Hebrews 3:15-17 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?
The author repeats the key phrase from Psalm 95 that drives home his central theme: the readers must heed the invitation of God and not harden their hearts against God’s invitation to step out in faith and claim the promise of God. This promise has two parts: freedom from slavery to sin and hope of r. The author reflects further on the desert generation that refused to accept God’s call to conquer the promised land of Canaan. This generation had experienced God’s miraculous salvation from slavery in Egypt. They had witnessed miracles never done in history before, like the parting of the Red Sea. They had received God’s laws that would bring justice and peace. They had built a tabernacle with the empowerment of the God’s Spirit. This was the high point of the formation of the people. Yet, this was the same generation that turned its back on God and sinned by hardening their hearts and refusing to trust in God’s promises. Because of that, God disciplined them by keeping them in the desert wandering for 40 years. This was the type of discipline the author talks about in Hebrews 12:3-11. God was not done with Israel and used the time in the desert to teach them faith and obedience. Being kept from experiencing God’s promise was the people’s choice.
This illustration from the Old Testament has powerful and clear application for the readers and for us. God has offered the promise of salvation from sin through Jesus. Those who turn their back on this and because of hardened hearts with not experience this salvation. The author is warning the readers and us not to sin by giving in to the temptation of the old life of sin. We must also refuse this and step out in faith and claim the full salvation in Jesus. The one big difference between the desert generation and us is that we have a high priest who can help us.
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