verse 7: "Therefore just as the Holy Spirit is saying, 'Today if you hear His voice,"
Lord, my prayer this morning is that You will slow me down, still my spirit from all the distractions about, and speak softly because Your servant is listening.
verse 8: "Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion in the day of testing in the wilderness,"
Contemplate Jesus in verse 1. "Hear His voice" in verse 7. "Do not harden your hearts" in verse 8.
It is interesting that none of these strong appeals refers to repenting and believing the Gospel.
The writer's command is to never let yourself get into the kind of spiritual hardness which issued in the 40 years of wandering for your forefathers.
Mark 3:5: "And after looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored" (NASB).
It is coldness and indifference toward the message of the Word.
Life's greatest moment is before us when we hear the voice of God speaking to us. If we will hear it, we can enter into the blessing of God in our life. If not, we cannot. It boils down to this, we have a choice.
We are confronted by the voice of God. We hear God's voice. Our soul stirs as God is dealing with us. We have only one choice, whether we will say like Pharaoh: "Who is the Lord that I should listen to Him? or will we say like the prodigal son: "I will arise and go to my father."
We must make our own choice when we hear God's message. "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts."
Is God speaking to you right now? Don't turn away. Maybe He hasn't spoken in a long time. Maybe you're just not close enough to hear.
verse 9: Where your fathers tried me by testing, and saw my works for forty years."
There are 2 ways, according to this verse, that the children of Israel rebelled against the Lord: (1) "your fathers tried me by testing me" and (2) "[they] saw my works for forty years."
As we conclude our meditation for this morning, will you very tenderly and genuinely pause for a moment and say "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening."
