Hebrews 3:7 “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:”
A hardened heart is one that rebels against our Lord’s Commandments and pursues the will of its own carnal nature to fulfill its own natural lusts. It would be fruitless to tell an unregenerate (not Born Again) person to “Harden not your hearts”; for, without Spiritual Birth they have neither desire nor ability to soften their “hearts” toward our Lord and His Commandments. But, while Born Again Children of God have been given a New Heart (Ezekiel 36:26) to know and love the Lord, we all still have that hard heart that all human beings have. Our carnal “heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9); and, left unchecked, it will reveal itself in our behavior and speech. We “Harden” our “hearts” when we allow our carnal nature to guide us instead of the Word of God. A hardened heart goes after evil things and pursues wickedness (Psalm 141:4) and it “deviseth wicked imaginations” (Proverbs 6:18). A hardened heart considers self before others, is quick to anger and harsh speech, allows prosperity and wealth to supplant faithful service to our Lord, deals deceitfully with others, and will dibble in ungodly behaviors. But, “he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief” (Proverbs 28:14). It is a sad truth, “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;” (Romans 2:5)! Those who can do something about their hardness are those to whom the Lord has given “A new heart” (Ezekiel 36:26). Those who have this blessed “new heart” are expected and Commanded to use it; we are Commanded to “make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die” (Ezekiel 18:31); that is, de-emphasize our carnal “heart” and strongly emphasize our God-given “new heart”. Our Lord explains it this way, “I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart” (Jeremiah 24:7) and those who have the loving “new heart” are exhorted to “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” (Colossians 3:12)! So, lets subdue the human emotions of carnal desires, hate, anger, greed, and ill temper. We do this by reading the Word of God and applying it to ourselves, going to and being a part of the Lord’s Church, spending much time in prayer, being ready to encourage and help others, and resisting the enticements of the devil!