Today’s meditation is taken from Jonah 4:9, “But God said to him, "What right do you have to be angry about the plant?" Jonah replied, "I have every right to be angry—angry enough to die!"” (GNB)
God spoke to Jonah who was annoyed and angry, and asked him if it was right on his part to be angry about the plant that had withered. Jonah should have immediately sensed the loving kindness of God, the creator of heaven and earth that He was mindful of him, though he was not worthy of it. However, Jonah was so hard and rebellious that he answered to God, that he had every right to be angry, and that he would do until death. If you are wondering how Jonah had such audacity to speak to God this way, it was because there was a stubborn streak in him.
Sadly, there are many who take such an obstinate stance, and this is how you can identify them. If you try to advise them they will listen to you, but will at the end of the conversation, stick to their own point. Some with give logical reasons to justify all that they do, and will not accept their faults in any way. Then there are others who to hide their own faults will throw the blame on others to legitimize their actions. This kind of stubborn people will be unable to maintain any sort of healthy relationships, be it in the family, work place, with neighbors or wherever they to. They will therefore be the cause for disunity and division in various ways, and their lives will be a constant struggle. Woefully, since they do not heed advice, and always continue with the assumption that they are right, this will later be reflected in their own children. Only when that happens, there will be a sense of remorse that will set in, but sadly most of the time it will be too late, and of no use to them.
Do not be like a horse or a mule
These are the words of David in Psalm 32:9, “Don't be stupid like a horse or a mule, which must be controlled with a bit and bridle to make it submit." (GNB)
David cautioned us that one should not be like a stupid horse or mule which will never submit to anyone, until they are controlled with a bit and bridle.
The Israelites were a stubborn lot
These were the words of God to Moses in Exodus 32:9, “I know how stubborn these people are.” (GNB)
When the people of Israel were under cruel bondage in Egypt, the Lord did wonders and delivered them. The plagues that distressed the Egyptians did not do any harm to the Israelites. Pharaoh King of Egypt got frustrated with these plagues and finally set the Israelites free. As the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness, when Moses went up to the mountain to receive the laws and commandments from the Lord, the Israelites made a golden statue of a calf and began to worship it. God was so indignant with the Israelites that God referred to them as a stubborn and stiff-necked people. They forgot to give the honor and reverence due to God who brought them from captivity, and instead gave the glory to an idol that their hands had made.
As those who have been saved, if we do not give God the due place in our lives, and give it instead to our families, children, jobs, relationships or recreations we too are in danger of committing the sin the Israelites committed.
God’s judgement
We read in Exodus 32:10, “Now, don't try to stop me. I am angry with them, and I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you and your descendants into a great nation." (GNB)
Only Moses was in the presence of God listening to the words of God, and at the same time the Israelites were at the foot of that mountain worshipping the golden calf. God therefore wanted to destroy all the people of Israel, and was ready to raise a generation through Moses. These are hard words of God, and the reason for their predicament was that the people of Israel were not willing to change their ways. Praise God that Moses interceded with God on behalf of the Israelites, and pleaded with God that God’s name should not be dishonored among those who lived around them. It was because of Moses that God withheld His anger, and restrained from destroying those rebellious people.
Even today the Lord Jesus is interceding for each one of us to God the Father, and that is the reason we are not being punished for our sins then and there. The Holy Spirit of God has also been given to us as our counselor and guide, and we should never fail to remember this.
God’s patience preceded the punishment
God led the people of Israel for over forty years and these are the words of the Lord as found in Psalm 95:10-11, “For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways. ”Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”” (ESV)
When we read the above mentioned verses we realize how patient God was with the people of Israel. For forty long years He protected them and provided manna which was the food of the angels. However, they slighted it and treated it with disdain. God journeyed with them all through those years in the wilderness, met all their needs, and this was a blessed privilege for them.
The Lord was disgusted with the Israelites because they were stubborn, disloyal and their hearts were far from God. Whenever they were in trouble they grumbled, and Moses would petition to God on their behalf, and God would be merciful to them. After a while they became slack once again, and left the ways of God. The consequence was that none of them could enter the Promised Land, and were denied entry into God’s rest. One can imagine as to how much they must have grieved God for God to punish them this way.
