Knowing His Will and Hearing His Voice

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Biblical quotations are taken from:

Hebrew Scriptures:

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia,

Fünfte, verbasserte Auflage 1997

Verkleinerte Ausgabe,

Gedruckt mit Unterstützung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (c) 1967/77 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart

ISBN 3-438-05219-9

LXX:

Septuaginta

Verkleinerte Augsabe in einem Band

(c) 1935, 1979 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart

ISBN 3-438-0512-4

Greek New Testament Fourth Corrected Edition

(c) 1966, 1968, 1975, 1983, 1993

The United Bible Societies

Table of Contents:

Notes

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Revealed Will of G-d

The Holy Spirit as Guide and Teacher

The Status of the TaNaK (Hebrew Scriptures)

Conclusion

Chapter 2: How to hear from G-d

Cleansing Ourselves from Sin

The Work of Love

Led by the Hand of G-d

Conclusion

Chapter 3: Finding G-d’s Will

Living Sacrifice

Carnality versus Spirituality

Humility

Conclusion

Chapter 4: How Did Abraham Hear the Voice of G-d?

Abraham – Our Example

A Definition of the word Faith

The Steps of the Faith of Father Abraham

Three Types of Faith

Conclusion

Practical Application

Chapter 5: Problematic Methods of Divine Guidance

The Problem of the Adamic Nature

Word Seekers

Fleece Makers

Visions and Dreams

Special Verses

Conclusion

Chapter 6: Five Standard Methods of Biblical Guidance

Preface

The Word of G-d

The Holy Spirit

Knowing the Mind of the Lord

Divine Providence

Personal Integrity

Conclusion

Chapter 7: Purchased to be Slaves

Conclusion

Other Titles by Stephen H Hedges

Bibliography

Footnotes

Notes about Words and Usages

I live and work in Europe, where there are three different types of Bibles. Most of the Bibles use the Catholic chapter and verse numbering system that was gradually introduced into Catholic Bibles between 1267 ¹ and 1551. ² However, there are numerous nations in Europe that are dominated by Orthodox Christianity. Orthodox Bibles use a chapter and verse numbering system that is based partially on the Septuagint Greek text and partially on the Catholic system. There are also Jewish Bibles (in Hebrew and many other languages) that use a type of chapter and verse numbering system that was first introduced at the time of Ezra (about 500 years before the New Testament was written). ³ As a result there are times when one passage of the Hebrew Scriptures might have three different references. For example, if I was to quote this verse:

And disturbed, the king ascends to the upper-chamber of the gate. And he laments. And so he says, as he goes My son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom, I should give anything that I die instead of you, Absalom, my son, Absalom!

Where would you find this in your Bible? If you are looking in the Jewish Bible the correct reference is 2nd Samuel 19. 1. In Bibles that use the Catholic system this verse is 2nd Samuel 18.33; and in Orthodox Bibles the reference is 2nd Kings 18.33. To complicate matters even more, Protestant Bibles sometimes use the Catholic system (especially in the Western European Nations); sometimes they use the Orthodox numbering systems (especially in nations with a Slavonic tradition), and sometimes they try to compromise between the Jewish numbering system and either the Catholic or Orthodox system (especially in the Psalms). As a result, when there are differences between these three systems I will use the Jewish numbering system in the text and then note the Catholic and Orthodox systems in the footnotes.

Because I am a Jew, I write in the collective sense. For example, when I write, We were slaves in Egypt and the Lord delivered us from there, ⁴ you must understand that I am indicating, "We (Jews) were slaves in Egypt and the Lord delivered us (Jews) from there".

The Jews never write the complete name of the Holy One, instead we always abbreviate the word G-d, except in the actual text of Scripture in the Bible. When you see in the text the words LORD or ADONAI written in all capital letters, it indicates that the original Hebrew text contains the Four Letter Name of the Lord (the Tetragrammaton). In fact all Greek manuscripts of the New Testament that are dated prior to the fifth century abbreviate all references to G-d, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, Christ, and Lord (when used concerning the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit). The authors of the New Testament were Jews and they wrote as Jews (but they were much stricter in their use of the Divine Names that I am in this manuscript).

