Lesson Four
The Warning
Hebrews 3:7-11
Theme:
Christ Jesus, the Son of God, is our Model of fidelity and is infinitely
Superior to Moses. Therefore, hold firmly to your faith in Christ, God’s
faithful Apostle and High Priest.
Reflection
Begin
your study by sharing thoughts on this question.
Think of a time when a Christian friend encouraged your faith. What did this person do to help you?
Bible
Reading
Read carefully and thoughtfully Hebrews 3:1–19.
5. What is the overall scope of this warning section in
the chapter? (Heb. 3:7-19)
I.
In the first exhortation (Heb.
2:1–4), the writer pointed out the danger of drifting from the Word
because of neglect. In this exhortation, he explains the danger of doubting
and disbelieving the Word because of hardness of heart. It is important
that we understand the background of this section, which is the Exodus of
Israel from Egypt and their experiences of unbelief in the wilderness.
II.
To begin with, we must understand
that there are spiritual lessons in the geography of Israel’s experiences.
The nation’s bondage in Egypt is an illustration of a sinner’s bondage in this
world. Much as Israel was delivered from Egypt by the blood of lambs and the
power of God, so a sinner who believes on Christ is delivered from the bondage
of sin (Col. 1:13–14). Jesus Christ is “the Lamb of God” whose death and
resurrection have made our deliverance from sin a reality.
III.
It was not God’s will that Israel
remain either in Egypt or in the wilderness. His desire was that the people
enter their glorious inheritance in the land of Canaan. But when Israel got to
the border of their inheritance, they delayed because they doubted the promise
of God (Num. 13–14). “We are not able” wept the ten spies and the people. “We are
able with God’s help!” said Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. Because the people went
backward in unbelief instead of forward by faith, they missed their inheritance
and died in the wilderness. It was the new generation that possessed the land
and entered into their rest.
IV.
What does Canaan represent to us as
Christians today? It represents our spiritual inheritance in Christ (Eph. 1:3,
11, 15–23). It is unfortunate that some of our hymns and Gospel songs use
Canaan as a picture of heaven, and “crossing the Jordan” as a picture of death.
Since Canaan was a place of battles, and even of defeats, it is not a good
illustration of heaven! Israel had to cross the river by faith (a picture of
the believer as he dies to self and the world, Rom. 6) and claim the
inheritance by faith. They had to “step out by faith” (Josh. 1:3) and claim the
land for themselves, just as believers today must do.
V. Now we can understand what 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. To be sure, God is with them, as He was with Israel; but they do not enjoy the fullness of God’s blessing. They are “out of Egypt” but they are not yet “in Canaan.”
6. What warning does the Holy Spirit give to us? (Heb. 3:7-11)
To drive home God’s call to
faithfulness and to warn of the consequences of stubborn disbelief, the classic
failure of Israel at Kadesh Barnea which led to their 40-year detour in the
wilderness is presented. That generation of Israel that came out of Egypt
doubted God; therefore, they never entered the land of Canaan. Paul quotes from
Psalm 95:7–11, which records God’s response to Israel’s tragic spiritual
condition.
I.
The
Spirit’s Warning Issues a Command (3:7-8a).
a. “Hear His Voice,” whenever God speaks, we should be swift
to hear. To doubt His word is to call Him a liar and to incur His wrath.
b. Israel
put God to the test—“temptation in the wilderness”—by
asking, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” (Ex. 17:7) Instead of trusting God in the midst of
adverse circumstances, they demanded that He show His hand in order to
demonstrate to them that He was in their midst to help them.
c. The
phrase “harden not your hearts,” forbids the
continuance of an action already going on. These Hebrews were already hardening
their hearts. Paul exhorts them to stop doing so.
d. In
view of the fact that Messiah is better than the prophets, the angels, and
Moses, the warning is, not to harden their hearts in renouncing their professed
faith in Messiah and returning to the sacrifices. —Wuest, Kenneth S.
II.
The
Spirit’s Warning Illustrates a Calamity (3:8b-9).
a. The
“provocation in the day of temptation” refers to
the murmuring of Israel against the Lord at Rephidim because of the lack of
water (Ex 17:1–7).
b. God
had delivered His people from Egypt and had cared for them, revealing His power
in many signs and wonders (Heb. 3:9). Israel saw all of this and benefited from
it!
c. But
the experience did not bring them closer to God or make them trust Him more. This
is an extraordinary calamity! All that God did for them did not benefit them
spiritually. In fact, just the opposite took place: they hardened their hearts
against God! They put God to the test—“proved”—and
He did not fail them; yet they failed Him.
