In ancient times God spoke often and in many ways. Not least through prophecy. But when Zechariah and Malachi died in the fifth century BC, the prophetic voice fell silent.

Wannabes and upstarts tried to fill the void. They all proved false. Judaism eventually concluded that the Holy Spirit had been quenched and had withdrawn from Israel. God still spoke, they said. But only through an echo of his voice (Joachin Jeremias). And the people sighed: How long?

Did God lose his voice? No. After 400 years, he broke the silence. Not through an echo, but through his Son. God has spoken his Ultimate and Final Word through his Son. Jesus is not just another messenger in a long line of prophets stretching back through the ages. He is The Message.

But there were problems in the Church of the Hebrews, as we shall call them. They didn’t know Jesus well enough. And some were no longer paying attention to the Message (Hebrews 2:1; 3:7-8; 4:7; 5:11; 12:25).

Some were being attracted to all sorts of strange teachings (Hebrews 13:9). Others were simply losing interest in God’s Word. They needed encouragement, correction, and warning. Some of them needed a spanking. Like some of us.

Everything we need to know about God has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ. God is still speaking through his Son. Not just in the four Gospels, but through everything written in the Bible (John 5:39).

Jesus is the Word of God. Are we listening to him? If we don’t listen and learn from God’s Son, then there’s no point running to and fro after words and voices.

Thank God for visions and dreams. Prophecy is here to stay and never to be despised. But even if there were never another revelation, it does not matter. God has spoken once and for all through his Son.

Listen to him (Matthew 17:5). 

Prayer Track

It’s a crisis like no other. In the fight against COVID-19, global leadership is severely lacking. With no global voice and no global plan, the world is reeling. Do not fear. God has not abandoned us. God is not silent.   

• God has spoken. This world needs more than a leader. This world needs a King: Jesus. Are we listening? Are we paying close attention to this One Voice that truly matters on earth and in heaven? Or have we tuned out? If so, since when and why? Have we lost our passion for the God who speaks through his Son?
  In this present crisis of many unknowns, ask God to make Christ known to you as never before. Ask him to do all he must to wake you up and turn you around. Remember from where you have fallen. Return to your first love (Revelation 2:4-5). Make this moment a new beginning in your relationship with Christ our King.
   
• God has spoken. This world needs more than a moralist. This world needs a Saviour: Jesus. Are we listening?
  Beware. A new mutation of Christianity is emerging. It pushes the ethics of our secular world. It projects a subjective image of God. It promotes an individualised faith, a rojak of pick-and-mix religious beliefs. Reject these lies. Return to Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to God the Father except through him (John 14:6).
  In this Year of Personal Discipleship, pray for life-shaping epiphanies that seal our hearts for Christ our Saviour.
   
• God has spoken. This world needs more than a big mouth. This world needs The Word: Jesus. Are we listening?
  Beware the seduction of social media. Beware the swelling stream of data that comes from every direction. Beware the babel of blogs, the competing opinions, the polarising views, the hidden agenda. Beware the quotable quotes marketed as wisdom (Joanne Kwok). Beware the digital overload that blurs our vision of Christ, The Final Authority. Beware the digital fatigue that dulls our hearing and makes us zombies, unable to discern the voice of Christ the Word. This 40.Day, step offline to take a breather (Joanne Kwok).
  Treat yourself to the Word daily, the ultimate Truth, the perfect, priceless content that revives the soul, rejoices the heart, renews the mind (Psalm 19:7-8).
   
• God has spoken. This world needs more than a vaccine. This world needs a Healer: Jesus. Are we listening?
  He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). On behalf of the afflicted, turn to Jesus. May healing miracles be the new normal. He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death (Psalm 107:20).
   
• God speaks. Listen to him: For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God (Romans 13:1). Pray for General Election 2020. Our God reigns!

Check Salt&Light for more of LoveSingapore’s daily devotions over the next 40 days.