The Word of God - A survey of the Bible - Part Sixteen - B Mar 03, 2019 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T004_20190303.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 3:12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; We will continue today to look at the warnings found in the Book of Hebrews. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button Sunday March 3rd 2019 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 16B ‘Let Us Go On’ 1). Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world [age] to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. This one verse in Hebrews Chapter 2 gives us in precise detail the entire subject matter of the Book of Hebrews. It is, as we see from the verse, the age to come which will not be ruled over by angels. a). Hebrews is a Book then that deals with Christ and His joint heirs, those who will exercise the rights of the firstborn, as they rule over the earth from the heavens in the Millennial Kingdom. b). Therefore, everything that we see in the Book of Hebrews must remain within this context. It is a Book written to the eternally saved with respect to the salvation of the soul and the Book itself began by telling us that the coming Kingdom Age, and the salvation associated with it, had been revealed to the prophets by the Lord. The prophets in turn having spoken to us of the same thing through the typology contained in the historical events recorded from Moses onwards - 1 Cor 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. This is Spiritual truth that was not for the prophets’ own benefit but for ours – 1 Pet 1:9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into. And then in these last days God has spoken these same things to us in the person of Son - Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; [ages] The writer of Hebrews then gave us 7 OT quotations, all of which are Messianic in their content, demonstrating the truth concerning the age to come with respect to the Son and the change in the earth’s rulership. c). And from our own perspective that set out in the first chapter of Hebrews encompasses all that the Lord has revealed to us over the years concerning this very same subject. d). And then, with all this placed before us, we are given a warning in Chapter 2 – Heb 2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? We are told that we must fix our attention on that which lies ahead, Christ’s coming Kingdom and all that is associated with it, and have this ever before us, so that at any time we might not drift away from having this as the focus of our life. e). And the reason why we are to do this is made abundantly clear – inextricably connected to rulership with Christ in His Kingdom is the salvation of our soul. And if we should drift away from that which is central to how we govern our lives and as a result become casual or unconcerned about so great salvation, then we will not escape the same fate as the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt [save Joshua and Caleb] who were condemned to perish in the wilderness. Who had been delivered from Egypt, but then forfeited their inheritance because of their unfaithfulness. f). And that seen through this first warning is then built upon as we progress through the remaining 4 warnings. This warning then forms the foundation upon which all the rest are built. g). The end of the matter does not change, we shall not escape, but the journey leading to that end begins with failing to keep our focus fixed on the age to come, causing us to drift away from the goal of our faith. 2). Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. The writer again draws from the OT Scriptures to reinforce that which he has been saying concerning the age to come. The verses taken from Psalm 8 make clear that it is to be the redeemed of mankind as joint heirs with Jesus who will rule in the place of angels in the age to come with all things ‘in subjection under his feet’. a). But, the rule of redeemed Man can only be in conjunction with the Son who has been appointed heir of all things – ‘we do not yet see all things put under him’. b). And the verses which then follow in Hebrews Chapter 2 take us back to the foundational picture of the Man and the Woman in Genesis with respect to this – Heb 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain [author] of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Let’s be careful with the emboldened part of v10. It is impossible for this part of the verse to be telling us that through His sufferings the Christ was Himself brought to completion [made perfect], because as God He could never be anything other than ‘complete’. c). But if we go back to the foundational picture of the Man and the Woman, all should become clear – Gen 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”…………..22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. The Woman, when presented back to the Man, then completed the Man, they became ‘one flesh’ together, and in this completed form, they were in a position to be able to rule. d). So then, the ‘captain’ of our salvation will likewise be made ‘complete’ in the antitype of the Man and the Woman, when the many sons are brought to glory – Heb 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, At this point Christ’s Bride [the many sons] will be presented back to Him and they will become ‘one flesh’ – Eph 5:31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. And together in completed form, in the antitype of the Man and the Woman, they will be able to rule. And the process that brings the many sons to glory is founded in Christ’s sufferings on the one hand, seen through the opening of Adam’s side and our suffering with Him on the other as we patiently endure the trials and testing of our faith – Rom 8:17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. e). And Chapter 2 then ends with the Christ seen in His present ministry as the ‘merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God’ – Heb 2:16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. 