Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment

Grieving God

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2017-07-24

Synopsis: John Weaver examines Psalm 95:9-11 to explore how Israel grieved God for forty years through their rebellious hearts and ignorance of His ways. He connects this Old Testament grief to the New Testament command in Ephesians 4:30 not to grieve the Holy Spirit, showing that believers today can similarly grieve God by living in the old man's sinful patterns. The sermon warns of the consequences of persistent rebellion, including the sin unto death, and calls for repentance, obedience, and a renewed walk in God's ways.

[John Weaver] to Psalm 95. Psalm 95. And we're going to read verses 9, 10, and 11. Psalm 95. Alright, Psalm 95 beginning there with verse 9. God says, When your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My work, forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways, and whom I swear in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest. The title of the message today is Grieving God. For He said in verse 10, It is a people that do err in their heart, They have not known my ways, and forty years long was I grieved with this generation."

[John Weaver] Grief is something that we all experience. We grieve over our spouses, our children, our finances, our pets, and a host of other things. Even the marriages of our children can cause an unknowable amount of grief. It certainly was the case with Esau and his parents, Isaac and Rebekah. For in Genesis 26, verses 34 and 35, the Bible says, And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Bere the Hittite, and Bashamath the daughter of Elam the Hittite, which were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. In fact, grief became so great in the life of Rebekah because of her daughter's-in-law that Rebekah reached a point of desperation. She said in Genesis 27, verse 46, And Rebekah said unto Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, which are of the daughters of the land, What good shall my life do me?" In other words, she said, I'm at the point of death right now.

[John Weaver] I just can't take this. And so she simply could not take it any longer. If Jacob married a wife like that, she said, my life would be over. Most people do not understand that when you marry, you don't normally just marry an individual, you also marry a family. That's why marriages in the Bible were usually families a family affair. So with this in mind, you can understand then why the families had to know each other and to be able to communicate and to fellowship.

[John Weaver] And when the father gives the bride away, actually what he's doing, he's transferring the headship that he holds over that woman to another young man from another family, and he's going to create a new family. Thus, once again, now you've got three families that are going to be interacting. When it comes to marriage and spouses, each of us knows of individuals that have lost spouses and the remaining spouse literally grieved so greatly that the cost was ultimately the life of the remaining spouse. One of my dearest friends lost his wife a few years ago of 67 years. He's still alive, and he still grieves every day.

[John Weaver] And he tells me, he said, I can't live without her, but I can. But he's anxious to go home, to be with the Lord, and of course, to be with her. Likewise, animals that have had long-time masters that have died, oftentimes these animals grieve themselves to death because the bond is so remarkably strong. Alice had an aunt that died one night, and she had a little dog that had been with her for years. And the next night, the little dog died under the bed. I mean, just could not live without his master. When we talk about grief, everybody understands this in one sense of the word. However, when you talk about the grief like Rebecca experienced, this is a grief that stems from what you and I would call absolute frustration and despair. It can also be from what you and I would call sheer aggravation and frustration as well.

[John Weaver] Samson faced the same thing with a constant whining and nagging of Delilah. Listen to what the Bible says in Judges 16 and verse 16,"...And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him so that his soul was vexed unto death." She wouldn't drop it. She kept going and going and going and going. And finally, the Bible says, his soul was vexed unto death. In other words, that's why he told her all of his heart.

[John Weaver] He just couldn't put up with it anymore. And that is a certain kind of grief. Again, there is another grief that arises when there is an incorrigible, uncorrectable, and rebellious attitude, especially in a loved one. How often have we grieved and wept over our own children? I have literally known families that had to give up on a child. The child was supposedly mature, and yet still did not understand responsibility or accountability.

[John Weaver] They would not listen, they would not heed, and they would not obey. And when you look around today, you find many children that are addicted to drugs and sex and gambling and games and who knows what. and they have grieved their parents exceedingly. Only the parents of a wayward child like that knows the heartache and the grief that they experience. And likewise, when you have a wayward spouse, only the faithful remaining spouse knows the heartache and the grief that one experiences in such instances.

[John Weaver] Oftentimes, spouses and parents reach a point where they are at their wits end and basically they end up saying, no more, it's over, I'm through, I do not wish to see you again under these circumstances. So I could sit here and describe this kind of grief and vexation and agony for hours, but the truth of the matter is, each of us really and truly understand this. It's been either in our families or in our friends, and we are quite aware of that. So here's my question. If you and I understand the grief and the hurt, the frustration and the desperation that is inflicted upon us by our children or by our friends or by our loved ones, why is it that we do not seek to understand the same in relationship to the sovereign God of heaven and earth? So here's an interesting question. Has it ever occurred to you that God could be grieved? And has it ever occurred to you that your actions and your attitude might be grieving the very heart of God?

[John Weaver] Now, Israel certainly grieved God. If you look in verse 10 again of Psalm 95, he says, 40 years long was I grieved with this generation. If you would hold Psalm 95, but look back in your Bibles, to Psalm 78. You're going to see him say the same thing in verse 40, only a little differently. Psalm 78, verse 40. Notice, if you would, he says, How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert? How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert? Now, the Hebrew word here for grieve in Psalm 78 and verse 40 is the word asab, which should be very understandable to each of us, because it is here translated as grieve, but it also means to displease, to hurt, to vex, to cause pain, and even to cause torture. And so, There have been plenty of individuals, parents especially, that have been grieved and vexed and even tortured over their children. And likewise, wayward spouses cause grief and vexation and torture.

[John Weaver] The truth of the matter is, this same word is translated as vexed in Isaiah. I want you to look, if you would, Isaiah 63, and notice if you would please verse 10. Here's an interesting verse and it will show you basically how grieved God actually became. Isaiah 63 and verse 10, the Bible says it like this, but they, talking about Israel, but they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit.

[John Weaver] Therefore He was turned to be their enemy and He fought against them. So the word vexed here is the same word as grieved. They did to God what our wayward and rebellious children do to us. They vexed Him and grieved Him to the extent that He actually became their enemy and He ended up fighting against them. It was like a parent who would say to that wayward child, no more, I'm not going to help you. You're not going to live here. You're not going to act like that. You have to go.

[John Weaver] That's all there is to it. So think about this. They grieved God. And if you look back at Psalm 95 and verse 10, it was not the fact that they just simply grieved Him whatsoever now and then. It's not the fact that they grieved Him occasionally. The fact is they grieved Him constantly and continually. That's why it says in verse 10, 40 years long was I grieved with this generation. Forty years! Let me read back from Psalm 78 and verse 17. You want to look at that one, Psalm 78 and verse 17. And here again you have the same truth, Psalm 78 verse 17,"...and they sinned yet more against Him by provoking the Most High in the wilderness."

[John Weaver] They continued to sin more and more. It was not just a simple once in a while. It was something that they did absolutely continually.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. Would you not consider it the height and the epitome of unthankfulness and ungratefulness and ingratitude if, for instance, your children absolutely, totally, completely rebelled against you and would not listen to you, would not love you, would not help you, would not do one thing for you? And here you've spent all your life and your money raising these children, and you think, what inconsiderate, rebellious kids that I've raised.

[John Weaver] Well, do you understand the same is true in reference to God? If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 1, Isaiah chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 2, and we'll read through verse 6. So it's Isaiah chapter 1, and look if you would please at verse 2. God says, Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. So He's calling the heavens and the earth to act as a witness. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken, and here's what He says, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me." And of course, God delivered Israel out of Egypt.

[John Weaver] He found them in their own blood and filth. He saved them. He brought them. He delivered them. He sustained them. He supplied their needs.

[John Weaver] Now He says in verse 3,"...the oxen of his owner and the ass of his master's crib. But Israel doth not know My people, doth not consider." Let me just spell this out for you. He said in verse 3, they're dumber than an animal. Even an animal knows where its feed comes from. But He said, My people doth not know, they do not consider. Look in verse 4, He begins to describe them. He says, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupted, They have forsaken the Lord. They have provoked the Holy One of Israel into anger.

[John Weaver] They are going away backward. Why should you be stricken anymore? In other words, discipline is not helping you. Chastening is not helping you. Why would you be stricken anymore? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it. but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment." Wow!

[John Weaver] God just simply lays it out. He calls them a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors, those that have forsaken the Lord. They provoked God. You know, you and I can sit here and say, wow! I am thankful that I was not in that crowd back then. And you would probably say, I would never, ever want to treat my Heavenly Father like that. I would not want to grieve Him. And I would say, really? Really? Did you know that it is just as possible to grieve Him today? And do you realize that many Christians grieve Him in exactly the same way? I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, and you might as well hold this because we will come back to this passage before I close. We're talking about grieving God in the Old Testament. When you get to the New Testament in Ephesians 4 and verse 30, here is one verse that you and I should really grasp.

[John Weaver] Ephesians 4 verse 30, And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of your redemption. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of your redemption. Now the Greek word, lupeo, for grieve here in verse 30, literally means to grieve. to make sorrowful, to cause heaviness, to affect with sadness, to offend, and to cause grief. So, actually, you could look at verse 30 and you could read, basically, and do not make sorrowful, or do not grieve, or do not cause heaviness, or do not affect with sadness the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed on the day of your redemption. In other words, He is the same God in the New Testament that He is in the Old Testament. And just as He could be grieved in the Old Testament, likewise He can be grieved in the New Testament since God is a person.

[John Weaver] You have to remember this. God has not changed. He is immutable and therefore He cannot change.

[John Weaver] Now, I don't care if you're looking at Psalm 95 or Psalm 78 or Ephesians chapter 4. When you look closely at the text, the meaning is clear. It is the attitude and the actions and the conduct of the people that cause the pain, sorrow, and grief to the heart of God. So just like our rebellious children, or our rebellious spouses would hurt and grieve us. So likewise, we hurt and grieve Him.

[John Weaver] Now, the Bible said they provoked Him. I want you to understand that these provocations had an effect. God is not insensible, and therefore He is said to be grieved. His holiness could not find pleasure in their sins. His justice was displeased with their injustice and their unjust treatment of others. His truth loathed their falsehood, and His righteousness recoiled at their unrighteous deeds."

[John Weaver] Now, notice if you would, back in Psalm 95 and verse 10, and I want you to see this, he said, Forty years long was I grieved with this generation." Now, I told you when we looked at Psalm 78 in verse 40, what the word grieved meant there. When you look at Psalm 95 in verse 10, the word grieved is a different word than you find in Psalm 78 in verse 40. Literally, this word is translated as loathe, and it means to nauseate or to make disgusted. So it is translated as loathe three times in the book of Ezekiel, and it is translated as grieved two other times in the book of Psalms. When the Bible says, 40 year long was I grieved with this generation, here is an expression of God's strong abhorrence to their attitude, their actions, and their conduct.

[John Weaver] So let me just kind of put this on you. Here's what he said. Look at verse 10. Forty years long was I nauseated with this generation. Here's what God said. They make me sick. They make me want to throw up. We've said that concerning other individuals. And that's exactly what God said to them. They made him sick. So, the questions that must be asked are, how did they grieve God? And why did they grieve God? The answer to both of those questions is revealed in our text, in Psalm 95 and verse 10. First of all, he tells us how they grieved God. He said, look in verse 10, 40 years long was I grieved with this people and said, it is of people that do err in their heart. Now that's how they did it. That's how they grieved God. They erred in their heart.

[John Weaver] Now the Hebrew word for err here literally means to go astray. to wander, to stagger, to be deceived, to be led astray, to err, to be seduced, and listen, and to stagger as a drunken man. All of us have seen drunken men driving down the highway, sometimes drunken women, and you see the car going this way and that way, and you've seen drunken men walk. They cannot walk a straight line. They walk this way and that way. So this is exactly what the word means. They erred. They wandered out of the way. They were deceived. They staggered like a drunk man. In other words, they were seduced. They were led astray. Now the Hebrew word for heart, watch carefully. He says, 40 years long was I agreed with this generation and said it is the people that do err in their heart. The Hebrew word is labab, which literally means and refers to the mind, the understanding, the heart and the soul. Now, when you read this word heart, it means more than just what you and I would call the affections.

[John Weaver] It certainly includes that. But it refers to their thinking, their understanding and their affections. It does not refer just simply to intellectual ignorance. Each of us are intellectually ignorant to some extent. I don't know how to deliver a baby. I'm ignorant. I don't know how to fix a motor. I'm ignorant. I'm just simply saying, we all have our intellectual ignorance. Do you realize that to the degree that we're ignorant, just in that sense, to that degree we are deficient in a lot of areas, and we do not know how to cope, and we do not know how to function. So everybody is intellectually ignorant. Even the Apostle Paul claimed ignorance.

[John Weaver] In 1 Timothy chapter 1 in verse 13, he says it like this,"...who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." So the Apostle Paul thought that he knew, but he didn't know. He was ignorant, and he just didn't realize it. The Pharisees, smart alecks, thought they knew, But they did not know. That's why our Lord said to them in Matthew 22 and verse 39, you do err not knowing the scriptures or the power of God. So that's where they erred.

[John Weaver] You have to remember the advantages that Israel had over all of the other nations. Let me put it to you like this. There was absolutely no excuse for their ignorance. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Romans chapter 3, and then we're going to Romans chapter 9. No excuse for their ignorance. And here's why. Look in Romans chapter 3, beginning there with verse 1. Romans 3 verse 1.

[John Weaver] Paul asks this question, What advantage then hath the Judahite, or what profit is there of circumcision? And then he answers this,"...much every way, chiefly," here's the main advantage,"...chiefly, because unto them were committed the oracles of God." They had the Word of God. If you would turn over to Romans chapter 9. Romans 9, look in verse 4. Romans 9 verse 4, now he says it like this,"...who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises."

