Remember we said that this Psalm is both an invitation and
a warning. It is an invitation to worship our Great God and our Great King!
(vv.1-7b). But it is also a warning that we should not “harden” our hearts and
not hear the voice of God and obey Him. We don’t have any trouble seeking God
when we are desperate. Such as when our health is failing, we don’t have money
to pay the bills, our family is falling apart, a tragedy has taken place or
when we realize how bad we have sinned, and everything is falling apart in our
lives. But when prosperity is smiling on us and things are going great in our
lives, we tend to start focusing on the gifts and forget Who the Giver is. We
start gradually start slipping away from our devotional and worship time and
begin to backslide.
The psalmist was afraid that
the people of Israel might do the same after they resettled in the Promise Land
after their captivity in Babylon, so he gives them this warning to hear the
Voice of God and not harden their hearts. This is a reminder to us that the
Word of God is a vital part of Christian worship, especially in this age when
inventing clever new worship forms is a common practice and novelty is
replacing theology. Hearing and heeding God's Word must be central if our
worship, private or corporate, is to be truly Christian. It isn't enough for
God to hear my voice; I must hear His voice as the Word of God is read,
preached, and taught.
The Scriptures written
centuries ago have authority today, and we have no right to ignore them, change
them, or disobey them. We are to respond to God's Word now, when we hear it,
and not just later in the week when we review our sermon notes or listen to the
message on cassette tape. How tragic when worshipers go home with full
notebooks and empty hearts! (See Heb. 3:7-4:13 where this passage is applied to
the church today, warning us not to harden our hearts against the Lord.) The
way we treat the Word of God is the way we treat the God of the Word. Jesus
admonishes us to take heed that we hear (Matt. 13:9), take heed what we hear
(Mark 4:24), and take heed how we hear (Luke 8:18).
The writer reached back and
cited two tragic events in the history of Israel. Tthe nation's complaining at
Rephidim (Ex. 17:1-7) and their unbelief and disobedience at Kadesh Barnea
(Num. 13-14). When they arrived at Rephidim, the people complained again
because they were thirsty (Ex. 17:1-7). Instead of trusting God, they blamed
God and His servant Moses. God graciously gave them water out of the rock, but
Moses commemorated the event with two new names for the site: Meribah means
"strife, quarreling, contention" and Massah means
"testing." (See also Num. 20:1-13.) Instead of trusting God, the
people had contended with God and had even tempted Him by their arrogant
attitude and words.
Israel spent a year and two
months at Sinai (Num. 10:11) and then departed for Kadesh Barnea, the gateway
into Canaan (Num. 13-14). Here they refused to trust the Lord and obey His
orders to enter the land and claim their inheritance. In spite of all they had
seen Him do, the Israelites hardened their hearts and refused to do God's will.
Hebrews 1-4 is God's
admonition to the church today to live by faith, and "faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). Because the
Jews refused to hear His Word but hardened their hearts instead, God was
disgusted with His people, and all the people twenty years old and older died
during that wilderness journey. We harden our hearts when we see what God can
do but refuse to trust Him so He can do it for us. We fail to cultivate a godly
heart that fears and honors the Lord. It is a grievous sin to ask for the gifts
(food, water, etc.) but ignore the Giver, and the consequences are painful.
God bless!
