The writer of the inspired book in the Bible we call Hebrews spends a great deal of time telling us about the supremacy of Jesus. In chapter 1 he demonstrates that Jesus is greater than the angels. In chapter 2 he writes that the salvation Jesus makes available to us is greater than the Law of Moses. He also tells us that Jesus is fully qualified to be our Savior. In chapter 3, the writer shows us that Jesus is greater than Moses.
Since all this is true, what will the result be if we choose to disregard the message which God sent through Jesus? To answer this question, the writer of Hebrews refers to an incident from Israelite history. In chapter 3, verses 7 through 11 he quotes from Psalm 95, “Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me by proving me, and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was displeased with that generation, and said, ‘They always err in their heart, but they didn’t know my ways;’ as I swore in my wrath, ‘They will not enter into my rest.’””
God promised the Israelites that He would take them out of their slavery in Egypt and give them rest in a homeland of their own in Canaan. Even though the Israelites had witnessed the mighty miracles God performed against the Egyptians; even though they had experienced crossing the Red Sea on dry land when they left Egypt; even though they had entered into a covenant relationship with God at Mt. Sinai, they still refused to believe that God would take care of them and fulfill His promises. Time after time they grumbled about the hardships they encountered in the wilderness. Time after time they sinned against God by disobeying what He told them to do. As a result, God became angry with the people and vowed that they would not enter the land He had promised them. A whole generation of people whom God had delivered from bondage, perished because they would not believe and obey. It was their children who finally entered the land of Canaan.
The writer of Hebrews uses the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness as a metaphor for the lives of the followers of Christ. Just as God promised the Israelites rest in a land of their own, He has also promised the followers of Christ rest. The Apostle Peter writes, “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13 NIV)
Just as the Israelites had no land of their own while they were in the wilderness, Scripture describes the followers as “aliens and strangers” while they are in this world (1 Peter 2:11). Unfortunately, the same things which prevented the Israelites from entering Canaan can also keep the followers of Christ from receiving the promise which has been given to them. How can we prevent this? The writer of Hebrews goes on to say in verses 12 through 19, “Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God; but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called “today”; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end: while it is said, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion.” For who, when they heard, rebelled? No, didn’t all those who came out of Egypt by Moses? With whom was he displeased forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? To whom did he swear that they wouldn’t enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient? We see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.”
These verses alert us to one of the dangers of sin: It deceives. It distorts our vision of reality so we no longer know the truth. This leads to unbelief. We will not believe that God cares for us or believe in His promises because sin has deceived us. If we continue in unbelief, we become hardened. When we become hardened we can no longer even hear God’s voice.
What are the results of allowing ourselves to become hardened by sin? Because of His love and compassion for us, God sent Christ to redeem us from our sin. But if we continue in sin; if we refuse to listen to His voice, we will arouse His anger. Then, just as happened to the Israelites when God took them out of Egypt, we will die in our sins. We will not be able to enter the rest God prepared for us.
How can we prevent this disaster happening to us? The writer of Hebrews says that we must encourage one another. Many people regard their beliefs and religion as a private thing. However, isolation from other believers is not good. If we never discuss our faith and our spiritual struggles with others, it easy to become discouraged. It is easy to let our faith die. It is easy to become entangled by temptation and sin. For this reason it is important that we interact with other followers of Christ. They can encourage us when we are struggling. We can draw strength from them when we are weak. We can help each other to overcome our perplexities and doubts by discussing our problems.
This is something we need to do on a daily basis. It is urgent. As the writer says, “…as long as it is called today…” (Hebrews 3:13) If we wait for tomorrow, to listen to God’s voice it will be too late. We only have this moment.
Remember that this book is written to followers of Christ from a Jewish background. Because of persecution they were starting to turn back to the religion they had left. Because of this, the text says that we must “…hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.” (Hebrews 3:14 NIV) We who follow Christ are included in Him and look forward to receiving the promises God has made us. But we will only receive those promises if we continue to hold onto our hope and confidence. If we turn away, we will not be able to enter the rest God has promised us.