Every time we go to church we too receive the word of God, but how often we too don’t value it. We don’t take time to take notes or meditate on the word that is being preached. We as believers have this blessing to have the Lord with us as we journey through this life. The Lord reminded us that ‘man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ We therefore have the responsibility to take the word of God seriously, take time to read, meditate and do all we can to lead holy lives. We too must examine our lives to check if we displease God this way.
Let us not presume that this happened hundreds of years ago and hence has no relevance for us today. As mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10 let us not assume that we will just take these warning casually, and continue with our stubborn ways of living.
Do not test God
We read in Hebrews 3:8-10, “Do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God, as they were that day in the desert when they put him to the test. There they put me to the test and tried me, says God, although they had seen what I did for forty years. And so I was angry with those people and said, 'They are always disloyal and refuse to obey my commands.' I was angry and made a solemn promise: 'They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest!' “My friends, be careful that none of you have a heart so evil and unbelieving that you will turn away from the living God. (GNB)
The Israelites angered God in the wilderness by giving their reverence and worship to the idol their hands had crafted.
We are therefore cautioned to not harden our hearts like the people of Israel. David prayed to God that He would give him a sensitive heart. Every time we come to church we too must ask God to give us a responsive heart that is willing to learn, and not become hardened. If our hearts are hardened we cannot receive the word of God as we should. All of us know that if we are alive during these days it is only because of the grace of God. There are many who are more righteous and better than us in many ways who have passed on during these days. If the Lord has given us strength and health it is His grace. In spite of repeated lockdowns, the Lord has been faithful to provide for all our needs. Think about how much we need to be grateful to God for everything that He has done. We have regular online prayers, and one lady who joins the prayers took ill. She told me every day when we prayed for others I didn’t take it too seriously, but when I was struck with the illness only then I realized how much these prayers meant for those who were in need. It is crucial that all of us must have this sense of gratitude to God, and be sensitive to the promptings of His Holy Spirit. Each new day when we wake up, and when we get back home from work well and safe, let us be reminded that it is nothing but the grace of God that has kept us and protected us. Let us set aside the slackness about God, and things pertaining to God. When churches are reopened let us go to church on time. Let us eagerly wait for God’s word, and be ready to receive the word of God.
When Jesus finished teaching there were multitudes that followed after Him. They claimed that they came after Him for the word He taught, but Jesus was forthright to remind them that they came because they had been fed and their appetites were satisfied. No wonder then that the same crowd that could shout ‘hosanna’ later also shouted ‘crucify Him’. The reason was that there was no real remorse and change of heart. They flocked to Jesus for the miracles He performed, but sadly missed out on the truth that He preached. These crowds were instigated by the Pharisees and religious leaders, and since they had not grasped the truth they readily joined in to have Jesus crucified. Later we read in history that there was serious bloodshed in Jerusalem which was an outcome of their rebellious ways.
Hebrews 3:8-10 talks about the fact that the Israelites put the Lord to test by their rebellious ways. Let me highlight two examples that come to my mind. One was Samson, who was constantly failing, and every time he escaped only because God was gracious to him. However, at one point there was no way for escape and Samson was ensnared by his enemies.
So also we read about Pharaoh, King of Egypt who hardened his heart in spite of the first five serious plagues that came upon Egypt. Later we read that for the rest of the plagues, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh had become so hard of heart that none of God’s words could reach him any longer. Only when his first born son died, and all of Egypt lost their first born sons, Pharaoh had a change of heart and let the people of Israel go. Even then we see that after having released the Israelites, Pharaoh did not rest, but sent his armies in pursuit of them only to have them all drown in the Red Sea.
In spite of several warnings, Samson and Pharaoh were insensitive, and hence had to face the consequences for the same.
God is indignant against disloyalty and disobedience
We read in Hebrews 3:10, “And so I was angry with those people and said, 'They are always disloyal and refuse to obey my commands.'” (GNB)
The people of Israel did not listen to God, and stubbornly rebelled against God.
A good father will do so much of good for his children, and yet there will be those children who remain ungrateful. They will be annoyed with the advice of their parents, and will not obey them. It only means that they have not understood the heart of their father. Jesus taught about the parable of the prodigal son where the younger son wanted to take all that was his, and did not care to heed anything his father said. He rebelled, and the result was that he ended up tending pigs, and was reduced to such a low state. So also, those who do not understand the heart of God will continue to rebel against Him.
