Today’s scripture: Hebrews 3:7-14 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Keith Phillips):
The king’s proclamation required that all the eligible maidens in the realm attend the royal ball. Cinderella asked her stepmother if she, too, could go. Lady Tremaine said, “I see no reason why you can’t go. If you get all of your work done. And if you can find something suitable to wear.” Cinderella leaves the room, and the two stepsisters throw a hissy-fit, “Mother, do you realize what you just said?” “Of course,” responds Lady Tremaine contemptuously, “I said, ‘If…’” and she chortles.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is full of warnings to persevere despite trials and tribulations. The author began his sermon with the reminder that Jesus is “the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being” (1:3a), and that in Jesus, God is speaking in one greater than the prophets, greater than the angels, greater than Moses. In the first few verses of chapter three, the author points to Jesus’ positive example for us, in his faithfulness as a son.
Today, and well into chapter four, the author lifts up a negative example: the faithlessness of the Israelites in the wilderness, quoting Psalm 95:7–11 which retells the story from Exodus 17:1–7. God had provided escape from Pharaoh and God had provided manna for sustenance; but the Israelites grumbled and complained. The main point is, “Do not harden your hearts…” (Hebrews 3:8a), because the consequence is severe: God declared, “As in my anger I swore, ‘They will not enter my rest’” (Hebrews 3:11).
The Israelites did not commit any extravagant sin. They weren’t worshipping golden idols at this point; they just grumbled and complained. But what was happening in their spirit as/before the words came out of their mouths? As simple as it is, they were not gratefully trusting God, and therefore, they would not enter into God’s rest.
The Epistle to the Hebrews has a significant number of ifs in it. And there are more than a few who do not like that. Let me affirm clearly: God’s love, God’s grace, God’s salvation is unconditional. We don’t deserve it and there’s nothing we can do to earn it. It is a free gift. To have that free gift, however, I must trust the Giver and reach out, gratefully accepting the gift. Is making the decision to do that once in my life sufficient? No. The Israelites trusted God to get them through the Red Sea and to rain down manna, but then they grumbled and complained; and they were not allowed to enter into God’s rest.
To have that free gift of God’s unconditional love, I must trust the Giver and reach out, accepting the gift, with a thankful heart each and every day. “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:13–14; emphasis mine).
Thought for the day: Like Cinderella, we shall live happily ever after, and after, when the ifs are resolved by gratefully trusting God as God leads us, today as long as it is today.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.