III.
The
Spirit’s Warning Illuminates a Condition (3:10).
God’s keen displeasure with Israel
in the wilderness brought forth this stern denunciation. He accused them of a
perpetual proneness to wander away from Him, and of a willful ignorance of His ways. —MacDonald, William; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's
Bible Commentary
a. They Consistently Erred in Heart (Heb.
3:10).
i. The
heart of every problem is a problem in the heart. The people of Israel (except
Moses, Joshua, and Caleb) erred in their hearts (Heb. 3:10).
1. Their
hearts wandered from God and His Word.
2. They
also had evil hearts of unbelief (Heb. 3:12); they did not believe that God
would give them victory in Canaan. They had seen God perform great signs in
Egypt. Yet they doubted He was adequate for the challenge of Canaan.
ii. When
a person has an erring heart and a disbelieving heart, the result
will also be a hard heart. (Wiersbe, W. W. 1996, c1989. The Bible
Exposition Commentary)
1. This
is a heart that is insensitive to the Word and work of God. So hard was the
heart of Israel that the people even wanted to return to Egypt! Imagine wanting
to exchange their freedom under God for slavery in Egypt!
2. Of
course, all this history spoke to the hearts of the readers of this letter
because they were in danger of “going back” themselves.
iii. Why was God grieved? (Heb. 3:10,
17)
1. God was grieved according to
Hebrews 3:9, which says, “When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my
works forty years.” But, why was He grieved? The two words “tempted” and
“prove” hold the reason why God was so grieved with Israel. According to Wuest,
“tempted” means “to put to the test to see what good or evil may be in a
person.” The nation of Israel was in
affect saying ‘Can He provide and protect as He said?’ The people kept ‘testing’ God! Then the word “prove” means “to put to the
test for the purpose of approving the person if he meets the test.” Israel was saying, ‘Is He really God?’ They
were demanding more proof while ignoring a mountain of evidence. This is
continuous unbelief. This is what grieved the heart of Jehovah. But note also
what Carson said, Those who left Egypt with Moses had God’s words of promise
and warning ringing in their ears, but they hardened their hearts and would not
respond with faith and obedience. Rebellion and testing are translations of the
Hebrew names Meribah and Massah (Ex. 17:1–7; cf. Nu. 20:1–13). At the beginning
and end of their desert wanderings, the Israelites showed themselves to be
particularly unbelieving at these places. They tested and tried God in the
sense that they went as far as they could in provoking him to judge them (9).
–Carson, D. A.1994. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition
2. The latter phrase of verse 9 says,
“and saw my works forty years.” This
affords us the third reason why God was grieved with Israel. The forty-year
period in the wilderness was an expression of God’s anger with that generation,
but it was also an opportunity for them to experience his gracious ways, again
and again (10). Since they refused to repent and trust him, he declared on oath
in his anger that such people could not enter his rest in the land that he had
promised to their forefathers as an inheritance (11; cf. Nu. 14). That
privilege would only be extended to their children. –Carson, D. A.1994. New
Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition
3. Israel’s behavior can only be
described as continuous rebellion and unbelief. This grieved God greatly
because He had given them so much evidence to persuade them to trust and obey
Him implicitly. Although God had miraculously rescued them from Egypt and had
demonstrated his power and care over his people, the people disobeyed God,
complained against him, and refused to take possession of the land God had
given them. They tested him, tried him, and saw him work both for and against
them during their forty years of wandering. They tested his patience and
challenged his authority. Despite seeing God's works for forty years, the
people continually rebelled against him. –The Life Application Commentary
Series copyright (C) 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000
4. God’s keen displeasure with Israel
in the wilderness brought forth this stern denunciation. He accused them of a
perpetual proneness to wander away from Him, and of a willful ignorance of His
ways. –MacDonald, W. 1997, c1995. Believer's Bible Commentary
5. Wuest highlights the fact that
their proneness to was due to their general ignorance of God—they had little
experience with Him and His ways because they neglected Him.
