Many of us were familiar with the film critic duo Siskel and Ebert. Gene Siskel died in 1999. Then, in
2006, Robert Ebert lost his lower jaw and his voice to complications from cancer. He has since relied on
Post-it notes, his writing, and various automated voices. The kind you find on your laptop. He types in
the words and then pushes a button that translates his written words into spoken words that come out of
his speakers.
One voice was called Alex. A generic American accent with no emotion. Very robotic. He had used a
British accent named Lawrence. But no off-the-shelf automated voice matched his distinctive voice, a
voice that millions knew from his show, At the Movies, for so many years. The voice he most wanted was
his own.
Enter CereProc. a Scottish company that customizes text-to-speech software for voiceless customers.
robot.1 The company custom-builds voices by mining an individual’s own archived voice recordings and
piecing together, syllable by syllable, Ebert’s voice. When it finishes its work, Ebert will sound like Ebert.
At least more so than Alex or Lawrence do.
Sometimes we don’t miss a voice until it goes silent. At the end of the Old Testament there is a period
of 400 years often referred to as “the silent years.” Years without any prophets or leaders whose words or
lives were recorded in Scripture. Years where there was no voice from God.
But before the silence Ezra read the word of God to the people. His desire was that they rebuild the wall
around Jerusalem for protection. And God’s greater desire was to rebuild the hearts of his people. The
men, women and children gathered together. They heard the word. They understood the word. And
then they did the word.
You can hear God’s voice in the same way these people did. Through his word. It’s not Alex’s voice.
It’s not Lawrence’s voice. It’s his voice. When you hear it there will be a response. The Israelites wept.
Others have repented. Still others have heard good news and rejoiced. And you? If you hear it today, it
can rebuild your life.
Ebert’s real voice may never be heard “live” again. But God’s is still speaking today. You only need to
gather the men, women, and children, open his book, and listen.
1 http://www.esquire.com/features/roger-ebert-0310-3#ixzz0fv5oyUaI
Read The Story. Experience The Story. Used with permission © Zondervan 2010
Chris Truett
