Friday bible studies with Brittany Tacoronte are nothing less than awesome. Every single week I walk away convicted, joyous, or both. This week was conviction. We're working through the book of Hebrews - just me, Brit, God, my Zondervan Life Application, Brit's John MacArthur, and of course BlueLetterBible.
Even though Chapter 3 was written to all believers (of course), it does emphasize and correct the common thought of that time of the Jews about Moses. The first 6 verses makes it clear to that Moses was in fact an awesome guy, but he wasn't God. He was merely a servant. Through this, the author uses the metaphor of a house and its builder. Verse 3 lays down and summarizes what is meant to be made known here..."Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself."
This is great scripture, don't get me wrong. But this next part is what hit me and left me feeling like I had a huge plank in my eye...
Even though Chapter 3 was written to all believers (of course), it does emphasize and correct the common thought of that time of the Jews about Moses. The first 6 verses makes it clear to that Moses was in fact an awesome guy, but he wasn't God. He was merely a servant. Through this, the author uses the metaphor of a house and its builder. Verse 3 lays down and summarizes what is meant to be made known here..."Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself."
This is great scripture, don't get me wrong. But this next part is what hit me and left me feeling like I had a huge plank in my eye...
"Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, 'they always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways"
-Heb 3:7-10
-Heb 3:7-10
After reading this, I paused for a few seconds in thought, and then looked at Brit and said, "How stupid could they have been not to believe God was protecting them?" (Referring the the Israelites in the desert)
Since this was so convicting for me, I want it to make an impact on all those who read this as well. Are you worshiping a "gold cow" because it's more tangible, more feasible, easier, or even more comforting? Knowing that you can see it and feel it, does that make it easier to trust it? God says no.
Give or take a few words, this was the gist of our dialogue:
Me - "I mean seriously, God rained manna from the sky, and manna isn't gross stale bread either...apparently it was like honey-flavored."
Brit - "Yeah dude"
Me - "And the entire journey He led them with a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day, telling them exactly where to go so they wouldn't be aimlessly wandering through the desert. And along with the manna, God made water come from a rock. In the desert. Water in the desert is a miracle in itself, and then to make it come from a rock...come on."
Brit - "Mhm"
Me - "And then if that wasn't enough, manna wasn't good enough for them so God was like 'Okay, here are all the quail you can eat.' Satisfied now? Nope. They lost hope in God so much that they took all of their jewelry, melted it together and made a statue of a golden calf to worship instead. A gold cow. Really? That's the best they could think of? That has to be the DUMBEST thing to worship."
Brit - "So true dude. But if you think about it, don't we do the same thing? Maybe it's not exactly a gold cow, but it could be other people, celebrities, sports, clothes, talent."
Me - Silent and feeling just as dumb as the Israelites. "True story Brit. I never thought of it like that before. I guess I better take the plank out of my eye before I condemn their actions."
Me - "I mean seriously, God rained manna from the sky, and manna isn't gross stale bread either...apparently it was like honey-flavored."
Brit - "Yeah dude"
Me - "And the entire journey He led them with a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day, telling them exactly where to go so they wouldn't be aimlessly wandering through the desert. And along with the manna, God made water come from a rock. In the desert. Water in the desert is a miracle in itself, and then to make it come from a rock...come on."
Brit - "Mhm"
Me - "And then if that wasn't enough, manna wasn't good enough for them so God was like 'Okay, here are all the quail you can eat.' Satisfied now? Nope. They lost hope in God so much that they took all of their jewelry, melted it together and made a statue of a golden calf to worship instead. A gold cow. Really? That's the best they could think of? That has to be the DUMBEST thing to worship."
Brit - "So true dude. But if you think about it, don't we do the same thing? Maybe it's not exactly a gold cow, but it could be other people, celebrities, sports, clothes, talent."
Me - Silent and feeling just as dumb as the Israelites. "True story Brit. I never thought of it like that before. I guess I better take the plank out of my eye before I condemn their actions."
Since this was so convicting for me, I want it to make an impact on all those who read this as well. Are you worshiping a "gold cow" because it's more tangible, more feasible, easier, or even more comforting? Knowing that you can see it and feel it, does that make it easier to trust it? God says no.
"and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory."
-1 Peter 1:8
Love Him. Even though you may have to wait a little while to see His results, don't lose
faith like the Israelites did. They were impatient, therefore they turned away and their hearts became hardened. God can't used hardened hearts. My Life Application bible said hardened hearts are like stale bread - God sees it as useless and worthless.
The lack of trust in God always prevents us from receiving His best.
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