The Danger of Unbelief
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Show funny warnings photos.
Maybe this is just me, but all of the warnings and so many of them being utterly ridiculous leaves me not really taking warnings all that serious. I mean it’s obvious not to stick your hand in a chainsaw…but sometimes there are warning signs that say things like, “danger ahead”…and I don’t know if I’m a thrill seeker or I’ve just become numb to all the signs and warnings but it makes me kind of want to jump in. So I’m not sure what your response to warnings are but we’ve got one here in (and we will see more of these) that are absolutely dead serious.
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I think this passage is a big massive warning sign. But if we don’t understand the function of warning passages in think we’ll miss it. So even though there is much more that could be said on this topic, I think it’d be helpful to ask, “What are the purposes of the warnings in Hebrews?” Or let me ask that another way…when the author of Hebrews says, “if we hold fast our confidence” what does he mean there? Here are a few options.
He means that if you don’t persevere
He means that there are real people who he would call “brothers” who legitimately belonged to Christ but they have fallen away and lost their salvation. The language here really seems to fit that. But we’ve got a bit of a theological issue with that interpretation. Because in Jesus said, “what is the will of the Father but to lose NONE of those whom the Father has given him.” If this man was one who “belonged to Christ” and he somehow was lost—lost his salvation—then Jesus would have failed in his calling. That’s not just bad news for the guy who walked away. It’s bad news for all of us. No, I believe the Scriptures are clear that none can snatch us out of the Lord’s hand. Nobody can pluck us from his hand…not even our own idiocy.
But what then do we do with this text? One possibility when you are confronted with passages like this one is to say, “If he does not continue then he will be stripped of his rewards but will not forfeit entrance into the Kingdom because that, as we have seen from places like is not possible. You don’t lose salvation..you get to go to heaven…but you are stripped of rewards.” But that doesn’t do justice to this text. Entering the Promised Land…entering into rest…isn’t talking about rewards it’s talking about eternity. Rest, rule, relationship. Redeemed and renewed Eden. And so it’s not doing any justice to this text to say, “you really don’t HAVE to persevere to the end to share in Christ, just to get rewards.”
But what IS it saying. A really good option is to say, “this is telling us that if someone does fall away it is evidence that they were never truly saved in the first place.” It’s an evidence thing. Sort of like what we read in . Now I’ll say theologically I have zero problem with this view. I believe that if someone does fall away it IS evidence that they were never truly born again. But is that how these warning passages in Hebrews are functioning? Are they saying, “Don’t fall away because if you do it’ll show that you weren’t saved. Therefore, if you keep going it’ll be evidence that you were truly born again”? Does that fit what’s happening here in this text? Is that the language used in 3:14? It really isn’t, is it? This is saying if you do this thing…then this thing will happen. It’s not saying…if you do this thing then it will show that this thing HAS happened. Again, I agree with that theologically but I think there is something different happening with these warning passages.
These warnings are the actual means that God uses to keep believers to the end. They are serious. Dead serious. If you do not persevere to the end you will not be saved. Yes, not because you’ve lost your salvation but because you never had it in the first place. But it’s doing more than that. isn’t retrospective. What I mean is that its not meant to be read like something we look back upon after we have already endured or fallen away. If you endure then you look back at Hebrews and say, “see my faith was genuine” or you look back after falling away and say, “well I guess my faith must have been a lie”. No this passage is prospective. He’s not saying this looking backwards, this is look forward. It doesn’t say, “if you persevere that reveals you are really part of the people of God.” That’s true. You can find something like that in other places in Scripture. But this text isn’t saying. It merely says, “we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”
Now as I said, theologically I don’t have any disagreement with that view of the text. But why I’m saying what I”m saying is that if we switch the text to say that then we are failing to communicate the proper function of the warning. Because the author of Hebrews isn’t calling them to look back to see if they are genuinely Christ. He calls them to remain faithful to Christ in the future, in the present, and he warns that if they do not do it then they won’t enter into God’s rest. I believe he means exactly what he says here. If you fall away from Christ into unbelief then you will not enter into God’s rest.
