“Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. Therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols . . . yet He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord, and they testified against them, but they would not listen.”
2 Chronicles 24:17-19
Jehoiada was the high priest of that day and profoundly influenced King Joash as long as he lived. After Jehoiada’s death, however, Joash began to listen to the wrong people and subsequently turned away from the Lord.
Whom you listen to will profoundly influence your actions for good or for evil. Put a guard about your ears. Be selective with whom you allow to speak into your life, because, whether you think so or not, those voices will carry you. Joash listened to the wrong people and shut out the ones whom God sent to warn him. In his love God will not punish without warning. He always sends someone to tell us we’ve made a mistake. The problem is that when are hearts are full of pride we cannot receive instruction.
Shut out the voice of this world, the voices of the many who seem to have voices of sound wisdom, yet it is the counsel of men and not of God. Go to God’s word and listen to that still small voice of the Holy Spirit. Compare anything and everything by His standards. Shut out the voice of men and listen only to the voice of God and of godly men. Do not give place to the fearful voice. Do not be pressured by the demanding voices of the the urgent. Take time to seek the Lord and wait on Him. To do this you must be humble. Maintain a teachable spirit toward God. Always listen for what He is saying first and foremost.
Identify a person to whom you listen to the most. In what ways has this person influenced you? Is that person the voice of God in your life or merely the voice of reason, the voice of tradition and culture? Does that voice encourage you in God or in the flesh? What will you do to guard you ears?
