I recently began studying the book of Hebrews using Warren Wiersbe's book, Be Confident. I have never really studied this book and have really enjoyed it so far because it definitely speaks to Christians in their faith and things to watch out for. Last time I wrote about the writer's first admonition to Christians about being careful to heed the Word and not neglect our faith. Here is the second admonition about not doubting the Word and God's promise through the life of our faith because then our hearts will become hard and we will not be open to all God has for us in blessings and future inheritances in heaven.
Hebrews 3:7-4:13
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' " 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15 As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." 16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' " And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." 5 And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." 6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
This is the second of the writer’s five exhortations/admonitions -- Danger of doubting and disbelieving the Word because of hardness of heart. The background regarding this section is about the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and their experiences of unbelief in the wilderness. The nation's bondage in Egypt is spoken of in Hebrews as an illustration of the sinner's bondage in this world. God's desire was that the people enter their glorious inheritance in Canaan – but when Israel got to the border of their inheritance, they delayed because they doubted the promise of God (Numbers 13-14). Because of this, they missed their inheritance and died in the wilderness. Canaan represents our spiritual inheritance in Christ. The wilderness wanderings represent the experiences of believers who will not claim their spiritual inheritance in Christ, who doubt God’s word and live in restless unbelief – God is with them (just like Israel), but they do not enjoy the fullness of God’s blessings
Rest is pictured in this passage in three areas:
o God’s Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:4) – this is a picture of our rest in Christ through salvation (Hebrews 4:3)
o Israel’s rest in Canaan (Hebrews 3:11) – this is a picture of our present rest as we claim our inheritance in Christ (Hebrews 4:11-13) (submission)
o Future rest that all believers will enjoy with God
Take Aways:
- We need to take heed to the sad history of the nation of Israel and the important lesson it teaches
- The heart is always the problem – their hearts wandered from God and His word and they had hearts of unbelief in that they did not believe God would give them victory in Canaan
- When a person has an erring heart and a disbelieving heart, the result will also be a hard heart – this is a heart insensitive to the Word and work of God – so hard was the heart of Israel that the people even wanted to return to Egypt
- Every believer is tempted to give up his confession of Christ and go back into the world system’s life of compromise and bondage
- Hebrews 3:12 – the sin of Israel – departing from the living God – refusing God’s will for their lives and stubbornly wanting to go their own way back to Egypt
- The confidence of our salvation is no excuse for sin
- Hebrews 3:12 – Word of God is like a sword because it is powerful enough to penetrate and expose the inner heart of man
- Hebrews 3:13 – important that we encourage each other to be faithful to the Lord
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