“As it is said, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
The need to hold our confidence in Jesus to the end is emphasized by reminding the Jewish believers of what happened to their forefathers. We have all the same elements as he mentioned before. There is the “today” that is so important. Time ran out on the children of Israel in the wilderness because they failed to take advantage of the offer of the day. Once time ran out, there was no further chance. They missed out on the rest because they refused to turn back to God even though He gave them ample opportunity.
We have the “harden hearts” as well. Like callouses, a layer of disobedience builds up a hardening shell that keeps our hearts from being softened by the call of God. The longer we resist the pleas of God to come to Him, the more likely it becomes that we will never answer in the affirmative.
Lastly, we have the “rebellion” word. Rebellion was their refusal to do what God instructed them to do. He told them to take the land as He was giving it to them. They thought the giant men were larger than their God. By allowing themselves to be convinced that their God was too small to save them, they refused to obey Him. Disobedience then becomes rebellion.
This entire situation was a result of a failure to hear the voice of God. Our writer is encouraging his audience not to let that happen to them. God has sent His Son to give them instructions and to fail to listen to that word is to enter into rebellion.
Task for Today: First, recognize that this is the Biblical “Today.” Second, pay attention to the word that has been given to you. Third, do not rebel but obey that word. Believe in Jesus as the Son of God, repent of your sins, confess His name to men, and be buried into His death and rise in His resurrection.
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