Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
11 As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
The text implicitly admits that there are days of testing, verse 8. We know this…there are many passages of Holy Scripture that speak of our faith being tested. We read that God tested Abraham when he called him to sacrifice Isaac.
In the wilderness, Moses was quite clear that God had come to test them to see if they feared the Lord. (Ex. 20:20) And if you are wondering, yes, it is in perfect keeping for God to test you and NO, we are not to put Him to the test. Wait a minute, God can test me…but I can’t test Him? Yes, that is exactly right.
And if that bothers you in any way it is only an indication that you have failed to know who God is and who you are. In fact, Jesus called the Pharisees who thought to test him, hypocrites.
2 Corinthians 8 tells us that afflictions are for our testing. We are told to test ourselves to see if we are really believing (2 Cor 13). I Thessalonians 2:4 says that God tests our hearts to see if we are trusting Him or trusting man. And then James 1:12, Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
The question is not whether or not our faith is tested, the question is what will your response be when it is? The Psalm says that when the church in the wilderness was tested, despite all that God had done for them, they thought to turn the tables, and to test the Lord. And what is the Lord’s response to that? Look at verse 10: He was provoked and rendered judgement because…they always go astray…but make sure you see the next three words…in their hearts. And that is the proof that they don’t know the Lord or His ways.
It is easy to look like a Christian. It is easy to do Christian things, speak Christian words…but the question is always what is going on inside of you? What are you hiding…what are you running from? What are you trying to ignore by distracting yourself? What bitterness might you cover with psychological verbiage or business? What story are you telling yourself?
Where is your heart? Don’t fool yourself into thinking that all is well because your outward life looks to be in order…the place we go astray is first in our hearts. That is where the bitterness lies, where the resentment is fostered, where the lack of love is flamed with excuses and justifications.
Remember, man looks at the outward appearance, but God weighs the heart. And it is there…in our hearts, in your heart, in mine that God makes the judgment of whether or not we know Him and His ways…verse 10. We have hurt, pain, sins that we don’t know what to do with, and with them, guilt and shame…And we can often believe the lie that as long as we keep them in, we will be ok. But that is not the way this works.
I recently had a dear friend unburden himself to me…and he was truthful about what was going on inside of him…and he was angry…hurt…frustrated, with God. And he asked what do I do. And all I could think of was to say, “Tell Him.” Go to God and tell Him…bring your pain, your doubts, your fears, your frustrations to God…this is a supreme act of faith, to go to the One who alone knows and is the only hope of remedy you will find.
In verse 12, the preacher picks up, almost as if to comment on the Psalm: Take care, he says, be careful, pay attention. One translation says, “See to it…” Another, “Beware…” This thinking to test the Lord, harboring sin and malevolence in your heart, and this warning to Christians, to ‘look out’, for you might be nurturing an evil, unbelieving heart and this will lead you to a forsaking of God.
It will harden your heart…to the Lord…to others and it has a diabolical goal, to lead you into unbelief and evil. There is grace and love in this warnings and we would do well to thank the Lord for them and then to take them very seriously!
Prayer: Father, while I confess that I have You to flee to, I often think that another refuge will be a resting place. I am always disappointed because there is no place for me to find solace, peace and comfort but under the shadow of Your wings. Thank you for testing me, for testing my faith. Help me, that in those times I will remember to flee to You that I may be found trusting in the Rock that is truly, higher than am I. In Jesus name, Amen.
Hymn: Here is one hour of gospel songs and hymns with an acoustic guitar.