The `digged' ear of the willing servant (Exod. 21:2,5,6).

The `opened' ears of the Great Willing Servant `The Lord God hath

opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious' (Isa. 50:5).

The apostle's use of this passage to contrast the Old Testament

sacrifices of bulls and goats, in which he needs something more

than a reference to the `ear' -- he takes the symbol of a willing

servant and expands it to the `preparing' and the `offering' of

the body of Christ.

`Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than

the fat of rams' (1 Sam. 15:22).

Truth is truth, by whomsoever it may be uttered, yet the Scriptures not

only enjoin upon us to hear the truth, but to consider who it is that speaks

and how we ourselves hear the message.  Romans 10, as we have already

noticed, says:

`How shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? and how

shall they hear without a preacher?' (Rom. 10:14),

but it immediately adds a clause that contains something of a warning,

`And how shall they preach, except they be Sent?'

In Jeremiah 23, the Lord complains of prophets, who:

`speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the

Lord' and said of such `I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran'.

`I sent them not' (Jer. 23:16,21,32).

It is not an act of faith to accept without question the assertion or

proclamation of anyone without first of all being assured of their

credentials.  The Church at Ephesus was commended by the Lord for trying

`them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars'

(Rev. 2:2).  An apostle is essentially a `sent one' the Greek verb stello

meaning `I send'.  Paul when writing to Timothy, a fellow servant and son in

the faith, and one who would be called upon many times to exercise judgment

in critical and spiritual matters, said:

`But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been

assured of, knowing of Whom thou hast learned them' (2 Tim. 3:14).

Whenever a man is `sent of God' he will have some credentials which will

satisfy those who are in harmony with the Holy Scriptures.  Timothy was

enjoined by the apostle to have a form of sound words, which, said he, `Thou

hast heard of me' (2 Tim. 1:13), and drew attention to the relationship that

was evident between his `doctrine' and his `manner of life' (3:10).  Jeremiah

not only said of the false prophets that the Lord had not sent them, he gives

another index `They make you vain' (Jer. 23:16).  We are therefore to take

heed `whom' we hear.  We are also enjoined to take heed `how' we hear (Luke

8:18), and in Mark 4:24 to take heed `what' we hear.  `How' one hears relates

to the manner of our hearing.  `What' one hears refers to the substance of

the message, and they are dependent in measure on one another.  Even though