A Story of the Five Senses? - Part 2

One of the lessons in this story is the critical importance of the sense of hearing. Both the physical and spiritual ears are important in exercising our faith. The other senses are also important, but if the senses were limited to one only, the Bible’s choice would always be the sense of hearing, for it represents the ‘religion of the ear’.

The Old Testament pits the religion of the ear against the popular religion of the eye. When Moses came down Mount Sinai with God’s laws etched on stone, he was carrying in his arms the basis of the religion of the ear.

God’s Word was to be read and listened to, so that it could be obeyed. On the other hand, Aaron at the foot of the mountain had given way to popular pressure and created a religion of the eye, i.e. the golden calf for them to idolise and worship. Idols are seen, not heard, while the Word is read and heard.

The prophets spoke against the religion of the eye, and some of the kings of Judah listened to them positively and sought to bring back the religion of the ear, with varying degrees of success. But the religion of the eye was lodged deeply in the idolatrous hearts of the people and difficult to eradicate.

The New Testament also highlights the religion of the ear in favour of others. In the concluding remarks of His greatest sermon, the Lord Jesus told the parable of the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24-27). Note that the builders both heard the words of Christ; what separated them was putting what they heard into practice – in short, obedience. Jesus took the religion of the ear deeper and emphasised obedience. And obedience comes from hearing.

Paul emphasised this point also when he wrote, “faith comes from hearing” (Romans 10:17) as opposed to any of the other senses. The religion of the ear is what God expects us to practise. The Lord repeated over and over in Revelation, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Note the emphasis on the ear and on hearing.

In his book The Humiliation of the Word, Jacques Ellul laments the church’s increasing spiritual deafness. In its embrace of its other senses, the church faces the danger of deceiving itself with what appears to be entertainment. It is misled by a pragmatism which assesses what is seen and measured rather than what is heard by its inner ears (leading to belief and obedience).

The story of Isaac, whose ears were outvoted by his other senses, is an apt warning for the church today. The spiritual discipline of hearing is crucial for keeping us all on the straight and narrow.

Discussion Questions:

How do you understand the statement: “faith comes from hearing” (Romans 10:17) and that “we live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)”? Why is it important to learn to live by faith? What is it about the nature of God and the inward character of the Christian life that helps us understand this? Why is careful reading of the Bible so essential for Christian growth?

What do you think of Ellul’s observation that the church is increasingly becoming spiritually deaf? Is the church relying too much on images, pragmatic techniques and calculativeness to render it increasingly deaf to what the Spirit is saying? Examine your own life and assess whether it is marked by the religion of the ear or that of the eye. How can you live more by faith than by sight?