So what do believers do with these warning passages? How are we to receive them. In our journey in the Christian life we receive them just for what they say. When we read the warnings in Hebrews, 1 John, , etc., we take seriously the threat that if we do not endure, we will be eternally damned. The warnings remind us that falling away from the living God has eternal consequences. They shout out to us “Danger!” They are akin to a sign on the road which says, “Go no further. Bridge out ahead.” Any driver who wants to preserve his life takes heed to the warning and turns around. Similarly, the warnings and admonitions in scripture call out to us, “Danger! Do not fall away from the living God. If you deny him, he will deny you.” It is precisely by taking the warnings seriously that we avoid eternal destruction. The label “Poison!” on a bottle seizes our attention and awakens us to the peril which awaits us if we swallow its contents. Thereby we take special care when handling such a container and do not put it in the same cupboard with soft drinks. I agree with Tom Schreiner on this:
The error that you make is assuming that should be understood retrospectively. What I mean by that is that you are assuming that Colossians is something we look back upon after we have already endured or fallen away. If you endure then you look back at Colossians and say, “see my faith was genuine”, or you look back after falling away and say, “well I guess it must have been gas”. The truth of the matter though, is that is prospective. Paul is not saying this looking backwards, he is looking forward. It does not say, “Your perseverance reveals that you are really part of the people of God.” It merely says, “If you remain in the faith, you will be presented before God’s presence blameless.” By switching the text, you fail to communicate the function of the warning, for Paul does not summon us to look back and see if we are genuinely Christians. He calls us to remain faithful to Christ in the future and threatens us with eternal destruction if we do not remain in the faith. Contrary to the tests of genuineness view, I believe Paul means exactly what he says: “If we fall away from Christ, we will face eternal destruction.” That message should be preached from our pulpits, taught in our seminaries and colleges, and reflected upon in private devotions.
The truth of the matter though, is that is prospective. Paul is not saying this looking backwards, he is looking forward. It does not say, “Your perseverance reveals that you are really part of the people of God.” It merely says, “If you remain in the faith, you will be presented before God’s presence blameless.” By switching the text, you fail to communicate the function of the warning, for Paul does not summon us to look back and see if we are genuinely Christians. He calls us to remain faithful to Christ in the future and threatens us with eternal destruction if we do not remain in the faith. Contrary to the tests of genuineness view, I believe Paul means exactly what he says: “If we fall away from Christ, we will face eternal destruction.” That message should be preached from our pulpits, taught in our seminaries and colleges, and reflected upon in private devotions.
The warnings in the scriptures are also intended to arouse us from lethargy and propel us onward in the pathway of faith. They provoke a healthy fear(!), so that we are not casual and relaxed about entering the heavenly rest. Of course, this fear is not the same thing as the paralyzing fear which suppresses all activity (). It is the same kind of fear which causes us to put on our seat belts when we drive and which causes us to place railings where a fall would be deadly. Fear in these instances does not paralyze us but actually contributes to our confidence when driving or climbing. Similarly, hearing and obeying the warnings in scriptures does not sap us of confidence and assurance. It is the pathway for full assurance in the faith.
So then how ought we as believers receive these warning passages? In our journey in the Christian life we receive them just for what they say. When we read the warnings in Hebrews, 1 John, , etc., we take seriously the threat that if we do not endure, we will be eternally damned. The warnings remind us that falling away from the living God has eternal consequences. They shout out to us “Danger!” They are akin to a sign on the road which says, “Go no further. Steep cliff ahead.” Any driver who wants to preserve his life takes heed to the warning and turns around. Similarly, the warnings and admonitions in scripture call out to us, “Danger! Do not fall away from the living God. If you deny him, he will deny you.” It is precisely by taking the warnings seriously that we avoid eternal destruction. The label “Poison!” on a nottle seizes our attention and awakens us to the peril which awaits us if we swallow its contents. Thereby we take special care when handling such a container and do not put it in the same cupboard with soft drinks. The warnings in the scriptures are also intended to arouse us from lethargy and propel us onward in the pathway of faith. They provoke a healthy fear(!), so that we are not casual and relaxed about entering the heavenly rest. Of course, this fear is not the same thing as the paralyzing fear which suppresses all activity (). It is the same kind of fear which causes us to put on our seat belts when we drive and which causes us to place railings where a fall would be deadly. Fear in these instances does not paralyze us but actually contributes to our confidence when driving or climbing. Similarly, hearing and obeying the warnings in scriptures does not sap us of confidence and assurance. It is the pathway for full assurance in the faith.[1]
That is precisely what we see all throughout Hebrews. What we are called to do with these warning is to heed them and that such a thing propels us into boldly entering into the throne room. That’s what faith and not unbelief does. It calls us to see Christ, love Christ, treasure Christ, marvel at Christ, and cling to Christ. It’s not about us or our works or what we do, it’s about him and what he has done. And faith—biblical faith—clings tenaciously to Jesus Christ and Him crucified and says, “he is my security, he is my lot, he is my portion, he is my promised land!”
