Hebrews 3:7–15

Explore the Bible 
Assistant Professor of Christian Ministries, University of Mobile

WATCH OUT!

Hebrews 3:7–15

Know Your History (7–11)

These verses quote Psalm 95:7b–11 to compare the experience of Israel with that of the church. It had all begun so well for Israel but had ended so poorly. Of the 600,000 men plus women and children (about 1,500,000 people) only two over the age of 20 ever got to the Promised Land. And that was 40 years later. The rest fell, disappointed corpses in the desert. The terrible lesson of Israel’s history is that it is possible to begin well and end poorly. It is this concern that haunts the writer of Hebrews.

Psalm 95 begins with praise (95:1–7a) and concludes with a warning (95:7b–11), based on the story recorded in Exodus 17:1–7. The judgment mentioned occurred in Numbers 14:20–38. The writer of Hebrews followed the psalmist in urging his readers not to imitate the folly of the generation of Jews who died in the wilderness under God’s judgment.

This warning is from God. This is a strong warning based on divine authority. The writer of Hebrews used the psalmist’s reference to “today” to apply the words to his readers. He went back into Old Testament history but his mind was on his readers. He wanted them to hear the present voice of God in the ancient message.

The wilderness generation hardened their own hearts and it was possible the readers of Hebrews might do the same thing. A constant response of resistance leads to a habit of disobedience, which results in a judicial sentence from God. The words “rebellion” and “testing” describe the attitude of the Jewish people mentioned in Exodus 17:1–7 and Numbers 14:20–38. Throughout the entire period from Exodus 17 to Numbers 14, they had rebelled against the Lord. 

Their rebellion provoked God. Two actions of the Jews in the wilderness resulted in divine anger. First they habitually strayed from God. Second they did not know God’s ways. One sin reinforced the other. This persistent practice of sin led God to deliver His verdict with an oath. This reference to an oath seems to reflect Numbers 14:21, where God supported His word with an oath. God used this oath when the spies returned to bring an unfavorable report of the prospects for entering the Promised Land. The people of Israel rebelled against trusting God and accused Moses of bringing them to the wilderness to die. God swore that such rebels would never experience His rest. The readers of Hebrews could see what happened to those who died in the wilderness. They could realize that they could also fall into the same pattern of unbelief.

Heed the Warning (12)

The writer warns the readers to pay careful attention to their hearts lest they be evil, unbelieving hearts. Some of the readers were claiming to be Christians and the way to demonstrate that reality was by enduring in their devotion to Christ and refusing to be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. They were in danger of harboring a sinful, unbelieving heart and of turning away from the living God.

The writer issued the strong warning because he observed that his readers were considering deserting Christ and reverting to Judaism. If they actually turned from Christ, they would show they were never really Christians. The writer did not want them deceived by their own actions.

Encourage Each Other (13–15)

Christians cannot live in isolation and become what God intends for them. The Christian life is a community project. The writer urged believers to provide mutual encouragement to one another to keep going hard for Christ. He warned them that sin deceived. Sin may have deceived them by blinding them to the folly of their past and giving them a nostalgic wish for returning to their previous lifestyle. May we encourage one another in the faith, run from the deception of sin and live in the reality of a relationship with Christ.