We're going to be looking today
at an event in the wilderness that has an impact and makes
a perfect admonition for the author of Hebrews to people in
his day. So with that in mind, let's look
at chapter 3 Hebrews and verse 7 through verse 19 for our text
today. I'd like to read on the cross,
but there's no use for coming back to chapter 4 in our second
service if the Lord be willing. Hebrews 3, 7 through 19. then comma, parenthesis, as the
Holy Ghost say it today, if you hear His voice, harden not your
heart, as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the
wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw
my works forty years. Wherefore, I was grieved with
that generation and said, They do all way err in heart, and
they have not known my way. So I swear in my wrath they shall
not enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from
the living God. But exhort one another today,
while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto
the end. While it is said today, if you
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 carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them
that believe not? So we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief. Now I remind you again that our
subject is the provocation in the wilderness and how it has
a bearing on the writing of the book of Hebrews. Now, there are
some things to remember as we begin to consider this passage
of the Scripture which we are about to take up and to study. And it will help us, I believe,
to put these things in their proper perspective and see the
value of this Old Testament passage and experience. First of all,
let us bear in mind that the Hebrew epistle was written particularly
and especially for the sake of the first century Jews who embraced
the message of the gospel of Christ our Lord. And they were
being sorely tempted. They were being severely persecuted
for it and were being pressured to return again unto Judaism
or to mix Judaism and Christianity up in one unholy mix so that
they might make it acceptable to more people in that day without
prejudice. In short, the epistle of Hebrews
is designed in order that it might establish that those who
profess to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, to cleave to that
evangelical sort of worship to the Christian way. But then secondly,
we cannot miss the fact that the section concerning our text
this morning carries over into chapter 4, and verse 1 through
13, where application is made there based upon a text quoted
from the Old Testament, and that would be Psalm chapter 95. Thirdly,
we must consider How it is that that passage in Psalm 95 and
verse 7 through 11 has a bearing or has a relationship unto these
first century Hebrews to whom the epistle is written. How is
that passage from the Psalm appropriate to use with these Hebrews or
Jews centuries after? What had those in Psalm 95, verse
7 through 11, in the wilderness in common with those in the days
of the writing of the epistle of Hebrews who lived in Jerusalem? Now, our study will follow along
this line. or after this order. A look at
the passage and the events cited from the Old Testament. And then
the way that it is used by the author of the Hebrew epistle,
how it serves the message to the Hebrews and the epistle from
which we study. First of all, let's notice some
expressions or phrases that we find here in the passage in Hebrews
chapter 3. Look at verse 8 again. The provocation. Some versions have it, the rebellion. when the people rebelled in great
strength against their God. Also in verse 8, the day of temptation
in the wilderness, pointing to a particular time, day, or event. Then look at verse 9, your fathers
tempted me and proved me. He's talking about those in the
wilderness. Then look at verse 10, I, that
is God, was grieved with that generation saying about them,
they always air in their heart and my ways they have not known."
Then in verse 11, so God swore in His wrath, He took an oath
in His anger. He declared they, that generation,
shall not enter into my rest at all. Brother Craig and I had
a short discussion about this the other day, and it really
grabbed me for being profitable for a sermon. Now, the event
that is referred to occurred, as we're told, in the wilderness. That is, during that time when
Israel left Egypt and was on their way unto the land of Canaan. Furthermore, we're told it was
committed by, quote, your fathers. Your fathers. And verse 10 speaks
of that generation. It was a time of rebellion. A provocation of God. A time
when unbelief rose to a very high level. And it is to be regarded
as one of the most flagrant offenses committed by the people against
their God during the journey in the wilderness. And it had
perhaps the most dire consequences of any of their sin or rebellion,
those judgments that God did visit upon them in their wilderness
journey. The most severe, as well as the
long-lasting, grew out of this particular provocation that we
have in mind. Which event in the wilderness,
then, does the Hebrew author have in his mind? There were
several of them. They were often rebellious, as
stated in Isaiah 65 and verse 3. A people that provoke me to anger
continually to my face. Paul quotes that in Romans chapter
10 and verse 21. Also there is Psalm chapter 78
and the 40th verse. How often did they provoke me
in the wilderness and grieve Him in the desert. And the psalmist
adds in verse 41 and 42, Yay, they turned back. and they tempted
God, they limited the Holy One of Israel, they remembered not
His hand the day when He delivered them out from the enemy." Now
as John Brown wrote in his commentary on the third chapter of the book
of Hebrews, quote, the history of the Israelite is a history
of continued provocation Or consider, at the wilderness of sin, which
was between Elam and Sinai, they murmured that they had no food. Exodus 16, what did God do? He sent them quails and manna,
that they might be satisfied. Again at Repidim, they had no
water to drink and they chided Moses because they were thirsty. That's in Exodus chapter 17. What did God do? He gave them
water out of a rock as Moses smote it and water flowed out. Again, they made a golden calf. That's in Exodus chapter 32.
