The heart-cry of many well meaning, hard-working believers today might be expressed in the words of the hymn:
Where is the blessedness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view,
Of Jesus in His Word?
What peaceful hours I once enjoyed,
How sweet their memory still,
But they have left an aching void,
This world can never fill.
This could have been the language of the Hebrews to whom this letter was written long ago. They had begun well and suffered for it (10:32-34). They were like their ancient counterparts who had left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and sung the song of victory as the hosts of Egypt were swallowed up in the water. But then there was the long wilderness journey, and Amalek, and the sad record of disobedience and unbelief. So they wandered 40 years and many “could not enter in because of unbelief” (3:19).
So it was with these Hebrews. They had suffered by “reproaches and afflictions” for their step of faith. They are given a solemn warning by the use of this graphic example–the failure of Israel to enter into the land because of unbelief.
Unbelief Kept Them Out
They are warned that it is possible for New Testament believers also to come short of entering into the blessings of their spiritual inheritance, the realm of conflict, conquest, faith, and rest, because of unbelief. With those Hebrews it was not unbelief in the fact of God. They knew that He was. It was not unbelief in the power of God. He had “made the worlds.” It was unbelief in the measure of the grace of God, that having sinned and failed, their Jewish mindset caused them to look backwards to the old system wherein they had once found solace, the system of oft-repeated sacrifice. They thought, like their forebears, that having failed, they would have to go back and bring another sacrifice. They had never grasped the completeness and acceptability of the finished work of Christ nor the abiding value of His unfinished work on their behalf in heaven.
The Lord is using an OT example, and we in our day may profit by it. There was a covenant promise given to Israel for them to believe:
I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord (Ex. 6:6-8).
God Wanted Them In
This covenant had first been given to the patriarchs (Ex. 6:3); it had been established by His Word (v. 4); and was remembered by the Lord (v. 5). The Lord confirmed it by seven “I will’s” in Exodus 6. They were assured of seven great facts.
They would be relieved and brought up; “I will bring you” (v. 6a). They would be released and brought out; “I will rid you out of their bondage” (v. 6b). They would be redeemed and brought back; “I will redeem you” (v. 6c). They would be recovered and brought near; “I will take you to Me” (v. 7a). They would be related and brought through; “I will be to you a God” (v. 7b). They would be led and brought to the land; “I will bring you in unto the land” (v. 8a). They would be blessed and made rich by an inheritance; “I will give it to you for an heritage” (v. 8b).
All these covenant promises are embraced within the parenthetical arms of the Divine Promiser “I am Jehovah” (vv. 6, 8). For NT believers, theirs is a promise of eternal blessings and a spiritual inheritance, “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4). But we need not wait for heaven to taste of its fruits, savor its victories, and be enriched by its spiritual treasures. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).
However, to enter into and enjoy some of the riches of that inheritance here and now, certain facts have to be established in our faith, as it was for Israel in viewing the possibilities of enjoying the blessings of God’s promises to them.
First they had to realize that there actually was a realm of blessing to enjoy. This was no dream, no will-o’-the-wisp, no fleeting hope to fade away like the morning mist. There actually was a wonderful place of blessing to enter (Ex. 3:8).
But they had a problem. While still in Egypt, that realm of blessing seemed so distant, so impossible. But the Lord assured them that He had seen their affliction, He had heard their cry, and He knew their sorrows (Ex. 3:7). There are some sorrows that can never be put into words. They are heard only in groaning spirits that only God can know. So He lifted up their head and told them what He intended for them to enjoy. He was going to bring them to a wonderful land, a land of freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness; but it would also be a land of fighting. The enemy would be in the land (Josh. 3:10).
Some Powerful Enemies Oppose Us
So it is with us. We have a realm of spiritual blessings to enjoy. This has been opened up to us at great cost and by the grace of God. However, there are blessings we may enter only by the appropriation of faith and by diligent endeavor (Heb. 4:2, 11). This strategic spiritual territory must be occupied by wrestling and conquest (Eph. 6:12)–not by the energy of the flesh, but by the provision of God and the enabling power of the Spirit whose voice we are to heed.
After battling with Amalek in the wilderness, perhaps it was a bit of a shock for the children of Israel to discover that there were powerful enemies yet in the land. Paul reminds us of our spiritual conflict today, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [heavenly] places” (Eph. 6:12). Heavenly places is the realm of our blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3; 2:6).
Pharaoh was overthrown in a day. Amalek battled with them all through the wilderness journey. Now they were going to face seven powerful enemies in the land. In fact, they did more battling in the Land of Promise than either in Egypt or in the wilderness. But ultimately all those enemies in the land would be conquered and subdued. And so it will be with us (see Rom. 16:20).
Perhaps it surprises the child of God, that as we pursue our heavenly calling and seek a closer walk in the purposes of God, the way does not become easier nor the conflict lighter. The Lord never promised His disciples it would be easy–only His abiding presence and His yoke, and that is not easy until we take it up.
Those Canaanite enemies were not the only dangers to the Hebrews, however. There were other solemn dangers that could keep them from “entering in”–the same dangers, in fact, that Israel had faced in the wilderness.
1. Failing to heed the voice of the Spirit (Heb. 3:7): In OT times, it was mainly the voice of the Father; in the Gospels, the voice of the Son; but from Pentecost till now, it is the voice of the Holy Spirit.
