Hebrews 3:16-19

Hey, good morning, good morning, welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we're at Hebrews chapter 3, verses 16 through 19. Let's have some coffee, we'll pray. We'll get into this whole series of rhetorical questions about the Israelites' rebellion and why they didn't enter into their rest. Let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and get a new God's Word. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for this day. It is a blessing from you. You get to read from your word, to hear from you. Lord, we pray that you would please help us to understand. And Lord, we pray for that your spirit would indeed work in our hearts to give us joy. Lord, joy that would last forever. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen. Here we go.
Hebrews chapter three, beginning at verse 16. for who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses? Now with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who did not disobey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Well, we need to ask ourselves, A, what is it about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? Well, to answer what this is about, we need to look at this whole section as comparing who's greater, Moses or Jesus? And it's Jesus who has a better spiritual house and a better promise. It's Jesus who is better than Moses. And so, verse 6 of chapter 3, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast to the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end, We have now, as we went through last time with Deborah, a very similar idea.
The people who were under Moses in that economy who died. They died in the desert because they tested their fathers. That's what Deborah and I went through last time in verse 13. What were we supposed to do? Exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you harden your heart through the deceitfulness of sin. We must not continue in Unbelief, but instead, what did verse 14 say? We hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. And now the questions are brought up in verse 16.
Who were they who rebelled? Well, it was those who were led out of Egypt. Who were they led by? Moses. Why was he angry with them for 40 years, that being God? Why was God angry with the people who were with Moses these 40 years? Well, it was because they sinned, and so that's why their corpses were in the wilderness. And to whom Did he swear that oath would not enter his rest? Answer, those who disobeyed.
Remember, go back to Numbers chapter 14 at Kadesh, Barnea, where they send the spies, one from each of the tribes, and only Caleb and Joshua come back saying they could do it. But everybody else is like, we want to just go back to Egypt or somewhere. Why are we just going to die here? Right? The glory of the Lord appears. And then they try to mount this type of Picked themselves up by them by their bootstraps and go try to conquer by force And got Moses said don't do it. They still do it and they die, right? And there's so they're wandering for 40 years. They rebel at Meribah. They rebel at Sinai They rebelled and rebelled they rebelled and so what's the whole point of this verse 19?
So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief disbelief, not because of ignorance, not because of being deceived, but because of unbelief. So what is this section about? Remember, Jesus is greater than Moses and those under Moses continued in their disbelief. But that's not the beef for you. This for best verse in my Bible, I verse 19 underlined. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
We ought to take this very seriously. Now, I am a self-professed Calvinist. I believe in the perseverance of the saints, but the perseverance of the saints are those God preserves, those who endure to the end. We must be those who are humble enough to recognize the deceitfulness of our own hearts. We need to encourage one another, exhort one another, keep on going.
Hold firm to your conviction. Hold firm to Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. Hold firm to him. Don't let go. Don't stop. Meditate upon his mercies and his goodness. Turn from your sins. and cling to him. He is good. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
We need to encourage and exhort each other to hold firm unto the end because we will not enter into a rest if we do not hold firm to the captain of our salvation, Jesus. We need him to protect us. We need the shepherd of David to feed us and to protect us and to lead us. We're like sheep, we're so ready to go astray, but we need to be reminded.
And I'm trying to encourage you and exhort you this morning. Hold firm to your faith in Christ. You are not ignorant of him. You know, he's your great high priest. You know, he's the captain of your salvation. He's the one who's made a way for you to be made right with God. And so hold firm to that faith. Hold firm to your belief. Do not be like those who died in the wilderness in their disbelief.
Things may get rough. You may run out of water. The armies may seem too big. But God's promise will prevail. Have faith. Don't give up hope. That's what we're called to do today. Have faith in Jesus Christ. To the very end. Let's pray. we do believe. Please help us in our disbelief. We do love you. Give us endurance in our love. Lord, we do trust you. Please strengthen us by your spirit. Lord, do not let us harden our hearts as in the day of rebellion. Lord, we pray that we would trust you and follow you and hold firm all the days of our lives. Thank you for Jesus, who is better than Moses. Who leads us. With better promises. Better protection. And into a great rest. In his name we pray. Amen. May you cling to Jesus Christ all your life and I'll see you next time. Bye.