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:”
The “provocation” refers to Israel’s repeated disrespect for God and disobedience to Him. Even after the Lord had monumentally demonstrated His great love for them and Almighty Power, they still, over and over again, “provoked the LORD to wrath” (Deuteronomy 9:8)! In this context, to provoke is to behave in such faithless and sinful ways that they move “the LORD” to “anger”. God doesn’t get angry and lose control of Himself or go off and pout the way we humans do; everything He does is “just and right” (Deuteronomy 32:4), even His “wrath” and “anger”. God is “provoked” to anger when His people do not use the faith that He gives them, they turn to idols instead of Him, and they fail to obey His Commandments. Our God is wonderfully patient and longsuffering, but when His people perpetuate their sinfulness, He will eventually reveal His “wrath”, “anger” and severely chasten His people to correct their bad behaviors and attitudes. Let us prayerfully “To day … hear his voice” and “Harden not” our “hearts, as in the provocation”, lest we again discover His “wrath”, “anger”!