In Deuteronomy 7:7-8, the Lord expressed His great love for the nation of Israel. In the midst of this declaration, the Lord provided reasons why He placed His love upon this particular nation. In Deuteronomy 1:27, the people began to murmur and their murmurings bred lies. They stated that the Lord brought them out of Egypt to destroy them because of His great hatred for them. Their statements were completely false. This is true in most circumstances when people turn to murmuring. The problem gets exaggerated and the truth corrupted. Fabricating lies helps the one murmuring to feel better about voicing the complaint. Interestingly, the truth is usually not worth murmuring about.
Why do people murmur? What causes them to get so frustrated to the point where they would publicly discuss their disappointment with their circumstances? The Bible provides several reasons. In Jude 16, the Bible says that people complain or murmur because they are “walking after their own lusts.” In John chapter 6, the Lord Jesus indicated another reason why an individual might complain. When the Lord knew that His disciples murmured within themselves, He asked them if they were offended (John 6:61). In other words, people murmur when things turn out differently than they had hoped. It is not so much the trial that bothers them but the offense to their self-will.
Life’s trials and difficulties are intended to draw people into a deeper knowledge of the Lord. However, murmuring hinders the lessons that result from the trials. The Lord uses trials to draw the unsaved to an understanding of their need to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour. At the same time, the Lord uses trials to teach saved people that they need to fully rely on Him and Him alone. These trials are meant to better the individual afflicted. However, the benefits of trials can be minimized when those enduring the trials begin to murmur and complain about the very thing intended to teach them. Murmuring hinders the education offered by trials. It puts the focus on the apparent wrong of the trial rather than upon what lesson the Lord might hope to come from the trial.
The Lord detests murmuring. He hates it so much that He sent fire among the Israelites because of their murmurings (Numbers 11:1). In the New Testament, He warned believers to avoid falling prey to the same sin as the Israelites (1 Corinthians 10:1-14). Additionally, New Testament believers are admonished to do all things without murmurings (Philippians 2:14-16). People murmur as they focus on events within their lives rather than upon the Lord and His word. Yet, the Christian’s life events are ultimately brought to pass, either directly or indirectly, by a loving and caring God. The Lord abhors murmuring because it directly insults His working and provision in our lives.
Murmuring is a grievous sin harmful to everyone involved or impacted. When God’s people murmur, they do so because their heart is not sufficiently focused upon the Lord. Various forms of the word murmur occur forty times in the word of God. Interestingly, the number forty throughout scripture is frequently connected to a time of testing or trial. The vast majority of these occurrences reflect people who were displeased with something the Lord was responsible for doing. Their displeasure with the Lord caused them to voice their frustrations to others. Murmuring generally manifests itself outwardly, but at its root is a heart problem (Matthew 12:34; Matthew 15:19). It comes as no surprise that the medical community uses the term murmur to describe a heart problem.
God's children are supposed to be easily recognizable through their love one for another (John 13:35). Today's passage teaches Christians to be both kind and forgiving. In the midst of these two exemplary qualities, the Lord desires His children to show forth a tender heart. This means that our hearts ought to be easily moved when other believers are experiencing either joy or distress in their lives (Romans 12:15). Unfortunately, instead of exemplifying a tender heart, far too many believers are becoming more like the world by displaying a divisive spirit and by devouring one another (Galatians 5:15). Believers who are hard-hearted toward others are generally hard-hearted toward the Lord as well (1 John 3:17).
Today's passage tells the story of Jesus entering the synagogue. He immediately noticed a man with a withered hand. This man's physical infirmity moved Christ to compassion. Unfortunately, the religious leaders were simply calloused toward the man's predicament. The Pharisees watched Jesus closely, not because they were pleased with His gracious act, but because they sought opportunity to accuse the Lord for breaking their man-made rules. As the Lord observed the crowd, the Pharisees’ hardened hearts grieved the Lord to the point of anger. Of course, the Lord knew their thoughts and first sought to reason with them. He did the very thing which the Pharisees hoped He would. The hearts of the religious leaders that should have been tender and welcoming to God's miracles were instead full of pride and completely calloused. Christ's acts of compassion served to further harden their deceitful hearts rather than softening them.
No sensible person would ever ask to be on the receiving end of the wrath of God. The thought is completely illogical! Yet, this scenario takes place every day in the lives of those who live with hardened hearts toward the things of God. The Bible affirms that a humble spirit begs God's attention and brings His corresponding blessings (Isaiah 66:2). Contrariwise, a hard heart also garners God's attention but for judgment rather than blessing. Today's passage points out that the hard heart treasures up wrath against itself. This wrath rarely takes place immediately, but it will come in the “day of wrath.” It is important to recall that hardness of heart brought the plagues upon Egypt and it brought blindness to the Jews in Jesus' day. Ultimately, it will bring eternal damnation in the lake of fire to all those who fail to accept God's payment for sin.
The Pharisees repeatedly sought to trap the Lord by attempting to draw Him into controversial discussions. Today's passage demonstrates much more than a simple response to entangling questioning. Interestingly, we learn from the Lord's response that God's law made allowances for man based upon God's understanding of man’s nature. In other words, the Lord Jesus indicated that God gave some of the law simply because of the hardness of man’s heart! Unfortunately, these laws are used today by men to justify decisions contrary to God's will thus further validating the hard-hearted nature of man. In either case, God's ways are never thwarted. God's laws allow even man's wickedness to bring about God's justice and His laws further expose the inherent shortcomings of man. God graciously gave some of His laws to make allowances for man's weaknesses caused by sin.
Today's passage explores the scene as the Lord met with His eleven apostles for the first time following His resurrection. The word afterward pinpoints the timing of the passage as having occurred after He had appeared to others. For instance, the Lord had already appeared to Mary Magdalene. She told the disciples the great news of Christ's resurrection, but the Bible says that they did not believe her. Shortly thereafter, the Lord appeared directly to the apostles and scolded them for their “unbelief and hardness of heart.” A heart that is tender serves as fertile ground for faith. However, a hardened heart does not allow the seed of faith to grow. Mark 6:52 confirms this principle as it points out that “they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” Hardness of heart prevented faith in the disciples during that time and will do the same now in any believer who fails to remain tenderhearted.
