PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 19:1-9
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard.” (Matthew 19:8)
Jesus explains that what Moses wrote was not God’s eternal will.
“But it was not this way from the beginning.” (Matthew 19:8)
In other words, not everything in the bible is God’s eternal will!!!
Moses’s Law was written with sinners in mind, to accommodate their hardened hearts.
This makes me VERY cautious when I interpret the bible… is this God’s eternal will?
I fear that we focus too much on the words, and yet ignore Jesus (John 5:39).
Jesus reveals God’s will “from the beginning”; scripture reveals Jesus.
God inspired Moses to permit something that was not God’s will.
I suspect that there are MANY things God permits, but does not like.
This itself reveals God’s grace, and shows us how He relates to us as sinners.
God is still gracious with us, because our hearts are still hard.
He also knows our hearts, whether we’re motivated by love or self.
He can tell whether we’re just playing with words, or sincerely seeking Him.
If we are seeking Him, we can be assured of His grace… from beginning to end!
PRAYER
Lord, help me to know Your heart, and not just the words. Help me to reflect Your grace from the beginning, and not just my own hardened heart.
Hard hearts – hearts of stone – reminds me of Ezekiel communicating that God “will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you …” [Ezk 36:26/27]. Jesus zeroed in on the problem – like He always does – He knows us and knows what is driving our own egos and selfishness. Help me Lord to open and soften any hardness – stubbornness – in my heart – purge all the stones – and may I have heart that seeks to follow you!
Lord Jesus, show me when my hardness of heart gets in the way of what You meant it to be. May Your will be done.
Lord from the beginning it is by your Grace alone and until the end it is all your Grace. Help me to see your Grace working now with this COVID-19 pandemic.
Holy Spirit you prompted apostle Paul to write that everything is permissible but not beneficial. Lord give me wisdom to discern your will over that which you permit or allow only because of the hardness of our heart. Lord change my heart daily to desire only what Jesus showed your will Father