destination. We also have a goal within our own community of faith. We work together to help each other on this journey, to do the work of ministry together, and to form a deep relationship as brothers and sisters in Christ. We also share a goal as the people of God in this generation. How each person and each group lives up to their potential will determine how well our generation lives up to its spiritual destiny.
Straying from God’s Plan Results in Us Not Arriving at the Final Destination (3:10–11)
Verses 10–11 continue the quotation from Psalm 95. God responds to Israel’s disobedience in anger and judgment. The context for these verses is Numbers 14. When the Israelites hear the report of the spies concerning the great size and strength of those dwelling in the land (Num 13:27–33), they respond with great fear and acrimony (Num 14:1–2). They question the wisdom of having left Egypt and decide to choose a new leader to help them make the return trip (Num 14:3–4). At first Yahweh wishes to destroy them, disinherit them, and form a new nation in their place (Num 14:11–12). Moses, however, intercedes for the people and Yahweh relents (Num 14:20). Nevertheless, Yahweh announces their punishment: “None of the people who have seen my glory and the signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tested me these 10 times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their ancestors; none of those who despised me shall see it” (Num 14:22–23). When Moses told the people the bad news, “the people mourned greatly” (Num 14:39).
We can get this sense with athletic teams. It’s exciting to follow a sports team through a season. Each game that’s won is one step closer to the final victory. Each loss is a test of a team’s resolve. Maybe you can remember a time when you’ve cheered for your team in a championship game. There comes the moment at the end when you realize they’re going to make it. The end comes and all those months of supporting your team pays off. You let out a cheer or jump up and down. Then there are those other times when your team is just not up to it. As the clock ticks down you get a sinking feeling, they’re not going to make it. Your mind is numb, you feel sadness and emptiness. The story of the Exodus is that way. The Israelites who left Egypt weren’t going to make it back home. It would be up to their children to reach the final destination.
Our own efforts in life may not reach a successful conclusion. A hardness of heart, a stubbornness of will might prevent us from remaining loyal to God and committed to following the ways of God. It’s sad to meet people who are angry and bitter with God and who have turned their back on the church and their Christian faith. It is so much better to experience a life of victory and accomplishment, a life which grows in spiritual maturity each year. That’s the life of blessing, that’s the life of promise.
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Hebrews tells us the words of God and the works of God should lead us to obedience rather than rebellion. Straying from God’s plan results in us not arriving at the final destination
Arriving at the final destination can be tricky. My parents came to visit us when we were living in Rhode Island. It was probably for my graduation from Brown University. I gave my father specific directions on how to go from the freeway straight across to a secondary road. I had one statement then in the directions: “Stay on that Road until you come to the street. It’s a winding road, but just stay on it.” He didn’t trust my directions and turned around to go back to the main road. He then traveled around a big loop around the city and back almost to where he had been. If he had just trusted me a little bit more, he would have found his way.
We must trust the directions God has given us for life. The path sometimes seems winding and may take us through difficult places. But we must stick to God’s directions for life and trust that in the end, God will bring us home.
Distractions Along the Way (3:12–19)
There are two kinds of travelers, those who travel to arrive at the intended destination and those who visit a succession of diversions until they finally arrive at a destination, not necessarily the one they originally had planned. I can remember as a boy taking family vacations. Ours were always car trips that usually ended at a relative’s house or at the home of some preacher or missionary family somewhere. I can remember only once that we stopped to see a sight along the way. Usually we were lucky if our dad stopped the car for a bathroom break.
Can you imagine how long it would take to get somewhere if we abandoned our planned trip and took a detour at every interesting place along the way? You could imagine what would happen if you were traveling and stopped for every diversion. The trip is supposed to take just one hour. But you haven’t had breakfast, so you stop at a restaurant to eat. Further down the road, you see a gourmet coffee shop, so you stop to get some good coffee. Then there’s an antique store that you’ve heard about, and you stop for an hour of browsing. A few miles further you run across a specialty candle store, and you have to stop. The trip goes on like that, an excursion of diversions. Some travelers not only get diverted by distractions that waste time but that waste a person’s character and a sidetrack becomes a dead-end.
For the author of Hebrews, the situation of this group of people to whom he was writing was dire. He was afraid of them getting sidetracked, losing their way. The paradigmatic story of redemption from bondage to sin as illustrated in the Exodus contained a failure of the people to complete the journey God had provided. They left home in Egypt but never arrived at their destination. It’s a classic example of what it means to lose your way, and it happens all the time to Christians and to churches. The author of Hebrews wants us to know, we can be sure of arriving at our destination if each of us is heart-conscious toward God (3:12), if we encourage each other to stay faithful (3:13–14), and we remember what happens to those who fail through unbelief (3:15–19).
Each Beware of Turning from God in Unbelief (3:12)
Individually, we should be careful about our own attitudes to God. The author describes it as having an “evil, unbelieving heart” (3:12). The expression “turn away from the living God” implies following false gods and idols. God was distinguished from pagan gods because they were represented by a physical object. God was the elohim hayyim, the living God. Deut 13 has a dire warning about false prophets that distract the Israelites from God to worship idols. Deut 13:10 states that the one should be stoned who seduces others “to turn you away from the LORD your God.”
How are people drawn away these days? One of the most powerful forms of persuasion is the media. Television shows are not written just to entertain or educate. They are frequently created to manipulate society. I often get the sense, when I’m watching a sitcom that’s really funny or clever—but the life situation or the philosophical message is not one I would have agreed with—that the writers and producers were really smart to affect my way of thinking through entertainment. People get the message that, those who appear as models for behavior and beliefs are people we should want to imitate. If we don’t, then we are outmoded and irrelevant—or just plain boring. That happens whenever someone charismatic or glamorous is put in front of us. If we want to be like them, we should believe like them.
We should not, of course, follow the instructions of Deuteronomy 13:10 in a literal way. Rather, we are to keep watch on ourselves to see how we are being affected. We should find ways to balance the influences in our lives. Our minds and character are continually being molded by what we see and hear. Why would we want to set a bad example for ourselves to follow?
Together Encourage Each Other to Faithfulness (3:13–14)
Not only should we watch out for ourselves, we should be watching out for each other. It’s not just on Sunday that we should encourage each other, but we should be doing it every day. It’s like the old line about doing something tomorrow: every day you can put something off, because every day always has a tomorrow. Our instruction is about what we should do “today.” Each day it is “today,” so each day is the day in
