In Psalms ninety-five the Psalmist said, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if you will hear his voice, ...”, and in chapter ninety-five and verse eight of Psalms the Psalmist shared how Jehovah God said, “harden not your heart, as in the provocation” where we read,
Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
The verse begins, “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, ...” The Psalmist began with the words, “Harden not your heart” or “do not sever, be fierce with, hard, harsh or difficult with your, the people reading and listening to the Psalmist's words, inner man, mind, soul, will, desires, living being and seat of appetites and desires”, “as in the provocation” which means “in a similar way and likeness to the strife, quarrel and contention” . The Psalmist called upon his readers and listeners not to make their inner man, minds and wills to be harsh and difficult like when the contention and strife arose in the following.
The verse goes on to say, “... and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:” The Psalmist continued with the words, “and as in the day of temptation” or “and in likeness and similar to the period or division of time” “in the wilderness” which means “within the place of despair, testing, trial and proving”. The Psalmist referred to the time when the children of Israel were tested as they wandered in the desert place after they escaped from Egypt. (See Exodus 17)
When we think through the words in this verse, we see how the Psalmist challenged his readers and listeners not to make their souls and minds difficult and harsh like the people of Israel when they wandered in the desert place. God used the desert “wilderness” to try and test the people of Israel, and they were to keep their hearts softened and trusting in Him. God wants a personal relationship with everyone, and He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and soften our minds, wills and emotions to keep His perfect ways.
Next time the Psalmist shares how Jehovah God refers to the time, “when your fathers tempted me”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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