And they danced about it saying, these be thy gods, O Israel,
which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. But as grievous
As all of these were, none of them are in the apostles' mind
in Hebrews chapter 3. The rebellion referred to is
identified as being the time when God swore in His wrath that
they would not enter into His very rest. And this takes us
back in the Old Testament to the book of Numbers chapter 13
and chapter 14. All of this is recorded there
in those two chapters of the book of Numbers. It turns out
to be one of the most obvious turning points in their journey
in the wilderness. And Numbers 13 and 14 finds them
near the border of Canaan. They are nearby. They have drawn
near unto the border of Canaan. This is the land promised to
the seed of Abraham. And the Lord directed Moses to
send a man from each of the tribes to go in and spy out the land
and bring back intelligence concerning the land, the people, and the
city. As in Numbers 13, 18 through
20, what kind of a land was it? Was it a fat land? Was it a lean
land? What kind of people were there?
Were they strong people or were they weak? And were they many
or were they few? Was there an ample supply of
wood? What kind of fruit grew there
and ripened? And they searched and they spied
out the land for 40 days and then came back with a report. And in Numbers 13 and verse 26
and following, the men come back and they brief Moses and the
congregation on their findings. Now, the positive side were,
yes, it is a very, very fruitful land. There were figs and grapes
and palm granites, and it was a land flowing with milk and
with honey. Numbers 13, 27 and 14 and verse
8. A very fruitful land and two
men out of the five, Caleb and Joshua said, let us go up. We are well able to possess the
land. God will give it into our hand. Now the negatives from their
intelligent report. The people that dwell there were
many in number, and they were a very strong people. The cities
were fortified and walled about as to be secure. The Amalekites
were there, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, and
the Canaanites all dwelled in that land, all of them ferocious
warriors. and enemies of Israel." Now the
men that went up with Caleb and Joshua emphasized the negatives,
and the negatives only, Numbers 13, 31 through 33. They said
in the 31st verse, the people are too strong for us to ever overcome. And in verse 32 they said, the
land eats and devours the inhabitants. The stench of death is on the
land. And in the 33rd verse of that
chapter, there are giants in the land and we, in comparison
to them, are like a little grasshopper. Now the majority of the congregation
began to believe the report of the negative ones. And they murmured
against Moses and against Aaron. And they said, we're about to
die. You have brought us here that
we might perish here in the wilderness. Oh, to God that we had stayed
in Egypt and died there. And so they were about to perish. And in Numbers 14 and verse 4,
They said, let us choose us a leader. Let us make us a captain. Let
us find someone who will take us back again into Egypt. And in chapter 14 and verse 10,
the frenzied mob urged that Caleb and Joshua be stoned to death,
which God stopped by causing His glory to appear mightily
in the tabernacle nearby. Now God tells Moses in Numbers
14 and 12, I will smite them with pestilence. I will disinherit
them. I will make you, of you Moses,
a great nation. Moses intercedes with God in
behalf of the people that they be spared and they be pardoned
and the Lord agreed that it was to be so. Howbeit in Numbers
14, 21 through 39, God said, God swore, all of those who participated
in that provocation would die without seeing the promised land,
promised unto their fathers. None of them that provoked God
would live or enter in to see it. In fact, their carcasses
would die and be strewn in the wilderness. We read in Jude verse
5, I will therefore put you in remembrance, how that the Lord,
having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward
destroyed them that believed not. We know that Hebrews 3 refers
to that which is set out in Numbers 13 and 14 because it is there
and there only that God swear that they would not enter into
the rest of Canaan. And the author of Hebrews makes
much of that Old Testament text. He uses it as one of the strongest
