Degree of Hardness

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Rebuke is not always hard to hear however, the degree of harness is directly proportional to the hardness of the heart hearing the rebuke. This is why it is written "Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another," Proverbs 27:17. It is no surprise to find that geologists use "Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness" to measure the hardness of an unidentified rock for the purposes of identifying it. Mohs scale works like this:
  1. Start with the softest known standard rock listed on the scale and scratch the unknown rock.
  2. If damage occurs to the unidentified rock, then the unidentified rock's degree of hardness has become known.
  3. If the damage occurs to the standard, repeat step one above with the next rock standard until the degree of hardness is determined by damage to either both rocks or just the unidentified rock.
How hard does God's rebuke have to be when people show contempt for His loving kindness that is suppose to lead us to repentance, Romans 2:4, 11:22? God's rebuke will only get harder until it starts scratching your heart of stone:
The sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus; With a diamond point it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart And on the horns of their altars, Jeremiah 17:1
Iron on Mohs scale has a hardness of 5-6.5 depending upon its composition. Diamond is 10 or the hardest standard. If even a diamond will not scratch your heart to produce the dance of joy for His salvation nor the dirge of morning for our sins, then remember:
"And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust." Matthew 21:44
That is why it is written:
He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS." Hebrews 4:7
Recognizing a hard heart is not possible through the appearance of the situation for just as it is possible for an angry man to control his anger and not sin, Ephesians 4:26, so to a hard heart can come under good regulation, Matthew 7:11; Luke 11:13. Therefore, recognizing a hard heart requires understanding of the words of God which identify whether or not the rebuker has sinned during the rebuke as well as the rebukee's response to the rebuke.


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