Hebrews 3:16-19

Summary retelling of Hebrews 3:16-19

We now hear a very specific accusation.  The archetype for those who heard and hardened their heart is the generation that was taken out of Egypt via the exodus.  They saw God’s hand at work, yet they continue to provoke God with their sinful behaviors.  We are reminded that God swore that they would never enter his rest but would wander the wilderness until they died.  Because of their unbelief, they were unable to enter God’s rest.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Think about the generation of the exodus.  Here is a group of people who cried out to God for help.  They saw the plagues.  They saw the parting of the Red Sea.  They saw the pillar of fire and the cloud.  They saw the manna from heaven.  They saw the water from the rock.  They saw all of these things.

If you look again at that list, do you think seeing all of those things would convince you to follow God?  Would you have to see all of them?  Why do you think (or don’t you think) that seeing such miracles would help you believe?

Second Thought:

Now realize for a second that the people who saw all those things are considered the worst generation – most faithless generation – of Jews to ever live.  They saw all those things yet they still wanted to make the Golden Calf.  They still wanted to sacrifice to foreign gods.  They still didn’t believe God could take them successfully into the Promised Land.  They had every reason to believe in God; yet they had no faith.

Why do you think they lacked faith?  Is it possible that seeing all those miracles actually made them numb to the potency of God?  Do you think their problem was with what their eyes saw our how their heart processed what they saw?

Third Thought:

God did not let them enter into His rest.  They wandered the wilderness until all of them were dead.  This should be a passage that causes a bit of anxiety within us.  We are no strangers to Jesus and the Gospel story.  Yet we are no strangers to sin, either.

Do we ever see God at work, yet find ourselves sinning shortly thereafter?  How does this portion of Hebrews prepare us to think about forgiveness?  Do you think the Hebrew people who wandered the wilderness were repentant regarding their rebellion?

Passage for Tomorrow: Hebrews 4:1-3