An attitude that leads to death

This is a somewhat shocking story, but one that I think teaches an important point.

There was a man who was the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father.  Not much is told of the father other than his nationality.

One wonders whether the mother had left her husband behind and taken her son out of Egypt in the exodus.  It is also very possible that the father came along too, but we just don’t know.

But this man got in a fight, and as he was fighting, he blasphemed the name of God.

What he said, we don’t know, but here’s what we do know.  Blaspheming the name of God was not a common practice among the Israelites, as it is today.

God had specifically told the people that they were to honor his name in the ten commandments.  The penalty for blaspheming God’s name was crystal clear among the Israelites.  And so it simply wasn’t done.

Here’s what else we know.  Jesus said in Luke 6:45, “Out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

In other words, such words of utter disrespect, rebellion, and hatred towards God, were not simply words.  It came from the attitude of this man’s heart.

Perhaps for a long time, he hid his true attitude towards God.  Perhaps he was taken out of Egypt against his will.  Perhaps he wanted to stay in Egypt, and his mother (and perhaps father) forced him to leave.

It’s possible that because of all that, he held a resentment in his heart towards God.  And at a time of great anger towards another Israelite, all of that boiled out of him, and he cursed the name of God.

Had a pure Israelite done that, he would’ve been put to death immediately.  Perhaps because the man was half-Egyptian, Moses wasn’t sure if the law applied to him.

But God said the penalty was the same for him as everyone else, and the man was put to death.

What do we take from this?  There is an attitude that leads to death.  And not just physical death, it leads to eternal death.

When we have a heart that is rebellious against God, and does not honor him, and we refuse to repent of that attitude, we will be separated from God for all eternity.

Some people openly flaunt that attitude toward God.  They speak out against God, and openly live in utter rebellion towards God and his Word.

Other people, like the half-Egyptian may hide it well.  They go to church.  They say the right things.  They look like good Christians.  But in their hearts, they curse God.

But hidden or not, eventually your attitude will be brought to light.  You cannot deceive God, because he knows your heart.

What kind of attitude do you have in your heart towards God?  Are you living with a heart that loves God and is soft towards him?

Or do you have a heart that is hardened towards God and refuses to acknowledge his lordship in your life?  That refuses to honor him as God.

The apostle Paul wrote this:

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” 

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.   (Romans 2:5-8)

Don’t harden your heart to God.  That path leads to death.  Instead, soften your heart to him that you might find life.