College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Hebrews 3:12-19
Our pilgrimageHebrews 3:12-19.
Text
Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God: Hebrews 3:13 but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin: Hebrews 3:14 for we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end: Hebrews 3:15 while it is said,
To-day if ye shall hear His voice,
Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
Hebrews 3:16 For who, when they heard, did provoke? nay, did not all they that came out of Egypt by Moses?
Hebrews 3:17 And with whom was He displeased forty years? was it not with them that sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
Hebrews 3:18 And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that were disobedient?
Hebrews 3:19 And we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.
Paraphrase
Hebrews 3:12 Brethren, this example of sin and punishment should make you take heed, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, by departing from the living God; which ye will do, if ye reject the gospel, or renounce it after having embraced it.
Hebrews 3:13 Instead of exhorting one another, after the example of your fathers, to depart from the living God, exhort one another every day to obey Christ, while He calls you today to enter into the rest of heaven, lest any of you should be hardened against his call, through the deceitful suggestions of an unbelieving, timorous, sinful disposition, which magnifies the hardship of suffering for the gospel.
Hebrews 3:14 For we are partakers of the blessings of Christ's house, the gospel church, only if we hold fast the faith we have begun to exercise on Him as our Saviour (Chap. Hebrews 5:9)firm unto the end of our lives.
Hebrews 3:15 Perseverance in faith and obedience is requisite to your enjoying the privileges of Christ's house; as ye may know by the saying of the Holy Ghost to the Israelites in David's days, Today, when ye shall hear His voice commanding you to enter into His rest, harden not your hearts as your fathers did in the bitter provocation.
Hebrews 3:16 For many, when they heard the command to enter into Canaan, bitterly provoked God by their disobedience, and were excluded from His rest in Canaan. However, not all who went out of Egypt with Moses provoked God by their rebellion, and were so punished.
Hebrews 3:17 But, to show you the infectious nature of disobedience, I ask you with whom was God displeased forty years? was it not with them who rebelled, (Joshua 5:6), even all the men of war who were numbered, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?
Hebrews 3:18 Farther, to make you sensible of the evil of disobedience, to whom did God swear that they should not enter into His rest, but to them who, notwithstanding they had seen God's miracles, did not believe He was able to bring them into Canaan, and absolutely refused to enter?
Hebrews 3:19 Thus we see that the Israelites could not fight their way into Canaan, because they did not believe the promises of God.
Comment
Take heed, brethren
Profit by their mistake, the author is saying. Society makes a fool of itself every generation:
a.
One generation seemingly has to try everything for itself rather than to be warned.
b.
Foolish is the man who will not learn from others.
lest haply
Perhaps, or lest there be, is the meaning of this expression.
There is a likelihood of falling away unless a person is careful.
there shall be in any one of you
This is personalany one of you.
We need warning, and we have it.
a.
1 Corinthians 10:12: Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
b.
1 Corinthians 9:27: I buffet my body.
c.
1 Corinthians 10:5; 1 Corinthians 10:10.
d.
e.
f.
Jude 1:5: Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
an evil heart of unbelief
Sin will cause people to disbelieve.
The so-called good moral man does not exist:
a.
Unbelief is evilsufficient to keep one out of God's rest.
b.
Mark 16:16: He that disbelieveth shall be condemned. The devil seems to sow doubt.
a.
To Eve, Genesis 3:4-5: Ye shall not surely dieye shall be as God.
b.
To Jesus. If, Matthew 4.
1.
Matthew 4:3: If thou art the Son of God command that these stones become bread.
2.
Matthew 4:5-6: On pinnacle of temple: If thou are the Son of God, cast Thyself down.
in falling away from the Living God
You can not fall away unless you were there.
Some say: You never had it if you lost it.
The Jews fell away after believing and being saved.
This falling away is falling from fellowship, and results in falling into the hands of God.
Hebrews 10:31: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living. God.
but exhort
To exhort is to give a pep talk:
a.
We should not let another's spiritual enthusiasm freeze up.
b.
This young Timothy was told to do.
1 Timothy 6:2; These things teach and exhort.
c.
Be careful lest you get into a rut of browbeating, People need feeding as well as rebuking. Exhort means to encourage.
one another day by day
We have a responsibility to one another daily:
a.
We should have a constant interest in our brethren.
b.
A day missed in encouragement may result in an eternity lost.
so long as it is called To-day
It includes every time that God addresses us.
Every time that God's sacred mouth speaks, remember, Today if ye shall hear His voice.
Jesus warned about the passing of the day:
a.
John 12:35: Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you.
b.
John 9:4: The night cometh when no man can work.