exhortations to be found in the book. And we notice also that
he integrates it here into his exhortation to those first century
Jews because it so well fit his purpose, which is Christ is the
Messiah. You have professed Christ. You
have espoused Him and professed the Gospel. And to turn from
Him would be disastrous, and it actually would be a forsaking
of the living God. We'll say more about that later. First of all, we consider the
essence or the sum of the sin of the Jews at that place called
Kadesh, at the border of Canaan, of their drawing back, back when
they seemed to be standing at the very threshold of the land
that God promised their fathers and to which they were to journey. Why did they draw back? Was it fear? Fear of the people? There were giants in the land. Was it worldliness on their part? Their hearts longed again for
Egypt and the onions and the garlic and the leek. Was it a
problem of leadership? Did they no longer have confidence
in Moses, but he was God's choice? Was it a lack of knowledge? God had given them much instruction
along the way through Moses. Now, the Hebrew penman identifies
the crux of their sin as what? Unbelief. The penman of Hebrew
calls it unbelief. When he says our ask in Hebrews
3 verse 18 and 19, who were they to whom God sware that they would
not enter into His rest? Answer, it was the ones that
believed not. So it is summed up in verse 19,
we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. They did not believe that God
in His power, sovereignty, and majesty would give them the land
because of their unbelief. They did not believe that they
would have victory over their enemies and possess the land
of Canaan. They did not believe the promises
of God of long standing. Now notwithstanding the many
mighty works that God had done, Along the way they saw great
manifestations of God's power and of His glory. Why, there
was a cloud of fire constantly over the tabernacle, cloud by
day and fire by night. They had seen the Red Sea part
and they went across on dry land. They drank water out of a rock
when it seemed the most unlikely source. They ate manna that had
simply been fallen or rained down from heaven. Numbers 14
and 11, for all the signs which I have shown them, beginning
with those in Egypt upon the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh. Why, along their way they saw
Moses take a tree, toss it in a spring and make bitter waters
to be sweet by the tossing in of a tree. Along the way they
saw Miriam smitten with leprosy for her rebellion and then healed
by the power of God. They had held Sinai ablaze with
the glory and the majesty of God. And they saw Pharaoh in
their rear-view mirror sink in the Red Sea, and all of his army
were drowned there. And yet, like the Jews of another
time, in Psalm 78 and verse 32, They believed not for his wondrous
works that they had seen with their own eyes. Now, for a mighty
important question. What was the particular rest
from which they were excluded? Psalm 95 and 11, Hebrews 3 and
verse 11. I swore in my wrath they shall
not enter into my rest. Now taking all of that in the
context, what is the rest from which they were excluded? They died short of it. God shut
them out of that rest because of their unbelief and rebellion. Should we understand this rest
as heaven itself? I swear in my wrath they shall
not enter into my rest. Does it make sense to say this
is heaven itself? I think not. I think John Brown
is right when he said, quote, the rest from which they were
excluded was the land of Canaan." And for whatever weight it carries
with you, this was also the view of John Owen, of Charles Spurgeon,
John Gill, John Calvin, just to name a few of the premier
commentators. Now, I'm turning to Deuteronomy
chapter 12 to read a passage. Because Canaan, we must understand,
is called rest. Canaan is called a land or a
place of rest. And in Deuteronomy 12 and verse
9 and 10 are the verses that I'm going to read. For ye are
not yet come to the rest. and to the inheritance which
the Lord your God giveth you. But when you go over Jordan and
dwell in the land which the Lord God gives you to inherit, when
he gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that
ye dwell in safety." In Deuteronomy chapter 3 and 20, it makes a
connection between the rest and the possession of the land. They are connected together.
