Israel failed to be obedient to the covenant. They did not incline their ear.
The meaning here is to listen carefully to what is said and to take the proper action.1 Instead, the people walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
They rejected the Lord’s words and lived as they saw fit and as they desired. The consequence of this willful disobedience is that they went backward and not forward.
The reality of the history of Israel’s relationship with the Lord is that they moved further and further away from him.
24 But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.