A seasonable time will not always last.
lest any one of you
This makes it broad enough to include all:
a.
1 Corinthians 10:12: Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
b.
Overconfidence in any endeavor is dangerous.
be hardened
He is talking to Christian people, yet some say, once saved, always saved.
Sin makes one tough, calloused:
a.
Saul, a wonderful specimen of mankind, became hardened against David.
b.
Judas was trained among the other disciples, yet his heart was hardened against Jesus.
by the deceitfulness of sin
Sin is seductive:
a.
Colossians 2:8: maketh spoil of you through. vain deceit.
b.
Matthew 13:22: deceitfulness of riches.
The sin here of primary concern is apostasy.
Ways to be deceived:
a.
Deceive self. 1 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 6:3; 1 John 1:8; James 1:22.
b.
Fair speeches deceive the simple. Romans 16:18. c.
Deceitfulness of riches. Matthew 13:22.
d.
False teachers. Matthew 24:24: lead astray. the elect.
e.
Deceived by the devil. Revelation 12:9: Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.
for we are become partakers
It is also translated, made partakers.
a.
We become partakers in faithfulness to our call.
b.
We cannot expect a faithful Christ to save an unfaithful person.
partakers of Christ
Christ partook of man's flesh that man might partake of Him.
Being a partaker entitles one to the benefits:
a.
It has the idea of sharing in, participating with.
b.
The true calling of all true believers is meant here.
firm unto the end
As long as life shall last must be the determination of the child of God:
a.
There is no time for relaxation, compromise, or half-heartedness.
b.
Hold fast is the exhortation in Revelation 3:11.
We do not know when the end will be, so we must be firm always.
Today if ye shall hear His voice
The warning from Psalms 95:7is quoted:
a.
It suggests the urgency of action, the very day one hears.
b.
We have only one chance, Hebrews 9:27.
No purgatory, or second chance, is taught in this book.
For who when they heard did provoke?
This passage is translated differently:
a.
The King James version says: For some, when they had heard
b.
It also is translated: Who were those hearers who did bitterly provoke.
How does the difference arise?
a.
The early manuscripts did not have punctuation or accent marks.
b.
In 240 B.C., Aristophanes introduced an imperfect system for the benefit of scholars and teachers.
c.
In the fifth century, Christian writers began to use accents.
d.
Not until the tenth century did accents have a universal usage.
e.
The problem arises in the word who. Either:
1.
Who is an interrogative and requires a question mark at the end of the sentence, Or.
2.
Who is an inadequate pronoun equivalent to some and requires a period at the end of the sentence.
The word some suggests that some did not provoke, but this group was very small:
a.
Joshua and Caleb were two of the hundreds of thousands, so even the word all in this verse is justified.
b.
The lesson to be gained is to avoid being like the Israelites.
nay did not all they that came out of Egypt by Moses
The King James version translation may give room for some exceptions:
Howbeit not all that came out.
a.
Joshua and Caleb are exceptions.
b.
Clarke suggests: ... all the priests and whole tribe of Levi, for they were not of the ones to fight.
1.
Numbers 26:63-65 seems to eliminate this.
2.
Some may have lived, however, for Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was one who did take possession:
a)
See Numbers 26:60: Eleazar son of Aaron.
b)
Sec Numbers 34:17 and Joshua 24:33.
And with whom was He displeased forty years
The King James version states, But with many of them God was not well pleased.
Disbelief or doubt displeases God, as it breaks fellowship, or is a barrier to fellowship:
a.
Disbelief drove Adam and Eve out of the garden.
b.
Disbelief drove Israel into the wilderness.
c.
Disbelief keeps men away from God. Hebrews 11:6.
was it not with them that sinned whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
Individuals are not discussed, but a disbelieving nation is.
a.
Joshua and Caleb were the exceptions.
b.
Moses and Aaron did not enter Canaan.
c.
1 Corinthians 10:5-13 suggests that not all perished, so we must conclude that those innocent ones who were too young to disbelieve did not perish.
d.
Numbers 14:29 says that all who were twenty years old or under should enter.
Funerals must have been often and sad, as a generation perished in the wilderness because of unbelief.
and to whom sware He that they should not
This refers to God's condemnation and punishment. This is pronounced in Numbers 14:20-38. Numbers 14:22 says that they tempted God ten times.
not enter into His rest
It was a land of rest as God planned it:
a.
No more bondage and oppression.
b.
Cisterns, cities, farms, etc., were to be taken over. Deuteronomy 6:10-11.
Those who did enter were disobedient like their parents, hence Canaan really never did become a place of rest.
but to them that were disobedient?
King James version: But to them that believed not.
a.