In the book of Joshua chapter 1 and verse 13, remember the
words of Moses. The Lord your God has given you
rest and has given you this land. Joshua 21 and verse 44, the Lord
gave them rest. roundabout and delivered all
of their enemies into their hand." Joshua 22 and 4, 23 and 1. Now, we doubt that this rest,
like so many things under the old economy, was typical. We do not doubt that. So much
under the old economy was typical. And then the question becomes
then, typical of what? This rest in the land of Canaan
promised unto them was typical of what? Of rest, as we see here
in Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 4. But, Of what sort of rest
is it that the apostle is positing? What is the rest that remains
for the people of God as stated in Hebrews 4 and verse 9? There remaineth a rest to the
people of God. Is it the rest of a seventh-day
Sabbath? Is it the rest of soul that our
Lord talks about in Matthew 11, 29? Or could it be eternal rest,
that with the Father and with the Son? But I'm kind of getting
ahead of myself here. But first we need to consider
the way that the Hebrew author uses the passage from Psalm chapter
95. How he applies it to the particular
situation of the Jew in the first century. Especially, particularly,
first and foremost to those Jews who had professed Christ and
espoused the Christian gospel in that day. Now, he weaves the
passage from Psalm 95 and the incident in Numbers 13 and 14
into his exhortation and instruction and admonition here in Hebrews
3 and 4. And there are similarities between
the two people, the Jews in Egypt and the Jews in Jerusalem. So that the experience and the
example of one could serve as an example and a warning unto
other, to caution against apostasy from the Gospel of our Lord,
to enforce the admonition of chapter 2 and verse 3, not to
neglect so great salvation. I'm in Hebrew. Chapter 3 and
verse 6, hold fast the confidence, steadfast unto the end. In chapter 3 in verse 12, take
heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief in departing from the living God. Verse 14 again, for
we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end. Now, time to consider some
of the similarities between the two people. Those Jews in the
wilderness, those in Jerusalem. Number one, the Jews in Egypt
were in cruel, cruel bondage. Those in Hebrews had been imprisoned
and kept shut up under the law, Galatians 3.23. Number two, the
Jews left Egypt, but they often looked back and longed to be
there again. Those in Hebrew, some of them,
left Judaism, espoused Christianity, then began, like Lot's wife,
to look back. Number three, the Jews met hardship
in the wilderness, in their travel, and in their journey, and many
of the Hebrews were persecuted and excommunicated for their
espousal of the gospel. Number four, Acts 7 and 39, our
fathers in their hearts turned back again into Egypt. And some of those Hebrews, like
Lot's wife, looked back to Judaism desiring to be there again. Number five, the Jews under Moses'
care were privileged to see many signs and wonders and miracles
and majesty through Moses to confirm to them the Word and
the promise of God. And Christ and His Apostle did
many confirming miracles, signs and evidences that the Son of
God is approved of God by these signs and miracles and wonders. Number six, the sin of the Jews
in the wilderness was unbelief. And as we see in Hebrews 3 and
12, they're warned against unbelief in departing from the living
God. Number seven, we notice their
punishment. God swore in his wrath that those
who believe not in the wilderness would not enter into the land
of promise. They would not set a foot in
that land. Oh, the end of apostasy, brethren,
how awful it is. Read it sometime, not now, but
sometime in Hebrews 6, 4 through 6. Read that passage in Hebrews
chapter 10. And verse 25 through verse 31.
But now let's jump to Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 7 as we continue. This follows a two-fold demonstration
of the excellency and the superiority of Christ, first over the angel,
then over Moses. And thus the wherefore that opens
verse 7, this makes a connection. It allows an application which
is enforced then by the passage from Psalm chapter 95, which
the author expands upon down in verse 15 through 19 of Hebrews
3. We see that verse 7 through 11
are in some versions put in brackets, causing some to connect the wherefore
or the so with verse 12. Wherefore, take heed, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from
the living God." Now, the author ascribes the passage in Psalm
95 to the Holy Spirit. as the Holy Spirit has said."
