(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“Then they said, “Come! Let’s devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law won’t perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let’s strike him with the tongue, and let’s not give heed to any of his words.”
Give heed to me, Yahweh,
and listen to the voice of those who contend with me.
Should evil be recompensed for good?
For they have dug a pit for my soul.
Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.”
(Jeremiah 18:18-20)
“My soul shall be joyful in Yahweh.
It shall rejoice in his salvation.
All my bones shall say, “Yahweh, who is like you,
who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him;
yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?”
Unrighteous witnesses rise up.
They ask me about things that I don’t know about.
They reward me evil for good,
to the bereaving of my soul.”
(Psalm 35:9-12)
“Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there might be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God; but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called “today”, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end, while it is said, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion.”For who, when they heard, rebelled? Wasn’t it all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? With whom was he displeased forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? To whom did he swear that they wouldn’t enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient? We see that they weren’t able to enter in because of unbelief.”
(Hebrews 3:12-19)
Jeremiah was attacked by those who didn’t want to hear his message. He was speaking the truth to them. The Word of God. God even sent Jeremiah with a VERY simple message for the people. An easy way to demonstrate obedience and humbling themselves before His point of view. But instead of doing it, they devised plans to attack Jeremiah. To kill the messenger, believing the message would stop. Or that their own message would force God’s hand and they would be delivered.
In David’s time, the same strategy was used. David was attacked and persecuted. They sought his life. Throughout human history, when mankind has a problem with God, they seek to kill and discredit anyone speaking His message. Jesus warned us that it wasn’t going to stop just because He had come and died for humanity. Not all humanity would accept the message. But like David, and like Jeremiah, we are to rely on God. To look to Him to save us. To trust that He is in control.
We have a choice as human beings. We can harden our hearts against the messages and commands of the Lord God Almighty, or we can humbly submit to His authority and position. It is up to us. The Israelites balked many times and it was recorded so that we had their example. We clearly see what they were told. We see what they chose to do. We see the Lord’s patience and consistent warnings. We see the majority of the people reject the message of correction time and again. We see prophets and kings exhorting the people to repent and rely on God. They got good examples of good men and women putting God first and how living in obedience is also living in blessing. We see the message rejected. We see the examples ignored. We see judgment. God hides nothing. Not His mercy. Not His love. Not His goodness. And not His justness. We have their examples. We have Jesus holding His hand out to us. We have His example. We have the same choice. We can hold to Him or we can harden our hearts.
Summary
Hardening our hearts doesn’t have to be a huge thing. It doesn’t have to be a total rejection of the message of the Lord. It can be small things too. Refusal to believe what He says about something (like tithing or healing or the blessing). It can be a refusal to do what He’s called you to do, whether that is a walk in life or prayer time. It can be a choice to put our eyes and ears on ungodly things because they’re popular or done well. It can be the choice to waste time that we know should be spent more profitably. There are MANY ways to harden our hearts because it is simply putting what WE want before what HE wants. It is a dangerous practise. It is a slippery slope. But we also have Holy Spirit living within us offering correction and direction. We have the advantage. We have a loving God who doesn’t want us going the wrong way. We have a loving God holding our hand and encouraging us to get closer to Him. Don’t harden your heart. When you find an area where you have, get into the Word and retrain your mind to His point of view, His moral character, and His thinking.
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