And so what specifically is this warning sign in Hebrews?
After speaking of Jesus as superior to Moses as a Son over a house is superior to a servant in the house, he goes on to quote . So that makes our task this morning kind of tough. Because is a commentary on and . So we have a commentary on a commentary. So what happened in the wilderness?
There are actually several situations that could be called the wilderness rebellion. One is in . But it actually starts a couple chapters before that. The people have been delivered out of Egyptian bondage. Lots to mention in that story but just imagine that you were enslaved to a wicked ruler. And for many years. It’s all your people know. And then you are delivered and not just kind of delivered…you see all these signs and wonder. Nile turning blood red. Plagues. Death of the firstborn. An entire sea part in two…wall of water on both sides as you pass through. Egyptians chasing you, the water closes in on them and they drown. All of this with God saying, “I’m with you. I’m for you. I’ve heard your cries. I’m sticking to my promises. I’m bringing you into this land to worship me. I’m doing all this to show you—and Egypt—my power that I alone am God.” Now what might you conclude from this?
So about 15 minutes after they get out of Egypt and cross the Red Sea they are hungry and thirsty. And they start grumbling to Moses. Why don’t we just go back to Egypt. You know that place where they actually killed our children.
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
They are in this wilderness for quite a bit and then God tells them to get up and go into the Promised Land. But they send spies out first to check out the land. When they do they see that the people are like giants. And they get very afraid. Keep in mind all that has happened up to this point. They’ve seen God provided for them water out of a rock, part a sea, conquer the Egyptians, time after time after time he has shown his faithfulness, they’ve been given the law on Mt. Sinai, they’ve seen grace over and over again, it should be absolutely obvious that God is powerful and that God is good. And he promised them that this land would be their land. But the spies come back and give a bad report. And this is the response.
Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 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. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.
And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”
Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”
And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 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. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.
And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”
Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”
And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”
So what is doing is taking these stories…kind of as bookends to the whole wilderness generation and he is speaking to a new generation and saying if you hear his voice don’t harden your hearts like them. Don’t be like these guys. And then the author of Hebrews picks that up and says what he has been saying the whole time…if that stuff was true of the shadow of things to come how much more serious is it if we reject Christ? If they couldn’t enter the Promised Land because of THAT unbelief what happens if you fail to trust in Christ?
And so it’s a massive warning. But I want to look a bit more closely at that. The foundation of all of this according to verse 12 is an “evil and unbelieving heart”. I did a study awhile back going through the scriptures and looking at the difference between grumbling and lament. I’ve also done a bit of looking through the Scriptures and such at the difference between unbelief and doubt. I think that’s important for us to consider here.
This isn’t doubt. It’s unbelief. Or unbelieving doubt. What’s the difference?
Barnabas Piper quote:
When unbelieving doubt poses a question, it is not interested in the answer for any reason other than to disprove it. Unbelieving doubt is on the attack. It is much more interested in the devastating effect of the question itself to erode the asker’s belief and hope in what is being questioned. The asker is not asking to learn; [he] is asking in order to devastate. [He] does not want to progress to an answer. [He] wants to show that there is no answer. Unbelieving doubt is not working toward anything, but merely against belief. These doubts are the wild monsters that wreck faith and destroy the simplistically peaceful Christian lives so many people try to lead.
Another great resource on this topic is a book by Os Guinness. I think it’s been updated with a different title, I’ve got the older version.
Find out how seriously a believer takes his doubts and you have the index of how seriously he takes his faith. For the Christian, doubt is not the same as unbelief, but neither is it divorced from it. Continued bout loosens the believer’s hold on the resources and privileges of faith and can be the prelude to the disasters of unbelief. So doubt is never treated as trivial.
There is a difference between doubt and unbelief. So I don’t want you to hear this and say, “oh man. I’ve got doubts. I’ve had doubts. What does that mean for me? Does this mean that I’ve forfeited my salvation, that I”m not saved, that I didn’t heed the warning, and now I’m lost?” No. If you are actually concerned about such a thing then it means you are taking your doubts seriously. That’s actually a point of faith. That’s not unbelief. What we have here with those in the wilderness is a sinful unbelieving heart.
I think we can see at least four things from the wilderness generation that ought to give us pause.
First, we are in danger when we’d rather be fed than fathered. That language isn’t original with me. I borrow it from Russell Moore in his great book Tempted and Tried. I think it’s a great descriptor though of what is happening. Consider
Four things.
