{Word Study} Voice “Qol”

WORD STUDY: VOICE
Exodus 19:5: ” Now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my  commandments, then you will be a peculiar treasure until me above all the people, for all the earth is mine.”
Voice: Hebrew – qol: sound, cry, thunder, rumor or report. In its primitive form –  to disclose an idea.
“Have you’ve been half asleep And have you heard His voice I’ve heard Him calling my name. Is this the sweet sound That calls the young believer I think it’s one and the same. I’ve heard it too many times to ignore I know it something I suppose to be.” (Revised from Paul Williams – Rainbow Connection)
“If you will obey my voice.”   This is a tricky one.   If you want to push my “annoy  me button,”  simply ask me; “So what is God saying to you?”   I hear people all the time saying: “Well God said this to me or that to me.”  My first thought is Psychology 101 where we learned of something called auditory hallucination which was called a psychosis.  This schizoaffective disorder is a key sign of schizophrenia.  My psychology professor had another name for it, psych ceramic (crackpot).
Like I said, this is a tricky verse.  Jesus talks about His sheep knowing His voice (John 10:27).  Paul heard the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus and Moses heard His voice.  Is this referring to an impression, thought or feeling as we interpret it today?
The word for voice is “qol” which is speaking, calling, voice etc.   The word used in the New Testament in Greek is “phone” (guess what English word we get from that) and in the Aramaic it is “gal” which is identical to the Hebrew word.  All have the idea of a noise, tone or sound.
The word “gol” is spelled  Qof  which represents God speaking through a natural or human instrument, Vav is a connection between heaven and earth and the final letter is a lamed which represents divine instruction.  In other words this voice of God can came from a natural instrument, such as a preacher, teacher, prophet, friend etc., or through a natural event.  This voice is also heard as you spend time alone with God and make that connection between heaven and earth. This voice can be heard through a study of God’s Word where we receive divine teaching.
Yes, I have successfully skirted the issue of an actual audible voice.  So let me confront it head on.  Ultimately the word in Hebrew, qol, simply carries the idea of a disclosure.  It can be an impression, thought or feeling which is so powerful, it actually seems like an audible voice, as Paul Williams expressed in his song: “Rainbow Connection” which I slightly revise to fit my thesis.  Qol (voice), by its very nature is a Semitic word and can be highly poetic, i.e., a simile or metaphor, again used as Paul Williams used in his song. Finally, Qol (voice), can be just that, an actual, audible voice.
One thing is very clear, when God wants to speak to you personally, He will do it in a way where you will not question your sanity.  He is an infinite God, with infinite ways to disclose his thoughts.  Qol (voice) expresses this infinity. God created each of us with a Qol, a listening device, so to speak, that is planted within us. It could be a bird flying to your window each morning or a squirrel coming to your door. A cool breeze, a starry sky, a song, a touch from a stranger, anyone of these may trigger that listening device He has planted within you and it will be the Qol, the voice of God.  Yes, it may even be audible, but God is so vast, so limitless, it is just one of the countless ways He has to speak to us.  Besides, an audible voice is just too ordinary as a means of communication. Such a communication would be below God’s dignity.   God loves to be creative and inventive. He is the master poet.
When you know Him and are intimate with Him, that Qol within you will be tuned into His receiver and if His transmitter sends a little bird tapping at your window in the morning, you will know it is God speaking to you.  Others will think you are as nuts as if you heard an audible voice, but that is only because they do not have the same Qol or listening device implanted in them.  Let them tune in to their own listening device, their own Qol and they will hear from God in a way that will make them appear just as nuts as if they are hearing an audible voice.