Ic3a]: Israel In The Wilderness Series

6/30/19

Tom Lowe

Lesson #12 [IC3a]: Israel in the Wilderness (HEBREWS 3:6b-11)

Context: The context is the exodus from Egypt and the Israelites’ experience of unbelief in the wilderness. Because of their neglect to hear God’s message they delayed at the border. Because the people went backward in unbelief, instead of foreword in faith, they missed their inheritance and died in the wilderness.

Text (NIV)

?6b “. . . And we are His house, if we hold firmly?to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice,

8 do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,

9 where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.

10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’

11 So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’”

Introduction:

I would like to begin this lesson a little differently. First, I will ask you some questions about past lessons to see if I am doing a good job of teaching and you are doing a good job of listening. And then I have a few questions from today’s lesson which will be answered in our Bible study.

Past

Today

In what ways did the writer of Hebrews affirm that Jesus and Moses were alike? (Heb. 3:2-

What does it mean to you to be part of the “house” which through inheritance belongs to Jesus?

In what matters did the writer of Hebrews affirm that Jesus was superior to Moses? (Heb. 3:2-6)

How should you feel and act because of your inheritance?

Over what House was Moses faithful in the Old Testament? (Heb. 3:2, 5; Num.12:7)

What determines whether someone who hears the gospel actually enters God’s rest? (Heb. 4:1-3)

Over what House was Jesus faithful in the New Testament? (Heb. 3:2, 5; Num. 12:7)

How can reliance on God’s Word make your life more restful and peaceful?

Commentary:

(Heb. 3:6bR1) “. . . And we are His house, if we hold firmly?to our confidenceR3 and the hope of which we boast.

“. . . And we are His house,”

?We Christians are His Church [house] and family; he is our Father, Governor, and Head. We are now His Church [house], and we will continue to be His Church [house], and we will be acknowledged by Him if we maintain our Christian profession, that liberty of access to God, which we now have, and the rejoicing of the hope, i.e. of eternal life, which we will receive at the resurrection of the dead.

“if we hold firmly?to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.”

The word, which is rendered here as “confidence,” and which signifies freedom of speech, liberty of access, etc., seems to be used to indicate an important Christian privilege. Under the Old Testament no man was permitted to draw near to God: even the very mountain on which God published His laws must not be touched by man or beast; and only the high priest was permitted to enter the holy of holies, and he could do so only once a year, on the great day of atonement; and even then he must have the blood of the victim to appease the Divine justice. Under the Christian dispensation the way to the holiest places is now open to all those who have faith in Jesus; and we have liberty of access, even to the holiest places, by the blood of Jesus. Having such access unto God, by such a Mediator, we may obtain all that grace which is necessary to fit us for eternal glory; and, having the witness of His Spirit in our heart, we have a well grounded hope of endless happiness, and revel in the enjoyment of that hope [of our hope]. But if we do not retain the grace, we will not inherit the glory. Since all the good things we desire lie in our hopes, we ought to “hold firmly” to our hopes and get ready to rejoice, as though our hopes were already realized.

A leading object of this Epistle is to guard those to whom it was addressed against the danger of apostasyR2. Hence, this is introduced on all suitable occasions, and the apostle here says, that the only evidence which they could have that they belonged to the family of Christ, would be that they held fast the “confidence” which they had unto the end. If they did not do that, it would demonstrate that they never belonged to His family, for evidence of having belonged to his household was to be furnished only by perseverance to the end.