The Weight of the Appointed Time.

When someone passes by the appointed time, and when someone responds to what God sets before him

There are times when a person thinks of salvation as something to be taken seriously later. In a more convenient season. In a cleaner chapter of life. When there is less confusion, less sin, less inward struggle. Yet Scripture repeatedly warns us that before God the decisive matter is not our delay, but that present moment when we hear His voice and answer Him. The KJV rendering of Jeremiah 46:17 is especially weighty here: “Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed” . Hebrews gives the corresponding urgency: “Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” .

The Bible speaks of a hardened heart. It speaks of an appointed time that may be passed by. And it also speaks of a guilty man who, in his final hour, turns to Christ and finds mercy. Together these are not a contradiction, but a holy warning joined to a real hope. They are not given to make anyone careless, but to keep us from playing with time, trusting in tomorrow, and resisting the Lord when He speaks.

It is possible to pass by the appointed time

Jeremiah says:

Jeremiah 46:17
“They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.”

In its immediate context, this is a word of judgment concerning Egypt. It is not merely a detached proverb about procrastination. It belongs to a historical setting of divine judgment. That matters, because we must not rip the verse away from its setting and use it as though it were a slogan floating on its own. Yet the warning remains deeply relevant: there was an appointed time, there was a decisive moment, and it was not seized. Something set by God was passed by.

This speaks powerfully to the human tendency to delay. Man says, I will take the Lord seriously later. I will deal with my sin later. I will bow later. I will obey later. But Scripture does not teach us to presume upon later. God is merciful, patient, and longsuffering, but human delay is not morally neutral.

That is why Hebrews says:

Hebrews 3:15
“While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.”

The emphasis is plain: today. Not when life feels easier. Not when the heart feels more prepared in itself. Not when circumstances become favorable. But when God’s voice is heard.

The real issue is what a person does with the light he receives

One of Scripture’s great recurring dramas is this: what does a man do when light comes? The same outward situation may lead in two very different directions. One person hardens himself. Another is broken. One excuses, delays, and resists. Another bows, confesses sin, and cries for mercy.

So the question of an appointed time is not merely a matter of timing. It is a matter of the heart. The issue is not only when a decisive moment comes, but how a person responds when it does.

The Lord does not speak merely to make a man better informed. He speaks that he might repent. He does not bring light only so that a person may speak more religiously about truth, but so that he may bow before it. The one who hears and never yields is on a dangerous path. The one who hears His voice today and humbles himself today walks in the way of grace.

The penitent thief did not harden his heart

This is why the thief on the cross is such a solemn and precious example. There is no long discipleship there. No years of service. No repaired life-plan. There is a condemned man standing at the edge of eternity, and in that hour he turns to Christ.

Luke 23:40–43
“But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

The text does not explicitly say, in so many words, that this man was given a “time of grace.” We should not insert that into the verse as though Scripture itself used that phrase here. Yet as a careful illustration, we may say this much: it appears that God set before him a decisive moment in which he did not harden his heart, but bowed. And it is also reasonable to observe that the other thief stood in the same nearness to Christ, heard the same words, saw the same Lord, and yet did not respond in the same way. One answered in brokenness. The other did not. That should be stated as a sober inference for illustration, not as a forced doctrine laid upon the text.

What the passage clearly shows is this.

There was fear of God:
“Dost not thou fear God…?”

There was confession of guilt:
“And we indeed justly…”

There was recognition of Christ’s righteousness:
“but this man hath done nothing amiss.”

There was personal turning to Jesus:
“Lord, remember me…”

The penitent thief did not appeal to his own righteousness. He did not try to display merit in his final moments. He did not defend himself. Instead, he agreed with God’s judgment upon his sin, acknowledged Christ’s innocence, and cast himself upon Christ’s mercy. That is the way of a softened and broken heart.

The door of salvation opens through Christ, not through self-justification

The thief’s story strips away every false refuge of man. On the cross he could not build a new life out of himself. He could not make restitution. He could not repair his past. He could not establish religious credibility. One hope remained to him: Jesus Christ.

