When someone says this about another person… “They’ve got a hearing problem!” It can mean several things… It could mean that their ability to hear is hampered because of a physical-sensory malidy (i.e. they are physically “hard-of-hearing”). Or it might mean there are just a lot of distracting and overpowering sounds that make it difficult to hear. The final possibility – and an unfortunate and troubling one – is that they simply CHOSE NOT TO HEAR what is being said (you might call that one “selective hearing” – there is no problem with their hearing – they simply IGNORE what is being said!)
God diagnosed “a hearing problem” among His people in the Old Testament! I read one account about it this morning in Psalm 81 during my time of “Coffee With the Lord!” (It’s not the only time that issue surfaced among God’s people to be sure! And it appears it was also a New Testament problem! (“He that ears to hear let him hear!” – four times in the New Testament.)
And it was a problem that a “hearing aid” or surgery would not fix! It was a case of “SELECTIVE HEARING!”
THE LORD HAD HEARD THEM! He declared, “In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you!”
But God appealed to His people… “HEAR, O MY PEOPLE, while I admonish you! IF YOU WOULD BUT LISTEN TO ME! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD! … BUT MY PEOPLE DID NOT LISTEN TO MY VOICE! They would not submit to me! So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own counsels. OH THAT MY PEOPLE WOULD LISTEN TO ME and walk in my ways!” (From Psalm 81:8-13 ESV)
Just let me say, I never want to allow ANYTHING to drown out or detract from the Lord’s voice – I want to give God my undivided, focused attention when He speaks! And furthermore, I never want to be guilty of “selective hearing!” I’m hearing the echo of His voice even now… “HE THAT HAS EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR!”
Coffee With The Lord 