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Coming of the King: Week 28

Matthew 13:24-43: The Growth of the Kingdom

Obedience and Hearing

The English word "obedience" is from (through Old French) the Latin "ob audire" - "listen to". To hear is "audire" from which we get the word "audio". The New Testament Greek word for obedience is hupakoe, from hupakouo - "listen attentively to". To hear is "akouo", from which we get the word "acoustic".

The Hebrew word for "obey" is "shema", as in "to obey is better than sacrifice, and *attentiveness* is better than the fat of rams" - 1 Samuel 15:22. The Hebrew "shema" also means "hear", as in "Shema Israel" - "Hear O Israel, and be careful to observe [the law]", Deuteronomy 6:3. The word translated "observe" is "asah" - "creatively do or make". "Asah" is the word "make" in Genesis 1, and also the word "bear" in "bear fruit".