And this is not an exception to the gospel. It is the very heart of the gospel. Man does not enter by a repaired condition of his own making, but by the mercy of Christ. He is not saved by the weight of his works, but by the person and grace of the Redeemer. That is why this account is so precious. It shows that even at the darkest point the gate of mercy may still stand open to the one who truly turns to Christ.

But this account is not given so that anyone might say lightly, Then I will settle things at the end. No man knows when his last hour will come. The thief on the cross does not justify delay. He magnifies the urgency of turning to Christ.

Today is the day to bow

Hebrews presses the matter again:

Hebrews 3:13,15
“But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin…
Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.”

This is not vague religious atmosphere. It is a serious warning. Hardness does not usually descend all at once in dramatic form. Hebrews says it comes “through the deceitfulness of sin.” That means the heart is hardened as a person repeatedly puts away what God has already made plain.

Moses also speaks with weight:

Deuteronomy 30:19–20
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life…”

In its original setting, this is covenantal language addressed to Israel. So again, it must not be uprooted from its own context. Yet it still displays a biblical pattern that remains instructive: God places His word before men, and they do not stand in a neutral position before it. The answer is either humble submission or resistance. This is not self-salvation by human choice. It is the solemn reality that man must answer God.

Abiding in Christ is the true way of continuance

The penitent thief shows the power of a true turning at the hour of death. Hebrews shows the danger of hardening. Jeremiah 46:17 warns that an appointed time may be passed by. Together they say: do not trifle with delay, but do not despair either if you still hear the Lord’s voice today.

Jesus says:

John 15:4
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”

The narrow way, then, is not the triumph of human self-strength. It is not a religious role. It is not a passing emotional moment. The narrow way is Christ Himself, and the life of abiding in Him. The one who continues does not continue because he is strong in himself, but because he clings to the One who is strong. He does not look to his own performance as his ground, but to Christ as his life.

So the biblical teaching about the appointed time is finally not a matter of calculating seasons, but a matter of Christ. The chief question is not whether a person can map out the decisive turning point of his life. The chief question is whether he hears the Lord today and turns to Him today.

The weight of the teaching

Jeremiah 46:17 warns that one may pass by the appointed time. Hebrews 3 warns that hardening begins in the refusal of today. Luke 23 shows that even a sinner standing at death’s door may receive mercy if he truly turns to Christ.

This is not cheap comfort. It is holy urgency. These passages do not say, You have plenty of time. They do not say, Later will do. They say, Do not harden your heart when the Lord speaks. Do not trust in your own righteousness. Trust in the Christ to whom the dying thief turned.

This is the weight of the appointed time: when God gives light, it must not be pushed aside. The one who hears His voice today must bow today. The one who sees his sin today must cry for mercy today. The one who is brought face to face with Christ today must come to Him today.

Closing thought

Scripture does not speak of the appointed time and of hardening so that the hearer may despair, but so that he may awaken. And it does not show us the penitent thief in order to make sinners careless, but to give hope to the one who would still turn to Christ even now.

A man may perish in delay, but he may be saved in turning to Christ. The question is not whether there was once some opportunity in the past. The question is this: when the Lord speaks today, what will the heart do with His word?

A direct word to the reader

If the Lord has already brought light to you in something, do not put it off. Do not cover it with religious language. Do not quiet yourself with the thought that one day you will be more serious. Hardness often begins not in open rebellion, but in repeatedly setting aside what God has placed before you.

Look at the thief: he did not save himself; he turned to Christ. Look also at the warning passages: it is possible to pass by the appointed time. Therefore do not trust in tomorrow, but in the mercy of the Lord, and go to that Jesus Christ who still saves the one who cries unto Him.

Self-examining questions

When the Lord speaks, does my heart bow, or do I push into the future what He has already made clear?

Is there in me a true confession of sin, a recognition of Christ’s righteousness, and a personal turning to Jesus?

If the Lord has already begun to humble me, in what way is that seen in a real desire to abide in Christ rather than merely preserve a passing impression?

What concrete act of obedience must I not delay any longer before God?