Written by a human instrument, the psalmist, and the exhortation
is, today, if you hear His voice. And the warning is, do not harden
your heart. Today, if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your heart as in the day of provocation. The example to avoid is the fathers
hardened their heart to the point that God shut them out of the
land of Canaan and they never entered in. When they let circumstances
make them afraid. When they walk by sight and not
by faith. When they drew back. from having
faith. And their sins of their soul
came to a head when they refused to enter into Canaan and sought
a way back into the land of Egypt. This was gross unbelief. It was a provocation of God and
a tempting hymn. And by an oath of wrath, He shut
them out of the land of Canaan. If you look at verse 12 through
14 here in Hebrews, where the apostle exhorts those to whom
he is writing, based upon the exhortation from the 95th Psalm
that he has taken as a text, that to depart from the gospel
of Christ, is one and the same thing as to depart from the very
living God. Take heed, give earnest heed
to the things which we've seen and which we have heard. There
is no escape for such as apostatized away from Christ and His gospel,
to such as renounced Christianity, return again unto their Judaism,
in that there was no other sacrifice for sin." Hebrews 10, 26 and
27. When once one has gone away from
the blood and the sacrifice of Christ, put it behind them, trample
it under feet, then the Hebrew author said, there remaineth
no more sacrifice for sin. When you turn away from the offering
and the sacrifice of Christ, even after having somewhat espoused
it, there is no turning back, no other sacrifice. What is left is a fiery looking
bar of destruction. In turning back from the gospel,
they would be guilty of crucifying to themselves the Son of God
afresh and putting Him to an open shame. That's what it says
in Hebrews 6 and verse 6. They only entered Canaan who
believed that God was able and that God was true to His word.
who held to His promise in the face of great obstacles and troubles. See the testimony of Caleb and
Joshua sometime, as you read Numbers 13, 30 and 14, 6 through
9, as they encouraged the people. Our God is able. Our God is true. His promise is steadfast. Even so, Hebrews 3 and 14, They
are made partakers of Christ, who hold steadfast their confidence
firm unto the end. And in verse 14, he speaks of
the beginning of our confidence. John Brown takes the word confident
to mean firm persuasion, unalterable, firmly. persuaded. The word is
hupostasis. The word is five times in the
New Testament. Three times in the Hebrew epistle. Hebrews 1 and 3 translated person
or being or substance. But here in 3 and 14, Hebrews
11 and 1, we have the word again, translated substance. Faith is
the substance of things hoped for. That standing under is the
meaning of this word. It stands under. It holds up.
it is affirmed like a foundation. Vine's Dictionary of the New
Testament defines this word as the quality of confidence by
which one endures whatever comes, unquote. And enduring unwavering
confidence and faith in the promises of God, an enduring one that
stands amid the trial and the tribulation that came against
it. Owen described the meaning as,
quote, our utmost endeavor to hold it fast and to keep it steadfast,
Again, he also speaks of the first or of the beginning. The Jews left Egypt and they
sang a victory song in Exodus chapter 15, 1 through 21. Good reading, good spiritual
reading. They rejoiced in their deliverance from Egypt and their
expectation of being planted in a mountain of thine inheritance. Howbeit, Hebrews 3 and 16, some
after hearing the word of God did provoke, and their carcasses
fell in the wilderness, according to verse 17. And the apostle
raises the question in verse 18 that he might answer it for
them. Question, to whom did he swear
that they would not enter into his wrath? To whom was this oath
of swearing made? Answer, the ones that believed
not. So that not all that left Egypt
shouting hallelujah, hallelujah, entered into the land of promise. Many Jews in this first century
setting that would be saved must be done with Judaism. They must
be done with Judaism, for it died when our Lord died at the
cross and the veil in the temple was rent from top unto bottom. They must cleave only to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Both must be true. They must
cleave unto Him. He is the word and promise of
salvation. For it is clear that those who
turn back from Christ and turn away from the gospel to walk
with Him no more according to Hebrews 10.39, draw back to perdition. We're not of them who draw back
to perdition, Paul said, but of them who believe to the saving
of the soul. They shall not enter into that
rest. who make trial at Christ and
then draw back and espouse something other than that, as the Jews
missed Canaan because of their unbelief. So Paul takes that
passage and warns the first century Jews about it and with it.