The God Who Speaks
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
We live in a world overflowing with words. Everywhere we turn, there are voices offering opinions, promises, and predictions—political voices, social media voices, even religious voices—all claiming to tell us what is true and how to live. In Moses’ day, Israel was surrounded by nations who sought guidance through magic, omens, and the manipulation of the gods. In our own day, the confusion is just as real. We long for a word that can be trusted—a voice that speaks with authority, honesty, and love.
In Deuteronomy 18, God promises that his people will never be left without his word. “I will raise up a prophet like you,” God tells Moses, “and I will put my words in his mouth.” This promise finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ—the true and final Prophet, the One who not only speaks the words of God but is himself the living Word made flesh. In him, we discover a voice that cuts through the noise: a word that convicts, heals, and restores.
As we come to the Lord’s Table on Sunday, we remember that God meets us in both Word and Sacrament. The same Christ who speaks truth to us now nourishes us with His own life. At the Table, we are invited not just to hear his Word but to take it in — to taste and see that the Lord is good. Amid the clamor of the world, may we once again quiet our hearts and listen to him.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
Moses warned Israel not to look for truth and guidance from the same sources as the nations around them. Where do you tend to turn when you’re anxious, curious, or in need of comfort — perhaps social media, the news, or constant online connection? How do these digital “voices” shape what you believe, fear, or hope for? What might it look like to step back and listen for God’s voice instead?
Deuteronomy 18 reminds us that God has not left His people in silence — He graciously reveals himself through his Word. How does this truth challenge or comfort you in a season when God might seem distant or hard to hear?
God told his people to test those who claim to speak for him. What criteria can we use today to discern true spiritual wisdom from false or misleading teaching? How can Scripture and Christian community help us grow in discernment?
The New Testament identifies Jesus as the promised “Prophet like Moses.” What does it mean for you to listen to Jesus not just as teacher, but as the living Word — the one whose authority is matched by his love?
Deuteronomy 18:14–22
The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”
You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.
Read along with us this fall! Download our Deuteronomy Reading Guide here.