Mark 16:16 expresses the awfulness of disbelief:
1.
You do not have to be a great worker of evil, only a disbeliever.
2.
Disbelief in the love, providence and gift of Jesus Christ is sufficient to condemn a man.
Disbelief is equivalent to disobedience.
And we see
God's word is for us to study so as to find out how God deals with man:
a.
1 Corinthians 10:11: Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.
b.
Wise men profit by others-' mistakes; fools never learn.
they were not able to enter in
This then is a warning to all Christians.
If every word spoken by angels was stedfast, Hebrews 2:2, then this word must be heeded.
Reward goes only to the faithful:
a.
b.
c.
because of unbelief
They were believers who became unbelievers:
a.
This is a lesson against backsliding, trifling.
b.
Is this unbelief the same as infidelity?
1.
Noit is not believing God.
2.
There is a difference in believing God and believing in God.
3.
Paul believed God. Acts 27:25: For I believe God, that it shall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me.
This was backsliding for Israel:
a.
Hosea describes Israel as a backsliding heifer. See Hosea 4:16.
b.
Revised Version: Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer. Israel hath behaved himself stubbornly like a stubborn heifer.
If you have worked on a farm you can understand this. Some say it is impossible for men to fall away and be lost. If you point out a backslider, they say he was not saved in the first place. It amounts to, If you get it, you can-'t lose it; if you lose it, you never had it. It is a dangerous doctrine, If you can-'t be lost. People can take all kinds of advantages of God, yet be saved.
c.
Let us study the Scriptures on the subject:
1.
Notice the many names given to backsliders.
a)
Proverbs 14:14: shall be filled with his own ways
Hosea 11:7: People who are bent to backsliding
b)
Shrinking back: Hebrews 10:38: righteous shall live by faith.
Some people shrink back. They lack courage. Some are like a horse with a collar sore; they never get in and pull.
c)
Falling away: Hebrews 3:12: evil heart of unbelief in falling
Luke 8:13: and in time of temptation fall away.
Hebrews 10:26-31: sin wilfully.
Hebrews 6:4-6: For as touching those whofell away.
d)
Falling from grace: Galatians 5:4: ye are fallen away from grace.
How can man promote the doctrine that man can-'t fall away from grace?
e)
Being hindered: Galatians 5:7: Ye were running well, Who hindered you. ?
f)
Removed from the faith: Galatians 1:6: ye are quickly removing from him that
g)
Again entangled therein: 2 Peter 2:20: they are again entangled. the last state is become worse with them than the first. cf. 2 Peter 2:21-22.
2.
Some examples of backsliding:
a)
Israel: Hosea 4:16: Israel slideth back. Exodus 32 records Moses on the Mount and Israel making a golden calf.
b)
Solomon: 1 Kings 11:4: When Solomon when he was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods. cf. Hebrews 3:9.
c)
Simon Peter: Matthew 26:69-75: cursing, I know not the man.
d)
The Galatians: Galatians 1:6: I marvel that ye are so quickly removed.
e)
Simon the Sorcerer: Acts 8:13: He believed and was baptized.
Acts 8:23: Thou art in the gall of bitterness
f)
Judas: Matthew 26:48.
g)
Ananias and Saphira: Acts 5:1-11.
3.
Some practical thoughts in relationship to backsliding:
a)
Our duty to one who errs.
Matthew 18:15-17: If thy brother sin against thee, go to him.
1 Corinthians 5:1-5: Deliver such a one to Satan.
Galatians 6:1: Restore such a one.
b)
Some things that will keep one from backsliding:
1)
Lord's Supper rightly observed:
1 Corinthians 11:30: for this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
2)
Christian fellowship that exhorts:
Hebrews 10:25: Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together
3)
Guarding one's life with doctrine:
1 Timothy 6:20: Guard that which was committed unto thee.
1 Corinthians 11:2: Hold fast the traditions even as I delivered them unto you.
4)
Prayer and meditation: Matthew 26:41.
c)
A realization that we need not fail, but that we can escape backsliding: 1 Corinthians 10:13.
d)
The backslider is not fit for the kingdom: Luke 9:62.
e)
The way back to God for the backslider: Acts 8:22: Repent and pray.
4.
A warning on backsliding. For the willful sinner there is no way back. Hebrews 4-6 :
a.
Simon Peter's fall was a spur-of-the-moment sin not planned at all; he was sorry, and so he repented.
b.
Ananias and Sapphira, and Judas each planned their sin; it was willful, and there was no repentance.
Study Questions
442.
Does God feel that one generation should learn from another?
443.
Define lest haply.
444.
Does He make the application personal?
445.