We receive so much of grace from the Lord, who protects us from dangers seen and unseen. He provides for us, feeds us, and leads us every single day. Our hearts should be ready to spend time with God, and meditate on His word day and night.
They forfeited the Promised Land
In Hebrews 3:11 we read, I was angry and made a solemn promise: 'They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest!'" (GNB)
God did not allow them to enter His rest though they had the promise of inheriting the Promised Land that God had prepared. The Lord was with them, He led them, He provided for them, but their hardness of heart made them forfeit all of God’s blessings.
That entire generation lost the privilege of entering into the Promised Land.
The warning against an evil and unbelieving heart
Heed this warning in Hebrews 3:12, “My friends, be careful that none of you have a heart so evil and unbelieving that you will turn away from the living God.” (GNB)
If you observe we receive so many messages these days, and a majority of them are about the fact that God will bless us, and that if we give to God we will receive much from Him. The warnings are reducing day by day, as most people are not keen to take heed to them. We are cautioned in the above mentioned verse that if we should not have an evil and unbelieving heart.
Do not be deceived by sin
We further read in Hebrews 3:13, “Instead, in order that none of you be deceived by sin and become stubborn, you must help one another every day, as long as the word "Today" in the scripture applies to us.” (GNB)
Observe how we are admonished to help one another every day, (not just on Sunday or any other day) so that we do not get hardened through the deceitfulness of sin in our lives. Just as Adam and Eve were deceived, all of us have to be alert for if not we too will get deceived by sin. Many people think that they are free from such deceptions, but let me exhort you that even if we have bitterness against someone, are unwilling to forgive them, and avoid them we too are in the trap of sin’s deceitfulness. This includes all relationships, those between husband and wife, parents and children, and every other relationship. If there are issues in these relationships be certain that we are ensnared by sin. For some it is the habit of lying and they have no inhibitions about telling lies. Still others are caught in friendships and relationships that God doesn’t approve of, and if we continue in them that too is sin’s deceitfulness. For others it is matters pertaining to money, and we must keep in mind that all of these are the traps of the devil. In the early church there was this couple Ananias and Sapphira who deceived the apostles by holding back some of the money for themselves, and we know that their end was tragic. We therefore realize that we need to set things right in every area of our lives. If we stumble or falter in some areas we should be willing to confess it to the Lord and seek His help.
Hold firm to the end
We read in Hebrews 3:14, “For we are all partners with Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at the beginning.” (GNB)
The above mentioned verse encourages us to hold firmly to the confidence that we had at the beginning when we came to know Christ. In order to do this we must read the word daily, we must pray, be in fellowship with believers and be obedient to all that is taught to us.
Do not harden your hearts
We read in Hebrews 3:15, This is what the scripture says: "If you hear God's voice today, do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God." (GNB)
The word of God clearly teaches us that we should not allow our hearts to be hardened as did the Israelites in the years gone by.
Be sure to enter that eternal rest
Let me conclude with these verses in Hebrews 4:1-2, Now, God has offered us the promise that we may receive that rest he spoke about. Let us take care, then, that none of you will be found to have failed to receive that promised rest. For we have heard the Good News, just as they did. They heard the message, but it did them no good, because when they heard it, they did not accept it with faith. (GNB)
There is a rest that God has promised for us, but if we backslide we will not be able to enter this rest. We hear many teachings these days that once we are saved, and if we are part of a church that is all that is needed. They almost imply that our hearts can be any way they want. God’s word is clear that we should be fearful to not miss out on this promise. The reason they did not inherit the promise was because they heard the word without faith, and thereby did not let the word take root in their lives.
These may seem hard words, but let us confess to God areas where we are faltering, and ask God to help us set it right. We should know, and understand all that Christ has accomplished for us, but it is equally important that we be sensitive to realize those things that are displeasing to God. God has graciously extended our lives here on earth, and we must realize that no change can be made once we die, and we cannot alter our destiny. Let us use these days of grace to pray more, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and surrender our lives to the Lord again, so that that Lord can do mighty works in us and through us.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
