Remembering the Rebellion

Review

This week we continue our study in the book of Hebrews. Last week we looked at the superiority of Christ over Moses, and we looked at how the writer of Hebrews addresses the desire of the Hebrews to return to the temple sacrifices of the old Testament and how He points out the superiority of Jesus to Moses. He reminds them that while Moses was indeed exemplary among men and that the pattern that he was given would endure to this day, the sacrifices that he was instructed to make were vastly inferior to the enduring sacrifice to which they pointed, but the remainder of the law (according to Jesus) endures forever. We went on to see how perfectly Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law and the pattern that was given to Moses. We learned that there is a powerful blessing when we follow the pattern that God puts out for us. To ignore it is to limit the blessing we can receive.

Introduction

It has been said that those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews goes from speaking of the superiority of Jesus to issuing a warning, and asking the Hebrews to Remember the Rebellion. I want us to go back and read this rather lengthy passage of scripture since this entire next portion of Hebrews addresses what happened here.

Numbers 13:1–14:10 NKJV

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua. Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. But 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 they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.

A Warning Against Rebellion

In the end we know that God heeds the prayer of Moses and Aaron, and spares the children of Israel for now, but He does declare that they will not enter the promised land because of their rebellion.

Now let’s go back to Hebrews and pick up where we left off.

Hebrews 3:7–11 NKJV

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

What sin did the children of Israel commit that an entire generation was sentenced to death? What horrid thing did they do that caused the anger of God to burn so against them.

Numbers 14:11 NKJV

Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?

Now look at the warning that the writer of Hebrews lays on them.

Hebrews 3:12–18 NKJV

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

What’s The Big Deal?

It is apparent that their complete lack of faith was the straw that broke the camel’s back. But the children of Israel had grumbled and lacked faith numerous times previously, what made this time different? The difference was that this time, they were so vehemently overtaken by unbelief that they plotted to Kill Moses and Aaron and it took the intervention of God to save them. This was a major turning point in the History of Israel.

The writer of Hebrews points out that they were similarly failing to believe God by wanting to return to the Temple sacrifices to deal with their sin. The sacrifice of Jesus was the way that God provided and the sacrifice of lambs and goats would not suffice. They were about to make a similarly irrevocable decision that could incur divine judgment and maybe even cause them their physical if not, spiritual life. Church, God will forgive sin every time.

1 John 1:9 NKJV

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And in fact, the Bible does tell us that the Children of Israel did, in fact, repent of their sin,

Numbers 14:39–40 NKJV

Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!”

and that God forgave them.

Numbers 14:19–20 NKJV

Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word;

But that did not mean that they would not have to pay for their provocation against God.

Numbers 14:44–45 NKJV

But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.

While God forgives sin, we will nevertheless have to deal with the consequence of sin. If I were to go rob a bank, will God forgive me? Sure he will, but that doesn’t stop me from going to prison does it? If I were to be unfaithful, will God forgive me? Sure, but I would end up facing a divorce and all the heartache and pain that goes along with that.

Those are some examples of obvious sins, sins that are gross and really stick out at us, but we commit so many sins every day, and we treat them cavalierly. And what sin is that? The sin of unbelief.

The Consequence of Unbelief

So in the end, the children of Israel were forgiven by God, but as a result of their unbelief, they forfeited the promise land.

Hebrews 3:18 NKJV

And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

While the Hebrews were being warned against losing the promise due to their unbelief, this could be you and me today.

Hebrews 4:1–8 NKJV

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 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. 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. 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”; and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 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.” For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.

For the Hebrews he was referring to the lost of the freedom that they gained from having to partake in the Temple sacrifice, but to us it is the rest that comes from being able to trust him and take him at his word. Why do you worry about health, or finances, or really anything? Take God at his word, and put the worry behind you.

Hebrews 4:11–13 NKJV

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 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. 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.

So we fail to enter the rest of God, we fail to have the peace of God because of our unbelief. And don’t even pretend that you do or don’t do something for this or that reason, the word of God reveals the true intentions of the heart. How many times have we read that passage or heard it preached and it was taken out of context? Dozens I’m sure. Now we understand that it has to do with exposing the unbelief in our hearts.

Putting it All Together

The Hebrews were tempted to go back to the ritualistic sacrifices of the Old Testament because they were beginning to waiver in their belief. The writer of Hebrews comes in and very forcefully gives a warning against committing the same sin as their forefathers had done centuries earlier, and that is, disbelieving the promises of God.

You and I have the choice to take God at his word, and believe him for the promises he has made us, or to forsake his word and fret over our condition in life. God’s intent was never that we live a miserable existence, and though things may happen in life that are miserable, we must never lose sight of His promises, lest we surrender the very thing that will deliver us from our current situation.

Let’s pray