In many languages the Tetragrammaton (the Four Letter Name of G-d) is often translated as Jehovah or Yahveh. However, the original pronunciation of the Name is not known, and since Biblical Hebrew does not have the letter J, we know that the common translation (Jehovah) must be incorrect. In the books of Ezekiel and Amos there are examples where the Hebrew text uses the word Adonai (meaning Lord) and then adds the Four Letter Name. In these cases the translated text will read Adonai G-D, using capital letters to indicate that the word G-D is replacing the Hebrew Name.

All Scriptures that I quote are written in italics. Some Scriptural quotations may contain words that are written in non-italics and a smaller font. These are words that do not appear in the original Hebrew or Greek text, but have been added to clarify the meaning of the text. When the Scripture text quotes from another Scripture, the imbedded quotation appears in a different font.

If you happen to be fluent in Hebrew and Greek you will see that among the Scriptures quoted in this book there are places where I have included Hebrew or Greek words. These words will sometimes be shown in their simplest form (i.e. the root word) for the sake of those who do not read Hebrew and Greek. I do not have the time in this manuscript to explain the grammar of these two languages. However, in the footnotes I have usually shown the full Hebrew or Greek word in its original form.

I have used the words Hebrew Scriptures in place of the correct name, which is TaNaK, ⁵ because most Christians are unfamiliar with that name. Most Christians refer to the TaNaK as the Old Testament, though the New Testament never refers to the Hebrew Scriptures as the Old Testament. ⁶ Usually the New Testament refers to the TaNaK as The Scriptures.

The book that is commonly called James in the English Bibles is called by its correct name, which is Jacob.

The translations of the Hebrew and Greek texts into English are mine and should not be considered to be the best translations. I try to be faithful to the original text, and to give as literal a translation as is possible, but sometimes this leaves the English translation barely readable. When words in the translation of Biblical texts are strung together (by the use of a hyphen), it indicates that these words are translating a single word in the original text.

I use the standard Masoretic text for the Hebrew Scriptures, referencing both the Leningrad Codex and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Wherever the Dead Sea Scrolls differ from the Masoretic text I try to determine why they are different and base my translation on the best solution to the differences.

Concerning the Greek New Testament text, things are much more complex than they are for the Hebrew Scriptures. There are some 40,000 known variations to the Greek New Testament. I always consult the Nestle-Aland 26th Edition and also all the New Testament papyri up to P104 (based on the printed text in The Complete Text of the Earliest New Testament Manuscripts by Comfort and Barrett).

Since all the writers of the New Testament were Jews, they generally used Greek words within the frame of reference of the Septuagint which is the standard Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures that was produced about three centuries before the New Testament was written. The Jews who wrote the New Testament were not schooled in the Greek classics, so they were not familiar with classical Greek definitions of words. Therefore all rare words in the New Testament are interpreted based on how they are used in the LXX (the Septuagint) and what Hebrew word or words the LXX is translating.

Because many e-book readers do not support Hebrew script, I have placed all Hebrew script in the Footnotes. E-readers that do not support Hebrew script will usually replace the Hebrew letters with a series of question marks. If you have an e-reader that does support a Hebrew font, you can click on the superscript (they look like this ‘¹’) following certain words in the text and it will take you to the appropriate Hebrew word in the Footnotes. If you have a reader that does not support a Hebrew font, then just ignore the superscript numbers that follow these words. However, most superscript numbers give you additional information about the text or where to do research. Some e-readers that support Hebrew fonts do not support right to left script, if you have one of these types of e-readers, the Hebrew words will read backwards (left to right).