[John Weaver] So obviously, they had all of the advantages, and there's really no reason, or cause, or excuse for them to be ignorant, yet they were. They did not understand, they did not apply, And they did not practice the truth of God. Even worse, they really did not desire it, and they really did not want to know it. They did not value it. They did not want it. And the truth is, it was an impediment to their lifestyle. Now, I want to show you something.

[John Weaver] If you would turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 3, And look, if you would please, at verse 10. Hebrews 3 and verse 10. You're going to see this same verse quoted in the New Testament with the exception of one word. In Hebrews 3 and verse 10, the Bible says,"...Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Psalm 94 and verse 10, God says, 40 years long was I grieved with this generation. Well, this generation was there and now it's past tense and now it's that generation. But notice if you would, He's saying exactly the same thing in Hebrews 3 and verse 10 that He said back in Psalm 95 and verse 10.

[John Weaver] But here's the thing, when we talk about ignorance, most of us just think of intellectual ignorance. Let me show you how broad the word ignorance really is. If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4, and look at verses 17 and 18, because you're going to see that the word ignorance is used very broadly to describe depravity, wickedness, and rebellion. So here it is. Ephesians 4, verse 17, Paul writes, This I say therefore and testify of the Lord, that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind. Now watch. Let's go back to verse 17 a minute. This I say therefore and testify of the Lord, that you, that is you Christians, henceforth walk not as other Gentiles, that is like the unsaved, walk in the vanity of their mind. Now he's going to describe the vanity of the mind.

[John Weaver] Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. So here the ignorance that is in them is another word or another term or expression for depravity, corruption, perversity and wickedness. So ignorance is not just simply a mental state. I want you to look in your Bibles to 1 Peter 1. Just showing you again how the word ignorance is used. It refers to our lost condition, what we were before God saved us. So in 1 Peter 1, beginning there with verse 13, Peter writes these believers and he says this, Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Verse 14,"...as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance." So he says you don't act like you acted when you were unsaved, and he calls it the former lusts in your ignorance. And so the word ignorance again refers not just to intellectual stupidity, but to perversity, depravity, rebellion.

[John Weaver] So when you look back at Psalm 95 and verse 10, when he says that 40 years long he was grieved with this generation and said, it is the people that do err in their heart, The erring in the heart was not just simply an intellectual erring, it was an erring by which men go astray through the corruption and the depravity of their nature. This era of mine was one that was so averse to God, and so alienated from God, that they had no desire for Him, nor love for Him.

[John Weaver] They did not want Him anyway, shape, form, or fashion. In fact, Psalm 78 and verse 37 kind of explains it like this. That verse says, For their heart was not right with God, neither were they steadfast in His covenant. Well, the truth is, their heart was not right with God and had never been right with God. And the way that you can tell is by their conduct and by their actions.

[John Weaver] They did not know His ways. Now look at it. Look in Psalm 95, verse 10. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is the people that do err in their heart. Wow! That tells you how they grieved Him. And here is the why. They have not known My ways. Why did they do what they did? They really did not know the way of God. They did not walk in His ways. They did not know His ways. They did not love His ways. They did not desire His ways. And I will be very blunt, they hated His ways. Very clearly, they hated His ways. So this ungrateful people did not approve of God's ways. They did not enter into God's designs.

[John Weaver] They did not conform to His commands. They paid no attention to His miracles. They did not acknowledge the benefits that they received from His hands. His works, His wonders, His deliverances meant nothing to them. They were not thankful for any of His works or any of His mercies. I want to read to you a comment by John Calvin on this passage. I want you to listen carefully because the end comment really clarifies this. He says this,"...the reason is subjoined that they would not attend to the many works of God brought under their eyes, and more than all to His Word. For the Hebrew term Derek, which I have rendered ways, comprehends His law and repeated admonitions, as well as His miracles done before them. It argued, amazing infatuation, that when God had condescended to dwell in such a familiar manner among them, and had made such illustrious displays of Himself, both in word and works, that they shut their eyes and overlooked all that had been done.

[John Weaver] This is the reason why the psalmist, considering that they wandered in error under so much light as they enjoyed, speaks of their stupidity amounting to madness." Now, can you imagine? These people saw firsthand the power of God, and the mercy of God, and the grace of God. They experienced those miracles, and yet they shut their eyes to everything. So the question has to be asked, how could someone be so mad, so stupid, so rebellious? Well, David in the Bible speaks of pride as being one of the reasons that the wicked will not seek after God and one of the reasons which causes them to err from God's commandments. Psalm 10 verse 4 says this, The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all of his thoughts. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. He doesn't think he needs God. God is not in all of his thoughts. He could care less. He would never consult with God. He would never ask God.

[John Weaver] No, no, no, no. The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 119 and just hold that passage because we will come back there. Psalm 119. But I want you to look, if you would please, at verse 21. Psalm 119 and verse 21. Here he says, Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from my commandments. Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, who do err from my commandments. Why do they err? Why do they leave? Why do they stagger out of God's commandments? Because they're proud. because they do not think they need God, and therefore they refuse His commandments.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something out to you. You may not have thought about this. But interestingly, when one through pride will not seek after God and will not obey God, in essence, he is lying against God. Do you realize that you can call God a liar without ever using those words? I'm going to show it to you in Scripture just momentarily. But if I'm not going to seek after God, if I'm not going to seek after His law, if I'm not going to seek after His will, if I'm not going to seek after His way, here's what I'm saying in essence.

[John Weaver] My will is better than God's. My way is better than God's. I prefer me to God. And God evidently is not omniscient because if God was omniscient, He would know and recognize that my way is better than His. That is not only pride, that is blasphemy, and it is lying against God. Look in verse 29 of Psalm 119. David says it like this,"...Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy law graciously." So, if you're following the way of lying against God, you do not have God's law. David said, I'd rather have God's law and not lie against God.

[John Weaver] Now, turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to Isaiah 59. And look, if you would please, at verse 13. Here again, God accuses Israel of lying against him. Watch carefully Isaiah 59 and verse 13. In transgressing and lying against the Lord and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. You may not utter them from the mouth, but you utter them from the heart. And he says,"...in transgressing and lying against the Lord." How do you lie against the Lord? By transgressing. By departing from Him.

[John Weaver] By saying, my way is better, my will is better, what I think is better. And God calls it a lying against Him.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of James. James chapter 3, Hebrews, James, right after the book of Hebrews. Hebrews, James, look in James chapter 3 and notice verse 14. This is a tremendous passage. I'd love to be able to spend an hour just on it, but look at it. James chapter 3 verse 14, he says this,"...but if you have bitter envying and strife in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth." So, if a man then has bitter envying and strife in his heart, He's lying against the truth. You remember Jesus Christ was standing before Pilate, and Pilate asked, what is truth? My response has always been the truth is standing right in front of him, and he didn't realize it. But you realize God the Father is called the God of truth. God the Son, Jesus Christ said, John 14 verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me. And the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth.

[John Weaver] So when you're lying against the truth, you're lying against God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. So that's why God said in Isaiah 59 verse 13, in transgressing and lying against God. You are, in essence, saying that God is not God, that I am God. So, God rightly charged these people of having not known His ways.

[John Weaver] Now, let me remind you of something. God's ways are supernatural ways. Our ways are natural. God's ways are holy. Our ways are unholy. God's ways are righteous, our ways are unrighteous. There's a passage in Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9 that makes this exceedingly clear. Here's what God says, Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." So here is man way down here, and here is God way up here, and God says, the difference is between heaven and earth. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. My ways are higher than your ways. When the Bible says that they have not known the way of the Lord, The word way there refers to His direction, to His road, to His path, to His journey.

[John Weaver] So it relates then basically to our manner of life, habit, and actions. It refers to the moral, upright character which He ordained that we walk therein. So not knowing His ways means that you do not know Him, And you do not know what He has outlined and ordained for you, and therefore you are basically lying against Him.

[John Weaver] Now, go back to Psalm 147. Let me show you what David confessed. And I would say that this is something that you and I need to confess as well and acknowledge. Look in Psalm 145, it is. Psalm 145, verse 17. Psalm 145, verse 17. Notice, if you would, the Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all of His works. Well, if the Lord is holy in all of His works, and if the Lord is righteous in all of His ways, if we're not following His ways, But we are following our ways. That means that our ways are unrighteous. Only God's ways are righteous.

[John Weaver] We must understand that the way of God is the way of holiness and righteousness. So whenever we conduct ourselves in an unholy or unrighteous manner, we're departing from God. We're grieving Him, and we're lying against the truth. You know what David prayed in Psalm 25 and verse 4? He prayed, Show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths. Have you ever asked God to show you His ways? Have you ever asked God to lead you in His paths? That's what David prayed. And David also told you who the blessed man was in Psalm 128 and verse 1. He said, Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in His ways. So if you fear the Lord, you're going to walk in His ways.

[John Weaver] Now, let me encourage you to do something. I would encourage you when you get home this afternoon, to take the time to read all of Psalm 119. I know there's 176 verses there. It's the longest Psalm in the Bible. I understand that. But also understand this, that Psalm 119 is about the ways of the Lord and the word of the Lord. We can only discover the ways of God in His Word. I do want you to turn to Psalm 119, and I want to go over very quickly just the first 12 verses.

[John Weaver] By the way, let me tell you this. If you're looking at your Bible, Psalm 119, you see this funny little letter up on top above verse 1, and then it says, Verse 9, you see another funny letter and it says Beth. Verse 17, you see another funny letter or marking and it says Gimel. Verse 25, another funny marking and it says Daleth. The reason those letters are there, and it says Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, He, Psalm 119 is an acrostic. So that would mean this, that in the Hebrew, The first eight verses all start with the letter Aleph. The next eight verses all start with the letter Beth. The next eight verses all start with the letter Gimel. Now, it's not like that in our English Bible, but it's like that in the Hebrew. It's an acrostic. So you're going down the Hebrew alphabet is what it amounts to. And every one of these verses under Aleph would start with the Aleph in the Hebrew. So it's just simply an acrostic psalm. Now, I want you to pay attention to verses 1 through 12.

[John Weaver] Look at it. Verse 1, Blessed are the undefiled in the way. Wow! Who are the undefiled? Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies. and that seek Him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity, they walk in His ways." Now, watch that. If you're walking in His ways, you're not doing that which is evil and wicked. If you're not walking in His ways, you are doing that which is evil and wicked. So He says,"...the blessed man who walks in the law of the Lord, who keeps His testimony and seeks Him with the whole heart, these do not do iniquity." Why? Because they're walking in His ways. Verse 4, Thou hast commanded us to keep Thy precepts diligently. And then He makes this prayer request, O that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes. That's what I want, Lord. I want to be obedient. Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all Thy commandments.

[John Weaver] I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart when I shall have learned Thy righteous judgments. I will keep Thy statutes Oh, forsake me not utterly."

[John Weaver] Now watch verse nine,"...wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way." You want to live a holy life? You want to live a godly life? "...by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee. O let me not wander, let me not err, let me not stagger from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me thy statutes. So David says, if you want to be holy, if you want to be godly, you must have his word in your heart that you would not sin against him.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles back to Ephesians chapter four. Because I've been teaching you about grieving God. And I showed you in the Old Testament how they grieved God. They grieved Him by their attitude, by their actions, by their conduct. They grieved Him by disobeying Him, by rebelling against Him. And when you look at Ephesians 4 and verse 30, where the Bible says,"...and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed in the day of your redemption." Now you have to understand that you can grieve God in the New Testament exactly the same way that the Israelites grieved God in the Old Testament. So if you really want to understand this, let's begin reading at verse 20. Okay? Ephesians 4, verse 20. Watch carefully.

[John Weaver] But you have not so learned Christ." And this is an absolutely amazing thing that you must really learn Jesus Christ. It doesn't come natural. It's supernatural. You have to learn Him.

[John Weaver] Now watch verse 21,"...if so be that you have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus." It's what you must do, that you put off concerning the former conversation or conduct, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Now he says, the old man has to be put off. Notice he said that you put off concerning the former conversation or conduct, that is, all of the old habits, all of the old ways, all of the old thinking, everything that you had before you were converted, and that now you are renewed in the spirit of your mind and you put on the new man, which after God is created and righteous and in true holiness. Now, watch what the new man is going to do. Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

[John Weaver] Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole, steal no more. But rather let him labor, working with his hands a thing which is good, that he may give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

[John Weaver] Now watch verse thirty, And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed in the day of your redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Now here's my question. In the context, how do we grieve the Holy Spirit?

[John Weaver] And the answer is by not putting off the old man, by living the attitudes and actions of the old man before we were converted. No, God says, you put away lying, you speak the truth, you put away theft, you put on honesty, you put away anger and bitterness, and you put on loving each other and tenderhearted and forgiving one another. In other words, we can grieve him in the New Testament exactly the same way that the Israelites grieved him in the Old Testament. How do they grieve Him? By living a rebellious, unholy, ungodly life. How do we grieve Him? By living an unholy, ungodly, and rebellious life. We have to put off the old man and put on the new man.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back to Psalm 95 because I want to make just a couple of applications before I close. Here we go. Psalm 95. Verse 10, he said, 40 years long was I grieved with this generation and said, it is the people that do err in their heart and they have not known my ways. So here's the question. What finally happened to those individuals that grieved God for so long? Remember, he put up their hateful attitudes and actions for 40 years. Well, here's what happened. Look in verse 11,"...on whom I swear in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest." Hmm. They grieved Him and they vexed Him for 40 years. And what did God do?

[John Weaver] He killed them all in the wilderness. The only two that got in were Joshua and Caleb. The rest died.

[John Weaver] Now, here's what you're going to say. Well, I'm glad I wasn't in that generation. And at least that's over with. Well, it is true it's over with with them. But what we don't understand is 1 John 5 and verse 16. So look there. 1 John 5 and verse 16. Here's an interesting passage. I want to call your attention to this verse. 1 John 5 and verse 16. Look at it. 1 John 5, verse 16.

