Sermon: Don't Resist A Rest, Hebrews 3:7-19

 I have the privilege of preaching occasionally at Forest Community Church in Forest, VA. Over two years ago I began a series on Hebrews entitled "Keep Your Eyes on Jesus." I decided to post the links to the videos for any who would like to watch them. This sermon covers Hebrews 3:7-19 and is called "Don't Resist A Rest." The sermon was originally preached on July 24, 2022. I'll post the notes/outline below (NOTE: the video may not follow the notes exactly!), but here is the video link: Hebrews 3:7-19. The sermon starts around the 3:00 minute mark. 

Hebrews Series: Look to Jesus

Do Not Resist A Rest, Hebrews 3:7-19

Prayer: O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Intro: Importance of God’s Word and obedience for rest—Adam and Eve; Abraham, Isssac, and Jacob; Moses; children of Israel; David; Jesus. When we refuse to listen to God and obey what he says, we are resisting a rest. Rest comes from walking with Jesus (come to me) but can be resisted. Today, our author reminds us: Don’t Resist A Rest. God’s rest is something we can resist, and to avoid doing this, our author gives us three points to remember: 1) Israel Resisted God’s Rest—the Word (vv. 7-11), 2) Israel’s disobedience came at a price—the Warning (vv. 12-15), and 3) We don’t want to miss our opportunity—the Why (vv. 16-19). 

Main Point: Do not harden your hearts to rebellion like the Exodus generation. Do not resist a rest!

Word (vv. 7-11); Warning (vv. 12-15); Why (vv. 16-19)

If the first 6 verses of this chapter are the positive example of faithfulness, then the rest of this chapter focuses on a negative example and sets the tone for the discussion in chapter 4 where the author discusses the “rest” of God. This section begins an exhortation to the readers regarding faithfulness. To accomplish this goal, the author introduces a quote from Psalm 95.

The Word—Israel Resisted God (vv. 7-11): The reference to Psalm 95 would no doubt be familiar to the Jewish readers of Hebrews:

This Psalm was often read during the Festival of Tabernacles or Booths. It happened in the autumn, and people would go outside and live in little huts that they made. They would take their meals there for seven days to remember that they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. And they would remember their mistakes that led to the wilderness (and to death for many in that wilderness). And they would remember God's grace and provision as well.

The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95:7-11. The Psalm may be divided into three parts:

Exhortation: “do not harden your hearts”

Example: “as you did in the wilderness”

Judgment: God speaks “Therefore I was angry”. Note: part of worship is to listen for God’s speech, and in this case God gives a harsh word.

The author of Hebrews brings this Psalm into the present experience of his readers for the following reasons:

They would be very familiar with it.

It was a sober reminder of the people’s lack of faithfulness..

It describes the importance of listening to God’s voice

It underscores the tragic price of faithlessness/refusal to hear and to act on God’s Word.

As the author interprets Psalm 95, it becomes clear that he has the events of Numbers 13-14 (Kadesh Barnea) in mind (Bill Lane--Call to Commitment):

People come to the edge of the land of promise. God tells them to send in 12 spies. Ten come back with a negative report. The people responded with hardness of heart to God’s Word. The people despair, and God judges them. The people try to respond after the fact (more hardness of the heart maybe?) and receive a crushing defeat (late obedience is often half-hearted and rarely rewarded—obey NOW! Do not wait! Do not resist a rest).

The point here is that “hardness of heart” seems to signify treating the Lord and his Word with contempt. It is a refusal to believe God and to act on that belief. Do not resist a rest by refusing to hear and to obey God. When he calls, obey immediately. If we resist a rest, there is trouble ahead. Let’s consider the warning—they paid a price for resisting! Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

The Warning—They paid a price for resisting. (vv. 12-15): In Hebrews 3:12-19, the author underscores the urgency of listening to and properly responding to God’s voice. George Guthrie states that he uses ideas like “heart,” “day,” “today,” “hear,” “enter,” “test,” “rest,” and “unbelief” from the Psalm to create a commentary and exhortation for his readers.

There are two clear exhortations here (Guthrie--NIV Application Commentary):

Take care to listen to God and avoid hardness of heart.

Encourage each other daily.

The price for resisting God is a loss of rest—judgment. We need to be careful NOT to resist a rest. We need to encourage each other and press each forward to obedience and faithfulness. Resisting a rest comes at a price, so we need to be careful that we don’t miss our opportunity. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

The Why—Don’t Miss Our Opportunity (vv. 16-19): In a type of “question and answer” format, the author weaves his commentary by quoting parts of Psalm 95 and responding with the corresponding events in Numbers 13-14 (Lane--Call to Commitment):

V. 16 “who heard and provoked God” (Psalm 95)—were they not those who “came out of Egypt with Moses” (Numbers 14)

V. 17 “With whom was he angry for 40 years” (Psalm 95)—”Was it not with those who sinned, and whose bodies fell in the wilderness?” (Numbers 14)

V. 18 “To whom did he swear” (Psalm 95)—those who were “disobedient” (Numbers 14)

Our author is warning his readers to avoid the hard hearts of the Jews and the judgment of Kadesh Barnea (Psalm 106 too!). The preacher then draws two significant conclusions:

We have become partners/partakers with Christ (v. 14), but this presupposes a firm intent to continue faithfully to the end

Israel was unable to enter God’s promised rest due to unbelief and disobedience (v. 19)

Hebrews’ author ends his section with a continued call to faithfulness. The example of Jesus (and Moses) form the positive model. The example of the Jews in the wilderness are the negative.

As before, our author warns of the consequences of continued disobedience or unfaithfulness—there are, in other words, problems when we neglect God:

Neglect of God leads to hardness of heart

Hardness of heart leads to loss of rest

There is retribution for ignoring God and his voice

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

Conclusion:

Bill Lane asks the following questions for application of this passage:

Do we possess a hardened heart?  Do we display a deeper concern for the counsel of others than for the counsel of God?

Does an attitude of unbelief characterize our lives?  Are we living in fear of the “giants in the land” instead of relying on God for provision?

Does our disposition display a quickness to grumble and complain about our circumstances?

Do we tend to extend a calloused and unappreciative attitude towards one another?

At a critical moment the Jews refused to listen to God.  Their refusal to listen reveals a lack of faith or a fundamental refusal to trust God.  Their rejection of God reveals this shocking truth:

“A participant in the redemption provided by God can choose to disbelieve God.  It is possible to display unpardonable indifference to the promise of God.” (Bill Lane--Call to Commitment)

What do you think?

Five principles of faithfulness are found here:

A healthy focus on Jesus encourages one to faithfulness.

Faithfulness is volitional as well as intellectual or emotional.

The twin failings of sinfulness and unbelief hinder faithfulness.

The faithful persevere in their commitment.

Faithfulness is communal, it is not simply individual.

What do you think? How would you apply this text to your community of faith?

Passages: Amos 8; Psalm 95; Numbers 14; Matthew 11; Colossians 1

Thank you for reading!