The Rest of God

I have been studying the book of Hebrews, and I never realized until this time around all of the parallels that it makes to the Old Testament. God is truly an amazing God. He orchestrated history so precisely that it is an exact mirror of Christ.

Hebrews chapter 3 is a chapter of encouragement, but also a chapter of warning. Chapter 3 is an exhortation to us to remain faithful to God. It even goes so far as to say that not being faithful to God is a sign that we have an evil heart, and that we have willingly departed from God (verse 12).

To put things into perspective on this matter verses 7-11 are a direct quote from Psalm 95:7-11. It reads:

7b Today, if you will hear His voice: 8 "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. 10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.' 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.'"

This passage is a reference to the time of the exodus. The children of Israel had just been released from Egyptian slavery and now they were in the wilderness. Many of them had taken their eyes off of God and their freedom, and they began to rebel. As a result, they died before they could enter the promised land, or the ‘rest' of God (v.11). Even Moses himself was not allowed to enter because of sin and rebellion.

This passage shows me one thing. The hardening or softening of my heart is a direct act of my own will. No one can change my heart but me. If that weren't the case then God would not be exhorting His people not to harden their hearts. So the question is: What is the remedy? How do I keep from hardening my heart?

The answer is found in the first seven verses of Psalm 95. Verses 1-5 deal specifically with the act of praise. Praise is not just a one-time act or attitude, but it is a lifestyle. In verses 1-5, the psalmist says, "Let us sing, shout joyfully, and give thanks." In other words, "Let us praise!" Why do we need to praise? Because God is the "rock of our salvation", He is "the great God and the great King", He possesses the "deep places of the earth", "the heights of the hills", the sea and the dry land.

If you want to keep a soft heart before the Lord, you must first recognize who God is and what He has done. You must continually confess who He is, speak forth those things that He has done. That is how we praise.