[John Weaver] If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. Wow! But look at the rest of the verse. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it. There is a sin unto death. You know what happened to these Israelites? They sinned unto death.

[John Weaver] God was so vexed and so grieved with them, He said, that's it. You're not entering the Promised Land. You wanted to die out here? I'm going to let that happen. You're going to die. Every one of you.

[John Weaver] Now, is there a sin in the death of the New Testament? Of course there is. May I remind you of 1 Corinthians chapter 11? I'll quote the verses. But here in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, the people were violating the Lord's Supper, taking it inappropriately, acting inappropriately, And he says this in verse 30-32,"...For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."

[John Weaver] What did he say concerning these Corinthian Christians? "...For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." That is, they died. There is a sin unto death. And there comes a time when God will say to even His child who continues to thumb his nose in his father's face, that's it. I will not put up with it anymore. It's over. Just like when you and I will say to a rebellious child, it's over. Don't call on me anymore. Don't come here anymore. I don't want to see you. There is a sin of death.

[John Weaver] The second application is this. If we genuinely love our Heavenly Father and desire to please and honor Him, we must ask ourselves, what must it be like to genuinely grieve the heart of the God of love? The Scripture tells us God is love. Have my children ever grieved me? Yes. Have my grandchildren ever grieved me? Yes. And yours have as well. They've grieved you. Do I love my children? Yes. Do I love my grandchildren? Yes. Do I love my great-grandchildren? Yes. Now, my great-grandchildren haven't grieved me because they're not old enough. But I'm sure when they get old enough, they'll probably do so as well. But the point I'm trying to make is this, as loving and as kind and as gracious as I have been to my children and to my grandchildren, yes, it hurts. And if it hurts me, oh, Lord, how much worse could it be to a holy, righteous God who is love? Have you ever stopped to think about this? It's only His great love and mercy that we've not all been destroyed.

[John Weaver] And it's only His great love and mercy that each of us are still alive today. We are in the desert where we need our God. And let us not make it a wilderness of sin by grieving Him. If we love Him, we must honor Him. We must worship Him. We must adore Him. We must obey Him. We must give Him the praise and the glory that is due unto His name.

[John Weaver] They grieved Him in the Old Testament. That's why in the New Testament He said, And grieve not the Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed. on the day of your redemption. It is possible to grieve the heart of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth, for Your love and mercy. Thank You for allowing us to live and move and have our being. Thank You, Father, for Jesus Christ. And we do ask forgiveness for the times that we grieve Thee, and vex Thee, and sin against Thee. And I ask, Lord, that You would teach us Thy ways that we might walk therein. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen.

Grieving God

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	72417916124
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-07-24
Dictation Name
Book	Book 044: Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment — Chapter 7
Source Timed Segments	73

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Reality of Grief

Weaver introduces the concept of grief from human experience—over spouses, children, finances—and transitions to the biblical idea that God can be grieved, citing Psalm 95:10.

to Psalm 95. Psalm 95. And we're going to read verses 9, 10, and 11. Psalm 95. Alright, Psalm 95 beginning there with verse 9. God says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 95:9-11

"When your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My work, forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways, and whom I swear in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest."

The title of the message today is Grieving God. For He said in verse 10,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 95:9-11

"It is a people that do err in their heart, They have not known my ways, and forty years long was I grieved with this generation."

Grief is something that we all experience. We grieve over our spouses, our children, our finances, our pets, and a host of other things. Even the marriages of our children can cause an unknowable amount of grief. It certainly was the case with Esau and his parents, Isaac and Rebekah. For in Genesis 26, verses 34 and 35, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 26:34-35

"And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Bere the Hittite, and Bashamath the daughter of Elam the Hittite, which were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah."

In fact, grief became so great in the life of Rebekah because of her daughters-in-law that Rebekah reached a point of desperation. She said in Genesis 27, verse 46, "And Rebekah said unto Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, which are of the daughters of the land, What good shall my life do me?" In other words, she said, I'm at the point of death right now.

Human Examples of Grief and Vexation

Examples from Scripture (Esau's wives grieving Isaac and Rebekah, Samson vexed by Delilah) and modern life illustrate the depth of grief caused by rebellious loved ones.

I just can't take this. And so she simply could not take it any longer. If Jacob married a wife like that, she said, my life would be over. Most people do not understand that when you marry, you don't normally just marry an individual, you also marry a family. That's why marriages in the Bible were usually a family affair. So with this in mind, you can understand then why the families had to know each other and to be able to communicate and to fellowship. And when the father gives the bride away, actually what he's doing, he's transferring the headship that he holds over that woman to another young man from another family, and he's going to create a new family. Thus, once again, now you've got three families that are going to be interacting. When it comes to marriage and spouses, each of us knows of individuals that have lost spouses and the remaining spouse literally grieved so greatly that the cost was ultimately the life of the remaining spouse. One of my dearest friends lost his wife a few years ago of 67 years. He's still alive, and he still grieves every day.

And he tells me, he said, I can't live without her, but I can. But he's anxious to go home, to be with the Lord, and of course, to be with her. Likewise, animals that have had long-time masters that have died, oftentimes these animals grieve themselves to death because the bond is so remarkably strong. Alice had an aunt that died one night, and she had a little dog that had been with her for years. And the next night, the little dog died under the bed. I mean, just could not live without his master. When we talk about grief, everybody understands this in one sense of the word. However, when you talk about the grief like Rebecca experienced, this is a grief that stems from what you and I would call absolute frustration and despair. It can also be from what you and I would call sheer aggravation and frustration as well.

Samson faced the same thing with the constant whining and nagging of Delilah. Listen to what the Bible says in Judges 16 and verse 16,

Scripture Reading — Judges 16:16

"...And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him so that his soul was vexed unto death."

She wouldn't drop it. She kept going and going and going and going. And finally, the Bible says, his soul was vexed unto death. In other words, that's why he told her all of his heart. He just couldn't put up with it anymore. And that is a certain kind of grief. Again, there is another grief that arises when there is an incorrigible, uncorrectable, and rebellious attitude, especially in a loved one. How often have we grieved and wept over our own children? I have literally known families that had to give up on a child. The child was supposedly mature, and yet still did not understand responsibility or accountability.

They would not listen, they would not heed, and they would not obey. And when you look around today, you find many children that are addicted to drugs and sex and gambling and games and who knows what. and they have grieved their parents exceedingly. Only the parents of a wayward child like that knows the heartache and the grief that they experience. And likewise, when you have a wayward spouse, only the faithful remaining spouse knows the heartache and the grief that one experiences in such instances. Oftentimes, spouses and parents reach a point where they are at their wits end and basically they end up saying, no more, it's over, I'm through, I do not wish to see you again under these circumstances. So I could sit here and describe this kind of grief and vexation and agony for hours, but the truth of the matter is, each of us really and truly understand this. It's been either in our families or in our friends, and we are quite aware of that. So here's my question. If you and I understand the grief and the hurt, the frustration and the desperation that is inflicted upon us by our children or by our friends or by our loved ones, why is it that we do not seek to understand the same in relationship to the sovereign God of heaven and earth? So here's an interesting question. Has it ever occurred to you that God could be grieved? And has it ever occurred to you that your actions and your attitude might be grieving the very heart of God?

God's Grief in the Old Testament

Israel grieved God continually for forty years (Psalm 95:10; Psalm 78:40). The Hebrew words for 'grieve' convey displeasure, hurt, vexation, and even nausea.

Now, Israel certainly grieved God. If you look in verse 10 again of Psalm 95, he says, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation." If you would hold Psalm 95, but look back in your Bibles, to Psalm 78. You're going to see him say the same thing in verse 40, only a little differently. Psalm 78, verse 40. Notice, if you would, he says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 78:40

"How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert?"

How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert? Now, the Hebrew word here for grieve in Psalm 78 and verse 40 is the word asab, which should be very understandable to each of us, because it is here translated as grieve, but it also means to displease, to hurt, to vex, to cause pain, and even to cause torture. And so, There have been plenty of individuals, parents especially, that have been grieved and vexed and even tortured over their children. And likewise, wayward spouses cause grief and vexation and torture.

The truth of the matter is, this same word is translated as vexed in Isaiah. I want you to look, if you would, Isaiah 63, and notice if you would please verse 10. Here's an interesting verse and it will show you basically how grieved God actually became. Isaiah 63 and verse 10, the Bible says it like this, "but they," talking about Israel,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 63:10

"but they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit."

Therefore He was turned to be their enemy and He fought against them. So the word vexed here is the same word as grieved. They did to God what our wayward and rebellious children do to us. They vexed Him and grieved Him to the extent that He actually became their enemy and He ended up fighting against them. It was like a parent who would say to that wayward child, no more, I'm not going to help you. You're not going to live here. You're not going to act like that. You have to go.

That's all there is to it. So think about this. They grieved God. And if you look back at Psalm 95 and verse 10, it was not the fact that they just simply grieved Him whatsoever now and then. It's not the fact that they grieved Him occasionally. The fact is they grieved Him constantly and continually. That's why it says in verse 10, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation." Forty years! Let me read back from Psalm 78 and verse 17. You want to look at that one, Psalm 78 and verse 17. And here again you have the same truth, Psalm 78 verse 17, "...and they sinned yet more against Him by provoking the Most High in the wilderness."

They continued to sin more and more. It was not just a simple once in a while. It was something that they did absolutely continually. Now let me ask you a question. Would you not consider it the height and the epitome of unthankfulness and ungratefulness and ingratitude if, for instance, your children absolutely, totally, completely rebelled against you and would not listen to you, would not love you, would not help you, would not do one thing for you? And here you've spent all your life and your money raising these children, and you think, what inconsiderate, rebellious kids that I've raised. Well, do you understand the same is true in reference to God? If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 1, Isaiah chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 2, and we'll read through verse 6. So it's Isaiah chapter 1, and look if you would please at verse 2. God says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-6

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth."

So He's calling the heavens and the earth to act as a witness.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-6

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken,"

and here's what He says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-6

"I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me."

And of course, God delivered Israel out of Egypt.

He found them in their own blood and filth. He saved them. He brought them. He delivered them. He sustained them. He supplied their needs.

Now He says in verse 3, "...the ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib. But Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider." Let me just spell this out for you. He said in verse 3, they're dumber than an animal. Even an animal knows where its feed comes from. But He said, "My people doth not know, they do not consider." Look in verse 4, He begins to describe them. He says, "O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupted, They have forsaken the Lord. They have provoked the Holy One of Israel into anger."

They are going away backward. Why should you be stricken anymore? In other words, discipline is not helping you. Chastening is not helping you. Why would you be stricken anymore? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it. but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment." Wow!

God just simply lays it out. He calls them a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors, those that have forsaken the Lord. They provoked God. You know, you and I can sit here and say, wow! I am thankful that I was not in that crowd back then. And you would probably say, I would never, ever want to treat my Heavenly Father like that. I would not want to grieve Him. And I would say, really? Really? Did you know that it is just as possible to grieve Him today? And do you realize that many Christians grieve Him in exactly the same way? I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, and you might as well hold this because we will come back to this passage before I close. We're talking about grieving God in the Old Testament. When you get to the New Testament in Ephesians 4 and verse 30, here is one verse that you and I should really grasp.

Ephesians 4 verse 30,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:30

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of your redemption."

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of your redemption. Now the Greek word, lupeo, for grieve here in verse 30, literally means to grieve. to make sorrowful, to cause heaviness, to affect with sadness, to offend, and to cause grief. So, actually, you could look at verse 30 and you could read, basically,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:30

"and do not make sorrowful, or do not grieve, or do not cause heaviness, or do not affect with sadness the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed on the day of your redemption."

In other words, He is the same God in the New Testament that He is in the Old Testament. And just as He could be grieved in the Old Testament, likewise He can be grieved in the New Testament since God is a person.

You have to remember this. God has not changed. He is immutable and therefore He cannot change. Now, I don't care if you're looking at Psalm 95 or Psalm 78 or Ephesians chapter 4. When you look closely at the text, the meaning is clear. It is the attitude and the actions and the conduct of the people that cause the pain, sorrow, and grief to the heart of God. So just like our rebellious children, or our rebellious spouses would hurt and grieve us. So likewise, we hurt and grieve Him.

Now, the Bible said they provoked Him. I want you to understand that these provocations had an effect. God is not insensible, and therefore He is said to be grieved. His holiness could not find pleasure in their sins. His justice was displeased with their injustice and their unjust treatment of others. His truth loathed their falsehood, and His righteousness recoiled at their unrighteous deeds."

Now, notice if you would, back in Psalm 95 and verse 10, and I want you to see this, he said, "Forty years long was I grieved with this generation." Now, I told you when we looked at Psalm 78 in verse 40, what the word grieved meant there. When you look at Psalm 95 in verse 10, the word grieved is a different word than you find in Psalm 78 in verse 40. Literally, this word is translated as loathe, and it means to nauseate or to make disgusted. So it is translated as loathe three times in the book of Ezekiel, and it is translated as grieved two other times in the book of Psalms. When the Bible says, "40 year long was I grieved with this generation," here is an expression of God's strong abhorrence to their attitude, their actions, and their conduct.

So let me just kind of put this on you. Here's what he said. Look at verse 10. "Forty years long was I nauseated with this generation." Here's what God said. They make me sick. They make me want to throw up. We've said that concerning other individuals. And that's exactly what God said to them. They made him sick. So, the questions that must be asked are, how did they grieve God? And why did they grieve God? The answer to both of those questions is revealed in our text, in Psalm 95 and verse 10. First of all, he tells us how they grieved God. He said, look in verse 10, "40 years long was I grieved with this people and said, it is of people that do err in their heart." Now that's how they did it. That's how they grieved God. They erred in their heart.

How Israel Grieved God: Erring in Heart

They grieved God by erring in their heart—a willful, depraved straying from God's truth, not mere intellectual ignorance. Their heart was not right with God.