Give some warnings to man in the New Testament. cf. 1 Corinthians 10:12; 1 Corinthians 9:26; 1 Corinthians 10:5; 1 Corinthians 10:10; Jude 1:5; Jude 1:7.
446.
What is the significance of take heed?
447.
Is unbelief a serious matter according to Hebrews 3:12?
448.
Can a moral man who is an unbeliever be rightly spoken of as a good moral man?
449.
How serious is unbelief in the category mentioned in Revelation?
450.
What did unbelief do to Adam and Eve?
451.
What did it do to Israel after the Egyptian bondage?
452.
Did the devil try to work on Christ in this realm?
453.
What is implied in the expression, falling away from God?
454.
Were, they once with God?
455.
Can you fall from a building without first being in it or on it?
456.
Does this verse give encouragement to the doctrine of man that if you had it, you can-'t lose it; if you lose it, you never had it?
457.
What is our estate if we fall? cf. Hebrews 10:31.
458.
Define the word exhort.
459.
How are we to exhort? cf. 1 Timothy 6:2.
460.
How frequently should we exhort?
461.
What is meant by, so long as it is called today? cf. John 9:4.
462.
Does any one of you include you?
463.
Is Hebrews 3:12 a warning against overconfidence? cf. 1 Corinthians 10:12.
464.
What will harden man?
465.
How does sin harden?
466.
Give example of hardened hearts in the word of God.
467.
What docs sin do to people, according to Hebrews 3:13? Discuss deceit.
468.
What is the kind of sin that is involved here?
469.
Can you name some verses that speak of various kinds of deceit?
470.
Who is deceived in 1 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 6:9; 1 John 1:8?
471.
What method is used in Romans 16:18; 2 Peter 2:18?
472.
What deceives, according to Matthew 13:22?
473.
Who deceives in Matthew 25:24?
474.
Who deceives in Revelation 12:9?
475.
Define partakers.
476.
Why should we be partakers of Christ? Does it entitle us to anything?
477.
What qualifies us to be a partaker of Christ?
478.
How many evil situations could be avoided if? Hebrews 3:14.
479.
Explain hold fast.
480.
What is meant by, beginning of our confidence?
481.
Firm unto the endend of what?
482.
What is the value of the uncertainty of the time of the end?
483.
What is the significance of today if ye shall hear His voice?
484.
Whose voice is referred to?
485.
What Psalm is quoted?
486.
If God has spoken, has man a right to expect more?
487.
What did the Jews want from Jesus?
488.
What was a sign? What did Jesus answer?
489.
Harden not your hearts puts the responsibility upon whom?
490.
How did God harden Pharaoh's heart? Was God to blame?
491.
As in the provocation: would this refer to the day when the Jews provoked Jesus?
492.
What day is referred to?
493.
Does day always mean 24 hours?
494.
For who, when they heard refers to whom?
495.
Is the word who always translated who?
496.
What is implied by the word provoke?
497.
Is it an accurate literal translation to say that all who came out of Egypt did provoke God?
498.
Who were some exceptions?
499.
Who does Clarke think may have been exceptions?
500.
Cf. Numbers 26:63-65 to see if Clarke's view can be substantiated.
501.
Did any live besides Joshua and Caleb? Cf. Numbers 26:65.
502.
How long was God displeased?
503.
Show other instances in the life of people when God was displeased.
504.
What happened to those with whom God was displeased?
505.
If their bodies did not fall, was it an inference that God was not displeased with them?
506.
What was the age of those who did get to enter? Cf. Numbers 14:29.
507.
How many funerals a day did it require?
508.
To whom did God swear?
509.
What did He pronounce at this time? Cf. Numbers 14:20-28.
510.
What number of times did they provoke God? See Numbers 14:22.
511.
In what way was Canaan to be a place of rest? Cf. Deuteronomy 6:10-11.
512.
The author has talked about disbelief all the way through, but now he uses the word disobedient. Why?
513.
Are disbelief and disobedience the same?
514.
And we see has what significance?
515.
They were not able carries what warning to us?
516.
Because of unbeliefwere they ever believers?
517.
If so, what warning do we have?
518.
Were they rank infidels?
519.
Is there a difference in believing God and believing in God? Cf. Acts 27:25.
520.
Was disbelief equivalent to backsliding?
521.
What terms or synonyms are used for this condition of disbelief?
522.
What are some examples of backsliding?
523.
What should we do to the backslider?
524.
What would you suggest doing to keep people from backsliding?
525.
What is the way back to God for the backslider?
526.
Is there a way for all backsliders to repent?
527.
Why could Simon repent, but Ananias and Sapphira couldn-'t?