Hebrews 3:18-19 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
The big problem of the desert generation was the sin of unbelief. God had warned the people through Moses about the seriousness of sin. Some people had already been judged when the incident of the golden calf in Exodus 32. This was a strong warning to people that sin has consequences. God always gives warning that our choices have consequences. This warning comes through the law. We can heed this warning through obedience or reject it and suffer sin’s “wages” (Romans 6:23). Unbelief is shown in several ways. Unbelief looks backwards to the old life and accepts its deceitfulness and false promises. It looks forward and refuses to trust in God’s promises. When the people heard the report of the 12 spies who went into Canaan, they wept and said, “Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:3). They thought their old life of slavery was better than following God’s promises. Joshua and Caleb urged the people to follow God’s promises: “If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey” (Numbers 14:8). But the people refused to go forward because of unbelief. The promise is before us. Will we fall back into the old life of sin or go forward into the new life in Jesus? This new life will require our faith and trust. It will require that we commit ourselves.
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