Read: Hebrews 3:7-11 NRSV
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
‘Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
as on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your ancestors put me to the test,
though they had seen my works for forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
and I said, “They always go astray in their hearts,
and they have not known my ways.”
As in my anger I swore,
“They will not enter my rest.”’
Yesterday we read that Jesus is the perfect guide to enter God’s rest. Rest is both the destination and the means of arrival. The author of Hebrews further emphasized this point by comparing Jesus’ trials with those of the Israelites. After their deliverance from Egypt, Moses led God’s people into the wilderness where they received the law. God was ready to be with His people again, but things went awry. Exodus is a long book, and almost all of it is the Israelites failing to obey the commandments.
Today’s passage from Hebrews references the many times that the people of Israel put God to the test, including…
-Doubting God’s power before the Red Sea crossing (Exodus 14:11–12)
-Grumbling about the bitter water at Marah (Exodus 15:24)
-Complaining about hunger in the Desert of Sin (Exodus 16:3)
-Disobeying instructions by gathering extra manna (Exodus 16:20)
-Ignoring the Sabbath command by trying to collect manna (Exodus 16:27–29)
-Protesting over the lack of water at Rephidim (Exodus 17:2–3)
-Worshiping the golden calf in an act of idolatry (Exodus 32:7–10)
-Murmuring against God at Taberah (Numbers 11:1–2)
-Complaining about the food provision in the wilderness (Numbers 11:4)
-Lacking faith to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14:1–4)
Finally, God’s wrath could not be appeased and a whole generation of Israelites were prevented from entering his “rest,” the holy presence in the promised land. So where does Jesus come in? Before beginning his ministry, Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness, (similar to the Israel’s wanderings of 40 years.) During that time, Jesus was faced with the same hardships and temptations: hunger, thirst, and taking shortcuts to his ultimate destination. Rather than give in to Satan’s lies and offerings of power, Jesus obeyed the commandments and fulfilled what Israel could not.
So as we consider the words of Hebrews, we are reminded that we cannot hope to enter God’s rest if we rely on ourselves. Instead, we need to continuously ask Jesus for his help and try to live out his example when we are in a “wilderness” of our own. Perhaps we’re not breaking the Sabbath to collect manna, but putting off time with God so we can try to earn a little extra money is something we can all relate to. Perhaps we’re not interested in worshiping a golden calf, but there is no end to the number of idols to choose from. This passage redirects our hearts away from “rebellion” and back to the example of Jesus.