Now the Hebrew word for err here literally means to go astray. to wander, to stagger, to be deceived, to be led astray, to err, to be seduced, and listen, and to stagger as a drunken man. All of us have seen drunken men driving down the highway, sometimes drunken women, and you see the car going this way and that way, and you've seen drunken men walk. They cannot walk a straight line. They walk this way and that way. So this is exactly what the word means. They erred. They wandered out of the way. They were deceived. They staggered like a drunk man. In other words, they were seduced. They were led astray. Now the Hebrew word for heart, watch carefully. He says, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation and said it is the people that do err in their heart." The Hebrew word is labab, which literally means and refers to the mind, the understanding, the heart and the soul. Now, when you read this word heart, it means more than just what you and I would call the affections.

It certainly includes that. But it refers to their thinking, their understanding and their affections. It does not refer just simply to intellectual ignorance. Each of us are intellectually ignorant to some extent. I don't know how to deliver a baby. I'm ignorant. I don't know how to fix a motor. I'm ignorant. I'm just simply saying, we all have our intellectual ignorance. Do you realize that to the degree that we're ignorant, just in that sense, to that degree we are deficient in a lot of areas, and we do not know how to cope, and we do not know how to function. So everybody is intellectually ignorant. Even the Apostle Paul claimed ignorance.

In 1 Timothy chapter 1 in verse 13, he says it like this,

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 1:13

"...who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief."

So the Apostle Paul thought that he knew, but he didn't know. He was ignorant, and he just didn't realize it. The Pharisees, smart alecks, thought they knew, But they did not know. That's why our Lord said to them in Matthew 22 and verse 39, "you do err not knowing the scriptures or the power of God." So that's where they erred. You have to remember the advantages that Israel had over all of the other nations. Let me put it to you like this. There was absolutely no excuse for their ignorance. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Romans chapter 3, and then we're going to Romans chapter 9. No excuse for their ignorance. And here's why. Look in Romans chapter 3, beginning there with verse 1. Romans 3 verse 1.

Paul asks this question,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:1-2

"What advantage then hath the Judahite, or what profit is there of circumcision?"

And then he answers this,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:1-2

"...much every way, chiefly,"

here's the main advantage,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:1-2

"...chiefly, because unto them were committed the oracles of God."

They had the Word of God. If you would turn over to Romans chapter 9. Romans 9, look in verse 4. Romans 9 verse 4, now he says it like this, "...who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises."

So obviously, they had all of the advantages, and there's really no reason, or cause, or excuse for them to be ignorant, yet they were. They did not understand, they did not apply, And they did not practice the truth of God. Even worse, they really did not desire it, and they really did not want to know it. They did not value it. They did not want it. And the truth is, it was an impediment to their lifestyle. Now, I want to show you something.

If you would turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 3, And look, if you would please, at verse 10. Hebrews 3 and verse 10. You're going to see this same verse quoted in the New Testament with the exception of one word. In Hebrews 3 and verse 10, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 3:10

"...Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways."

Psalm 95 and verse 10, God says, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation." Well, this generation was there and now it's past tense and now it's that generation. But notice if you would, He's saying exactly the same thing in Hebrews 3 and verse 10 that He said back in Psalm 95 and verse 10.

But here's the thing, when we talk about ignorance, most of us just think of intellectual ignorance. Let me show you how broad the word ignorance really is. If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4, and look at verses 17 and 18, because you're going to see that the word ignorance is used very broadly to describe depravity, wickedness, and rebellion. So here it is. Ephesians 4, verse 17, Paul writes, "This I say therefore and testify of the Lord, that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind." Now watch. Let's go back to verse 17 a minute. "This I say therefore and testify of the Lord, that you," that is you Christians, "henceforth walk not as other Gentiles," that is like the unsaved, "walk in the vanity of their mind." Now he's going to describe the vanity of the mind.

"Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart." So here the ignorance that is in them is another word or another term or expression for depravity, corruption, perversity and wickedness. So ignorance is not just simply a mental state. I want you to look in your Bibles to 1 Peter 1. Just showing you again how the word ignorance is used. It refers to our lost condition, what we were before God saved us. So in 1 Peter 1, beginning there with verse 13, Peter writes these believers and he says this, "Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Verse 14, "...as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance." So he says you don't act like you acted when you were unsaved, and he calls it the former lusts in your ignorance. And so the word ignorance again refers not just to intellectual stupidity, but to perversity, depravity, rebellion.

So when you look back at Psalm 95 and verse 10, when he says that 40 years long he was grieved with this generation and said, "it is the people that do err in their heart," The erring in the heart was not just simply an intellectual erring, it was an erring by which men go astray through the corruption and the depravity of their nature. This era of mine was one that was so averse to God, and so alienated from God, that they had no desire for Him, nor love for Him. They did not want Him anyway, shape, form, or fashion. In fact, Psalm 78 and verse 37 kind of explains it like this. That verse says, "For their heart was not right with God, neither were they steadfast in His covenant." Well, the truth is, their heart was not right with God and had never been right with God. And the way that you can tell is by their conduct and by their actions.

They did not know His ways. Now look at it. Look in Psalm 95, verse 10. "Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is the people that do err in their heart." Wow! That tells you how they grieved Him. And here is the why. "They have not known My ways." Why did they do what they did? They really did not know the way of God. They did not walk in His ways. They did not know His ways. They did not love His ways. They did not desire His ways. And I will be very blunt, they hated His ways. Very clearly, they hated His ways. So this ungrateful people did not approve of God's ways. They did not enter into God's designs.

Why Israel Grieved God: Not Knowing His Ways

They did not know, love, or desire God's ways; they hated them. Despite having God's Word and miracles, they shut their eyes in pride and rebellion.

They did not conform to His commands. They paid no attention to His miracles. They did not acknowledge the benefits that they received from His hands. His works, His wonders, His deliverances meant nothing to them. They were not thankful for any of His works or any of His mercies. I want to read to you a comment by John Calvin on this passage. I want you to listen carefully because the end comment really clarifies this. He says this, "...the reason is subjoined that they would not attend to the many works of God brought under their eyes, and more than all to His Word. For the Hebrew term Derek, which I have rendered ways, comprehends His law and repeated admonitions, as well as His miracles done before them. It argued, amazing infatuation, that when God had condescended to dwell in such a familiar manner among them, and had made such illustrious displays of Himself, both in word and works, that they shut their eyes and overlooked all that had been done.

This is the reason why the psalmist, considering that they wandered in error under so much light as they enjoyed, speaks of their stupidity amounting to madness.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 10:4

" Now, can you imagine? These people saw firsthand the power of God, and the mercy of God, and the grace of God. They experienced those miracles, and yet they shut their eyes to everything. So the question has to be asked, how could someone be so mad, so stupid, so rebellious? Well, David in the Bible speaks of pride as being one of the reasons that the wicked will not seek after God and one of the reasons which causes them to err from God's commandments. Psalm 10 verse 4 says this, "

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all of his thoughts.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 10:4

" The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. He doesn't think he needs God. God is not in all of his thoughts. He could care less. He would never consult with God. He would never ask God.

No, no, no, no. The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 119 and just hold that passage because we will come back there. Psalm 119. But I want you to look, if you would please, at verse 21. Psalm 119 and verse 21. Here he says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:21

"Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from my commandments."

Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, who do err from my commandments. Why do they err? Why do they leave? Why do they stagger out of God's commandments? Because they're proud. because they do not think they need God, and therefore they refuse His commandments.

Now, let me point something out to you. You may not have thought about this. But interestingly, when one through pride will not seek after God and will not obey God, in essence, he is lying against God. Do you realize that you can call God a liar without ever using those words? I'm going to show it to you in Scripture just momentarily. But if I'm not going to seek after God, if I'm not going to seek after His law, if I'm not going to seek after His will, if I'm not going to seek after His way, here's what I'm saying in essence. My will is better than God's. My way is better than God's. I prefer me to God. And God evidently is not omniscient because if God was omniscient, He would know and recognize that my way is better than His. That is not only pride, that is blasphemy, and it is lying against God. Look in verse 29 of Psalm 119. David says it like this,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:29

"...Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy law graciously."

So, if you're following the way of lying against God, you do not have God's law. David said, I'd rather have God's law and not lie against God.

Now, turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to Isaiah 59. And look, if you would please, at verse 13. Here again, God accuses Israel of lying against him. Watch carefully Isaiah 59 and verse 13. "In transgressing and lying against the Lord and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood." You may not utter them from the mouth, but you utter them from the heart. And he says, "...in transgressing and lying against the Lord." How do you lie against the Lord? By transgressing. By departing from Him.

By saying, my way is better, my will is better, what I think is better. And God calls it a lying against Him. Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of James. James chapter 3, Hebrews, James, right after the book of Hebrews. Hebrews, James, look in James chapter 3 and notice verse 14. This is a tremendous passage. I'd love to be able to spend an hour just on it, but look at it. James chapter 3 verse 14, he says this, "...but if you have bitter envying and strife in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth." So, if a man then has bitter envying and strife in his heart, He's lying against the truth. You remember Jesus Christ was standing before Pilate, and Pilate asked, "what is truth?" My response has always been the truth is standing right in front of him, and he didn't realize it. But you realize God the Father is called the God of truth. God the Son, Jesus Christ said, John 14 verse 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me." And the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth.

So when you're lying against the truth, you're lying against God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. So that's why God said in Isaiah 59 verse 13, "in transgressing and lying against God." You are, in essence, saying that God is not God, that I am God. So, God rightly charged these people of having not known His ways. Now, let me remind you of something. God's ways are supernatural ways. Our ways are natural. God's ways are holy. Our ways are unholy. God's ways are righteous, our ways are unrighteous. There's a passage in Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9 that makes this exceedingly clear. Here's what God says, Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." So here is man way down here, and here is God way up here, and God says, the difference is between heaven and earth. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. My ways are higher than your ways. When the Bible says that they have not known the way of the Lord, The word way there refers to His direction, to His road, to His path, to His journey.

The Nature of God's Ways and Our Response

God's ways are righteous and holy (Psalm 145:17). To reject them is to lie against God. David's prayer in Psalm 119 models a desire to walk in God's ways.

So it relates then basically to our manner of life, habit, and actions. It refers to the moral, upright character which He ordained that we walk therein. So not knowing His ways means that you do not know Him, And you do not know what He has outlined and ordained for you, and therefore you are basically lying against Him. Now, go back to Psalm 145. Let me show you what David confessed. And I would say that this is something that you and I need to confess as well and acknowledge. Look in Psalm 145, it is. Psalm 145, verse 17. Psalm 145, verse 17. Notice, if you would, "The Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works." The Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all of His works. Well, if the Lord is holy in all of His works, and if the Lord is righteous in all of His ways, if we're not following His ways, But we are following our ways. That means that our ways are unrighteous. Only God's ways are righteous.

We must understand that the way of God is the way of holiness and righteousness. So whenever we conduct ourselves in an unholy or unrighteous manner, we're departing from God. We're grieving Him, and we're lying against the truth. You know what David prayed in Psalm 25 and verse 4? He prayed, "Show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths." Have you ever asked God to show you His ways? Have you ever asked God to lead you in His paths? That's what David prayed. And David also told you who the blessed man was in Psalm 128 and verse 1. He said, "Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in His ways." So if you fear the Lord, you're going to walk in His ways.

Now, let me encourage you to do something. I would encourage you when you get home this afternoon, to take the time to read all of Psalm 119. I know there's 176 verses there. It's the longest Psalm in the Bible. I understand that. But also understand this, that Psalm 119 is about the ways of the Lord and the word of the Lord. We can only discover the ways of God in His Word. I do want you to turn to Psalm 119, and I want to go over very quickly just the first 12 verses.

By the way, let me tell you this. If you're looking at your Bible, Psalm 119, you see this funny little letter up on top above verse 1, and then it says, Verse 9, you see another funny letter and it says Beth. Verse 17, you see another funny letter or marking and it says Gimel. Verse 25, another funny marking and it says Daleth. The reason those letters are there, and it says Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, He, Psalm 119 is an acrostic. So that would mean this, that in the Hebrew, The first eight verses all start with the letter Aleph. The next eight verses all start with the letter Beth. The next eight verses all start with the letter Gimel. Now, it's not like that in our English Bible, but it's like that in the Hebrew. It's an acrostic. So you're going down the Hebrew alphabet is what it amounts to. And every one of these verses under Aleph would start with the Aleph in the Hebrew. So it's just simply an acrostic psalm. Now, I want you to pay attention to verses 1 through 12.

Look at it. Verse 1, "Blessed are the undefiled in the way." Wow! Who are the undefiled? "Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies. and that seek Him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity, they walk in His ways." Now, watch that. If you're walking in His ways, you're not doing that which is evil and wicked. If you're not walking in His ways, you are doing that which is evil and wicked. So He says, "...the blessed man who walks in the law of the Lord, who keeps His testimony and seeks Him with the whole heart, these do not do iniquity." Why? Because they're walking in His ways. Verse 4, "Thou hast commanded us to keep Thy precepts diligently." And then He makes this prayer request, "O that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes." That's what I want, Lord. I want to be obedient. "Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all Thy commandments."

"I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart when I shall have learned Thy righteous judgments. I will keep Thy statutes Oh, forsake me not utterly." Now watch verse nine, "...wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way." You want to live a holy life? You want to live a godly life? "...by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee. O let me not wander, let me not err, let me not stagger from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me thy statutes." So David says, if you want to be holy, if you want to be godly, you must have his word in your heart that you would not sin against him.

Grieving the Holy Spirit in the New Testament

Ephesians 4:30 commands believers not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The context (vv. 20-32) shows that living in the old man's sins—lying, anger, theft, corrupt speech—grieves God just as Israel did.

