1st Reading Deuteronomy 18: 15-20
Psalm 95: 1-2. 6-7 abc. 7d-9 (R. 7d.8a)
2nd Reading 1 Corinthians 7: 32-35
Gospel Mark 1: 21b-28
OBEYING THE VOICE OF GOD IN CREDIBLE LEADERS
Dear friends, this Sunday ends the month of January, and we must render thanks to God for his grace and entrust the ensuing month to his Providence. The Word of God directs our attention to the issue of leadership and obedience to the voice of God. We shall take 3 cues from the 1st Reading (Deut. 18: 15-20) to help us reflect.
From Deut. 17: 14, Moses gives instructions about the 3 groups of people considered as shepherds (if you like, leaders) among the Israelites. He gave instructions concerning the King (Deut. 17: 14-20), the Priests (18: 1-13) and then about Prophets (18: 14-22). Our 1st reading is located within the instructions about the Prophets (18: 15-20).
The first thing that strikes me is the three times repetition of the word "LISTEN" or "HEAR" (v. 15, 16, 19). The word used there is SHÂMA' (שׁמע). What comes to mind immediately is Deut 6: 4, the quintessential SHÂMA. Israelites are bound to recite this SHÂMA every day. The implication is that every Israelite knows what it means to LISTEN because they recite a verse daily in which they are reminded to LISTEN. In fact, we can safely agree that no one can perfectly teach an Israelite how to LISTEN and what it means to listen. That same word means to OBEY. In fact, keeping the law to its letter is not difficult for an Israelite. What Moses is talking about and telling them to LISTEN is a solution to the problem of who to listen to. They are not to listen to the soothsayers and diviners (Deut. 18: 12-14). God is dispossessing the nations because they listened to and consulted the soothsayers and diviners. If Israelites listen to them, it means that they are paying attention to other gods and walking in the ways of people who have been dispossessed by God. Therefore, the lot of the nations will be their lot if they listen to the soothsayers and diviners.
Interestingly, the people described as "THE NATIONS" (Deut. 18: 9, 14) are not good people to be with and imitate. The Hebrew word that describes the "Nations" is "GÔYÌM". The "Goyim" are usually ferocious and wild, responsible for destroying the Temple and taking Israel into exile. If Israelites imitate these people, they will lose their identity and become exiles, thus, the Lord will disposes them. It will be the same for us if we listen to the leaders of people whom the Lord speaks to us against. The soothsayers and diviners consult their gods, but a true prophet of God (YHWH) waits for God's message. Moses warns the Israelites: "Let there not be found among you anyone who causes their son or daughter to pass through the fire, or who casts spells, consults ghosts and spirits, or seeks oracles from the Lord" (Deut. 18: 10-11). Just like the nations, "anyone who does such things is an abomination to the Lord" (Deut. 18: 12). Rather, listen (or obey) the prophet of YHWH, not the prophets of the nations. Therefore, listen to your own leaders whom the Lord has approved.
The second issue is the "voice of the Lord" (Deut. 18: 16). The Israelites at Horeb (also called Sinai in Exodus) did not want to listen to God's voice anymore. Why? The last time Israel had experienced a sign of thunder and lightning, it was in the context of the plaque of Hail sent on Egypt (Ex. 9: 23-26). In Exodus 20: 18-19, after the giving of the 10 Commandments, the Israelites heard the voice of God and became afraid that they would die and they trembled. They stood afar. They wanted someone else to listen to the voice of God and relay the message to them because they were afraid of listening to God's voice. They wanted a person who could speak for God, an intermediary, a prophet. Moses did that. The THUNDER they heard was God's voice. The word used for thunder is "QÔL" and it is the same word used to refer to VOICE.
It did not end there. In Deut 5: 23-29, the fear of death seemed to disappear when they heard God's voice and were not terrified as "God may speak to a mortal and that person may still live" (Deut. 5: 24). The problem is the FIRE ('esh). The fire portrayed the seriousness of God (or the anger of God) after giving the Law (Deut. 5: 6-21). Because of this, the fear of God increased. They would rather have Moses listen to God and relay the message to them than hear it directly for fear that they would die. They saw the glory, the greatness, and the power of God in his voice alone, and they were terrified. Moses tells them that God will give them a prophet like him, a prophet who can listen to the thunderous voice of God and tell them. They desired it that way themselves.
Everyone is bound to listen (or obey) to whatever the prophet brings in God's name. It is like listening to God himself. Failure to obey the intermediary, the prophet, God will act. If they feared his voice alone, then God's actions would be more than they could imagine. The tendency to disobey and trivialise the Voice of God that comes to us daily looms because we cannot see him and the seriousness with which he speaks. Our lot might be that of the nations if we disobey and trivialise God's Voice in the Scriptures and daily life experiences. God can disposess us. It will be the same for us if we do not listen to leaders put in our charge.
The third issue concerns the kind of leaders we must listen to. Just as the Israelites requested for a prophet, an intermediary, one who would convey the Voice of God to them for fear of God, so do we also choose leaders whom we trust can clearly bring God's undiluted message to us. Our choice of leaders is what God will use to speak to us. Whatever values we see in people before putting them in charge of affairs, these values would be used to govern.
We must also understand that the prophet is to speak what God gives him to say. He is not to act like the soothsayers and diviners who consult their gods by magical means. A true prophet of God does not consult but waits and receives God's message for his people. A true prophet does not force God to speak. He rather waits for God to speak for him to relay to the people. Similarly, a true and good leader ought to be credible and trustworthy, not like a prophet who speaks what God has not asked him to say. Otherwise, he would deceive the populace and lead all to destruction.
Pax et Bonum
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