Hebrews 3:7-8 continued

Hebrews 3:7-8 continued

Today, if you hear His voice

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” We need to spend a little more time considering the implications of this statement. To hear the voice of God is a great honour and privilege. God speaks in many ways, primarily through His Word the Bible, but also through preachers, teachers and godly men and women. He may speak through circumstances or through dreams and visions, sometimes it is just a simple conviction that drives our attitudes and actions. God speaks through creation, so clearly that Paul argues, in Romans 1, that if men cannot hear Him, they are “without excuse!” When we think about it, the voice of God is everywhere and those who are willing to humbly listen by faith will hear Him. We cannot know Him unless He first speaks, just as creation could not happen until God spoke into the darkness and chaos of the primordial void. 

As we have seen, the message here involves Israel who were honoured to hear the Lord’s voice but consistently refused to believe or act upon it. In fact, they rebelled and often went against what the Lord had spoken to them. They “hardened their hearts” against His Word and decided to go their own way.  And this is the problem; the Lord has specific instructions and plans for each one of us about every tiny detail of our lives. If we were to obey Him, then how much richer life on earth would be. Sadly, like Israel, we too often hear what He has to say, and then decide to do it our way instead! We “harden our hearts” and refuse His advice or His guidance. In fact, we often hear the voice and then deliberately decide to do the opposite! In effect we say, “No” to God! It takes great faith and courage and humility to throw our lives over completely to a Being we cannot see, and yet He urges us to call Him Father and to lay down our lives for Him. That is true faith, but hardened hearts will always rebel. 

“Help us, O Lord, to listen to You and to obey, for You only ever plan and advise for our good.”

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