Hebrews 3:7-19
https://www.biblestudytools.com/hebrews/passage/?q=hebrews+3:7-19
Warning Against Unbelief
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.’ ” 12 See to it, brothers and sisters, 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 indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 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 perished in the wilderness? 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.
Study Notes: These will be added as I am able.
3:7-15 In many places, the Bible warns us not to "harden" our hearts. This means stubbornly setting ourselves against God so that we are no longer able to turn to him for forgiveness. The Israelites became hardhearted when they disobeyed God's command to conquer the promised land (here called the "rebellion," see Numbers 13; 14; 20; and Psalm 95). Be careful to obey God's Word, and do not allow your heart to become hardened.
3:11 God's rest has several meanings in Scripture: (1) the seventh day of creation and the weekly Sabbath commemorating it (Genesis 2:2; Hebrews 4:4-9); (2) the promised land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 12:8-12; Psalm 95); (3) peace with God now because of our relationship with Christ through faith (Matthew 12:28; Hebrews 4:1, 3, 8-11). All of these meanings were probably familiar to the Jewish Christian readers of Hebrews.
3:12-14 Our hearts turn away from the living God when we stubbornly refuse to believe him. If we persist in our unbelief, God will eventually leave us alone in our sin. But God can give us new hearts, new desires, and new spirits (Ezekiel 36:22-27). To prevent having an unbelieving heart, stay in fellowship with other believers, talk daily about your mutual faith, be aware of the deceitfulness of sin (it attracts but also destroys), and encourage each other with love and concern.
3:15-19 The Israelites failed to enter the promised land because they did not believe in God's protection, and they did not believe that God would help them conquer the giants in the land (see Numbers 14; 15). So God sent them into the desert to wonder for 40 years. This was an unhappy alternative to the wonderful gift he had planned for them. Lack of trust in God always prevents us from receiving his best.
Is this about Jesus and Moses, or about belief and obedience? Yes and yes. Is it applicable still to us today? You tell me. Are we not daily assessing those that have and have not awakened to the truth? What does it mean to stand firm in the truth of one's belief? Does it mean a hardened heart? Not necessarily. A strong heart is not a hardened heart, imho. Truth stands up to scrutiny. Discernment strengthens belief. Commitment leads to obedience. What are we committed to? Isn't that where our heart is? Will we stay in this wilderness of lies and deceits? Or will we obediently follow the Truth (where the yoke is easier)?
Oh Lord, help us. Don't let us be deceived but at the same time strengthen our understanding of the truth of Your Word and Your everleading presence. Work in our hearts and minds so that we can commit more fully to obedience. Increase our trust in You every step. Thank you for this day to begin again following You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
A Song: https://youtu.be/o7qi2KlUffs
Have a blessed day.
Yes, but to be fair, having faith in an invisible spirit—an entity that is said to exist outside the universe of all things that exist—is a markedly different mental task than merely expecting that restaurant workers and highway builders might do their jobs without deliberately killing the public. The latter, we can observe with our own eyes on a daily basis. They're flesh and blood people. We can meet them, know their names. I can't take too much credit for having "faith" in them for not wantonly killing me, in part because their doing so would not benefit them in any significant way. :)