Hebrews 4:7

Hebrews 4:7

Today!

There are a number of terms in the Bible that give us a clue as to how God views time. For instance, the early disciples believed and taught that they were living in the “last days.” That particular term has proved to be a period of at least 2,000 years although any understanding of events in our world and the kind of timeline that is about to unfold will reveal that these days are heading us towards some kind of finality for the human race. The word “today” clearly speaks of the present, the here and now, and it carries a note of urgency because no one has ever been able to predict exactly when “today” will end! For the travelling Israelites it started the moment they heard God’s commands and it completely dominated their future for the next 40 years, or for a lifetime. This is a great challenge for us, if we hear God’ speaking today, will our response govern the way we live out the rest of our lives? Could it be that this day of decision will never be repeated? 

The famous phrase about today, repeated here from Hebrews 3:15, is a quote from Psalm 95:7. That Psalm is a call for God’s people to bow down in worship, to kneel before the Lord their Maker, to submissively recognise their vulnerability before Him. The Psalmist is instructing us that if we do this and God speaks to us, surely we must obey Him? How can we adopt a position of humble obeisance, hear His commands and then decide that we will not carry them out? To obstinately refuse the voice of the Lord and to carry on as nothing has happened is both rude and foolish and a sure-fire guarantee that we will never enjoy the benefits of His care and provision. Why should the Lord persist in blessing those who refuse His voice and harden their hearts against Him? Maybe, when the Christian walk is just a hard, interminable slog with little to sustain us along the way, it’s because we have heard and disobeyed? Let us be careful both to hear when the Lord speaks to us but also to heed His voice and to rejoice that we are privileged to serve Him. Hallelujah!

 

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