SIMEON “Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand” (Rev. 7:7). Simeon was the second son born to Israel and Leah. The name Simeon is related to the Hebrew word for “hear,” denoting one who has a hearing ear. Leah gave him this name because of the thankfulness in her heart to the Lord expressed at his birth, “And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, He hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon” (Gen. 29:33). God heard Leah’s prayer, and now Leah prophetically bestows that faculty of spiritual hearing upon her son! As soon as we begin to “forget” our old, carnal, worldly, and religious life of the past by the spiritual experience of the tribe of Manasseh, we are now ready to truly HEAR the voice of our Father in all that He will reveal unto us! I am reminded of the story of the two old Dutchmen, sitting on a park bench. The night had come and the moon started to shine. Not far from the bench where they sat, a river flowed, and from the river came the chorus of the crickets. Pete, the first old gentleman, listened to the crickets and said, “Crickets sure do sing.” John sitting next to him agreed, saying, “Yep, they sure know how to sing.” Just then he heard the voices of the choir coming from the nearby church and remarked, “Beautiful music, isn’t it?” Pete said, “Yeah, and to think they do it just by rubbing their legs together!” Each heard a different music — one was listening to the crickets and one was listening to the choir. What you hear depends upon where you’re coming from and what you’re tuned in to. Sometimes you meet one that is religious, awed by the crowds, the buildings, the great meetings, the charismatic speakers, the beautiful television programs, the music, and the wonderful works supposedly being done. They feel they are “rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” They can talk much of the milk of the Word, their spiritual gifts and religious toys. But they know nothing of the present truth of His gathering to Himself a remnant to bring them into His perfections. They are well versed in the traditional doctrines about the antichrist and the so-called rapture, but they know naught of the mighty move of God in the earth today preparing a firstfruit company of Kings and Priests to ascend the throne, reign over the nations, and bring the kingdom of God to pass in all the earth. You cannot begin to speak of the deep mysteries of the kingdom, or of those divine quickenings which the Holy Spirit of truth has whispered into your being, for they have no ears to hear them. Were you to declare the things we are hearing from our Father in the churches of our day, they would demand your silence or escort you to the door. Their eyes are closed against the bright vision of that which lies before at the manifestation of the sons of God and the consummation of God’s great plan of the ages. They are dull to the knowledge of the Spirit’s working in this hour in His elect. But, blessed be God, there is a people whose ears have been touched by the finger of God, a holy race of sons of God who are being quickened to hear THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD who speaks from the throne of the heavenlies! Shortly after becoming king in Israel, Solomon traveled to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Here the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Ask what I shall give you.” Though grateful to the Lord for having chosen him to succeed his father David, Solomon was keenly aware of his inadequacy to govern the people without divine help. “Give Thy servant therefore,” he implored, “an understanding heart to govern Thy people, that I may discern between the good and the evil.” Pleased by such a request, the Lord replied, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for long life, or for riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize what is just and right, behold…I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor; so that there shall not be any among the kings equal to you all your days” (I Kings 3:11-13). The expression “an understanding heart” is in the Hebrew text A HEARING HEART. And in Isaiah 50:4-5 we read of the inner discipline which Jesus and all the elect sons experience. “Morning by morning He (the Father) wakens, HE WAKENS MY EAR TO HEAR as those that are willing to be taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious…” A. B. Simpson was a man of deep spiritual experience. I quote the following from his article Listening. “A score of years ago a friend placed in my hand a book called True Peace. It was an old medieval message and it had but one thought — THAT GOD WAS WAITING IN THE DEPTHS OF MY BEING TO TALK TO ME IF I WOULD ONLY GET STILL ENOUGH TO HEAR HIS VOICE. I thought this would be a very easy matter and so began to get still. I had no sooner commenced than a perfect pandemonium of voices reached my ears, a thousand clamoring notes from without and within, until I could hear nothing but their noise and din. Some were my own voices, my own questions; some were my very prayers. Others were suggestions of the tempter and the voices from the world of turmoil. In every direction I was pulled and pushed and greeted with noisy acclamations and unspeakable unrest. It seemed necessary for me to listen to some of them and to answer some of them; but God said, ‘BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.’ “Then came the conflict of thoughts for tomorrow and its duties and cares; but God said, ‘BE STILL.’ As I listened and slowly learned to obey and shut my ears to every sound, I found after a while that, when other voices ceased, (or I ceased to hear them), there was a still, small voice in the depths of my being that began to speak with inexpressible tenderness and power and comfort. As I listened, it became to me the voice of prayer, the voice of wisdom, the voice of duty, and I did not need to think so hard or pray so hard or trust so hard. That still, small voice of the Holy Spirit in my heart was God speaking in my secret soul; was God’s answer to all knowledge and all prayer and all blessings, for it was the living God Himself as my life, my all. It is thus that our spirits drink of the life of the risen Lord and we go forth in life’s conflicts and duties like a flower that has drunk in through the shades of night the cool and crystal drops of dew. But, as dew never falls on a stormy night, so the dew of His grace never comes to a restless soul. Oh, the calm! The rest! The peace which comes as we wait in His presence until we HEAR FROM HIM!” — end quote. The sons of God, the mature ones, are coming to the place where they unmistakably know His voice. There is a listening to hear the sound thereof, a receptivity within, and a responsiveness to follow in obedience. He is teaching us secret, wondrous things out of His law! It is a precious walk, a communion that sustains and enriches us day by day. This is the blessing of Simeon — the Father is sealing us with a hearing ear!
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 15:08:38 +0000
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