This Psalm contains a call to worship the Lord. It is a Psalm which focuses upon the wonder and the majesty of God. But there is also an exhortation here. It is an exhortation to listen to the voice of the Lord with an open heart. With this exhortation comes a warning. It is a warning of judgment. The warning is based on an event which took place at the very beginning of the history of the nation of Israel.

The family of Jacob had migrated to Egypt in the days of Joseph. Through his influence, they were permitted to settle in Egypt. But eventually they became slaves in Egypt. After a period of 400 years, Moses was called by God to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Great signs and wonders were used to deliver the Israelites from their captivity. They witnessed the mighty hand of the Lord working on their behalf against Egypt. They saw great plagues befall the Egyptians through the hands of Moses. They saw the Red Sea parted before them and they passed through its waters. They were led through the Sinai wilderness by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They were miraculously fed each day. The observed the presence of the Lord filling His tabernacle.

But after all this, when it came time for them to enter into the land that God had promised to them, the Israelites became afraid. They were afraid that God might not be strong enough to accomplish what He had promised. They rebelled against the Lord. When He commanded them to go in and to take the land that He had promised, they said, "No!" As a result of that rebellion, God condemned that generation. He did not allow them to enter into the promised land. They were condemned to wander in the wilderness. Over the next 40 years the entire generation died in the wilderness.

The writer of the book of Hebrews will be using this Psalm as his text. He will quote from this Psalm and he will give a warning which will be based upon what happened to Israel.

There is a contrast to be seen between the previous paragraph and the one to which we now come. It is a contrast between Jesus and Israel. It is a contrast between the faithful versus the unfaithful.

The faithfulness of Christ will be seen in strong contrast to the faithlessness of Israel in the wilderness. Because of this, we will be left with a decision. Will we follow the example of Christ or the example of Israel?

The writer quotes from the Psalm. He quotes from Psalm 95. This was a very special Psalm to the Jews of that day. It was traditional for them to read this Psalm at the beginning of the Sabbath day. They viewed it as a Psalm which spoke of their Sabbath rest. The word "Sabbath" in Hebrew means "rest." It was the day which the Lord had given for them to rest from their labors and to remember their God.

1. A Conditioned Decision: Today if you hear His voice (3:7).

Notice that there is a choice you have to make. This choice is introduced by the word "if." The words of the exhortation apply to you IF you hear His voice. It indicates that you have a decision to make. You can choose to listen to the voice of God. Or you can choose to ignore it. There is no third choice. You are going to do one of these two options. In fact, you are doing one of these two things right now.

This is not a call to do something in the future. It is a call for the nasty here and now. It is a call to do something today.

2. The Warning: Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me (3:7).

The warning is given. It is that you do not harden your heart. What does this mean? How do you harden your heart?

I play the guitar. When I first started to learn to play,, it was difficult. After only a few minutes, the fingers of my left hand would begin to hurt from pressing down on the strings. But as I continued to practice each day, something happened. The ends of my fingers became hardened. They began to develop calluses. And soon my fingers did not hurt when I played the guitar.

Your heart can become hardened or callused in the same way. When you first reject a portion of God’s truth, it is difficult. His truth strikes to your very heart and touches you. There is guilt. But if you continue to turn away from His truth and if you continue to reject what He has to say, then soon you will develop spiritual calluses. Your heart will become hardened so that God’s word can no longer penetrate.

The result of this kind of hardening to the Word of God is tragic. It is seen in the example of Israel in the wilderness.

3. The Example of Israel: As when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness (3:8).

Now there is a warning. The warning is given on the basis of the experience of their forefathers. They are to learn from the mistakes of Israel.

This is significant. The Bible is not merely a history book full of nice stories. These narratives are given for a reason. They are given so that we might learn from those past mistakes.

1. The Basis of the Warning: Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God (3:12).

Notice the title that the writer uses for God. He calls Him the "Living God." There is a reason for this. The same God who brought judgment against the Israelites in the wilderness is still alive and well. He is the God that will one day judge you. One day you will stand before the living God.

Back in the 1960's a number of liberal theologians declared that God is dead. Those theologians are now all dead, but God is still alive. Because there is a Living God, we are to take heed lest we follow in Israel’s footsteps.

This is a warning to all who have come to Christianity. It is a warning to all who have ever followed Christ. It is a warning to Christians. And it is a warning to you.

The warning is against falling away. The phrase "falling away" is translated from the single Greek participle , from which we get our word "apostasy." There is a danger. It is the danger of apostasy. It is that you might find yourself falling away from the Living God.

What does this mean? You must remember the context in which this is written. This is written to Hebrew Christians who were being persecuted for their faith. They have been brought up to worship in the Temple and to keep the Sabbath according to the Scriptures. But now as they turn from the Law to follow Christ, they are faced with persecution. As a result, they will be tempted to leave Christ and return to the comfort of their Jewish ceremonial system. They will be tempted to apostatize. This epistle is written to encourage these believers to remain in the faith.

Do you see the point? To depart from faith in Christ is to depart from "the living God." This was a particularly Jewish designation for God. Remember that when Caiaphas wished to bind the words of Jesus, he said to Him, "I adjure you by the living God" (Matthew 26:63). The reason that apostasy is so terrible is because God is the Living God. It isn’t a bad thing to depart from a dead god. But God is the God of life and to depart from Him means that you are departing from the source of life.

2. The Warning of a Gradual Departure: But encourage one another... lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (3:13).

There is a danger. It is not that you might make a sudden departure from the faith. Most people do not go that route. Rather, the danger is that you might be gradually hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Sin is like that. It grows on you. Each time you sin, you tend to go a little further. Each time you sin, it becomes a little easier. Eventually you will reach the place which it doesn’t bother you at all.

3. The Requirement of Endurance: For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end (3:14).

• Because He is the Son of God, you have become a child of God.
• Because He is righteous, you also have been declared to be righteous - justified through faith.
• Because His is holy, He has set you apart and made you holy.
• Because He has eternal life, you also share in that same eternal life.
• Because He has risen from the dead, you also one day will rise from the dead.
• Because He is the heir to the kingdom of God, you have become a co-heir with Christ.

Here is the result of disobedience. It was a failure to enter into the promised land. This is important. The very people who Moses led out of Egypt were the same people who provoked the Lord. It was not the pagans who died in the wilderness. It was not the heathen that God judged. It was God’s people.

Notice the movement of this passage. It is seen in the three questions:

These were people who had witnessed the mighty works of God. But they fell because they did not believe.

• God gave a promise.

• God provided a house.

• God was faithful.

Do you see the point of the passage? It is that it is possible to be the recipient of the promise, to be identified with those who have departed from the old land of Egypt and to begin the journey to the promised land, only to fall short and die in the wilderness.

Here is the danger. It is the danger that you might follow in their footsteps. It doesn’t mean that you die in a physical wilderness. But the physical death they died has a spiritual counterpart. The road is the same. It begins with an attitude of unbelief. It ends either with repentance or with the judgment of God upon that unbelief.