Words

'Who gave a person a mouth?' Yahweh said to him... Is it not I, Yahweh? Now go, I shall help you speak and instruct you what to say.'
Exodus 4:11-12

God was very specific with Moses--where he was to go, what he was to say. Perhaps Moses just listened better. Perhaps it was the shepherding, and the time alone it gave him. Perhaps it was remembering to go up to the mountains, like Jesus did.

How do we listen? Where is the word?

Or perhaps, when you are the messenger, you just know.

Worship

You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
Exodus 20:3-5

The Third Sunday in Lent, 2006
I never noticed before but Exodus gives 5 long verses to the first commandment, telling us in excruciating detail that we should not worship anything of this earth. Murder, adultery, lying and theft each get one line. In English, at least, they are more like half a line.

I would be the last one to argue that murder, adultery, lying or theft --or envy for that matter--are good. However, I'm thinking that a greater emphasis in conscience formation ought to go into rooting out the things I put in place of God. Who me? Worship idols? Could be, if I could see correctly. If I dare to ask Him, He will show me, I'm afraid.

I wonder if the noise I've been considering is the noise of idols.