3). Chapter 3, where the second warning begins, takes us back to the end of the previous chapter – Heb 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. And there are 2 things in particular that we need to note in these opening verses. Firstly, is the reference to our ‘heavenly calling’, and this is important because it is pictured through the type of the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt and their calling to the land of Canaan. And it is this type which will be used in connection with the second warning Hebrews gives us. a). Israel was called out of Egypt to go to the land of Canaan, the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in which they would receive their inheritance and rule at the head of the nations within a Theocracy. b). And in the antitype, we have been called out of the world to the heavenly land promised to the seed of Abraham, in order to receive our inheritance and rule the nations within a Theocracy. c). And the second thing we need to note, is the focus here on faithfulness. We are to fix our eyes upon ‘the Apostle and High Priest of our confession’, ‘who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses was also faithful in all His house’. d). In both the type and the antitype faithfulness is the key. And we are encouraged to look to the Lord as the example of faithfulness we are to follow as we consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. And with the exhortation to faithfulness in view, the writer then returns to the OT Scriptures to admonish us, and particularly those who may already be drifting Heb 3:5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” We can see from the end of v6, that in order to be part of Christ’s house, to rule with Him in the coming Kingdom, we have to ‘hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end’. And we won’t be able to do this apart from giving ‘the more earnest heed to the things we have heard’. e). And because this is something that is an ongoing, everyday part of our race of the faith, ‘the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you will hear His voice’. f). And there are 2 ways we might consider what the Scripture says here. Firstly, if we haven’t been giving ‘the more earnest heed’, and we haven’t been holding fast and we are consequently drifting, we have opportunity to hear His voice ‘Today’ and bring this to correction. g). And then secondly, we can see this from the perspective of the Children of Israel’s daily collection of the manna. We must daily have our attention fixed upon that which the Scripture teaches about Christ and His Kingdom. Just as we are admonished later in Hebrews – Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking [from this world] unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Moses is given as an example of faithfulness in the Lord’s house, but the Children of Israel whom he led, clearly are not. And it is their unfaithfulness, that the Scripture describes as rebellion, that is presented to us as a warning. h). Because of their unfaithfulness which caused them to ‘always go astray in their heart’ so that they did not know His ways, God swore in His wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’. Which is exactly what happened to them at Kadesh Barnea and dramatically enforced during the years of wilderness wandering that followed. i). And with the example established through the first generation of Israel, so we are warned – Heb 3:12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” We are to ‘beware’, to look very carefully at ourselves, in case we also have developed ‘an evil heart of unbelief’ just as they did, which will cause us to separate ourselves from the Lord in rebellion, just as they did. j). And as an antidote to this possibility we are told to ‘exhort one another daily, while it is called Today...’ – because ‘Today’ won’t continue forever. The time is coming when we will no longer experience another ‘Today’ like this one. And so, all the while it is still, ‘Today’ we must not miss the opportunity to exhort one another. Because the sin of unbelief is deceitful, and our hearts can become hardened through it, so we need to continually encourage one another to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope, to make sure we hear His voice while it is still ‘Today’. 4). The writer then continues to develop his warning by continuing with the example of the first generation of Israel – Heb 3:16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. The clarity of the Holy Spirit’s intent in these verses really needs little comment. The type shows quite clearly that all those being dealt with are those who had previously applied the blood of the Passover lambs, they were all eternally saved. But nonetheless, God was angry with them because of their sin of disobedience and unbelief. And because of the sin of disobedience and unbelief they in effect apostatized and could not enter the land of their inheritance. a). And the picture of Israel and the land of Canaan is used as a type for Christians and the Millennial Kingdom. b). Israel failed to enter into God’s Rest, ‘Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.’ c). The Sabbath Rest of God, the 7th Day, the Kingdom of Christ still remains open for those who would enter. And God has promised that entrance into the Kingdom is available to the eternally saved. d). But although the promise remains, we can still fall short of realizing that promise. e). Our eternal salvation is not a guarantee of entering the Rest, nor is hearing and knowing about the salvation of the soul in connection with the Rest, a guarantee either –2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. The key, as we have already noted earlier is faith, believing that which God has said and then organizing our lives accordingly. To hear the good news of the salvation of the soul with respect to the coming Kingdom is one thing, Israel heard that, but it must also be mixed with faith. f). And it was the absence of the exercise of faith that led to the corpses falling in the wilderness. g). Nonetheless, it is God’s great redemptive purpose, set in place from the foundation of the world, that the redeemed of mankind will enter His Rest with the Son – Heb 4:4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”…………… 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. And here is our challenge, ‘let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest’, because the possibility remains that we could ‘fall according to the same example of disobedience’ that we have witnessed in the first generation of Israel. h). And our diligence in entering His rest, within the context of the Book of Hebrews, begins with hearing His voice while it is still ‘Today’ and believing that which God has said, to ‘give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard’ and then doing just that. Believing what God has said about holding ‘fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end’, and then doing just that. i). And let’s remember that with respect to having faith or not having faith to the saving of the soul, there is no place to hide – Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. We will all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account of the things we have done in the body whether good or bad, and there will be a just recompense of reward. This will be a Day of two contrasted outcomes. Either we will experience the fear of falling ‘into the hands of the living God’ or we will ‘rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls’. j). But the truly exciting thing we can realize here and now, is that which of these outcomes is ours does not have to be dependent upon what we did yesterday, but what we choose to do ‘Today’ and from this point onwards. We will have to pick this up again next time though – if the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A survey of the Bible - Part Sixteen - B Mar 03, 2019 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T004_20190303.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 3:12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; We will continue today to look at the warnings found in the Book of Hebrews. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button Sunday March 3rd 2019 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 16B ‘Let Us Go On’ 1). Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world [age] to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. This one verse in Hebrews Chapter 2 gives us in precise detail the entire subject matter of the Book of Hebrews. It is, as we see from the verse, the age to come which will not be ruled over by angels. a). Hebrews is a Book then that deals with Christ and His joint heirs, those who will exercise the rights of the firstborn, as they rule over the earth from the heavens in the Millennial Kingdom. b). Therefore, everything that we see in the Book of Hebrews must remain within this context. It is a Book written to the eternally saved with respect to the salvation of the soul and the Book itself began by telling us that the coming Kingdom Age, and the salvation associated with it, had been revealed to the prophets by the Lord. The prophets in turn having spoken to us of the same thing through the typology contained in the historical events recorded from Moses onwards - 1 Cor 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. This is Spiritual truth that was not for the prophets’ own benefit but for ours – 1 Pet 1:9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into. And then in these last days God has spoken these same things to us in the person of Son - Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; [ages] The writer of Hebrews then gave us 7 OT quotations, all of which are Messianic in their content, demonstrating the truth concerning the age to come with respect to the Son and the change in the earth’s rulership. c). And from our own perspective that set out in the first chapter of Hebrews encompasses all that the Lord has revealed to us over the years concerning this very same subject. d). And then, with all this placed before us, we are given a warning in Chapter 2 – Heb 2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? We are told that we must fix our attention on that which lies ahead, Christ’s coming Kingdom and all that is associated with it, and have this ever before us, so that at any time we might not drift away from having this as the focus of our life. e). And the reason why we are to do this is made abundantly clear – inextricably connected to rulership with Christ in His Kingdom is the salvation of our soul. And if we should drift away from that which is central to how we govern our lives and as a result become casual or unconcerned about so great salvation, then we will not escape the same fate as the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt [save Joshua and Caleb] who were condemned to perish in the wilderness. Who had been delivered from Egypt, but then forfeited their inheritance because of their unfaithfulness. f). And that seen through this first warning is then built upon as we progress through the remaining 4 warnings. This warning then forms the foundation upon which all the rest are built. g). The end of the matter does not change, we shall not escape, but the journey leading to that end begins with failing to keep our focus fixed on the age to come, causing us to drift away from the goal of our faith. 2). Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. The writer again draws from the OT Scriptures to reinforce that which he has been saying concerning the age to come. The verses taken from Psalm 8 make clear that it is to be the redeemed of mankind as joint heirs with Jesus who will rule in the place of angels in the age to come with all things ‘in subjection under his feet’. a). But, the rule of redeemed Man can only be in conjunction with the Son who has been appointed heir of all things – ‘we do not yet see all things put under him’. b). And the verses which then follow in Hebrews Chapter 2 take us back to the foundational picture of the Man and the Woman in Genesis with respect to this – Heb 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain [author] of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Let’s be careful with the emboldened part of v10. It is impossible for this part of the verse to be telling us that through His sufferings the Christ was Himself brought to completion [made perfect], because as God He could never be anything other than ‘complete’. c). But if we go back to the foundational picture of the Man and the Woman, all should become clear – Gen 2:18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”…………..22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. The Woman, when presented back to the Man, then completed the Man, they became ‘one flesh’ together, and in this completed form, they were in a position to be able to rule. d). So then, the ‘captain’ of our salvation will likewise be made ‘complete’ in the antitype of the Man and the Woman, when the many sons are brought to glory – Heb 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, At this point Christ’s Bride [the many sons] will be presented back to Him and they will become ‘one flesh’ – Eph 5:31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. And together in completed form, in the antitype of the Man and the Woman, they will be able to rule. And the process that brings the many sons to glory is founded in Christ’s sufferings on the one hand, seen through the opening of Adam’s side and our suffering with Him on the other as we patiently endure the trials and testing of our faith – Rom 8:17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. e). And Chapter 2 then ends with the Christ seen in His present ministry as the ‘merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God’ – Heb 2:16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. 3). Chapter 3, where the second warning begins, takes us back to the end of the previous chapter – Heb 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. And there are 2 things in particular that we need to note in these opening verses. Firstly, is the reference to our ‘heavenly calling’, and this is important because it is pictured through the type of the first generation of Israel to come out of Egypt and their calling to the land of Canaan. And it is this type which will be used in connection with the second warning Hebrews gives us. a). Israel was called out of Egypt to go to the land of Canaan, the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in which they would receive their inheritance and rule at the head of the nations within a Theocracy. b). And in the antitype, we have been called out of the world to the heavenly land promised to the seed of Abraham, in order to receive our inheritance and rule the nations within a Theocracy. c). And the second thing we need to note, is the focus here on faithfulness. We are to fix our eyes upon ‘the Apostle and High Priest of our confession’, ‘who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses was also faithful in all His house’. d). In both the type and the antitype faithfulness is the key. And we are encouraged to look to the Lord as the example of faithfulness we are to follow as we consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. And with the exhortation to faithfulness in view, the writer then returns to the OT Scriptures to admonish us, and particularly those who may already be drifting Heb 3:5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” We can see from the end of v6, that in order to be part of Christ’s house, to rule with Him in the coming Kingdom, we have to ‘hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end’. And we won’t be able to do this apart from giving ‘the more earnest heed to the things we have heard’. e). And because this is something that is an ongoing, everyday part of our race of the faith, ‘the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you will hear His voice’. f). And there are 2 ways we might consider what the Scripture says here. Firstly, if we haven’t been giving ‘the more earnest heed’, and we haven’t been holding fast and we are