Psalm 95
The writer of this psalm included an urgent plea from God to His audience: “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.” (vs 8-9)
It seems that Israel’s ancestors weren’t much better or smarter than Pharaoh. When God brought judgment on the gods of Egypt, Pharaoh rejected the light he was given, thus hardening his heart. Israel’s ancestors apparently did the same thing at Meribah and Massah, choosing to ignore God, even though they saw what He had done in their midst. The author of this psalm hoped they wouldn’t repeat that terrible decision.
Photo © Unsplash/Kristine Weilert
We serve a God of revelation. When He comes to us and reveals truth, He gives us the opportunity to either harden or soften our hearts. If we respond to the light He brings, we soften our hearts to His Spirit. If we reject the light He brings, we harden our hearts to His Spirit. If we harden our hearts consistently enough, we will get to the point where we are no longer able to perceive light when God brings it to us, thus leaving us in total darkness.
Because God is the one who brings these opportunities, He is sometimes credited with doing the actual hardening (or softening). And I suppose there is a certain logic in that. When He confronts us with light, it forces us to decide what we will do with that light. We may choose to accept it, or we may choose to ignore it, but we cannot remain neutral. Once God confronts us with the truth, we cannot escape either the hardening or softening.
Photo © Unsplash/Paul Robert
In this respect, God is like the sun, and we are like either butter or clay. God is always bringing light to us, always shining His truth into our dark hearts. How we respond to that will determine whether we become softened (like butter left out in the sun) or hardened (like clay left out in the sun). God doesn’t treat wicked people differently than righteous people. He doesn’t arbitrarily harden some hearts and soften others. We make the decision about how His light will affect us.
This very day, as God’s Spirit communicates with you, He is bringing light that will either harden or soften your heart. Which will you be? Butter or clay?