As the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.”
Before the Israelites entered the promised land, God had them send twelve spies into Canaan on a reconnaissance mission. Two of those spies, Joshua and Caleb, are famous for their “minority report,” which concluded that the land was ripe for the taking. The people, though, would not listen to them, demonstrating their distrust of God. Despite all the evidence they had had of God’s reliability, the Israelites quickly reverted to trusting their own judgment.
In a moment of unbelief, the people feared they would die if, as Caleb and Joshua were urging them to, they chose to rely on God’s power to overcome a great enemy (Numbers 13:25 – 14:4). God responded with judgment: instead of enjoying the promised land, an entire generation spent the remainder of their lives in the wilderness, never experiencing the joy God had offered them (14:21-23).
Like the Israelites, you and I have a propensity for unbelief. The writer of Hebrews warns us, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). Such an exhortation wouldn’t be necessary if it weren’t possible for us to have sinful, unbelieving hearts! We do want to sin. We do want to go our own way. We do not wish to trust.
Unbelief hardens us so that when the Bible is preached, instead of God’s word coming into our hearts and minds like seeds sown in the ready earth, our hearts and minds become like a corrugated tin roof. The more the Bible is taught, the more its effect on us becomes like rain hitting against that which it cannot permeate.
So be on guard, lest your heart become impervious to the truth of Scripture. Be wary that you don’t become someone who defends the Bible, tells other people about it, and quotes from it, but all the while hardening your heart against what God is saying to you in it.
How do we protect ourselves against such unbelief? Exhort others to remember what God has done in and through Christ, and ask them to do the same for you (Colossians 3:16). And ask the same Spirit who authored Scripture to work in your heart as you hear His voice. As you are reminded of God’s power and care and as the Spirit goes to work in you, your heart will be softened to receive the seeds of His word.
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Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, The Good Book Company.