In the eighth century the Catholic Church modified the Julian calendar and introduced the Gregorian calendar, which tried to date everything from the birth of Jesus. However, they made an error concerning the kings known as Herod. As a result they dated Jesus’ birth incorrectly. We now know that Jesus was born between four and twelve years B.C. In turn this causes a problem with the use of B.C. because we cannot really say the Jesus was born between four and twelve years Before Christ (B.C.). In fact, if you say that Jesus was born in 4 B.C., you are saying that Jesus was not the Christ when He was born and that He did not become the Christ until He was four years old. Secondly, the abbreviation A. D. comes from the Latin term meaning Year of our Lord. If you say that Jesus was crucified in 29 A. D. you are then saying that He did not become the Lord until He was between four and twelve years old. If you are a Christian and you make these statements you are guilty of heresy, because all Christians are required to believe that Jesus was the Christ at His birth and that He was born as the King. So the scholarly way around this problem is to refer to dates using the designation B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era). These are the designations that are used in this manuscript.

Since I live, write and teach in Europe, the English text of this manuscript follows the common UK formats. Therefore an American reader may find some words spelled in a strange manner (i.e. labour instead of labor; or finalise instead of finalize). Also the punctuation will be slightly different than in an American English document (especially in the case of closing quotation marks.

Introduction

Throughout the Scriptures we read about great men of faith who accomplished amazing things. Noah heard the voice of G-d and built an ark. Abram heard the voice of G-d, left his home and settled in the land that was to become the Land of Israel. Moses heard the voice of G-d and led the children of Israel out from captivity. Joshua heard the voice of G-d and led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. None of these men could have accomplished the purposes of G-d for their lives unless they first heard the voice of G-d and understood what He wanted them to do.

Noah did not build an ark because he saw the depravity of mankind and knew that the judgement of G-d was coming. Before the great flood, it had never rained on the earth. So even if Noah had known that judgement was coming, there was no way that he could have realised that it would come in the form of rain and a flood.

In order for us to do the will of G-d for our lives, we must hear His voice. G-d has a plan and a purpose for everyone; none of us are accidents of nature. Before G-d began the first step of creation, He already knew that you would be born, when and where you would be born, and what your name would be. Before He created anything, G-d chose a path for you and established a purpose for your life. Just like the great men of faith in the Bible, you have to be able to hear and understand His voice in order to discover what G-d has planned for you.

However, being able to hear God’s voice and understand His plan for your life does not automatically ensure that you will actually fulfil His plan for you. You also need to know how to fulfil His plan for your life.

G-d did not establish a plan for your life that was impossible, or even too hard for you to accomplish. He knows your strengths and weaknesses and He knows that you are able to carry out His plan for your life. It is never in G-d’s purpose for you to fail, like all loving fathers His desire is for you to succeed. Therefore, after you hear His voice, all you need are the directions about how to complete His plan.

My purpose in this book is to show you how to hear the voice of G-d; how to know His plan for your life and how to set that plan in motion, so that you accomplish all that you were created for.

Chapter 1

The Revealed Will of G-d

The Holy Spirit as Guide and Teacher

Since the death of Moses, the primary means that G-d has used to reveal His will to His people has been through the written Scriptures. When Moses descended the mountain after being in the presence of G-d, he carried with him the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments; he also brought with him all the words that G-d had spoken to him on the mountain. Before his death, Moses wrote down the words that G-d had spoken to him. These words became the first five books of the Bible.

So whenever we speak about knowing the voice and the will of G-d, we must first establish that, in order to know Him and His will for you, you must know His written word. However, knowing the written word of the Scriptures does not guarantee that we will know the specific will of the Father for each of our lives. If we do not know the written word of G-d, we can easily be deceived into thinking that we have heard the voice of G-d, when in fact, we have listened to our own self-will; or (worse) we have heard a demonic plan for our lives.

John 16.5-7

5 "And now I am going away towards the one sending Me, and none out of you is asking Me, ‘Where are You going?’

6 "But that these things I have spoken to you the sorrow has filled your heart.

7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your benefit that I go away, for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you.

The disciples lived in a close, personal relationship with Jesus, but Jesus said that it was better