HEBREWS 3:8
“DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS ON THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS,”
Hard hearted people are just mean and nasty. Don’t you agree? They don’t care what other people feel, and they sure don’t care how they treat them. The most famous biblical character to portray this trait had to be Pharoah. The Scripture says that God hardened his heart. In reality, God allowed his hard heartedness to be revealed. And it cost him his kingdom and his firstborn son.
We continue with the quotation from Psalm 95. Let me quote this from the Old Testament. Verse 8 says, “Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the wilderness,..” Do you remember Meribah and Massah? They are the same place. This is the place where the Hebrew people complained about no water, and Moses was told to strike the rock to give them water. Moses named that spot Meribah which means “test” and Massah which means “quarrel.” That’s the definition of hard hearts.
ASK QUESTIONS (Command to Obey, Promise to claim, Sin to avoid, Application to make, Something new about God)
The Command to Obey is clear here. Don’t do that! Pretty simple, right? Maybe not! In Acts 19:9 we see where Paul was teaching in Ephesus and this happened. “But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people,” Some people cannot stand for others to hear the truth and will do everything they can to block access. We see that in much of the Middle East where the Gospel is banned.
In Romans 9:18 we read of God’s supreme justice which is determined by man’s response to His mercy. “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” Hard hearts and mercy are in direct contrast. You cannot show mercy to others and remain hard hearted. Let God’s mercy flow through you and soften your heart.
This Greek word for “hardened” is found three other times in the New Testament, all in Hebrews. We will see those later. My challenge for you today is to go to the Lord and confess any callousness that has developed in your life. Callouses deaden pain but also restrict feeling. Don’t be callous. Don’t be hard hearted. Look at all the Lord has done in your life and give Him praise. Then share that with someone else.
I praise You, Father, for taking my heart of stone and giving me a heart of flesh which You can mold into Your image.