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles back to Ephesians chapter four. Because I've been teaching you about grieving God. And I showed you in the Old Testament how they grieved God. They grieved Him by their attitude, by their actions, by their conduct. They grieved Him by disobeying Him, by rebelling against Him. And when you look at Ephesians 4 and verse 30, where the Bible says, "...and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed in the day of your redemption." Now you have to understand that you can grieve God in the New Testament exactly the same way that the Israelites grieved God in the Old Testament. So if you really want to understand this, let's begin reading at verse 20. Okay? Ephesians 4, verse 20. Watch carefully.

"But you have not so learned Christ." And this is an absolutely amazing thing that you must really learn Jesus Christ. It doesn't come natural. It's supernatural. You have to learn Him.

Now watch verse 21, "...if so be that you have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus." It's what you must do, "that you put off concerning the former conversation or conduct, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Now he says, the old man has to be put off. Notice he said "that you put off concerning the former conversation or conduct," that is, all of the old habits, all of the old ways, all of the old thinking, everything that you had before you were converted, and that now you are renewed in the spirit of your mind and you put on the new man, which after God is created and righteous and in true holiness. Now, watch what the new man is going to do. "Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."

"Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole, steal no more. But rather let him labor, working with his hands a thing which is good, that he may give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."

Now watch verse thirty, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed in the day of your redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Now here's my question. In the context, how do we grieve the Holy Spirit? And the answer is by not putting off the old man, by living the attitudes and actions of the old man before we were converted. No, God says, you put away lying, you speak the truth, you put away theft, you put on honesty, you put away anger and bitterness, and you put on loving each other and tenderhearted and forgiving one another. In other words, we can grieve him in the New Testament exactly the same way that the Israelites grieved him in the Old Testament. How do they grieve Him? By living a rebellious, unholy, ungodly life. How do we grieve Him? By living an unholy, ungodly, and rebellious life. We have to put off the old man and put on the new man.

Consequences and Applications

God's response to Israel's grief was death in the wilderness (Psalm 95:11). The New Testament warns of a sin unto death (1 John 5:16; 1 Corinthians 11:30-32). Believers must examine themselves to avoid grieving a loving God.

Now, I want you to go back to Psalm 95 because I want to make just a couple of applications before I close. Here we go. Psalm 95. Verse 10, he said, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation and said, it is the people that do err in their heart and they have not known my ways." So here's the question. What finally happened to those individuals that grieved God for so long? Remember, he put up their hateful attitudes and actions for 40 years. Well, here's what happened. Look in verse 11, "...on whom I swear in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest." Hmm. They grieved Him and they vexed Him for 40 years. And what did God do?

He killed them all in the wilderness. The only two that got in were Joshua and Caleb. The rest died. Now, here's what you're going to say. Well, I'm glad I wasn't in that generation. And at least that's over with. Well, it is true it's over with with them. But what we don't understand is 1 John 5 and verse 16. So look there. 1 John 5 and verse 16. Here's an interesting passage. I want to call your attention to this verse. 1 John 5, verse 16.

"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death." Wow! But look at the rest of the verse. "There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it." There is a sin unto death. You know what happened to these Israelites? They sinned unto death. God was so vexed and so grieved with them, He said, that's it. You're not entering the Promised Land. You wanted to die out here? I'm going to let that happen. You're going to die. Every one of you.

Now, is there a sin in the death of the New Testament? Of course there is. May I remind you of 1 Corinthians chapter 11? I'll quote the verses. But here in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, the people were violating the Lord's Supper, taking it inappropriately, acting inappropriately, And he says this in verse 30-32, "...For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."

What did he say concerning these Corinthian Christians? "...For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." That is, they died. There is a sin unto death. And there comes a time when God will say to even His child who continues to thumb his nose in his father's face, that's it. I will not put up with it anymore. It's over. Just like when you and I will say to a rebellious child, it's over. Don't call on me anymore. Don't come here anymore. I don't want to see you. There is a sin of death.

The second application is this. If we genuinely love our Heavenly Father and desire to please and honor Him, we must ask ourselves, what must it be like to genuinely grieve the heart of the God of love? The Scripture tells us God is love. Have my children ever grieved me? Yes. Have my grandchildren ever grieved me? Yes. And yours have as well. They've grieved you. Do I love my children? Yes. Do I love my grandchildren? Yes. Do I love my great-grandchildren? Yes. Now, my great-grandchildren haven't grieved me because they're not old enough. But I'm sure when they get old enough, they'll probably do so as well. But the point I'm trying to make is this, as loving and as kind and as gracious as I have been to my children and to my grandchildren, yes, it hurts. And if it hurts me, oh, Lord, how much worse could it be to a holy, righteous God who is love? Have you ever stopped to think about this? It's only His great love and mercy that we've not all been destroyed.

And it's only His great love and mercy that each of us are still alive today. We are in the desert where we need our God. And let us not make it a wilderness of sin by grieving Him. If we love Him, we must honor Him. We must worship Him. We must adore Him. We must obey Him. We must give Him the praise and the glory that is due unto His name.

They grieved Him in the Old Testament. That's why in the New Testament He said, "And grieve not the Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed on the day of your redemption." It is possible to grieve the heart of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth, for Your love and mercy. Thank You for allowing us to live and move and have our being. Thank You, Father, for Jesus Christ. And we do ask forgiveness for the times that we grieve Thee, and vex Thee, and sin against Thee. And I ask, Lord, that You would teach us Thy ways that we might walk therein. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Grief of God

Summary: God is a personal being who can be grieved, vexed, and nauseated by the persistent rebellion and sin of His people, both in the Old and New Testaments.

Evidence: Psalm 95:10: 'Forty years long was I grieved with this generation.' The Hebrew word means to loathe or make disgusted. Ephesians 4:30: 'Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.'

The Sin of Erring in Heart

Summary: Grieving God stems from a heart that errs—willfully straying from God's truth due to depravity, pride, and a lack of desire for God, not mere intellectual ignorance.

Evidence: Psalm 95:10: 'It is a people that do err in their heart.' The Hebrew for 'err' means to go astray, stagger like a drunkard. Ephesians 4:17-18 links ignorance to depravity.

Rejecting God's Ways

Summary: Not knowing God's ways means refusing to walk in His righteous, holy paths, which is tantamount to lying against God and exalting one's own will above His.

Evidence: Psalm 95:10: 'They have not known my ways.' Isaiah 59:13: 'In transgressing and lying against the Lord.' Psalm 119:21: 'Thou hast rebuked the proud... which do err from my commandments.'

Continuity of Grieving God from Old to New Testament

Summary: The same attitudes and actions that grieved God in the Old Testament—rebellion, unholiness, disobedience—grieve the Holy Spirit in the New Testament era.

Evidence: Ephesians 4:20-32 contrasts the old man and new man, concluding with 'grieve not the Holy Spirit.' The sins listed (lying, anger, theft, corrupt speech) mirror Israel's rebellion.

The Consequences of Persistent Grief

Summary: God's patience has limits; persistent rebellion can lead to severe judgment, including physical death, as seen in Israel's wilderness generation and the New Testament 'sin unto death.'

Evidence: Psalm 95:11: 'I swear in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.' 1 John 5:16: 'There is a sin unto death.' 1 Corinthians 11:30: 'For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.'

The Call to Holiness and Obedience

Summary: Believers must put off the old man, be renewed in mind, and walk in God's ways through His Word to avoid grieving Him and to honor His love.

Evidence: Ephesians 4:22-24: 'Put off... the old man... be renewed... put on the new man.' Psalm 119:9-11: 'Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.'

Key Arguments

Human grief illustrates divine grief

Summary: Since humans understand the grief caused by rebellious loved ones, they should recognize that their sin can similarly grieve God.

Evidence: Weaver describes human grief over children and spouses, then asks, 'Has it ever occurred to you that God could be grieved?'

Israel's error was willful, not intellectual

Summary: The 'erring in heart' was a moral and spiritual straying rooted in depravity and pride, not a lack of information, as they had God's Word and miracles.

Evidence: Weaver explains the Hebrew words for 'err' and 'heart,' and cites Romans 3:1-2 and 9:4 to show Israel's advantages.

Rejecting God's ways is lying against God

Summary: To prefer one's own way over God's is to call God a liar, asserting that one's will is superior to His omniscient, righteous ways.

Evidence: Isaiah 59:13: 'In transgressing and lying against the Lord.' James 3:14: 'Lie not against the truth.'

The old man's conduct grieves the Holy Spirit

Summary: Ephesians 4:30 is contextualized by the preceding verses commanding believers to put off sins like lying, anger, and theft, which are the old man's ways.

Evidence: Weaver reads Ephesians 4:20-32 and states, 'In the context, how do we grieve the Holy Spirit? ...by not putting off the old man.'

God's judgment on persistent grief is severe

Summary: God's response to Israel's forty-year grief was death in the wilderness, and the New Testament warns of a sin unto death for unrepentant believers.

Evidence: Psalm 95:11; 1 John 5:16; 1 Corinthians 11:30-32.

Scripture References

Psalm 95:9-11

Context: The primary text: God's grief over Israel's rebellion and His oath that they would not enter His rest.

Genesis 26:34-35

Context: Esau's Hittite wives were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah, illustrating human grief.

Genesis 27:46

Context: Rebekah's desperation over her daughters-in-law, weary of life.

Judges 16:16

Context: Delilah's nagging vexed Samson's soul unto death, illustrating a type of grief.

Psalm 78:40

Context: Israel provoked and grieved God in the desert; the Hebrew word 'asab' means to displease, hurt, vex.

Isaiah 63:10

Context: Israel rebelled and vexed God's Holy Spirit, causing Him to become their enemy.

Psalm 78:17

Context: They sinned yet more against God by provoking the Most High in the wilderness.

Isaiah 1:2-6

Context: God's indictment of Israel as a sinful nation that rebelled despite His nourishment; they are dumber than animals.

Ephesians 4:30

Context: The New Testament command not to grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom believers are sealed.

1 Timothy 1:13

Context: Paul obtained mercy because he acted ignorantly in unbelief, showing intellectual ignorance.

Matthew 22:29

Context: Jesus told the Pharisees they err not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God.

Romans 3:1-2

Context: The chief advantage of the Jews was that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.

Romans 9:4

Context: Israelites had the adoption, glory, covenants, law, service, and promises.

Hebrews 3:10

Context: Quotes Psalm 95:10, emphasizing that they always err in heart and have not known God's ways.

Ephesians 4:17-18

Context: Gentiles walk in vanity of mind, having understanding darkened, alienated from God through ignorance due to blindness of heart.

1 Peter 1:13-14

Context: Believers are not to fashion themselves according to former lusts in their ignorance (unsaved state).

Psalm 78:37

Context: Their heart was not right with God, neither were they steadfast in His covenant.

Psalm 10:4

Context: The wicked, through pride, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts.

Psalm 119:21

Context: God rebukes the proud who are cursed, who err from His commandments.

Psalm 119:29

Context: David prays, 'Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy law graciously.'

Historical References

Israel's wilderness generation

Context: The generation that came out of Egypt but rebelled against God for forty years, dying in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb.

Esau's marriage to Hittite women

Context: Esau's wives Judith and Bashemath caused grief to Isaac and Rebekah, illustrating family grief.

Samson and Delilah

Context: Delilah's persistent nagging vexed Samson's soul unto death, leading him to reveal his secret.

John Calvin's commentary on Psalm 95

Context: Weaver quotes Calvin on Israel's 'amazing infatuation' in shutting their eyes to God's works and Word, calling their error 'madness.'

Important Quotes

Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways.

Significance: The central text of the sermon, establishing God's prolonged grief over Israel's heart error and ignorance of His ways.

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of your redemption.

Significance: The New Testament parallel command, showing that believers today can grieve God just as Israel did.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all of his thoughts.

Significance: Quoting Psalm 10:4 to explain the root of erring from God's ways: pride and a refusal to seek God.

In transgressing and lying against the Lord and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

Significance: Isaiah 59:13, used to show that rejecting God's ways is tantamount to lying against Him.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Significance: Isaiah 55:8-9, highlighting the vast difference between God's holy ways and man's natural ways.

There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it.

Significance: 1 John 5:16, warning that persistent, unrepentant sin can lead to physical death as a judgment from God.

Discussion Questions

In what ways do our actions and attitudes today mirror the 'erring in heart' of Israel that grieved God?

Context: Weaver explains that erring in heart is a willful straying from God due to pride and depravity, not mere ignorance.

How can we discern whether we are truly walking in God's ways versus our own ways?

Context: The sermon emphasizes that God's ways are righteous and holy, and that we must learn them from His Word (Psalm 119).

What does it mean to 'lie against the truth' in our daily conduct, and how can we avoid it?

Context: Weaver connects transgressing and departing from God to lying against Him, citing Isaiah 59:13 and James 3:14.

How does the command in Ephesians 4:30 to not grieve the Holy Spirit relate to the specific sins listed in the surrounding verses?

Context: The context of Ephesians 4:20-32 lists sins of the old man (lying, anger, theft, corrupt speech) that grieve the Spirit.

What is the 'sin unto death' mentioned in 1 John 5:16, and how should this warning affect our view of persistent sin?

Context: Weaver applies the wilderness generation's death and 1 Corinthians 11:30-32 to show that God may judge unrepentant believers with physical death.

How does understanding God's grief over sin deepen our appreciation of His love and mercy?

Context: Weaver reflects that it is only God's great love and mercy that we are not destroyed, despite grieving Him.

Applications

Examine your heart for pride and rebellion

Summary: Believers must honestly assess whether they are erring in heart through pride, refusing to seek God and obey His commandments.

Evidence: Psalm 10:4: 'The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God.' Psalm 119:21: 'Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from my commandments.'

Put off the old man and put on the new man

Summary: To avoid grieving the Holy Spirit, believers must actively put away sins like lying, anger, theft, and corrupt speech, and instead practice truth, kindness, and forgiveness.

