HEBREWS 3:7
7. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, if you will hear His voice,
8. Do not harden your hearts, as (happened) in the rebellion (of Israel) and their provocation and embitterment of Me in the day of testing in the wilderness.
9. Where your fathers tried My patience and tested My forbearance and found I stood their test, and they saw My works for 40 years.
10. And so, I was provoked (displeased and sorely grieved) with that generation, and said, They always err and are led astray in their hearts, and they have not perceived or recognized My ways and become progressively better and more intimately acquainted with them. Amp.
The Lord is telling us to learn from what the Israelites went through in the wilderness. Why did they go through the wilderness? He was taking away all they could depend on to force them into the way of faith. Sometimes the bigger the trial the easier for faith to work.
All they had to do was put their confidence in the Lord and rely on Him. But they continually complained about their circumstances. If they had only trusted the Lord, their circumstances would have changed. Faith is what He is always looking for in our hearts.
He did not allow them to enter into His rest because of their lack of faith or unbelief. Why did they not believe what He said? They were not acquainted with Him. They did not know Him and accused Him of bringing them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness.
We are warned in Hebrews 3 and 4 of the same things. How do we enter into His rest? We have so much more than the Israelites had in the wilderness. We have the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, His presence, and so many anointed songs to worship Him by. And the most important of all is the access we have to the throne of grace where we can come and find the help we need every moment of every day, (Hebrews 4:16)
We have all of these tools which are meant for us to get acquainted with Him. He wants us to have a relationship with Him. He is so full of love and wants us to experience His love firsthand. This is not to be a one-sided thing. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.
He wants us to learn His voice and that will cost us something. You must put some effort into it. It takes time to learn. And it takes time away from the media and the other voices of this world. You cannot have it both ways.
Hebrews 4:7…Today, if you would hear His voice, and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts.
Whatever He says you must obey, or your heart will become harder every time you disobey. Either you will be so very happy or so very miserable. It is our choice.
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