| E-MAIL SERVICE | Sign me up to receive the daily Word of Righteousness free via my E-mail address! ( ONLY AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH ) | |
| ARCHIVES | I want to check out the daily Words of Righteousness for any of the last fourteen days or from previous weeks. ( ENGLISH ONLY ) | |
| FEEDBACK | I have a question or comment about today's Word of Righteousness. ( ENGLISH AND SPANISH ONLY ) | |
| BOOK LIST | I would like to see the complete book list of the Words of Righteousness author Robert B. Thompson. (SOME SPANISH TITLES AVAILABLE ) |
The Daily Word of Righteousness
Hebrews 3:7-12
. . . To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest (Psalms 95:7-11).
What is the Christian not to do?
He is not to harden his heart, as did Israel in the wilderness. He is not to provoke God to anger by murmuring, complaining, and returning to the filthy, fruitless ways of the world.
He is not to keep testing God by saying that God cannot solve this problem, God cannot solve that problem.
God has solved all our problems in the past when we have prayed about them. Let us have faith in the present and in the future that what Christ has begun in our life He will finish gloriously.
In what way can a Christian "harden" his or her heart?
By not allowing the Holy Spirit to lead him to spiritual maturity according to what is written in the Scriptures.
In what ways did the "fathers" tempt God?
By complaining about their welfare throughout the forty years of wandering in the wilderness; by wailing in fear and unbelief concerning the giants in the land of Canaan; by rebelling against the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
Why was God grieved with Israel?
Because God delivered and nourished them by miracle after miracle; yet, they would not allow themselves to believe that God could or would help them. They howled and complained at each new trial.
The Israelites were perverse and always went astray in their hearts. They refused to trust God for food although manna came down every day for forty years.
They refused to trust God for water, although on at least two occasions God brought forth water from a rock.
But—worst of all—they would not press toward the land of promise. They refused to reason that if God smote Egypt, if God parted the Red Sea, God would help them against the Canaanites.
The Israelites refused to learn from the examples God gave them, choosing rather to murmur, complain, find fault with God, disbelieve God. They chose to be frightened rather than to have faith in God.
Those who are timid and fearful will not be allowed to enter the new Jerusalem. Faith and fear cannot dwell in our hearts at the same time.
What did God swear in His anger?
"They shall not enter my rest."
It is possible for God to become angry. God has love for His creatures. He also can exercise anger, as we learn from the flood of Noah, from Sodom and Gomorrah, from the ground opening under Korah, Datham and Abiram, and from the blessings and curses that the Lord taught to Israel (Deuteronomy, Chapter 28).
One of the most destructive errors of our day is the overemphasis on God's love. God's love and mercy can be seen in true perspective only when viewed against the backdrop of His fiery wrath.
Those who state that God is capable only of love know neither the Scriptures nor the Lord. God was angry because of the perversity of the Israelites. They would not learn. At every turn of the trail they wanted to stone Moses and Aaron for one reason or another.
To be continued.