Evidence: Ephesians 4:22-32: 'Put off... the old man... put on the new man... grieve not the Holy Spirit... let all bitterness... be put away.'

Learn and walk in God's ways through His Word

Summary: The only way to know God's righteous ways and avoid error is to diligently study and obey Scripture, as modeled in Psalm 119.

Evidence: Psalm 119:9-11: 'Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word... Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.'

Fear the consequences of persistent sin

Summary: Recognize that unrepentant sin can lead to severe divine discipline, even physical death, and therefore repent quickly.

Evidence: 1 John 5:16: 'There is a sin unto death.' 1 Corinthians 11:30-32: 'For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.'

Respond to God's love with obedience and worship

Summary: Because God is love and has shown great mercy, believers should honor Him by obeying His commands, worshiping Him, and giving Him the glory due His name.

Evidence: Weaver's closing exhortation: 'If we love Him, we must honor Him. We must worship Him. We must adore Him. We must obey Him.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T17:48:57Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T09:12:23Z

Clean Transcript

Grieving God

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

to Psalm 95. Psalm 95. And we're going to read verses 9, 10, and 11. Psalm 95. Alright, Psalm 95 beginning there with verse 9. God says, "When your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My work, forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways, and whom I swear in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest." The title of the message today is Grieving God. For He said in verse 10, "It is a people that do err in their heart, They have not known my ways, and forty years long was I grieved with this generation."
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Grief is something that we all experience. We grieve over our spouses, our children, our finances, our pets, and a host of other things. Even the marriages of our children can cause an unknowable amount of grief. It certainly was the case with Esau and his parents, Isaac and Rebekah. For in Genesis 26, verses 34 and 35, the Bible says, "And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Bere the Hittite, and Bashamath the daughter of Elam the Hittite, which were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah." In fact, grief became so great in the life of Rebekah because of her daughters-in-law that Rebekah reached a point of desperation. She said in Genesis 27, verse 46, "And Rebekah said unto Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, which are of the daughters of the land, What good shall my life do me?" In other words, she said, I'm at the point of death right now.
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I just can't take this. And so she simply could not take it any longer. If Jacob married a wife like that, she said, my life would be over. Most people do not understand that when you marry, you don't normally just marry an individual, you also marry a family. That's why marriages in the Bible were usually a family affair. So with this in mind, you can understand then why the families had to know each other and to be able to communicate and to fellowship.
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And when the father gives the bride away, actually what he's doing, he's transferring the headship that he holds over that woman to another young man from another family, and he's going to create a new family. Thus, once again, now you've got three families that are going to be interacting. When it comes to marriage and spouses, each of us knows of individuals that have lost spouses and the remaining spouse literally grieved so greatly that the cost was ultimately the life of the remaining spouse. One of my dearest friends lost his wife a few years ago of 67 years. He's still alive, and he still grieves every day.
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And he tells me, he said, I can't live without her, but I can. But he's anxious to go home, to be with the Lord, and of course, to be with her. Likewise, animals that have had long-time masters that have died, oftentimes these animals grieve themselves to death because the bond is so remarkably strong. Alice had an aunt that died one night, and she had a little dog that had been with her for years. And the next night, the little dog died under the bed. I mean, just could not live without his master. When we talk about grief, everybody understands this in one sense of the word. However, when you talk about the grief like Rebecca experienced, this is a grief that stems from what you and I would call absolute frustration and despair. It can also be from what you and I would call sheer aggravation and frustration as well.
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Samson faced the same thing with the constant whining and nagging of Delilah. Listen to what the Bible says in Judges 16 and verse 16, "...And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him so that his soul was vexed unto death." She wouldn't drop it. She kept going and going and going and going. And finally, the Bible says, his soul was vexed unto death. In other words, that's why he told her all of his heart.
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He just couldn't put up with it anymore. And that is a certain kind of grief. Again, there is another grief that arises when there is an incorrigible, uncorrectable, and rebellious attitude, especially in a loved one. How often have we grieved and wept over our own children? I have literally known families that had to give up on a child. The child was supposedly mature, and yet still did not understand responsibility or accountability.
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They would not listen, they would not heed, and they would not obey. And when you look around today, you find many children that are addicted to drugs and sex and gambling and games and who knows what. and they have grieved their parents exceedingly. Only the parents of a wayward child like that knows the heartache and the grief that they experience. And likewise, when you have a wayward spouse, only the faithful remaining spouse knows the heartache and the grief that one experiences in such instances.
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Oftentimes, spouses and parents reach a point where they are at their wits end and basically they end up saying, no more, it's over, I'm through, I do not wish to see you again under these circumstances. So I could sit here and describe this kind of grief and vexation and agony for hours, but the truth of the matter is, each of us really and truly understand this. It's been either in our families or in our friends, and we are quite aware of that. So here's my question. If you and I understand the grief and the hurt, the frustration and the desperation that is inflicted upon us by our children or by our friends or by our loved ones, why is it that we do not seek to understand the same in relationship to the sovereign God of heaven and earth? So here's an interesting question. Has it ever occurred to you that God could be grieved? And has it ever occurred to you that your actions and your attitude might be grieving the very heart of God?
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Now, Israel certainly grieved God. If you look in verse 10 again of Psalm 95, he says, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation." If you would hold Psalm 95, but look back in your Bibles, to Psalm 78. You're going to see him say the same thing in verse 40, only a little differently. Psalm 78, verse 40. Notice, if you would, he says, "How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert?" How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert? Now, the Hebrew word here for grieve in Psalm 78 and verse 40 is the word asab, which should be very understandable to each of us, because it is here translated as grieve, but it also means to displease, to hurt, to vex, to cause pain, and even to cause torture. And so, There have been plenty of individuals, parents especially, that have been grieved and vexed and even tortured over their children. And likewise, wayward spouses cause grief and vexation and torture.
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The truth of the matter is, this same word is translated as vexed in Isaiah. I want you to look, if you would, Isaiah 63, and notice if you would please verse 10. Here's an interesting verse and it will show you basically how grieved God actually became. Isaiah 63 and verse 10, the Bible says it like this, "but they," talking about Israel, "but they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit."
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Therefore He was turned to be their enemy and He fought against them. So the word vexed here is the same word as grieved. They did to God what our wayward and rebellious children do to us. They vexed Him and grieved Him to the extent that He actually became their enemy and He ended up fighting against them. It was like a parent who would say to that wayward child, no more, I'm not going to help you. You're not going to live here. You're not going to act like that. You have to go.
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That's all there is to it. So think about this. They grieved God. And if you look back at Psalm 95 and verse 10, it was not the fact that they just simply grieved Him whatsoever now and then. It's not the fact that they grieved Him occasionally. The fact is they grieved Him constantly and continually. That's why it says in verse 10, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation." Forty years! Let me read back from Psalm 78 and verse 17. You want to look at that one, Psalm 78 and verse 17. And here again you have the same truth, Psalm 78 verse 17, "...and they sinned yet more against Him by provoking the Most High in the wilderness."
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They continued to sin more and more. It was not just a simple once in a while. It was something that they did absolutely continually.
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Now let me ask you a question. Would you not consider it the height and the epitome of unthankfulness and ungratefulness and ingratitude if, for instance, your children absolutely, totally, completely rebelled against you and would not listen to you, would not love you, would not help you, would not do one thing for you? And here you've spent all your life and your money raising these children, and you think, what inconsiderate, rebellious kids that I've raised.
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Well, do you understand the same is true in reference to God? If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 1, Isaiah chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 2, and we'll read through verse 6. So it's Isaiah chapter 1, and look if you would please at verse 2. God says, "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth." So He's calling the heavens and the earth to act as a witness. "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken," and here's what He says, "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me." And of course, God delivered Israel out of Egypt.
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He found them in their own blood and filth. He saved them. He brought them. He delivered them. He sustained them. He supplied their needs.
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Now He says in verse 3, "...the ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib. But Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider." Let me just spell this out for you. He said in verse 3, they're dumber than an animal. Even an animal knows where its feed comes from. But He said, "My people doth not know, they do not consider." Look in verse 4, He begins to describe them. He says, "O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupted, They have forsaken the Lord. They have provoked the Holy One of Israel into anger."
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They are going away backward. Why should you be stricken anymore? In other words, discipline is not helping you. Chastening is not helping you. Why would you be stricken anymore? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it. but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment." Wow!
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God just simply lays it out. He calls them a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors, those that have forsaken the Lord. They provoked God. You know, you and I can sit here and say, wow! I am thankful that I was not in that crowd back then. And you would probably say, I would never, ever want to treat my Heavenly Father like that. I would not want to grieve Him. And I would say, really? Really? Did you know that it is just as possible to grieve Him today? And do you realize that many Christians grieve Him in exactly the same way? I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, and you might as well hold this because we will come back to this passage before I close. We're talking about grieving God in the Old Testament. When you get to the New Testament in Ephesians 4 and verse 30, here is one verse that you and I should really grasp.
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Ephesians 4 verse 30, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of your redemption." And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of your redemption. Now the Greek word, lupeo, for grieve here in verse 30, literally means to grieve. to make sorrowful, to cause heaviness, to affect with sadness, to offend, and to cause grief. So, actually, you could look at verse 30 and you could read, basically, "and do not make sorrowful, or do not grieve, or do not cause heaviness, or do not affect with sadness the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed on the day of your redemption." In other words, He is the same God in the New Testament that He is in the Old Testament. And just as He could be grieved in the Old Testament, likewise He can be grieved in the New Testament since God is a person.
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You have to remember this. God has not changed. He is immutable and therefore He cannot change.
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Now, I don't care if you're looking at Psalm 95 or Psalm 78 or Ephesians chapter 4. When you look closely at the text, the meaning is clear. It is the attitude and the actions and the conduct of the people that cause the pain, sorrow, and grief to the heart of God. So just like our rebellious children, or our rebellious spouses would hurt and grieve us. So likewise, we hurt and grieve Him.
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Now, the Bible said they provoked Him. I want you to understand that these provocations had an effect. God is not insensible, and therefore He is said to be grieved. His holiness could not find pleasure in their sins. His justice was displeased with their injustice and their unjust treatment of others. His truth loathed their falsehood, and His righteousness recoiled at their unrighteous deeds."
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Now, notice if you would, back in Psalm 95 and verse 10, and I want you to see this, he said, "Forty years long was I grieved with this generation." Now, I told you when we looked at Psalm 78 in verse 40, what the word grieved meant there. When you look at Psalm 95 in verse 10, the word grieved is a different word than you find in Psalm 78 in verse 40. Literally, this word is translated as loathe, and it means to nauseate or to make disgusted. So it is translated as loathe three times in the book of Ezekiel, and it is translated as grieved two other times in the book of Psalms. When the Bible says, "40 year long was I grieved with this generation," here is an expression of God's strong abhorrence to their attitude, their actions, and their conduct.
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So let me just kind of put this on you. Here's what he said. Look at verse 10. "Forty years long was I nauseated with this generation." Here's what God said. They make me sick. They make me want to throw up. We've said that concerning other individuals. And that's exactly what God said to them. They made him sick. So, the questions that must be asked are, how did they grieve God? And why did they grieve God? The answer to both of those questions is revealed in our text, in Psalm 95 and verse 10. First of all, he tells us how they grieved God. He said, look in verse 10, "40 years long was I grieved with this people and said, it is of people that do err in their heart." Now that's how they did it. That's how they grieved God. They erred in their heart.
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Now the Hebrew word for err here literally means to go astray. to wander, to stagger, to be deceived, to be led astray, to err, to be seduced, and listen, and to stagger as a drunken man. All of us have seen drunken men driving down the highway, sometimes drunken women, and you see the car going this way and that way, and you've seen drunken men walk. They cannot walk a straight line. They walk this way and that way. So this is exactly what the word means. They erred. They wandered out of the way. They were deceived. They staggered like a drunk man. In other words, they were seduced. They were led astray. Now the Hebrew word for heart, watch carefully. He says, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation and said it is the people that do err in their heart." The Hebrew word is labab, which literally means and refers to the mind, the understanding, the heart and the soul. Now, when you read this word heart, it means more than just what you and I would call the affections.
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It certainly includes that. But it refers to their thinking, their understanding and their affections. It does not refer just simply to intellectual ignorance. Each of us are intellectually ignorant to some extent. I don't know how to deliver a baby. I'm ignorant. I don't know how to fix a motor. I'm ignorant. I'm just simply saying, we all have our intellectual ignorance. Do you realize that to the degree that we're ignorant, just in that sense, to that degree we are deficient in a lot of areas, and we do not know how to cope, and we do not know how to function. So everybody is intellectually ignorant. Even the Apostle Paul claimed ignorance.
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In 1 Timothy chapter 1 in verse 13, he says it like this, "...who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." So the Apostle Paul thought that he knew, but he didn't know. He was ignorant, and he just didn't realize it. The Pharisees, smart alecks, thought they knew, But they did not know. That's why our Lord said to them in Matthew 22 and verse 39, "you do err not knowing the scriptures or the power of God." So that's where they erred.
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You have to remember the advantages that Israel had over all of the other nations. Let me put it to you like this. There was absolutely no excuse for their ignorance. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Romans chapter 3, and then we're going to Romans chapter 9. No excuse for their ignorance. And here's why. Look in Romans chapter 3, beginning there with verse 1. Romans 3 verse 1.
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Paul asks this question, "What advantage then hath the Judahite, or what profit is there of circumcision?" And then he answers this, "...much every way, chiefly," here's the main advantage, "...chiefly, because unto them were committed the oracles of God." They had the Word of God. If you would turn over to Romans chapter 9. Romans 9, look in verse 4. Romans 9 verse 4, now he says it like this, "...who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises."
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So obviously, they had all of the advantages, and there's really no reason, or cause, or excuse for them to be ignorant, yet they were. They did not understand, they did not apply, And they did not practice the truth of God. Even worse, they really did not desire it, and they really did not want to know it. They did not value it. They did not want it. And the truth is, it was an impediment to their lifestyle. Now, I want to show you something.
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If you would turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 3, And look, if you would please, at verse 10. Hebrews 3 and verse 10. You're going to see this same verse quoted in the New Testament with the exception of one word. In Hebrews 3 and verse 10, the Bible says, "...Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Psalm 95 and verse 10, God says, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation." Well, this generation was there and now it's past tense and now it's that generation. But notice if you would, He's saying exactly the same thing in Hebrews 3 and verse 10 that He said back in Psalm 95 and verse 10.
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But here's the thing, when we talk about ignorance, most of us just think of intellectual ignorance. Let me show you how broad the word ignorance really is. If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4, and look at verses 17 and 18, because you're going to see that the word ignorance is used very broadly to describe depravity, wickedness, and rebellion. So here it is. Ephesians 4, verse 17, Paul writes, "This I say therefore and testify of the Lord, that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind." Now watch. Let's go back to verse 17 a minute. "This I say therefore and testify of the Lord, that you," that is you Christians, "henceforth walk not as other Gentiles," that is like the unsaved, "walk in the vanity of their mind." Now he's going to describe the vanity of the mind.
