens My ear:
The Lord Christ said, "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand" (Matthew 13:13). All who befriend the Holy Spirit gain an alert open ear, the Holy Spirit no longer teaching him in parables, as in a mirror dimly, but entrusts him with the mysteries of the kingdom, whispering them in his alert spiritual ears, "to hear as the learned."

In truth, what most delights the Holy Spirit and rejoices Him in us, is that we listen to His voice: "And I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away" (Isaiah 50:5), "Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts" (Psalms 95:7-8), "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened" (Psalms 40:6), "And the sheep follow Him for they know His voice" (John 10:4). The more we are attentive and obedient to His voice, the more He is ignited in us and brings us through the waters that are up to the ankles, the waters that are up to the knees, the waters that are up to the waist and through a river that cannot be crossed. Therefore, the apostle warned us: "Do not quench the Spirit" (1Thessalonians 5:19).

Let us all gain a true friendship and honest discipleship to the Holy Spirit, Who will remain a true witness to all our thoughts, hearts, and deeds before His judgment seat, as long as He has dwelt in us and became closer to us than our own souls.

Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States