We are in danger when we’d rather be fed than fathered.
That language isn’t original with me. I borrow it from Russell Moore in his great book Tempted and Tried. I think it’s a great descriptor though of what is happening. Consider
“Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we at in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up and there is nothing but this manna to look at.”
I want what I want and I don’t really care how I get it. Now you know that this question is not just about the Israelites. Would we rather be fed or fathered? Are we simply concerned with bare provisions or are we convinced that only provisions from God’s hand are to be valued? Does our heart say, “I want what I want and I don’t really care how I get it.”
“Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we at in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up and there is nothing but this manna to look at.”
That was what was happening for them. What was driving them wasn’t the glory of God. It was getting fed. When we get in that spot we are in a very dangerous place. This, I would argue is the root of things like pornography, addictions, angry cravings for control, many marital disputes, financial impropriety, and a host of other things. And so we have to ask our hearts this morning do I just care about provisions—meeting this craving—or do I care about meeting my craving from the hand of the Lord. Am I satisfied if I have everything that I want but it didn’t come from the hand of God? Or would I rather live in want and yet have everything that I have from the hand of the Lord?
Now you know that this question is not just about the Israelites. Would we rather be fed or fathered? Are we simply concerned with bare provisions or are we convinced that only provisions from God’s hand are to be valued? Does our heart say, “I want what I want and I don’t really care how I get it.”
It’s not hard to see the fruit of such a heart. You see it in the person that is craving physical pleasures. He doesn’t care if it’s met by his wife, a magazine, a movie, or some lady at a bar. I want what I want and I don’t really care how I get it.
You see this in the person that is craving comfort. She doesn’t care if it comes from a bottle of whiskey, a bottle of pills, or even if it comes after she’s screamed and pouted her way into getting what she wants. I want what I want and I don’t really care how I get it.
You see this in the church member who craves control. He doesn’t get his way on a particular issue and so he pouts and plots and begins some sort of passive aggressive plan to get his way. He wants church to be a certain way (he may even be right) but he doesn’t really care what it takes to get there. I want what I want and I don’t really care how I get it.
You see this in wives craving affection from their husbands, resorting to ungodly methods to get his love and affection. You see it in children and teenagers crying out for the attention of their parents—doing whatever it takes for them to get attention. It’s there in the child that drops to the floor in Wal-Mart screaming and crying and making a fool of herself—but she doesn’t care, “she has to have that toy, I want what I want and I don’t care how I get it”.
It’s there in the guy that is craving financial security. He doesn’t care how he gets the money. He’ll cheat on taxes, he’ll get his money on gambling boat, he’ll make unfair business deals, he’ll cheat someone, he’ll work ridiculous hours and neglect his family. I want what I want and I don’t really care how I get it.
And so we have to ask our hearts this morning do I just care about provisions—meeting this craving—or do I care about meeting my craving from the hand of the Lord. Am I satisfied if I have everything that I want but it didn’t come from the hand of God? Or would I rather live in want and yet have everything that I have from the hand of the Lord?
Secondly, you’ll note that this text mentions a hardness of heart. Such a thing is symptomatic of just assuming favor with God. And so you never really look and assess. You’re numb. You’re assuming the gospel. And so you end up losing the gospel. I really think you see that with the wilderness generation. We are in danger when we assume provision equals pleasure.
We are in danger when we assume provision equals pleasure
Listen to what the Lord said to the wilderness generation in :
Listen to what the Lord said to the wilderness generation in :
For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.
Or consider : I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. Seriously? Forty years without a change of sandals. I’ve got little kids. It seems like the second you buy a pair of shoes they are trashed. Even my shoes are the same way. I don’t know how many “mowing shoes” I now own. Forty years and they didn’t wear out.
So imagine that in your own life. You are lacking nothing. You have clothes that don’t wear out. Shoes that don’t wear out. You are tremendously blessed by the Lord. This means that the Lord is pleased with you, right? He has provided and he has provided for you because he is pleased with you. If God wasn’t satisfied with what was going on in your life then the whole thing would be falling apart right? You’d have shoes with your big toe poking out, your shirt would have holes, you’d lack things, you couldn’t pay your bills, things would be just blowing up. But they aren’t. Therefore, God is pleased.
Now hear what God says about this generation, “For forty years I loathed that generation”.
