A Warning from the Wilderness

1
A Warning from the Wilderness

• Jesus over Moses
• Not in faithfulness but in His Person and Service
• Moses- servant in Gods house
• Jesus- builder and Son over the house
• We are the house of Christ referring to the
  church
• If we hold fast to our courage and hope to the
  end.
• First warning of drifting away in 21-4
• Second warning 37-19- the is the danger of
  departing from the Living God
• Look at the example of Israel in the wilderness

2
Israel Hardened Their Heart

• Heb 37-11, So, as the Holy Spirit says "Today,
  if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts
  as you did in the rebellion, during the time of
  testing in the desert, where your fathers tested
  and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.
  That is why I was angry with that generation, and
  I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray,
  and they have not known my ways. So I declared
  on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my
  rest.
• Ps 957-11, for he is our God and we are the
  people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
  Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your
  hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day
  at Massah in the desert, where your fathers
  tested and tried me, though they had seen what I
  did. For forty years I was angry with that
  generation I said, "They are a people whose
  hearts go astray, and they have not known my
  ways. So I declared on oath in my anger, "They
  shall never enter my rest."

3

• Ex 171-7
• Massah (tested) Meribah (quarreling)

Mt Nebo
Kadesh
Massah Meribah

• Sinai

Desert of Paran

• Desert of Paran
• Spies
• Caleb (Judah)
• Joshua (Ephraim)

Sinai

• Num 201-13
• Kadesh
• Waters of Meribah

• Num 2712-14
• Moses
• Waters of Meribah

4
Hebrews

• Israel harden their hearts
• Therefore they did not enter Gods rest
• God became angry at their persistent rebellion
• Ps 10613, But they soon forgot what he had done
  and did not wait for his counsel.
• 10613-33- forgot tested envious worshipped
  what eats grass forgot God who saves despised
  promises grumbled provoked God to anger
  rebelled.
• God swore they would not enter His rest.
• Only children who were under 20 when they left
  and Joshua and Caleb entered the promise land.
• 603,548 men died in the wilderness.

5
Danger of Departing

• Heb 312-14, See to it, brothers, that none of
  you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns
  away from the living God. But encourage one
  another daily, as long as it is called Today, so
  that none of you may be hardened by sin's
  deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if
  we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had
  at first.

6
There Is A Need to Beware

• A believer can develop a sinful, unbelieving
  heart (remember written to holy brethren 31)
• Sin is deceitful
• Promises pleasure, power and prestige
• But only in the short term- Heb 1125
• Because of its deceitfulness, it easy to become
  hardened
• The consequence of unbelief- it turns our hearts
  away from the Living God.
• A believer stays in fellowship with God but an
  unbeliever can drift further and further away
  from God

7
Solution Is to Encourage One Another Daily

• This is how a believe avoids becoming an
  unbeliever
• Daily mutual edification- helps prevent hardening
• Encouraged in our assemblies- Sunday Wednesday?
• But we need daily encouragement
• Husband and Wife- Family
• Pick up the phone and call when needed, visit,
  eat together, find ways to encourage each other.

8
Our Participation In Christ Is Conditional

• Heb 36, And we are his house, if we hold on to
  our courage and the hope of which we boast.
• Heb 314, We have come to share in Christ if we
  hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at
  first.
• What about the security of the believer?
• The believer does enjoy the assurance of his
  salvation.
• Here, he is talking of the believer whose heart
  is hardened by sin and becomes and unbeliever.
• Rev 210, Do not be afraid of what you are about
  to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of
  you in prison to test you, and you will suffer
  persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to
  the point of death, and I will give you the crown
  of life.
• Remain faithful

9
Example of Israel Revisited

• Heb 315-19, As has just been said "Today, if
  you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as
  you did in the rebellion. Who were they who
  heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses
  led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for
  forty years? Was it not with those who sinned,
  whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did
  God swear that they would never enter his rest if
  not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they
  were not able to enter, because of their
  unbelief.

10
Another Appeal Is Made

• Quotes again from Ps 957-8
• The Hebrew writer applies the quotation to
  Christians.
• They need to Hear His Voice
• Remember Heb 11-2 21-4
• Hear with a desire to be obedient
• We can harden our hearts just like in the
  rebellion.

11
Christians Need to Believe and Obey

• Who heard and rebelled?
• Israel whom God saved
• As Christians we have been delivered by Christ
  from the bondage of sin, but rebellion is still
  possible.
• Whom was God angry with for 40 years?
• Those who sinned, those who lacked faith
• Whom did God not allow into the promised land?
• Those who did not obey, those who developed
  unbelief
• Shall we enter our promised rest if we disobey
  through unbelief?

12
Conclusion

• 1 Cor 1011, These things happened to them as
  examples and were written down as warnings for
  us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has
  come.
• This is for our admonition today also
• The deceitfulness of sin is just as strong today.
• The hardening of ones heart is just as dangerous
  today.
• Departing from God is just as possible today.

13
Conclusion

• That is why we need to encourage one another
  daily
• Encourage one another to remain strong in faith.
  He 319
• Encourage one another to remain strong in
  obedience. Heb 318
• Faith and Obedience are used interchangeably in
  vs 18 and 19
• Rom 15, Through him and for his name's sake, we
  received grace and apostleship to call people
  from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that
  comes from faith.
• Rom 1625-27, Now to him who is able to
  establish you by my gospel and the proclamation
  of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of
  the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now
  revealed and made known through the prophetic
  writings by the command of the eternal God, so
  that all nations might believe and obey him-- to
  the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus
  Christ! Amen.
• Have you obeyed Jesus by obeying his gospel?