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"Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart." So here the ignorance that is in them is another word or another term or expression for depravity, corruption, perversity and wickedness. So ignorance is not just simply a mental state. I want you to look in your Bibles to 1 Peter 1. Just showing you again how the word ignorance is used. It refers to our lost condition, what we were before God saved us. So in 1 Peter 1, beginning there with verse 13, Peter writes these believers and he says this, "Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Verse 14, "...as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance." So he says you don't act like you acted when you were unsaved, and he calls it the former lusts in your ignorance. And so the word ignorance again refers not just to intellectual stupidity, but to perversity, depravity, rebellion.
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So when you look back at Psalm 95 and verse 10, when he says that 40 years long he was grieved with this generation and said, "it is the people that do err in their heart," The erring in the heart was not just simply an intellectual erring, it was an erring by which men go astray through the corruption and the depravity of their nature. This era of mine was one that was so averse to God, and so alienated from God, that they had no desire for Him, nor love for Him.
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They did not want Him anyway, shape, form, or fashion. In fact, Psalm 78 and verse 37 kind of explains it like this. That verse says, "For their heart was not right with God, neither were they steadfast in His covenant." Well, the truth is, their heart was not right with God and had never been right with God. And the way that you can tell is by their conduct and by their actions.
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They did not know His ways. Now look at it. Look in Psalm 95, verse 10. "Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is the people that do err in their heart." Wow! That tells you how they grieved Him. And here is the why. "They have not known My ways." Why did they do what they did? They really did not know the way of God. They did not walk in His ways. They did not know His ways. They did not love His ways. They did not desire His ways. And I will be very blunt, they hated His ways. Very clearly, they hated His ways. So this ungrateful people did not approve of God's ways. They did not enter into God's designs.
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They did not conform to His commands. They paid no attention to His miracles. They did not acknowledge the benefits that they received from His hands. His works, His wonders, His deliverances meant nothing to them. They were not thankful for any of His works or any of His mercies. I want to read to you a comment by John Calvin on this passage. I want you to listen carefully because the end comment really clarifies this. He says this, "...the reason is subjoined that they would not attend to the many works of God brought under their eyes, and more than all to His Word. For the Hebrew term Derek, which I have rendered ways, comprehends His law and repeated admonitions, as well as His miracles done before them. It argued, amazing infatuation, that when God had condescended to dwell in such a familiar manner among them, and had made such illustrious displays of Himself, both in word and works, that they shut their eyes and overlooked all that had been done.
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This is the reason why the psalmist, considering that they wandered in error under so much light as they enjoyed, speaks of their stupidity amounting to madness." Now, can you imagine? These people saw firsthand the power of God, and the mercy of God, and the grace of God. They experienced those miracles, and yet they shut their eyes to everything. So the question has to be asked, how could someone be so mad, so stupid, so rebellious? Well, David in the Bible speaks of pride as being one of the reasons that the wicked will not seek after God and one of the reasons which causes them to err from God's commandments. Psalm 10 verse 4 says this, "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all of his thoughts." The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. He doesn't think he needs God. God is not in all of his thoughts. He could care less. He would never consult with God. He would never ask God.
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No, no, no, no. The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 119 and just hold that passage because we will come back there. Psalm 119. But I want you to look, if you would please, at verse 21. Psalm 119 and verse 21. Here he says, "Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from my commandments." Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, who do err from my commandments. Why do they err? Why do they leave? Why do they stagger out of God's commandments? Because they're proud. because they do not think they need God, and therefore they refuse His commandments.
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Now, let me point something out to you. You may not have thought about this. But interestingly, when one through pride will not seek after God and will not obey God, in essence, he is lying against God. Do you realize that you can call God a liar without ever using those words? I'm going to show it to you in Scripture just momentarily. But if I'm not going to seek after God, if I'm not going to seek after His law, if I'm not going to seek after His will, if I'm not going to seek after His way, here's what I'm saying in essence.
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My will is better than God's. My way is better than God's. I prefer me to God. And God evidently is not omniscient because if God was omniscient, He would know and recognize that my way is better than His. That is not only pride, that is blasphemy, and it is lying against God. Look in verse 29 of Psalm 119. David says it like this, "...Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy law graciously." So, if you're following the way of lying against God, you do not have God's law. David said, I'd rather have God's law and not lie against God.
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Now, turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to Isaiah 59. And look, if you would please, at verse 13. Here again, God accuses Israel of lying against him. Watch carefully Isaiah 59 and verse 13. "In transgressing and lying against the Lord and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood." You may not utter them from the mouth, but you utter them from the heart. And he says, "...in transgressing and lying against the Lord." How do you lie against the Lord? By transgressing. By departing from Him.
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By saying, my way is better, my will is better, what I think is better. And God calls it a lying against Him.
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Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of James. James chapter 3, Hebrews, James, right after the book of Hebrews. Hebrews, James, look in James chapter 3 and notice verse 14. This is a tremendous passage. I'd love to be able to spend an hour just on it, but look at it. James chapter 3 verse 14, he says this, "...but if you have bitter envying and strife in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth." So, if a man then has bitter envying and strife in his heart, He's lying against the truth. You remember Jesus Christ was standing before Pilate, and Pilate asked, "what is truth?" My response has always been the truth is standing right in front of him, and he didn't realize it. But you realize God the Father is called the God of truth. God the Son, Jesus Christ said, John 14 verse 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me." And the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth.
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So when you're lying against the truth, you're lying against God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. So that's why God said in Isaiah 59 verse 13, "in transgressing and lying against God." You are, in essence, saying that God is not God, that I am God. So, God rightly charged these people of having not known His ways.
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Now, let me remind you of something. God's ways are supernatural ways. Our ways are natural. God's ways are holy. Our ways are unholy. God's ways are righteous, our ways are unrighteous. There's a passage in Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9 that makes this exceedingly clear. Here's what God says, Isaiah 55 verses 8 and 9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." So here is man way down here, and here is God way up here, and God says, the difference is between heaven and earth. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. My ways are higher than your ways. When the Bible says that they have not known the way of the Lord, The word way there refers to His direction, to His road, to His path, to His journey.
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So it relates then basically to our manner of life, habit, and actions. It refers to the moral, upright character which He ordained that we walk therein. So not knowing His ways means that you do not know Him, And you do not know what He has outlined and ordained for you, and therefore you are basically lying against Him.
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Now, go back to Psalm 145. Let me show you what David confessed. And I would say that this is something that you and I need to confess as well and acknowledge. Look in Psalm 145, it is. Psalm 145, verse 17. Psalm 145, verse 17. Notice, if you would, "The Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works." The Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all of His works. Well, if the Lord is holy in all of His works, and if the Lord is righteous in all of His ways, if we're not following His ways, But we are following our ways. That means that our ways are unrighteous. Only God's ways are righteous.
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We must understand that the way of God is the way of holiness and righteousness. So whenever we conduct ourselves in an unholy or unrighteous manner, we're departing from God. We're grieving Him, and we're lying against the truth. You know what David prayed in Psalm 25 and verse 4? He prayed, "Show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths." Have you ever asked God to show you His ways? Have you ever asked God to lead you in His paths? That's what David prayed. And David also told you who the blessed man was in Psalm 128 and verse 1. He said, "Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in His ways." So if you fear the Lord, you're going to walk in His ways.
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Now, let me encourage you to do something. I would encourage you when you get home this afternoon, to take the time to read all of Psalm 119. I know there's 176 verses there. It's the longest Psalm in the Bible. I understand that. But also understand this, that Psalm 119 is about the ways of the Lord and the word of the Lord. We can only discover the ways of God in His Word. I do want you to turn to Psalm 119, and I want to go over very quickly just the first 12 verses.
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By the way, let me tell you this. If you're looking at your Bible, Psalm 119, you see this funny little letter up on top above verse 1, and then it says, Verse 9, you see another funny letter and it says Beth. Verse 17, you see another funny letter or marking and it says Gimel. Verse 25, another funny marking and it says Daleth. The reason those letters are there, and it says Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, He, Psalm 119 is an acrostic. So that would mean this, that in the Hebrew, The first eight verses all start with the letter Aleph. The next eight verses all start with the letter Beth. The next eight verses all start with the letter Gimel. Now, it's not like that in our English Bible, but it's like that in the Hebrew. It's an acrostic. So you're going down the Hebrew alphabet is what it amounts to. And every one of these verses under Aleph would start with the Aleph in the Hebrew. So it's just simply an acrostic psalm. Now, I want you to pay attention to verses 1 through 12.
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Look at it. Verse 1, "Blessed are the undefiled in the way." Wow! Who are the undefiled? "Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies. and that seek Him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity, they walk in His ways." Now, watch that. If you're walking in His ways, you're not doing that which is evil and wicked. If you're not walking in His ways, you are doing that which is evil and wicked. So He says, "...the blessed man who walks in the law of the Lord, who keeps His testimony and seeks Him with the whole heart, these do not do iniquity." Why? Because they're walking in His ways. Verse 4, "Thou hast commanded us to keep Thy precepts diligently." And then He makes this prayer request, "O that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes." That's what I want, Lord. I want to be obedient. "Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all Thy commandments."
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"I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart when I shall have learned Thy righteous judgments. I will keep Thy statutes Oh, forsake me not utterly."
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Now watch verse nine, "...wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way." You want to live a holy life? You want to live a godly life? "...by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee. O let me not wander, let me not err, let me not stagger from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me thy statutes." So David says, if you want to be holy, if you want to be godly, you must have his word in your heart that you would not sin against him.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles back to Ephesians chapter four. Because I've been teaching you about grieving God. And I showed you in the Old Testament how they grieved God. They grieved Him by their attitude, by their actions, by their conduct. They grieved Him by disobeying Him, by rebelling against Him. And when you look at Ephesians 4 and verse 30, where the Bible says, "...and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed in the day of your redemption." Now you have to understand that you can grieve God in the New Testament exactly the same way that the Israelites grieved God in the Old Testament. So if you really want to understand this, let's begin reading at verse 20. Okay? Ephesians 4, verse 20. Watch carefully.
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"But you have not so learned Christ." And this is an absolutely amazing thing that you must really learn Jesus Christ. It doesn't come natural. It's supernatural. You have to learn Him.
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Now watch verse 21, "...if so be that you have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus." It's what you must do, "that you put off concerning the former conversation or conduct, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Now he says, the old man has to be put off. Notice he said "that you put off concerning the former conversation or conduct," that is, all of the old habits, all of the old ways, all of the old thinking, everything that you had before you were converted, and that now you are renewed in the spirit of your mind and you put on the new man, which after God is created and righteous and in true holiness. Now, watch what the new man is going to do. "Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."
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"Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole, steal no more. But rather let him labor, working with his hands a thing which is good, that he may give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."
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Now watch verse thirty, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed in the day of your redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Now here's my question. In the context, how do we grieve the Holy Spirit?
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And the answer is by not putting off the old man, by living the attitudes and actions of the old man before we were converted. No, God says, you put away lying, you speak the truth, you put away theft, you put on honesty, you put away anger and bitterness, and you put on loving each other and tenderhearted and forgiving one another. In other words, we can grieve him in the New Testament exactly the same way that the Israelites grieved him in the Old Testament. How do they grieve Him? By living a rebellious, unholy, ungodly life. How do we grieve Him? By living an unholy, ungodly, and rebellious life. We have to put off the old man and put on the new man.
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Now, I want you to go back to Psalm 95 because I want to make just a couple of applications before I close. Here we go. Psalm 95. Verse 10, he said, "40 years long was I grieved with this generation and said, it is the people that do err in their heart and they have not known my ways." So here's the question. What finally happened to those individuals that grieved God for so long? Remember, he put up their hateful attitudes and actions for 40 years. Well, here's what happened. Look in verse 11, "...on whom I swear in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest." Hmm. They grieved Him and they vexed Him for 40 years. And what did God do?
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He killed them all in the wilderness. The only two that got in were Joshua and Caleb. The rest died.
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Now, here's what you're going to say. Well, I'm glad I wasn't in that generation. And at least that's over with. Well, it is true it's over with with them. But what we don't understand is 1 John 5 and verse 16. So look there. 1 John 5 and verse 16. Here's an interesting passage. I want to call your attention to this verse. 1 John 5, verse 16.
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"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death." Wow! But look at the rest of the verse. "There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it." There is a sin unto death. You know what happened to these Israelites? They sinned unto death.
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God was so vexed and so grieved with them, He said, that's it. You're not entering the Promised Land. You wanted to die out here? I'm going to let that happen. You're going to die. Every one of you.
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Now, is there a sin in the death of the New Testament? Of course there is. May I remind you of 1 Corinthians chapter 11? I'll quote the verses. But here in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, the people were violating the Lord's Supper, taking it inappropriately, acting inappropriately, And he says this in verse 30-32, "...For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."
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What did he say concerning these Corinthian Christians? "...For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." That is, they died. There is a sin unto death. And there comes a time when God will say to even His child who continues to thumb his nose in his father's face, that's it. I will not put up with it anymore. It's over. Just like when you and I will say to a rebellious child, it's over. Don't call on me anymore. Don't come here anymore. I don't want to see you. There is a sin of death.
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The second application is this. If we genuinely love our Heavenly Father and desire to please and honor Him, we must ask ourselves, what must it be like to genuinely grieve the heart of the God of love? The Scripture tells us God is love. Have my children ever grieved me? Yes. Have my grandchildren ever grieved me? Yes. And yours have as well. They've grieved you. Do I love my children? Yes. Do I love my grandchildren? Yes. Do I love my great-grandchildren? Yes. Now, my great-grandchildren haven't grieved me because they're not old enough. But I'm sure when they get old enough, they'll probably do so as well. But the point I'm trying to make is this, as loving and as kind and as gracious as I have been to my children and to my grandchildren, yes, it hurts. And if it hurts me, oh, Lord, how much worse could it be to a holy, righteous God who is love? Have you ever stopped to think about this? It's only His great love and mercy that we've not all been destroyed.
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And it's only His great love and mercy that each of us are still alive today. We are in the desert where we need our God. And let us not make it a wilderness of sin by grieving Him. If we love Him, we must honor Him. We must worship Him. We must adore Him. We must obey Him. We must give Him the praise and the glory that is due unto His name.
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They grieved Him in the Old Testament. That's why in the New Testament He said, "And grieve not the Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed on the day of your redemption." It is possible to grieve the heart of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth, for Your love and mercy. Thank You for allowing us to live and move and have our being. Thank You, Father, for Jesus Christ. And we do ask forgiveness for the times that we grieve Thee, and vex Thee, and sin against Thee. And I ask, Lord, that You would teach us Thy ways that we might walk therein. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T17:48:57Z

