Mims Chapel Church 

Week 6, July 12, 2026

LESSON 6

God Speaks, But Men Sometimes
Don't Understand

Lesson Text:

Job 33:14; 1 Samuel 3:1-10; 1 Chronicles 17:1-4;
Jeremiah 32:6-8; John 12:27-34

Key Terms
intelligible • able to be understood; comprehensible.
retract • withdraw as untrue or unjustified.
sensitivity • the state or condition of being quick to respond to slight changes, signals or influences.

Memory Verse

"So Hanameel mine uncles son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD."
Jeremiah 32:8

Suggested Emphasis

When we consider what is genuine proph­ecy, we must address the assumption in some quarters that "either you hear from God, or you don't." Some critics of mod­ern prophecy believe the matter is very simple: the Word of God is directly depos-ited into the minds of prophets; they're the equivalent of postmen delivering the mail. But when we consult the biblical record, we see that recognition of the Word of God has never been universal. Many people have found it difficult to hear when God is speaking, and to decipher just what He says.

Emphasis 1:

God Sometimes Has to Repeat Himself

A character in the Book of Job makes an important contribution to this discussion. In a soliloquy that follows the poetic dia¬] [Text Box: logue between Job and his three friends, the young man Elihu tries to explain what all the older men's arguments were miss­ing: the reason God allows suffering. But related to our present focus, Elihu makes an important observation about divine communication. "Indeed God speaks once, or twice, yet no one notices it" (Job 33:14, NASB). Elihu's point is that God keeps speaking to His people, conde­scending to repeat His messages when they are unresponsive.

An illustration of this principle is the ef­fective calling of the prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 3:1-10). It is a familiar story how, as a young child, Samuel was awakened by the call of the Lord one night, and as­sumed he had been summoned by his guardian, Eli the priest. The third time the boy interrupted his slumber, the old priest realized Samuel was hearing a divine voice, and he instructed him to answer the Lord directly. "And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak for thy servant heareth" (1 Sam. 3:10). The young prophet couldn't recog­nize God's call until he received some wise counsel.


Emphasis 2:

Sometimes Prophets Are
Unsure of the Word of God

Even an established prophet may have an instance when he doesn't properly discern God's voice. Bible readers will probably remember how Nathan the prophet heard King David's intent to build the Lord a temple, and initially assumed it was the will of God. "Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee" (1 Chron. 17:2). But the prophet had to retract those words. The Lord spoke to him that night and told him to return to the king with a different mes­sage: "Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in..." (1 Chron. 17:4).

There is a more obscure instance when the prophet Jeremiah revealed his own uncertainty about the word he had heard late in the reign of King Zedekiah. "At that time the LORD sent me a message. He said, Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, 'Buy my field at Anathoth'. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else."' Then, just as the LORD had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in prison. He said, 'Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for your­self.' Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the LORD" (Jer. 32:6-8, NLT). Jeremiah at least wondered wheth­er he would literally purchase property in his hometown, until the word was con­firmed by the actions of his cousin.

Emphasis 3:

Unregenerate People Cannot
Understand the Voice of God

If people endowed with prophetic sensi­tivity—like Samuel and Jeremiah—could sometimes be stymied perceiving the voice of God, is it any surprise that com­mon people could completely fail to hear Him speaking? In the week leading up to his crucifixion, after he had enacted his "triumphal entry" into Jerusalem (Jo. 12:12-15), Jesus became an object of great curiosity. Many sought to meet him because he had performed a notable mir­acle in the raising of Lazarus (Jo. 12:18). On that occasion, some Greek proselytes approached the disciple Philip seeking an introduction to Jesus. When the disciples brought this request to their master, he was compelled to answer with a brief dis­course about the fateful hour he was fac­ing (Jo. 12:23-27). He concluded by em­bracing the will of God, saying, "Father, glorify thy name." In answer came a voice from heaven, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." Bystanders around Jesus and the disciples heard this but could not perceive the message as intel­ligible. "The people, therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spoke to him." It is sometimes asserted that only Jesus un­derstood what the Lord said. But that seems unlikely, since Jesus goes on to tell his disciples, "This voice came not be­cause of me, but for your sakes" (Jo. 12:30). Instead, the best explanation is that the voice was understood in propor­tion to the receptivity of the hearts of the hearers. Christ's disciples could under­stand the voice of God (as they did on the Mount of Transfiguration, for example). The multitude, in contrast, could only per­ceive rumbling in the sky.

Missions Application Questions

Have you ever had to have a message repeated to you several times before you understood and heeded it?
What should we make of Nathan's initial mistake of affirming David's plan to build a temple? Does this mean Nathan was a false prophet?
Explain in your own words how intima­cy with Christ seemed to determine who could hear the voice of the Father affirming His Son.

World Missions Prayer Points

Let us pray for spiritual guidance when we are unsure of God's direction in our life.
Let us thank God that He is patient with our occasional difficulties discerning His will.
Let us mediate upon how more sensi­tive we are to the Father's voice since we have come to know and love Jesus.

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