A Hardened Heart
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 7 viewsNotes
Transcript
Point: One cannot inherit the promised land, God’s promised kingdom, without believing in, and following the leadership and commmands of Joshua - God is Salvation.
There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle.
For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
[Illustration] - The Wizard of Oz
One of my favorite movies when growing up was the Wizard of Oz. It was a favorite of one of my girls too, according to Jordyn it was called the Bizard of Boz. As you all may recall, Dorothy, and her little dog Toto, are swept away, in their house, in a tornado, to the land of Oz. While trying to find her way back to Kansas, she is joined on her journey by three individuals: the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion. They join Dorothy on her trip to the Emerald City, following the yellow brick road, and visiting the great and powerful Wizard of Oz, who can help her home and hopefully give the Tin Woodman a heart, the Scarecrow a brain, and the Lion courage. The Great Oz agrees to help the four, but with one condition: they kill the Wicked Witch of the West who rules over Winkie Country. They take up the assignment and head out in search for the witch.
The Wicked Witch of the West, motivated by revenge for the death of her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, ruler of the Munchkins, upon whom Dorothy’s house fell upon, and a desire for the return of the magical “silver shoes” that belonged to her sister, given to Dorothy by the Good Witch of the North. After several attempts to destroy the four, and take the silver shoes for herself, the Wicked Witch of the West is defeated by melting in a pool of a thrown bucket of water, by Dorothy. Upon returning to the Great Oz, the Tinman is rewarded with a silk heart stuffed with sawdust, the Scarecrow with a brain of bran, pins, and needles, and the Lion with a potion of “courage”. The Great Oz’s ruse is discovered - he is just a mere man from Omaha, who floats away in his air balloon, after the ropes holding it secure break.
Now what is Dorothy to do in order to get home to Kansas. She summons the Winged Monkeys, hoping they can take her home, but they inform her that they cannont cross the desert surrounding Oz. Dorothy is directed to travel to Quadling Country to find Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. After further danger and adventure the three are given various kingdoms to rule and Dorothy returns home to Kansas knocking her heels together, with the “silver shoes” (in the popular movie adaptation from 1939 they are “ruby red shoes”) and saying there is no place like home three times, Dorothy is transported home to Kansas in a whirlwind. End of story.
What was the point of the story of the Wizard of Oz? Each person has the ability to overcome, by believing in themselves. The evil and wickedness of the world will try to make you disbelieve in yourself, and ultimately defeat you, and hold you in bondage the rest of your days. Is there a ‘Great Oz” behind the scenes, pulling the leavers, capable of doing the impossible? Not according to L. Frank Baum, the writer of The Wizard of Oz. God is a ruse, an image, a hope, a slight of hand popper from Omaha. No one gives you a heart, a brain, or courage except for yourself. It has always been there, trapped inside by our own ropes of insecurity. What ‘magic’ one encounters, has always existed within oneself, and one merely needs to believe in oneself to be delievered from all situations and circumstances. One with no heart, merely needs to believe in themselves, and they will find the heart they need and do have. Believe in yourself, and you can do anything that you put your mind to. Courage is not some magic potion, but one merely has to overcome their own fears, believe in themselves, to discover it. With enough belief, hope, and wishful thinking, any place can become home. Evil can be conquered by simply believing in yourself, thus finding heart, brain, courage, and hope to overcome the world. The great oz is you, is within you. You simply have to believe in yourself and you will succeed in this life. Those who fail, are those who have houses drop out of the sky on them and kill them. They are the ones who turn into witches and warlocks, ugly human beings, and try to bring everyone else down. That’s evil. Those who have unbelief in themselves will lack heart, courage, brains, and hope. They become hard people, with hard hearts.
Hardened Hearts
The truth is hard hearts happen because God is not worshiped. God is not acknowledged. One is not aligned with God. One lives in opposition to His being, His will, and His purposes. When we live so, we are apt to have houses fall upon us and our beings melted and die by even the least of things. We lose heart, hope, thought, and courage to deal with life as God has created and designed us to - after all all human beings are made in His image, bear His character and characteristics.
For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened.
And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong.
In chapter 11 we see Joshua oppossed by a great coalition force that numbers as great “as the sand on the seashore” (v.4). It is a force that is bolstered by horse and chariot, a supreme military unit and advantage in war at that time, much like an armoured tank today. It would be a force that would be much terrified by the opposition without horse and chariot, such as the Israelites. But today, that will not be the case, because Joshua, and the Israelites know that God has conquered such a force before when Pharoah and his military of 600+ horse and chariot met their end in the Red Sea (Ex. 14:7-9).
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Both Moses and Joshua recall the event as proof of God’s power and trustworthiness. God is powerful and trustworthy.
and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day,
“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
“ ‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.
The prophet Isaiah, years later, reminds the people of Israel, that God has the ability and will to rescue His people. Look to Him for salvation! Look to Him to be your Savior! Do not put your hope in man’s strength, or man’s will, or man’s thought, but put your hope in the God of true salvation!
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do we put our hope in men to save us, or in God? God is not just talking about salvation, God is talking about in all situations. The Apostle Paul says to the Roman believers,
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Are you and I aligned with God, with His will and purposes? God is with those who are, and do so. The prophet Isaiah again speaks to us with these words from God,
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
We are reminded that trust in God, with all our heart, not in ourselves, leaning on His understanding, not ours, and submitting to His will, not ours, or man’s, is the way of the righteous and blessing.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Hard hearts result because one does not acknowledge God, therefore no alignment with God, His will and His purposes.
The destruction of the massive coalition force is a result of them failing to acknowledge God and align with His will and purposes. They were aligned in fact, in opposition to His will and purpose, as they stood opposed to Joshua and the Israelites. What does God do? He strengthens their resolve that is already reality. That is the Hebrew word translated ‘Harden’ [2388] hazaq - verb meaning to be strong, to strengthen, to be courageous, to overpower. God strengthened the kings opinion, attitude, and heart to stand opposed to the Israelites and God’s will. The kings were intransigent, or uncompromising, unwilling to abandon their position or attitude, unlike Rahab the prostitute or the Gibeonites who recognized God’s providence and will for Israel to take and have the land of Canaan. What was the result? Death and destruction for the Amorite kings, their armies, and their people.
Are we uncompromising or unwilling to abandon a position or attitude to the opposite of God’s truth, will, person, and purposes? Are we being wise in our own eyes and not in the ways of God? Do we know, do we believe we see everything that there is to see and know about a situation? Is it possible that because of my own beliefs and opinions, that God has strengthened my own hard heartedness, that stands in opposition to His alignment? Is it possible, that the destruction that is happening in our world today, war in Gaza, Ukraine, at home in North America, in the world is because of man’s existing hard heartedness, opinions, attitudes, and beliefs that run contrary to God’s mind, heart, will, and purposes? What about in Christian-dome, the Church? Is God bringing correction upon the Church because it is believing, teaching, and acting in ways contrary to the ways and will of God? Is God not hardening the hearts of the church, believers and leadership because we refuse to acknowledge Him and all His ways? He has a right to harden hearts until we repent and change our ways. Do not expect anything different. He is the same today, as yesterday, as He will be tomorrow in both His blessings and cursings, His character, His justice, His righteousness, His truth, His holiness, and in what is sin and what is not (Hebrews 13:8). He is not fooled and will not be fooled. Repent before God for your hardness of heart - opinions, attitudes, beliefs, and actions that run contrary to God’s character, truth, and will.
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