Grieving God

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver examines Psalm 95:9-11 to explore how Israel grieved God for forty years through their rebellious hearts and ignorance of His ways. He connects this Old Testament grief to the New Testament command in Ephesians 4:30 not to grieve the Holy Spirit, showing that believers today can similarly grieve God by living in the old man's sinful patterns. The sermon warns of the consequences of persistent rebellion, including the sin unto death, and calls for repentance, obedience, and a renewed walk in God's ways.

Introduction: The Reality of Grief

Weaver introduces the concept of grief from human experience—over spouses, children, finances—and transitions to the biblical idea that God can be grieved, citing Psalm 95:10.

to Psalm 95. Psalm 95. And we're going to read verses 9, 10, and 11. Psalm 95. Alright, Psalm 95 beginning there with verse 9. God says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 95:9-11

"When your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My work, forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways, and whom I swear in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest."

The title of the message today is Grieving God. For He said in verse 10,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 95:9-11

"It is a people that do err in their heart, They have not known my ways, and forty years long was I grieved with this generation."

Scripture Reading — Genesis 26:34-35

"And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Bere the Hittite, and Bashamath the daughter of Elam the Hittite, which were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah."

Human Examples of Grief and Vexation

Examples from Scripture (Esau's wives grieving Isaac and Rebekah, Samson vexed by Delilah) and modern life illustrate the depth of grief caused by rebellious loved ones.

Samson faced the same thing with the constant whining and nagging of Delilah. Listen to what the Bible says in Judges 16 and verse 16,

Scripture Reading — Judges 16:16

"...And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him so that his soul was vexed unto death."

God's Grief in the Old Testament

Israel grieved God continually for forty years (Psalm 95:10; Psalm 78:40). The Hebrew words for 'grieve' convey displeasure, hurt, vexation, and even nausea.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 78:40

"How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert?"

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 63:10

"but they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit."

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-6

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth."

So He's calling the heavens and the earth to act as a witness.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-6

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken,"

and here's what He says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 1:2-6

"I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me."

And of course, God delivered Israel out of Egypt.

He found them in their own blood and filth. He saved them. He brought them. He delivered them. He sustained them. He supplied their needs.

Ephesians 4 verse 30,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:30

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of your redemption."

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:30

"and do not make sorrowful, or do not grieve, or do not cause heaviness, or do not affect with sadness the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed on the day of your redemption."

How Israel Grieved God: Erring in Heart

They grieved God by erring in their heart—a willful, depraved straying from God's truth, not mere intellectual ignorance. Their heart was not right with God.

In 1 Timothy chapter 1 in verse 13, he says it like this,

Scripture Reading — 1 Timothy 1:13

"...who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief."

Paul asks this question,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:1-2

"What advantage then hath the Judahite, or what profit is there of circumcision?"

And then he answers this,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:1-2

"...much every way, chiefly,"

here's the main advantage,

Scripture Reading — Romans 3:1-2

"...chiefly, because unto them were committed the oracles of God."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 3:10

"...Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways."

Why Israel Grieved God: Not Knowing His Ways

They did not know, love, or desire God's ways; they hated them. Despite having God's Word and miracles, they shut their eyes in pride and rebellion.

This is the reason why the psalmist, considering that they wandered in error under so much light as they enjoyed, speaks of their stupidity amounting to madness.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 10:4

" Now, can you imagine? These people saw firsthand the power of God, and the mercy of God, and the grace of God. They experienced those miracles, and yet they shut their eyes to everything. So the question has to be asked, how could someone be so mad, so stupid, so rebellious? Well, David in the Bible speaks of pride as being one of the reasons that the wicked will not seek after God and one of the reasons which causes them to err from God's commandments. Psalm 10 verse 4 says this, "

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all of his thoughts.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 10:4

" The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. He doesn't think he needs God. God is not in all of his thoughts. He could care less. He would never consult with God. He would never ask God.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:21

"Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from my commandments."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:29

"...Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy law graciously."

So, if you're following the way of lying against God, you do not have God's law. David said, I'd rather have God's law and not lie against God.

The Nature of God's Ways and Our Response

God's ways are righteous and holy (Psalm 145:17). To reject them is to lie against God. David's prayer in Psalm 119 models a desire to walk in God's ways.

Grieving the Holy Spirit in the New Testament

"But you have not so learned Christ." And this is an absolutely amazing thing that you must really learn Jesus Christ. It doesn't come natural. It's supernatural. You have to learn Him.

Consequences and Applications

Grieving God

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	72417916124
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-07-24
Dictation Name
Book	Book 044: Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment — Chapter 7
Source Timed Segments	73

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Reality of Grief: Weaver introduces the concept of grief from human experience—over spouses, children, finances—and transitions to the biblical idea that God can be grieved, citing Psalm 95:10.
Human Examples of Grief and Vexation: Examples from Scripture (Esau's wives grieving Isaac and Rebekah, Samson vexed by Delilah) and modern life illustrate the depth of grief caused by rebellious loved ones.
God's Grief in the Old Testament: Israel grieved God continually for forty years (Psalm 95:10; Psalm 78:40). The Hebrew words for 'grieve' convey displeasure, hurt, vexation, and even nausea.
How Israel Grieved God: Erring in Heart: They grieved God by erring in their heart—a willful, depraved straying from God's truth, not mere intellectual ignorance. Their heart was not right with God.
Why Israel Grieved God: Not Knowing His Ways: They did not know, love, or desire God's ways; they hated them. Despite having God's Word and miracles, they shut their eyes in pride and rebellion.
The Nature of God's Ways and Our Response: God's ways are righteous and holy (Psalm 145:17). To reject them is to lie against God. David's prayer in Psalm 119 models a desire to walk in God's ways.
Grieving the Holy Spirit in the New Testament: Ephesians 4:30 commands believers not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The context (vv. 20-32) shows that living in the old man's sins—lying, anger, theft, corrupt speech—grieves God just as Israel did.
Consequences and Applications: God's response to Israel's grief was death in the wilderness (Psalm 95:11). The New Testament warns of a sin unto death (1 John 5:16; 1 Corinthians 11:30-32). Believers must examine themselves to avoid grieving a loving God.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Human grief illustrates divine grief

Since humans understand the grief caused by rebellious loved ones, they should recognize that their sin can similarly grieve God.

Weaver describes human grief over children and spouses, then asks, 'Has it ever occurred to you that God could be grieved?'

Israel's error was willful, not intellectual

The 'erring in heart' was a moral and spiritual straying rooted in depravity and pride, not a lack of information, as they had God's Word and miracles.

Weaver explains the Hebrew words for 'err' and 'heart,' and cites Romans 3:1-2 and 9:4 to show Israel's advantages.

Rejecting God's ways is lying against God

To prefer one's own way over God's is to call God a liar, asserting that one's will is superior to His omniscient, righteous ways.

Isaiah 59:13: 'In transgressing and lying against the Lord.' James 3:14: 'Lie not against the truth.'

The old man's conduct grieves the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:30 is contextualized by the preceding verses commanding believers to put off sins like lying, anger, and theft, which are the old man's ways.

Weaver reads Ephesians 4:20-32 and states, 'In the context, how do we grieve the Holy Spirit? ...by not putting off the old man.'

God's judgment on persistent grief is severe

God's response to Israel's forty-year grief was death in the wilderness, and the New Testament warns of a sin unto death for unrepentant believers.

Psalm 95:11; 1 John 5:16; 1 Corinthians 11:30-32.

Scripture References

Psalm 95:9-11: The primary text: God's grief over Israel's rebellion and His oath that they would not enter His rest.
Genesis 26:34-35: Esau's Hittite wives were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah, illustrating human grief.
Genesis 27:46: Rebekah's desperation over her daughters-in-law, weary of life.
Judges 16:16: Delilah's nagging vexed Samson's soul unto death, illustrating a type of grief.
Psalm 78:40: Israel provoked and grieved God in the desert; the Hebrew word 'asab' means to displease, hurt, vex.
Isaiah 63:10: Israel rebelled and vexed God's Holy Spirit, causing Him to become their enemy.
Psalm 78:17: They sinned yet more against God by provoking the Most High in the wilderness.
Isaiah 1:2-6: God's indictment of Israel as a sinful nation that rebelled despite His nourishment; they are dumber than animals.
Ephesians 4:30: The New Testament command not to grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom believers are sealed.
1 Timothy 1:13: Paul obtained mercy because he acted ignorantly in unbelief, showing intellectual ignorance.
Matthew 22:29: Jesus told the Pharisees they err not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God.
Romans 3:1-2: The chief advantage of the Jews was that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
Romans 9:4: Israelites had the adoption, glory, covenants, law, service, and promises.
Hebrews 3:10: Quotes Psalm 95:10, emphasizing that they always err in heart and have not known God's ways.
Ephesians 4:17-18: Gentiles walk in vanity of mind, having understanding darkened, alienated from God through ignorance due to blindness of heart.
1 Peter 1:13-14: Believers are not to fashion themselves according to former lusts in their ignorance (unsaved state).
Psalm 78:37: Their heart was not right with God, neither were they steadfast in His covenant.
Psalm 10:4: The wicked, through pride, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts.
Psalm 119:21: God rebukes the proud who are cursed, who err from His commandments.
Psalm 119:29: David prays, 'Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy law graciously.'

Historical References

Israel's wilderness generation: The generation that came out of Egypt but rebelled against God for forty years, dying in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb.
Esau's marriage to Hittite women: Esau's wives Judith and Bashemath caused grief to Isaac and Rebekah, illustrating family grief.
Samson and Delilah: Delilah's persistent nagging vexed Samson's soul unto death, leading him to reveal his secret.
John Calvin's commentary on Psalm 95: Weaver quotes Calvin on Israel's 'amazing infatuation' in shutting their eyes to God's works and Word, calling their error 'madness.'

Important Quotes

Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways.

The central text of the sermon, establishing God's prolonged grief over Israel's heart error and ignorance of His ways.

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of your redemption.

The New Testament parallel command, showing that believers today can grieve God just as Israel did.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all of his thoughts.

Quoting Psalm 10:4 to explain the root of erring from God's ways: pride and a refusal to seek God.

In transgressing and lying against the Lord and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

Isaiah 59:13, used to show that rejecting God's ways is tantamount to lying against Him.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9, highlighting the vast difference between God's holy ways and man's natural ways.

There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it.

1 John 5:16, warning that persistent, unrepentant sin can lead to physical death as a judgment from God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways do our actions and attitudes today mirror the 'erring in heart' of Israel that grieved God?

[Context]

Weaver explains that erring in heart is a willful straying from God due to pride and depravity, not mere ignorance.

[Question]

How can we discern whether we are truly walking in God's ways versus our own ways?

[Context]

The sermon emphasizes that God's ways are righteous and holy, and that we must learn them from His Word (Psalm 119).

[Question]

What does it mean to 'lie against the truth' in our daily conduct, and how can we avoid it?

[Context]

Weaver connects transgressing and departing from God to lying against Him, citing Isaiah 59:13 and James 3:14.

[Question]

How does the command in Ephesians 4:30 to not grieve the Holy Spirit relate to the specific sins listed in the surrounding verses?

[Context]

The context of Ephesians 4:20-32 lists sins of the old man (lying, anger, theft, corrupt speech) that grieve the Spirit.

[Question]

What is the 'sin unto death' mentioned in 1 John 5:16, and how should this warning affect our view of persistent sin?

[Context]

Weaver applies the wilderness generation's death and 1 Corinthians 11:30-32 to show that God may judge unrepentant believers with physical death.

[Question]

How does understanding God's grief over sin deepen our appreciation of His love and mercy?

[Context]

Weaver reflects that it is only God's great love and mercy that we are not destroyed, despite grieving Him.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T09:12:23Z