Do not harden your hearts hebrews 3: 7-19

Do Not Harden Your Hearts , Hebrews 3: 7-19

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Do not harden your hearts!!! Welcome back to our study of the book of Hebrews. Today we’ll give our attention to Hebrews 3, verses 7 through 19. Last week, we talked about the supremacy of Jesus over Moses, one of the most important figures of the Old Testament. Jesus as we saw is greater than Moses because He is God. Jesus being the true Son of God became the guarantor of a better covenant. He took on a human nature in order to live the righteous life that God intended for mankind and atoned for our Sins. He was faithful to God over God’s house ( the people of God) as a Son while Moses was faithful as a servant. The writer mentioned a critical theme in verse 6 and will give us the implications of that in the rest of the passage. We are considered members of the house of God if we hold on to the end to the teachings we’ve received. It is convenient to serve God when all things are running smooth in our lives. But times of persecution and trials are meant to authenticate us. In today’s passage we’ll learn how to remain steadfast in our walk by looking at the example of the people of God during and after their Exodus from Egypt.

Do Not Harden Your hearts

The Passage: Hebrews 3:7-19 

A Rest for the People of God

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
    on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers put me to the test
    and saw my works for forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
    they have not known my ways.’
11 As I swore in my wrath,
    ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Notes:

Verses 7-11

In verse 6 we just learned that those who hold fast and hang on to the teachings of Christ to the end are the ones who are truly considered members of the house of God. Verses 7-11 will give us the implications of the previous verses. The writer quotes psalm 95 verses 7-11.  And we need to know why this is so important especially when it comes to the rest of God. The people of Israel kept grumbling against the Lord and showed by their attitudes that they were not acquainted with His ways. They didn’t keep the word of God and  God was angry with that generation and swore that they would not enter His Rest. We need to know a bit of history about this rest before we go any further. We have to look at Numbers 13 and 14. There are verses that I want to particularly zero in on today

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”  Numbers 14:11-12

After this event,  Moses interceded for the people and God pardoned their sins yet they still were chastised by God. All that generation died in the wilderness and not a single one  of them saw the promised land at the exception Caleb, Joshua and that generation’s children. Now some people compare the land of Canaan to heaven but from the commentary that I read, Canaan also represents the place of rest that God has prepared for the people of His House, and for believers today it represents the spiritual rest that Jesus gives us. You see, God pardoned their sins but because they persisted in unbelief, they did not enjoy the fullness of God’s blessing. They were out of Egypt, but they didn’t enter Canaan. So the writer is issuing a strong warning to his readers, exhorting them not to harden their hearts as the people did in the wilderness because the same fate would await them ( and us ultimately).

The writer as we saw was quoting psalm 95 and I want to add more remarks. We read the following in v10-11 of psalm 95

For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” Therefore I swore in my wrath,“ They shall not enter my rest.

The people of Israel were at the border of Canaan, the place of rest that God was preparing for them and after Moses sent out the spies, two of the twelve displayed the kind of faith that God delighted in. The ten other spies incited the people to grumble against Moses and Aaron, and ultimately against the Lord. And God was angry with that generation and wanted to destroy them all. Moses interceded for them as we saw but God swore that they would not enter the land of Canaan and they would wonder for 40 years in the wilderness until that generation had died. 

How are we to interpret this? I suggest the following. The writer already mentioned in v6 of Hebrews 3,

6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

And also mentions in v14,

14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

So what does that mean in terms of understanding the rest of God. Well it could mean that some believers though saved, will live in spiritual restlessness because of constantly doubting the word of God, and won’t enjoy a lifelong fellowship with him. Or it may also mean that those who don’t enter the rest were not part of the house of God, they were never converted. Not matter how you slice it, no one wants to be in that position. And verses 12-15 warn us about that

Verse 12-15

The writer is saying in verse 12 that in light of everything he has told them, they ought to be careful not to harbor any bitterness of heart, any unbelief toward God that may lead them to fall away from the living God. What is the meaning of the falling away? We already saw how the people of Israel were drifting from God and eventually remained in the wilderness for 40 years, they were not acquainted with the ways of God. I don’t want to give false hopes and play games with these verses. Falling away from God to me is synonymous to being faithless, and God isn’t pleased with faithlessness. I don’t want to keep saying that people may fall away from God but still be saved. It’s just not something I want to entertain. We don’t want to have a hard heart, and the writer is encouraging his readers and us to keep spurring one another unto good works. And the kicker is in v14 where he says that this is how we have to come really know God, the only way to know is by holding our original confidence firm to the end. And I want to mention 1 john 2:3-4 as a supporting verse. And v15 once again exhorts us to not harden our hearts as the people did. 

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