He loathed the generation that he provided for. God wasn’t providing for the wilderness generation because he was pleased with them. In fact he loathed them. But he was providing for them because He is God and He is good. He’s still their Father. So he cares for them; and somehow I think He still loves them—even while He loathes them.So we can’t automatically look at our lives and see prosperity and blessing and the hand of the Lord and then assume that he is pleased with us. And this shouldn’t surprise us—after all the Lord is far more concerned with hearts than he is with outward things. But this is a test that Israel—and we—must learn.
So we can’t automatically look at our lives and see prosperity and blessing and the hand of the Lord and then assume that he is pleased with us. And this shouldn’t surprise us—after all the Lord is far more concerned with hearts than he is with outward things. But this is a test that Israel—and we—must learn.
We are in danger when we are questioning God’s character
A third thing you’ll see from this is that they were questioning God’s character. That’s really a difference between unbelieving doubt and doubt which hopes to believe. One has a posture of prove it. It’s assuming the worst and saying, “if you’re really this way God.” What a difference between the lament of Habakkuk. “God you are good. This doesn’t seem to fit your character”. And the wilderness generation. We’re gonna die out here. It’s starting from the wrong spot. And when you do that when you are in a spot where God’s character is up for question you are in a very dangerous place.
We do not deliberate, for we have decided. To be for ever holding the truth of God, as though it might yet turn out to be a lie, were to lose all the comfort of it. -Spurgeon
We are going to die out here. Why did you bring us out here to kill us? It’s questioning the goodness of God.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DOUBT AND UNBELIEF
We are in danger when we grumble about our God-given role
Lastly, grumbling and discontent is a massive part of this. Grumbling and discontentment in regards to the sovereignty of God is a fruit of an unbelieving heart. When I studied this awhile back I was kind of shocked to see some of connections there. and I think are connected, and I had no idea. is Korah’s rebellion. Who put you in charge…we are just like you Moses and Aaron. Who put you in charge Jesus. We know your family, you are a Galilean just like us. It’s kicking against what God has done with someone else and how it relates to you. It’s discontentment with your own lot. And they say the same thing about Jesus in .
4. We are in danger when we grumble about our God-given role
This was an interesting one that I found so often in the Psalms of lament compared to the grumblers. and . There is a connection here I believe. Look at Korah’s problem. Who put you in charge…we are just like you Moses and Aaron. Who put you in charge Jesus. We know your family, you are a Galilean just like us. It’s kicking against what God has done with someone else and how it relates to you. It’s discontentment with your own lot.
So some believe there is a historical situation behind ’m not totally certain but it might make a bit of sense in this context. They were being persecuted and some wondered whether or not it really mattered for them to hold fast to Jesus. Was he the Messiah. Would it be such a big deal if they went back. So the historical situation might be that they are having their own wilderness temptation.
I want us as we wrap this up look at one other wilderness temptation. That of Christ. He’s hungry. “Tell this stone to become bread.” Do you want to be fed or fathered? Jesus chose fathered. “Throw yourself down from this temple. Prove that you are the Son of God, for yourself and everyone.” Show that God provides. Confirm your identity. But Jesus doesn’t take the bait. He knows that God’s provision wouldn’t equal his pleasure. Worship me and I’ll give you everything. Be discontent with how things are. Fix it all, Jesus. And you can do it without the cross without suffering.
And that’s maybe a question hanging over those in Hebrews. Can we enter the promised land without suffering? Holding onto our original confidence in Jesus is costing us something. Can we abandon and still miss out.
Only Jesus conquered the wilderness and so Jesus is our only hope. That’s what he’s saying here. If they didn’t enter the promised land because of unbelief—what’s going to happen to you if you don’t hang onto the wilderness conquering Jesus.
His wilderness record is our wilderness record. That’s that it means for us to share in Christ.
But there is a massive thing in this passage—maybe even THE point of the passage that I haven’t even mentioned. Look at verse 13.
We need one another.
Part of what we are doing with the Lord’s Supper.
I think for every generation of Christians we are going to be faced with a wilderness temptation.
Moses.
Jesus was led into the wilderness and we saw these same things.
What is the author of Hebrews saying.
Potential historical situation. For comfort going back to Judaism. Fed or fathered?
Underneath all of these things in the wilderness is a hardness of heart. It’s an unbelieving heart.
Unchecked you won’t enter God’s rest.
Hebrews has a different purpose. Exhort one another. Cling to Christ.
We DO share in Christ.
What are we doing with the Lord’s Supper
Exhorting one another
Clinging to Christ
[1] Schreiner