“Do Not Harden Your Hearts”

13. What warning did Paul give, and how did he apply Psalm 95?

¹³ After considering the favored position of the Hebrew Christians, Paul gave this warning: “As the holy spirit says: ‘Today if you people listen to his own voice, do not harden your hearts as on the occasion of causing bitter anger, as in the day of making the test in the wilderness.’” (Hebrews 3:7, 8) Paul was quoting from the 95th Psalm, and could therefore say “the holy spirit says.”b (Psalm 95:7, 8; Exodus 17:1-7) The Scriptures are inspired of God by means of his holy spirit.—2 Timothy 3:16.

14. How did the Israelites respond to what Jehovah had done for them, and why?

¹⁴ After being freed from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites were given the great honor of entering into a covenant relationship with Jehovah. (Exodus 19:4, 5; 24:7, 8) Instead of showing appreciation for what God had done for them, however, they soon acted rebelliously. (Numbers 13:25–14:10) How could that have happened? Paul pointed to the reason: the hardening of their hearts. But how do hearts that are sensitive and responsive to God’s Word become hardened? And what must we do to prevent this?

15. (a) How has ‘God’s own voice’ been heard, past and present? (b) What questions do we need to ask ourselves regarding ‘God’s voice’?

¹⁵ Paul started his warning with the provisional clause “if you people listen to his own voice.” God spoke to his people through Moses and other prophets. Then, Jehovah spoke to them through his Son, Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 1:1, 2) Today, we have God’s complete inspired Word, the Holy Bible. We also have “the faithful and discreet slave,” appointed by Jesus to provide spiritual “food at the proper time.” (Matthew 24:45-47) Thus, God is still speaking. But are we listening? For example, how do we respond to counsel about dress and grooming or choice of entertainment and music? Do we “listen,” that is, pay attention to and obey what is being heard? If we have the habit of making excuses or taking exception to the counsel, we are opening ourselves to the subtle danger of hardening our hearts.

16. What is one way in which our hearts can become hardened?

¹⁶ Our hearts can also become hardened if we beg off from doing what we can and should do. (James 4:17) Despite everything that Jehovah did for the Israelites, they failed to exercise faith, rebelled against Moses, chose to believe a bad report about Canaan, and refused to enter the Promised Land. (Numbers 14:1-4) Jehovah therefore decreed that they would spend 40 years in the wilderness—long enough for the faithless members of that generation to die off. Disgusted with them, God said: “‘They always go astray in their hearts, and they themselves have not come to know my ways.’ So I swore in my anger, ‘They shall not enter into my rest.’” (Hebrews 3:9-11) Do we see a lesson in this for us?

19. How might failing to listen to counsel lead to serious consequences? Illustrate.

¹⁹ The lesson, therefore, is that if we fall into the habit of failing to “listen to his own voice,” ignoring counsel from Jehovah through his Word and the faithful slave class, it will not be long before our hearts become callous, hardened. For example, an unmarried couple may get a little too intimate. What if they simply ignore the matter? Would that protect them from repeating what they did, or would that only make it easier for them to do it again? Similarly, when the slave class offers counsel on the need to be selective in our choice of music and entertainment, and so forth, do we gratefully accept it and make adjustments where necessary? Paul urged us ‘not to forsake the gathering of ourselves together.’ (Hebrews 10:24, 25) In spite of this counsel, some take a casual view of Christian meetings. They may feel that missing some of them or even omitting certain meetings entirely is inconsequential.