Hebrews 3:7-11: Are you hardening your heart to God’s voice? Discover the rest Jesus offers and how to embrace it today?
Scripture: Hebrews 3:7-11 (ESV): “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, “They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.” As I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”‘”
Devotion:
Imagine being lost in a giant desert. You are hungry, hot during the day, freezing at night and ever so thirsty. Now imagine you find a map that promises a way to an oasis filled with life and water and everything you need. But instead of following the map’s instructions, you choose to ignore it and end up wandering aimlessly through the dessert instead. This is a lot like what the Israelites did in the wilderness. They had witnessed God’s miracles, they had seen how he protected them by fire and cloud, they received miracle food – manna, every day from heaven. They saw how God provided water from a rock for them in the midst of the heat. And still, they doubted and rebelled.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us of this to highlight just how broken the human heart is. No matter how convincing the argument for worshipping God, whether by miracle or apologetic, we will harden our hearts unless the Holy Spirit works in us. It is for this reason one person can pick up a Bible, read God’s word and trust and obey, and another will read the very same words and reject God.
When we think about the Israelites in the wilderness, it’s easy to judge them for their lack of faith. They saw God’s wonders firsthand, but they doubted Him. The end result of this doubt and rejection was that God proclaimed that they will never enter his rest! What a terrible thing! But if we look closely, we might see a bit of ourselves in their story. We are not so different. When life gets tough, it’s easy to focus on the difficulties and forget the many ways God has shown His faithfulness.
That is why it is so good that we don’t just have Moses, as the Israelites had. We have a better leader to follow. We have Jesus. He lived a life of perfect submission to God’s will, even unto death on a cross. When we believe in him, we inherit true eternal spiritual rest.
So what will it be? Will you accept the eternal rest already offered by the Better Moses? Or keep running around following your own map in the dessert?
Prayer:
Lord, help me to hear Your voice today and not harden my heart. Give me the strength to trust You and to follow Your ways, even when it’s difficult. Thank You for the rest that Jesus offers. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge:
Today, take a moment to quiet your mind and listen for God’s voice. Reflect on an area of your life where you might be resisting Him. Surrender that area to Him and trust in His guidance.