There are many spurious voices which claim to be the voice of the Spirit, but the Holy Spirit will never speak contrary to the Holy Scriptures. It is to these sacred truths we must take earnest heed. The lamp of the Word will expose the darkness. And, sharper than any two-edged sword, it will pierce “even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). This will mean reading God’s Word, heeding God’s Word, and feeding on God’s Word.
2. Permitting the hardening of the heart to go on unchecked (Heb 3:8): But how is the heart hardened? “Through the deceitfulness of sin” (v. 13). Then we must ask, how does sin deceive? The reference is to Numbers 14, “the provocation” and “the day of temptation” in the wilderness when Israel tested God to see how far they could go on in sin without His intervention. Sin deceived the people by making them think that the pleasures of sin were better than the provisions of the Lord (Num. 14:2). Sin deceived them by making them assume that God’s pardon always excludes His discipline. But His word to them after the intercession of Moses was, “I have pardoned…but…” Having tested God’s patience ten times, He told them that they would not see the land (vv. 20-21). Sin deceived them by making them presume that their sinful behavior only affected themselves, but a sad consequence was that their children would wander with them forty years (v. 33).
3. Departing from the living God (Heb. 3:12): The word “depart” is not so much “leaving” but “standing off” “holding at a distance” “turning away from” (jnd). It is the attitude of the heart being “stand-offish” towards God. In the active voice, it is to cause others to depart. A solemn responsibility indeed.
However, for the Hebrew believers–and all such, all is not lost. There was a 3-fold preservative from such tragic loss. First, they were to honestly examine the condition of their own hearts (Heb. 3:12). “Take heed” that is “look,” “intensively contemplate.” This was to be a serious, honest searching of their own heart. A superficial glance would not do. This first step in recovery must be to honestly face the facts of our own condition of heart. These Hebrews were not religious pagans, but “brethren” who were “partakers” of Christ (v. 14). The personal act of heart-searching would give them a burden for others, perhaps in the same state of heart as they had been.
Then they were to “exhort” one another on a daily basis. This action is not to be one of destructive criticism nor was it to be carried out with a judgmental attitude. The word “exhort” means to comfort, to fortify. It means to call alongside, to help, to beseech. Such loving, faithful action for others will ensure that their own hearts will first be kept right with God, on a daily basis.
Thirdly, they were to take hold of the “beginning… confidence” or “the beginning of the assurance” (v. 14). This “assurance” is the substructure or “foundation” to which they were to firmly hold. What was that beginning? Surely it was the discovery of the grace of God and the finished work of Christ. They had, as Jews, been depending on a system of oft-repeated sacrifice, law-keeping, and ceremonials. Then the illumination of the glorious gospel banished their darkness and brought them into the light of God’s matchless grace. They were in danger of looking back at the old system which held on to shadows and not the substance.
How to Enter In
Having engaged in heart examination, loving exhortation, and by faith, appropriation, they could enter into the joy of their inheritance. A three-fold exercise is now called for in chapter 4. They were to have a fear of coming short of making God’s promise good. Many of the children of Israel could not enter the land because of unbelief (3:19). Now these Hebrews were to have faith in the promise of God, simply taking God at His Word, altogether apart from their feelings and fears. The children of Israel heard the wonderful message, truly a gospel of rest, but they did not believe it (4:2). Joshua had said, “The Lord your God has given you rest…” (Josh. 1:13). In the purpose and provision of God it was already theirs, but they failed to appropriate it by faith.
Even Rahab and the people of Jericho knew that and said to the spies, “The Lord hath given you the land” (Josh. 2:9). They had heard of the Red Sea and their victories and said, “As soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt” (v. 11). Jericho was already theirs 40 years before they entered the land!
It is All Ours Already
Oh, how much is ours today in Christ, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). If we are not entering into these riches we must presume that either they don’t really exist or we just don’t believe it is all for us. Maybe we think it is reserved for those wonderful Christians we know, for the godly and the great servants, but not for “ordinary” Christians like us.
The Hebrews, having settled their hearts and exhorted one another, were then to “labor”–be diligent–to enter into the realm of rest (4:11). We are pointed again to the children of Israel. In spite of redemption by blood, deliverance from Pharaoh, miraculous provision day by day, and preservation all the way through, many of them lost their lives on the wrong side of the river and never entered into the Land of Promise.
Let Us not Miss It
So the danger was for the Hebrews and for us today, that in spite of Calvary, a finished work, an empty tomb, a glorified Saviour, an ever-living great High Priest ministering for us continually and the voice of the indwelling Holy Spirit, it is possible for many whose souls are saved by grace to waste their days and never enter in to the enjoyment of those “spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” The Lord Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mk. 8:35).
The unbelieving may play with their toys, cavort in their neon-lit temples, clutch their tinsel treasures and consume themselves in transient pleasures, forgetting that these so soon will pass away, and they will leave it all behind. The carnal believer, truly saved, but satisfied with the shadows of this world rather than the substance of an eternal inheritance, stands on the wrong side of the river, looking and perhaps occasionally longing, but never entering by faith into all that God has provided in Christ, and at such a cost, for His people to enjoy.
We have a far greater inheritance than Israel ever had. It is “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation…” (1 Pet. 1:4). May we heed the voice of the Spirit as He gives His divine invitation of grace in the concluding verse of the chapter: “come boldly…obtain mercy…find grace”!