Hebrews: A Repeated Warning about ‘Today’
Hebrews 4:6-7; Daniel 3:1-7 - Repetition in Scripture points to deeper meanings and things that are important to God.
“Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,
“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.””
Hebrews 4:6-7 NASB1995
Our pastor this last Sunday gave a sermon from Daniel 3, which is the time-tested Sunday School story of the Fiery Furnace and the Israelite men of faith Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego. I recently went through a study of Daniel and plunged into this challenging book with some vigor, but our pastor had an interesting insight into this chapter that I didn’t glean (and this same insight is true in other places in Daniel): There is repetition and lists of details that are meaningful, and that repetition of text was at the expense of very valuable papyrus or parchment paper when this scripture was first written down. The repetition sets the scene with precision and details. Here’s an example (the passages are in bold):
“Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.” Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.”
Daniel 3:1-7 NASB1995
This level of detail could be considered unnecessary for the story if you wanted to hurry up and get your point across, but yet it is necessary to set the scene that God wants to highlight, which was the point that large crowds were going along with the call to idolatry (going along with culture), including large groups of musicians. This same level of detail is also found later in Daniel 3, but this passage shows it quite clearly.
Well, you could say the same for the author of Hebrews: We now hear, again, from the text that was brought forward from Psalm 95 that today, if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts. We hear, again, that TODAY is the day to hear and believe the good news. It appears that some that are the targets of this passage have not entered the rest that God provides because of disobedience. If you recall in an earlier devotional, disobedience and disbelief are really two sides of the same coin, so we see this same concern showcased yet again.
Dithering about accepting the message is a very dangerous proposition. Today is the day to accept, repent and believe. Here is a good commentary in Precept Austin from Greg Laurie:
Gregg [sic] Laurie Every Day with Jesus: Forty Years of Favorite Devotions - Page 15
“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7)
An attorney was trying to deliver an important paper to a man who was determined to avoid him. The man reasoned that the attorney had some type of subpoena, so he went out of his way to dodge him. Fourteen years passed, and the man found himself in the hospital, dying of cancer. Through a strange series of events, the attorney was admitted to the hospital and was assigned to the same room as the dying man. The man turned to the attorney and said, “Well, you never got me. I’ve escaped you all this time, and now it doesn’t matter. You can even serve your subpoena. I don’t care.” The lawyer replied, “Subpoena? I was trying to give you a document that proved you had inherited $45 million dollars!”
Many people go out of their way to avoid Christians and the opportunity to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. All the while, their hearts grow harder, and they risk becoming calloused to the point of no return. We don’t know when that point will come in their lives. Maybe you even know someone who seems as though they have reached it.
We can take heart when we look at the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. It was so radical and unexpected that when it happened, first-century Christians thought he was attempting to infiltrate their ranks and persecute the church even further. They didn’t believe that God could save someone as wicked and hostile toward the church as Saul. But we know that Saul became Paul the Apostle.
If you know someone who seems so far gone and permanently hardened toward the gospel, keep praying. You never know. That person just might be the next Paul.
It is going to be harder and harder to get people to listen in this chaotic age that we live in. Just like in Babylon, the crowds are surging towards the golden idols of envy, politics, culture, and disbelief; the music summoning them (mainly social media) is drowning out the voices crying in the wilderness. But we must try to reach as many as possible TODAY.
One more anecdote on urgency, from the same Precept Austin link:
In his earlier ministry D. L. Moody often would end his message with, “Go home and think about what I’ve said.” One night in Chicago he told the people to do this and to come back the next night ready to make a decision. That night the Chicago fire broke out, and some who had been in his congregation died. That was the last time he told anyone to think over the claims of Christ and make a decision later. No one knows if he will have a tomorrow in which to decide. Today signifies the present time of grace. Men today, as in the time of Moody and in the time of Hebrews and in the time of David and in the time of Moses, never know how long that time of grace for them will be.
My next devotional examines Hebrews 4:8-11 - Diligence to enter His rest.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please help me to reach out to others because of the urgency of entering into rest with You before their hearts are hardened. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org
Precept Austin was accessed on 11/06/2025 to review commentary for Hebrews 4:6-7.