6. God was offended at the actions of
Israel. … Israel was led astray with respect to the heart, the seat of one’s
personal character and of one’s moral and spiritual life. The Hebrew has it,
“They are a people of wanderers in heart.” … Israel’s ignorance of the ways of
Jehovah preceded and was the cause of their being led astray. Their ignorance
was due to their neglect of Jehovah, for the knowledge they lacked was
experiential knowledge which was to be acquired through experience with the
ways and character of God. –Wuest, K. S. 1997, c1984. Wuest's Word Studies from
the Greek New Testament
b. They were Ignorant of God’s Way (Heb.
3:10b).
i. In
spite of God’s works and loving patience the Israelites failed to understand
the ways He would have had them go to reach His Canaan rest (Ex 18:20).
1. Yes,
the forty-year period in the wilderness was an expression of God’s anger with that
generation, but it was also an opportunity for them to experience his
gracious ways, again and again.
2. Instead
they challenged God’s sovereign authority by their rebellion in the wilderness
(Num 20).They cared not to take God’s road!
ii. Are
we any better? Obedience from the heart goes beyond merely receiving
instructions. One must respond to God’s wisdom with complete surrender and
compliance. That generation of
Israelites perished because they willfully rebelled in spite of a full
revelation at Mount Sinai.
iii. When one despises the preachers of
the gospel they are at the same time despising the message of Christ. Christ
continued to speak through his apostles, and buy his Spirit. The general rule
is that we should diligently attend unto him, and we are not to refuse any who
speak unto us in the name and authority of Christ. This may be applied to all
the faithful preachers of the gospel, but they may be despised in this world.
IV.
The
Spirit’s Warning Issues a Condemnation (3:11).
a. God’s
judgment fell on Israel in the wilderness at Kadesh Barnea. That entire
generation was condemned to die, and only the new generation would enter the
land.
b. God
said, “They shall not enter into My rest” (Heb.
3:11).
c. Dr. Newell made the following
observations regarding this same matter.
i. The wicked say to God, “We desire
not the knowledge of Thy ways” (Job 21:14). The angel said to Daniel, “The
people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Since not knowing God’s ways is shown as the
vital lack in Israel of old, and assured their failing to enter God’s rest, let
us ask How shall we know the ways of God?
Mark it well: do as Moses did.
Ask and seek to have His ways shown to you. Or, with David, plead Psalm 27:11, and the
like. We must know our God and His ways. Otherwise, we shall be mere
“professing” Christians.
ii. From all of these observations
regarding the text, it can be concluded men dislike the ways of God because of
ignorance, like of experience, spiritual laziness, and they simply did not
pursue a knowledge of Jehovah and His ways.
Therefore, despite the abundance of evidence presented by God, Israel
still did not know His ways.
Response
Use
these questions to share more deeply with each other.
11. Why should believers distinguish between
faith and feelings?
Question
7.
Be careful to maintain balance here. It's easy to get into a gender-related
discussion about emotions. Because a person is emotional doesn't mean his/her
faith is not real. Faith can lead to emotion. It just can't be based on
emotion.
12. How can you determine if your faith is real?
Question
8.
Read James 2:14–17 (read through verse 26 if you don't mind a longer passage).
Discuss current examples of faith without works.
13. What can you do to ensure that your faith
will endure?
Prayer
Father,
we ask you to deepen our faith in you. Give us the strength to withstand
temptation, overcome doubt, and remain loyal to you. At the end of our lives,
may we hear your words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Journaling
Take
a few moments to record your personal insights from this lesson.
What
steps can I take this week to strengthen my faith in God?
Additional
Questions
14. How can you avoid hardening your heart
against God?
15. What is the danger for Christians who
neglect the fellowship of other believers?
Question
11.
If you can, offer some examples of how your own life is different in proportion
to the time you spend in fellowship with believers.
16. What Christian friend can you encourage in
spiritual matters? How?
For more Bible passages about remaining faithful, see Deuteronomy 11:13–18; 1 Samuel 12:24; 2 Samuel 22:26; 1 Kings 2:3,4; 2 Chronicles 19:9; Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 28:20; Matthew 25:19–23; 1 Corinthians 4:2; 10:12, 13; 3 John 3–5; Revelation 2:10; 17:14.
To
complete the book of Hebrews during this twelve-part study, read Hebrews
3:1–19.
