‘Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness’ (Hebrews 3.7-8).
Every believer in Christ wants to know the biblical antidotes to backsliding, and this passage in Hebrews is the inspired guide to many of them. Of course, the primary purpose of the passage is to warn unconverted people about the consequences of unbelief, but the points that are made apply also to believers, and this will be our concern in this article.
The preceding verses have already spoken of the faithfulness (or trustworthiness) of both Christ and Moses. The Lord when on earth was utterly faithful to the divine plan, and Moses followed very exactly all the instructions given him by God for the law and for the Tabernacle with its furnishings and equipment for worship. He had to be precise, for all these things were prophecies in symbols, and types and shadows of all that would be revealed when Christ came. Faithfulness was paramount, and this, in a word, is the opposite of backsliding.
Our passage for study begins in verse 7 of chapter 3 with the word ‘wherefore’. In the light of the perfect faithfulness of Christ, and the admirable faithfulness revealed in Moses, here is how we should guard against the weakening of faith, and backsliding.
Heed the Voice of God
The quotation from Psalm 95.7-11 begins with the words, ‘Today if ye will hear his voice.’ If we do not hear the voice of God every day, we are on the road to backsliding. We may have heard his voice yesterday, but then been struck by spiritual deafness so that we do not hear it today. We hear the voice of God whenever we are moved or challenged by the Word, and are impressionable before him. We hear God when we are open to the Word, and concerned to be guided or corrected by it. We hear him when we are moved by the record of his attributes and ways. We hear him when we respond to his commands, duties and promises. We hear the Lord when the Spirit moves our consciences to draw back from sin, and we are gripped by the necessity of obedience.
The temptation to coldness and indifference can be launched suddenly, and our minds carried away so that our interests and priorities are focused elsewhere. The word that stands out for us is, ‘Today if ye will hear his voice.’
Hearing God is something we choose to do as believers. We consciously and longingly open our hearts to the voice of God in his Word, ready to be affected, sensitive to challenge. We pray fervently that we may find life and blessing and sanctification from the sacred page. We yield not only our minds but our hearts and feelings to our Lord and Saviour. We genuinely humble ourselves, praying especially against coldness and ‘detachment’ of spirit. Every day might well begin with the plea, ‘May I truly hear thy voice today.’
Our desire must be to be open to the nearness of the Lord (through the Word) and to his voice. To distract us, Satan will try to drive our thought-life agenda, inciting us to dwell on earthly desires, or hardships and difficulties in life, or even foolish fantasies designed to throw the heart out of tune with a devotional life. Recognise his wiles and cut short distracting thoughts. Feel afresh your great need to hear the voice of the Lord daily.
to be continued