The Voice of God
Hebrews 3:7-8
“Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness.”
The Voice of God
The nation of Israel in the Old Testament witnessed some awesome sights. They saw all the plagues that God performed in Egypt, they saw the parting of the Red Sea, they saw manna raining from heaven to feed them, God lead them in a cloud by day and protected them in a pillar of fire by night. They also received immense privileges in the receiving of the Law of God, the sacrifices, and all the privileges of being a people of God. God gave them protection and made Himself most visible amongst them. The problem is they did not believe. They didn’t get it!
That seems hard to believe? Wasn’t God present with them every day? They knew God in name only but they did not understand what He was telling them. This helps us understand what true saving faith is. Our verse today says, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness.” Hearing God’s voice and belief are related. In order to hear what God is saying one must understand what He enjoys doing.
Jeremiah 9:24 reads, “but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises loving-kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.” Do you hear His voice? He is saying that He delights in loving, determining what is right and wrong, and doing what is right on the earth. God displays His love for people by showing them mercy, compassion, forgiveness, grace, and providing for their needs. He shows His love for us by giving us life. He also loves to reward those who do good and He will never let the guilty go unpunished. He is fair and always does what is right.
One may say where is the love of God in this world? You may have a struggle in your life and may say, “If God truly loved me then I wouldn’t have this struggle in my life!” The sin of humans has disrupted this world and being able to see God is impossible. Not being able to see God is evidence of a bigger problem because that means we are spiritually dead. Everyday can be a battle but waking up in the morning in this sin cursed world is evidence of a loving God. He controls every fiber of being in this planet and exercises much patients with people like us who do not naturally run to Him and seek Him. The very fact that we are breathing is evidence of a loving God. In order to be awakened to the great truth of who He is we must hear the Word of God who is His Son who is found in the Bible.
The voice of God is most clearly heard at the cross. Jesus Christ in being the very nature of God served as both the object of God’s love, justice and righteousness and displayed God’s attributes perfectly in human form for us to see. The Holy Spirit opens our ears to hear the voice of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Do you hear God? He is saying I love you, I want you as my child, and I have done everything so you can be a child of mine. He is saying you deserve hell because you don’t trust me but I sent my Son to experienced hell so that you do not have to. He is saying by trusting in Him there is a future for you and that future is eternal life as a child of God. God says I want to be your Father if you would only trust in my Son. He is saying my Son struggled through life in your place but without sin so you could be my child. The message is personal it is a one on one conversation between you and God. Do you hear Him?
God pours out everything He is through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Do you hear Him? The Holy Spirit says in our verse the word today! Today means today! Not tomorrow. Do you hear His voice today? As believers who hear God we need to encourage each other as long as it is still today. If you are a believer in Jesus then He loves you, He cares for you, He is your Father, your Papa, your Daddy, and He cares for you with infinite love. If you do not hear this voice please pray that God through Jesus by the power of His Spirit will open your ears to hear. It is tender, compassionate, and kind but will not always available to hear. When we start hearing the voice of God through Christ then we start hearing His voice in every aspect of life. Let’s listen and obey the voice!
