Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary
A Good Church
Hebrews 3:7 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.' " 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. (NKJV)
The early Eastern Church (Dionysius and Clement, both of Alexandria), from the very beginning, claimed Paul was the writer of Hebrews. The Western Church later agreed.
Luke translated the letter to the Hebrews into Greek, according to Clement in the second century. Luke was with Paul during his second Roman imprisonment and was his amanuensis during Paul’s final days (2 Timothy 4:11). It is logical to assume that Luke was also Paul’s amanuensis for this letter.
My conclusion is that this was Paul’s last writing, written in late 67-early 68 A.D. However, the identity of the writer is not crucial. The author of all Scripture is God, the Holy Spirit.
The Book of Hebrews addresses two main subjects: the superiority of Christ and exhortations of obedient living. Mixed in with these two subjects are five warnings to the Hebrews to whom this letter was written. Each warning addresses a specific issue with the Hebrews, of which Paul was personally aware.
This passage represents the second of the five warnings given to the Hebrew Christians. The first warning was to read and study the Word of God, the Bible (Hebrews 2:1). These warnings are just as relevant to Christians today as they were to the Hebrew Christians in the sixties, A.D.
Paul begins by writing “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.' "
Paul begins this passage by citing from a Psalm of David. Verses 7-11 are taken from Psalm 95:7-11. The fact that the verses correspond with one another is a divine event. Verse numbers and chapter separations were added after the fact.
Just as the Holy Spirit brought the words to David, so does the “Holy Spirit” (v.7) now bring the words to Paul. Verses 7-11 give an accounting of the wanderings of the Hebrews in the desert, the wilderness, for forty years after the exodus from slavery in Egypt.
The people rebelled against God the whole way, causing a journey from Egypt to Israel of months to take forty years. Because of their unbelief, expressed by rebellion, only two of some 600,000 Hebrews were allowed by God to enter the Promised Land.
Only Caleb and Joshua, who believed and did not rebel, were allowed to enter the Promised Land. All others perished in the desert during the forty years, leaving only Caleb, Joshua, and the new generation to complete the journey.
Even Moses was denied entry, because of his disobedience in striking the rock, instead of speaking to it (Num. 20:8-13). Moses was allowed to see the Promised Land from a distance but died before entry (Dt. 34:1-6).
This is a typecast of salvation. Only those who believe are allowed to enter Heaven.
Paul continues by writing “Beware, brethren” (v. 12a). Paul now issues the second warning from God to Christians.
Paul continues with “lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (v. 12b). The second warning is not to have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
The Hebrews of the exodus started their journey from Egypt by trusting and believing in God. But they sinned, by losing that trust, that belief, when hardship came upon them.
In the same way, people today start out by expressing belief in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. However, when hardship comes through the attacks of Satan, as it always does, they sometimes lose that trust, that belief.
Next, Paul writes “but exhort one another” (v. 13a). One of the remedies for the sin of loss of trust in God is encouragement from other Christians. A good church will support those fellow members who face hardship.
Paul continues with “daily, while it is called ‘Today,” (v. 13b). They will support them “daily”, and “Today” is the time to start.
Paul, then, concludes this passage with “ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (v. 13c). The support of the church will help keep them from being hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
A “hardened” heart is one who has lost their trust in God. A good, Bible based, church can help keep this from happening.
A good church supports their fellow members in times of hardship. Unfortunately, some churches do not.
If this happens to you, do not give up on God, and do not give up on church. Instead, try another church.
I do not encourage church shopping, but, at the same time, if a church is not following the teachings of the Bible you should not be a member of that church.