Hebrews 3:7-11

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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 wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation; 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.’ ” ~ Hebrews 3:7-11

There are five warnings in the book of Hebrews, and the warning in today's passage is the second of the five. The warnings are given to guard us from backsliding in our faith in the Lord Jesus. The first, we considered in Hebrews 2:1-4, where God urges us to give the most aggressive attention to our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, so that we do not drift away from Him.

The book of Hebrews was written to a group of young believers who, like us, struggled in their young faith in the God of the Bible. These were in danger of falling back into Judaistic ritualism which is a set form of worship involving rituals. Ritual-based religion is most daunting to our walk in the Lord because it does not naturally allow the heart to enter into worship. Biblical Christianity is not rules or ritual-based. Rather, it is relationship-based. The God of the Bible, through the Lord Jesus Christ, has made believers in Christ His own children, and now we relate with Him, accordingly.

In v.7-9 of today's passage we read, "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 wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did."

In v.7, with just six words, "So, as the Holy Spirit says," the writer of Hebrews gives a great commentary on the identity of the author of the Bible. God did not simply reveal truth to the writers of Scripture and then depart in hopes that they might communicate it accurately. In 2 Peter 1:20-21 Peter wrote that in the very communication of the Bible the writers were carried by the Holy Spirit. The making of the Bible was not left to merely human skills of communication; the Holy Spirit Himself carried the process to completion. The Holy Spirit so pervaded the minds of each human writer that He chose out of their own vocabulary and experience precisely those words, thoughts and expressions that conveyed God's message with precision.

So, in v.7-8 the Lord warns us of hard-heartedness. This admonition begins with "Today, if you hear his voice." These words remind us that during each moment of each day God is communicating with us. And, our awareness and sensitivity to Him will determine how much we hear Him. The Bible has always placed a premium on hearing God’s voice. "Happy are those who listen to me" is the promise of Proverbs 8:34. When John wrote to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, they were addressed in the same manner: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." In John 10:3-5 we read, "The sheep recognize his voice…" His sheep follow Him because they are familiar with the shepherd’s voice.

Our ears, unlike our eyes, do not have lids. They are to remain open, but how easily they close. In Romans 10:17 we read, "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." The Greek word the Apostle Paul used in Romans 10:17 for "word" means "the spoken word." And, when we abide with the Lord by reading His word and praying and fellowshipping with others who walk with Him, we will more readily recognize His voice in a given day. But, when we do not abide with Him, we will be in danger of being out of earshot from Him and we will become more and more hardened in our hearts toward Him.

Now, in order to get this warning across, the Holy Spirit used a real life Old Testament example. He did this because He was addressing Jews, so, He used an example out of their own history with God. And, since Moses is already the subject in this context, He used an illustration from Moses and Israel wandering in the wilderness while on their way to the promised land.

The words "rebellion" and "testing" in Hebrews 3:8 take us to Exodus 17 where God allowed certain trials in the lives of the Jews so that they would look to Him and believe. And, as a result, their faith or their heart's ability to see God would more readily grow. But, the people gave into their flesh or the evil desires that we all know to be in us all. Feeding the flesh led them to blame God for their condition. They did not have the ability to recognize that all things work together for their good. In fact, they jumped to a conclusion which locked God out, preventing them from going deeper in their relationship with Him. Their sanctification was short-circuited due to their hard-heartedness.

Interestingly, after Moses cried out to the Lord, the Lord caused water to miraculously start gushing out of a rock. God, in fact, was giving Israel a peek at the Rock of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Himself. But, due to the fact that their hearts were hardened, they missed God, yet again. I wonder how often I miss God in a given day.

Interestingly, Moses called that place in the wilderness "Massah" and "Meribah" which means testing and striving. In the context of their rebellion, the children of Israel tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" God had just delivered Israel from Egypt, miraculously, and they ask a ridiculous question, "Is God among us?" By the way, the development of our faith does not depend upon us testing God. No, the development of our faith depends upon Him testing our faith.

This is the character of unbelief, it will never have enough proof. The fact is we do not need more proof about whether God is real. What we need is to come to the place in our lives where we are more and more vulnerable to Him to the point that we are more and more convinced that we need Him. It is always that out of our desperation that we depend upon Him best and most. And, sadly, most often it takes trials in order to convince us of this great truth.

In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "10 That is why I was angry with that generation; 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."

The word "angry" in v.10 means "aggravated." God is rightfully aggravated at our sin because of what it does to us. It does not alter Him one bit, it hurts us, and He knows it best. Sin is deceiving. Sin calls darkness light, bitter sweet, and, bondage liberty, and, wrong right. Sin deceives the heart and the heart is always the problem. Ultimately, it is all about what or whom do we trust.

In v.10 we read, "Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways." These Jewish believers just didn’t have faith, they had hearts that did not trust. They were given over to evil in their hearts, and they had served the flesh for so long, they did not know the truth.

The Lord Jesus said in John 8, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Most people believe, as these Jews did, that freedom is the ability to do what we want, when we want, where we want. This, of course, is faulty thinking, for we were made with certain specifications, and when we do not operate accordingly, we malfunction.

In v.11 of today's passage we read, "So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest."

The word "rest" implies resting from wandering. But, due to their hardened hearts, they were unable to enter into God's place of rest for them. They continued in their rebellion against God, and God let them go their own way. Their sanctification was stunted and they missed out on all things God-defined.

When Israel was delivered from the bonds of Egypt, God garnered their deliverance by the blood of the lamb applied to the doorposts of the people's house. This was a picture of our justification. When Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years, it was a picture of our sanctification. The main teaching today is that we must listen to the Lord and heed His word so that we might enjoy His definition for our lives, today. Otherwise, we malfunction.