In Genesis 3 we see God set for Adam and Eve a test. A test of how well, and how committed they are to attending to God’s voice. Will they veer off and follow another voice, or will they remain steadfast to the Voice that spoke them into existence and calls them His Image Bearers.

They fail the test.

In Psalm 115 the idols of the other nations are described as not seeing, hearing or speaking. They are wood, stone, or metal creations therefore they are unfeeling and unresponsive.  Then in verse 8 it says that those who make them or trust in them will be like them.

It seems to me that the test of Eden is ongoing- a daily challenge that we all face. Do we cultivate, seek out and cling to God’s Voice, as our identity, our purpose and our anchor, or do we listen to other voices that tell us who and what we are.

The worship and pursuit of anything other than God, shuts our senses off to the Voice that elevates us and gives us the opportunity to partner with God and be His Idol, the living embodiment of His authority and care for this world. We are to be His emissaries and carry out His will on the earth, but to do so we must learn to hear His voice and not follow another.

When we fail this test we begin to seek our significance and security, even our very identity and sense of self, from something that cannot hear us or care about us, and we too become deaf and blind to the needs of others, and to the prophetic voice of God that gives our lives purpose and meaning.