consequently drifting, we have opportunity to hear His voice ‘Today’ and bring this to correction. g). And then secondly, we can see this from the perspective of the Children of Israel’s daily collection of the manna. We must daily have our attention fixed upon that which the Scripture teaches about Christ and His Kingdom. Just as we are admonished later in Hebrews – Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking [from this world] unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Moses is given as an example of faithfulness in the Lord’s house, but the Children of Israel whom he led, clearly are not. And it is their unfaithfulness, that the Scripture describes as rebellion, that is presented to us as a warning. h). Because of their unfaithfulness which caused them to ‘always go astray in their heart’ so that they did not know His ways, God swore in His wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’. Which is exactly what happened to them at Kadesh Barnea and dramatically enforced during the years of wilderness wandering that followed. i). And with the example established through the first generation of Israel, so we are warned – Heb 3:12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” We are to ‘beware’, to look very carefully at ourselves, in case we also have developed ‘an evil heart of unbelief’ just as they did, which will cause us to separate ourselves from the Lord in rebellion, just as they did. j). And as an antidote to this possibility we are told to ‘exhort one another daily, while it is called Today...’ – because ‘Today’ won’t continue forever. The time is coming when we will no longer experience another ‘Today’ like this one. And so, all the while it is still, ‘Today’ we must not miss the opportunity to exhort one another. Because the sin of unbelief is deceitful, and our hearts can become hardened through it, so we need to continually encourage one another to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope, to make sure we hear His voice while it is still ‘Today’. 4). The writer then continues to develop his warning by continuing with the example of the first generation of Israel – Heb 3:16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. The clarity of the Holy Spirit’s intent in these verses really needs little comment. The type shows quite clearly that all those being dealt with are those who had previously applied the blood of the Passover lambs, they were all eternally saved. But nonetheless, God was angry with them because of their sin of disobedience and unbelief. And because of the sin of disobedience and unbelief they in effect apostatized and could not enter the land of their inheritance. a). And the picture of Israel and the land of Canaan is used as a type for Christians and the Millennial Kingdom. b). Israel failed to enter into God’s Rest, ‘Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.’ c). The Sabbath Rest of God, the 7th Day, the Kingdom of Christ still remains open for those who would enter. And God has promised that entrance into the Kingdom is available to the eternally saved. d). But although the promise remains, we can still fall short of realizing that promise. e). Our eternal salvation is not a guarantee of entering the Rest, nor is hearing and knowing about the salvation of the soul in connection with the Rest, a guarantee either –2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. The key, as we have already noted earlier is faith, believing that which God has said and then organizing our lives accordingly. To hear the good news of the salvation of the soul with respect to the coming Kingdom is one thing, Israel heard that, but it must also be mixed with faith. f). And it was the absence of the exercise of faith that led to the corpses falling in the wilderness. g). Nonetheless, it is God’s great redemptive purpose, set in place from the foundation of the world, that the redeemed of mankind will enter His Rest with the Son – Heb 4:4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”…………… 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. And here is our challenge, ‘let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest’, because the possibility remains that we could ‘fall according to the same example of disobedience’ that we have witnessed in the first generation of Israel. h). And our diligence in entering His rest, within the context of the Book of Hebrews, begins with hearing His voice while it is still ‘Today’ and believing that which God has said, to ‘give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard’ and then doing just that. Believing what God has said about holding ‘fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end’, and then doing just that. i). And let’s remember that with respect to having faith or not having faith to the saving of the soul, there is no place to hide – Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. We will all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account of the things we have done in the body whether good or bad, and there will be a just recompense of reward. This will be a Day of two contrasted outcomes. Either we will experience the fear of falling ‘into the hands of the living God’ or we will ‘rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls’. j). But the truly exciting thing we can realize here and now, is that which of these outcomes is ours does not have to be dependent upon what we did yesterday, but what we choose to do ‘Today’ and from this point onwards. We will have to pick this up again next time though – if the Lord is willing.