יּקנרק'ד

Hebrews Chapter 3  Verses 7-11 

 :7 “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)” 

“Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:”  In this there is an admonition and a warning both to the Jewish disciples of that day and to us today.  Paul uses the historical experiences laid out for us in the wilderness journeys of the children of Israel and admonishes the Jewish disciples to not fall into the same pattern of unbelief that befell them.  Likewise, we of this day should take heed that if we fall into unbelief of the promises of God that we can also lose out on blessings that would be ours.

The children of Israel had seen the mighty works of God that he wrought in the land of Egypt upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians.  Moreover, they had been witnesses of the Lord’s parting the waters of the Red River that they pass over and then returning the waters to destroy Pharaoh and his host that sought to destroy them.  Moreover, they were witnesses of the Lord providing them with water at Marah and then his wonders of giving them daily bread from heaven.  The children of Israel had sent spies to spy out the promise land of Canaan and they came back with the report that it was a land flowing with milk and honey.  One of the spies, Caleb, encouraged the people that they should go up and take the land for God was with them.  However, ten of the spies said there were giants in the land and that they could not stand before them.  The people believed the ten spies and turned to go back to Egypt into the land of bondage.  Here they hardened their hearts and provoked the Lord to anger.  The Lord gave sentence that all that were 20 years of age and over would die in the wilderness as they would journey there for forty years, except for Joshua and Caleb who had encouraged the people to go take the land according to the promise of God. 

Similarly, the Jewish believers of Paul’s day had seen the mighty works of the Lord and had believed the report of his resurrection and had knowledge of the miraculous happenings at the day of Pentecost and the signs and wonders given unto the apostles.  Yet false witnesses had come and encouraged them to turn back unto the law covenant and its ordinances, thus, going back into bondage under the law just as the children of Israel in the wilderness sought to turn back and go to Egypt. 

“Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)” That generation in the wilderness was not permitted to enter into the land of rest (Canaan land) because of their hard hearts and unbelief.  Likewise, the Jews of Paul’s day were not permitted to either enter into the rest or else lost the rest that they had in the New Testament church because of their unbelief that Christ is the end (fulfillment) of the law for righteousness.  They turned back into legalism and a belief that salvation from sin was dependent upon their works.  The lesson for us today is that we also can lose our rest or as many of God’s children not be permitted to enter into this gospel rest because of unbelief and a hard heart. 

Verses 12-19 

:12 “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

In this passage, Paul continues his discussion of the experiences of the children of Israel in the wilderness in Moses day and gives a warning to the Jewish brethren of his day.  Likewise, this serves as a warning to us today. 

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”  Notice that the children of Israel did not depart from believing in God, but rather departed from a belief of the words and promises of God.  Likewise, God’s children today depart from the living God by not believing in the words and promises of God.  This departure comes from an “evil heart.”  It comes as a result of us letting our fleshly emotions overrule the plain teaching of God’s word.  For example, the children of Israel in the wilderness let their fear of giants overrule the promises of God that he would deliver them and give them the land.  They did not depart from believing in God, but they departed from a belief in his word.  Jeremiah described the human heart as follows: Jer. 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  When someone says “I am just going to follow my heart” he has already departed from following the word of God. 

“But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”  We need the exhortations of our brethren daily that we not have our hearts hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  Sin is deceitful.  Satan is deceitful.  Our hearts are deceitful.  How easy is it for us to be deceived and fall from a belief in the words of God?  We need to exhort ourselves and one another daily that we hold fast to the word of God and not be deceived by our heart to sin.  

“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;”  Here, being made a partaker of Christ is not the same as getting spiritual life, but rather it is partaking of the fruits of that spiritual life, which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.  We are partakers of that fruit so long as we steadfastly hold fast to the teachings and promises of God’s word.

“While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?”  While the majority of the children of Israel hardened their hearts in unbelief and provoked the Lord to anger, yet not all did.  We cannot take the position that it is all right because everyone else is doing it.  But rather, regardless of how the majority react, we need to steadfastly hold fast to the words and promises of God.  Those who hardened their hearts in the wilderness died in the wilderness.  Howbeit, Joshua and Caleb did not die in the wilderness as they held steadfastly to the words and promises of God.

“And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”  Unbelief was the cause of those who died in the wilderness not being permitted to go into the land of rest (Canaan land).  Likewise, unbelief is the cause of God’s people not being permitted to enter into the gospel rest found in the Lord’s church here on earth.