To Hear His voice

In the Old Testament, it was considered a rare occasion to hear the voice of the Lord.
Recorded in the pages of scripture were those times that God communicated with man
directly, such as Noah:

[I]"[B]Then God said to Noah[/B], “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the
earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with
the earth. Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms,
and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of
the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall
make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the
ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. Behold, I, even
I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath
of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. But I will establish
My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife,
and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two
of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of
the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of
the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. As for
you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it
shall be for food for you and for them.” [B]Thus Noah did; according to all that God had
commanded him, so he did[/B]."[/I] (Genesis 6:13-22, NASB, emphasis mine)

Moses:

[I]"Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian;
and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain
of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a
bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not
consumed. So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the
bush is not burned up.” When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to
him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
[B]Then He said[/B], “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for
the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” [B]He said also[/B], “I am the God
of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then
Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God."[/I] (Exodus 3:1-6, NASB, emphasis
mine)

And Elijah:

[I]"Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; [B]and behold, the word of the LORD
came to him, and He said to him[/B], “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have
been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken
Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I
alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”[B] So He said,[/B] “Go forth and
stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a
great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before
the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the
LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in
the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped
his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a
voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Then he said, “I have
been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken
Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I
alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”[B] The LORD said to him[/B],
“Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you
shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king
over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in
your place. It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall
put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.
Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every
mouth that has not kissed him.” [/I] (1 Kings 19:9-18, NASB, emphasis mine)

In these days, not everyone heard the voice of the Lord save those the Lord chose to hear
Him. When the people of Israel heard Him speak at Mt. Sinai, this was their reply:

[I]"All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the
trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood
at a distance. [B]Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but
let not God speak to us, or we will die.”[/B] Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid;
for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with
you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached
the thick cloud where God was."[/I] (Exodus 20:18-21, NASB, emphasis mine)

Upon hearing the voice of the Lord, the people were terrified and asked Moses to listen to
the Lord [I]for them[/I], then [I]tell them[/I] what He had said. It was from this point that
the Lord spoke to the people through prophets and messengers. But sadly, most of those
the Lord sent were scorned, persecuted and outright murdered:

[I]"“Therefore, behold, [B]I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of
them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues,
and persecute from city to city,[/B] so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous
blood shed on earth, [B]from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the
son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar[/B]. Truly I say
to you, all these things will come upon this generation."[/I] (Matthew 23:34-36, NASB,
emphasis mine)
Then the Father sent to mankind the One promised and proclaimed by the prophets and
messengers previous: His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ:

[I]"John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people
of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their
sins. John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his
diet was locusts and wild honey. And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is
coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His
sandals. “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In
those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like
a dove descending upon Him; [B]and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My
beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."[/B] Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go
out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan;
and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him."[/I] (Mark 1:4-
13, NASB, emphasis mine)

And the Father Himself proclaimed tho Peter, John and James, who were with Jesus on
the Mount of Transfiguration:

[I]"Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led
them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and
His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold,
Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is
good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and
one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud
overshadowed them, [B]and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved
Son, with whom I am well-pleased; [U]listen to Him[/U]![/B]” When the disciples heard
this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and
touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” And lifting up their eyes, they saw
no one except Jesus Himself alone."[/I] (Matthew 17:1-8, NASB, emphasis mine)

The Father would again speak:

[I]"“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this
hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” [B]Then a
voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”[/B] So the
crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were
saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not
come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of
this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to
Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.
The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to
remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this
Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you.
Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in
the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the
Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went
away and hid Himself from them. But though He had performed so many signs before
them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the
prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO
WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” For this reason they
could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE
HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR
EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I
HEAL THEM.” These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they
were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they
loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.[/I]" (John 12:27-43, NASB,
emphasis mine)

But even moreso, God has spoken not only to a select few, but to all the world and all
people through the Word, Jesus Christ:

[I]"God, [B]after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in
many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son,[/B] whom He appointed heir
of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory
and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His
power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a
more excellent name than they."[/I] (Hebrews 1:1-4, NASB, emphasis mine)

Sadly, many would not listen:

[I]"They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you
are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me,
a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You
are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication;
we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love
Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own
initiative, but He sent Me. [B]Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because
you cannot hear My word.[/B] You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the
desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the
truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own
nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not
believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not
believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear
them, because you are not of God.”[/I] ( John 8:39-47, NASB, emphasis mine)