Reading the Bible each year is a meaningful practice. It often brings us back to passages we might otherwise overlook or move through too quickly. While there are many reading plans that can guide this journey, this reflection is not really about the plan itself, but about something I noticed along the way.

Most recently, during one of these readings, I found myself in the Book of Leviticus. As I worked through chapters filled with laws, offerings, priestly responsibilities, instructions on worship, clean and unclean animals, health practices, sacrifices, the sanctity of life, penalties, and sacred feasts—many of which Christians today may see as no longer directly applicable—one phrase stood out as the thread holding everything together:

“The LORD spoke to Moses.”

This phrase appears again and again (1:1; 4:1; 5:14; 6:1; 6:8; 6:19; 6:24; 7:22; 8:1, and many more), often introducing a new section. The repetition is intentional. It reminds us that what we are reading is not human invention, but divine instruction. These are not merely regulations—they are words spoken by God.

With this in mind, another realization surfaced: how much time Moses must have spent listening.

Continuing this reflection, I noticed that according to the Andrews Study Bible, the Hebrew title of Leviticus comes from its opening word, Wayyiqra—“Then He (the LORD) called” (1:1). Before anything else, God takes the initiative. He calls. He invites Moses into His presence, into a relationship, into conversation. And then, He speaks, because Moses is listening.

The structure of the text, whether these instructions came in a single extended encounter or many separate moments, suggests an ongoing rhythm—Moses returning again and again to listen.

This pattern is not isolated to Leviticus. In Exodus 33:8, we read that “whenever Moses went out to the tent of meeting,” the people would watch as he entered and the LORD met with him. It sounds like a familiar, repeated practice. Likewise, in Numbers 7:89, when Moses entered the tent to speak with the LORD, he would hear His voice speaking to him.

Moses’ leadership did not begin with speaking—it began with listening.

And that raises an important question for us: how much space do we make in our daily lives to listen to the LORD?

In a world filled with noise, urgency, and constant distraction, listening does not happen by accident. It requires intention. It requires time. It requires a willingness to be still before God.

Are we attentive to His voice?
Do we pause long enough to discern what He may be saying?
Are we willing to shape our lives around His word?

The example of Moses invites us into a deeper rhythm—not just of reading Scripture, but of encountering the God who speaks through it.

May we learn to draw near to the LORD each day. May we quiet competing voices, set aside distractions, and create space to listen. And as we do, may we not only hear His voice, but follow it with faithful hearts.