Hebrews 3:7-4:7 Lesson 418

Hebrews 3:7-4:7
Lesson 418

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

A warning against disbelief (3:7-19).
The promise of rest (4:1-7).

Moses speaks to the Israelites in the wilderness.

(By an unknown artist)

Who was -

David -
David was a Jewish prophet, a poet, the author of about eighty Psalms in "The Book of Psalms," the second and greatest king of Israel, and a direct ancestor of Jesus. He is mentioned 1,118 times in the Bible. The son of Jesse, David was born in Bethlehem and spent his early years as a poet and simple shepherd until he was invited to play the harp for King Saul (1 Samuel 16:14-23). Meeting King Saul and becoming his armor-bearer changed his life forever. At about the age of twenty, David killed Goliath of Gath in battle (1 Samuel 17:1-58), became a leader of Israel's army, and married King Saul's daughter, Michal. In time, David's popularity forced him to flee from a jealous Saul (1 Samuel 18:6-16) to the land of the Philistines. David lived as a fugitive for years. After Saul and: his son Ishbosheth (heir to the throne) passed away, David returned to become king of Judah and eventually all of Israel (2 Samuel 5:1-5). David possessed great leadership skills (1 Samuel 22:2) and ushered in a golden era for Israel. He led Israel to victory over the Philistines (2 Samuel 8:1), Moabites (2 Samuel 8:2), Syrians (2 Samuel 8:5-6), Edomites (2 Samuel 8:14), Ammonites, Amalekites, and others. His forty-year reign (2 Samuel 5:4) was known for fairness as he established a sound civil government. God called David "a man after his own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), and although David sinned many times, he always repented and was forgiven. When David died at seventy (2 Samuel 5:4), his son Solomon became Israel's third king. God promised that "all nations" would be blessed through David's family. That blessing was Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David (Acts 2:29-30). "The Gospel According to Matthew" opened with Jesus' genealogy to show He was descended from King David (Matthew 1:1-1:16) and thus fulfilled the Old Testament prophesies. David's story can be found in 1 Samuel 16:1-31:13,2 Samuel 1:1-18:33, 2 Samuel 19:1-1 Kings 2:46.

Study Tip:

Be wary of all interpretations of the Bible, including these lessons.
Let God speak to you, then form your own conclusions.

The Epistle of Paul The Apostle To The Hebrews

The King James Bible

Hebrews 3:7-4:7
Listen to God

7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,

8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.

10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.

11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.


Hebrews 4:1-7
Faith leads to rest

1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Margin notes:

"Wherefore." (3:7) - Means "therefore." This connecting word links verses 3:1-6 (lesson 417) to what the author is about to say.

"Today if ye will hear his voice..." (3:7-11) - Verses 3:8-11 were inspired by the Holy Ghost, written by King David (Psalm 95:7-11), and paraphrased here as a warning against losing faith.

"As in the provocation." (3:8) - "As in the rebellion." Israelites lost their faith in the wilderness.

"The day of temptation in the wilderness." (3:8) - "The time of testing in the wilderness." This is a reference to the forty years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness as punishment for testing God (Exodus 17:1-7; Exodus 32:7-10; Numbers 11:31-34; Numbers 20:1-13).

"Tempted me, proved me." (3:9) - "Tested me (the Holy Ghost), challenged me."

"I was grieved." (3:10) - "I was enraged, offended."

"They shall not enter into my rest." (3:11) - Means this generation of Israelites will not enter the Promised Land (Canaan) (Numbers 14:22-23) because they rebelled against God.

"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." (3:12) - "Be warned, that none of you have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns you from the living God." The Israelites, freed from Egyptian bondage, lost their faith. The generation who were freed from slavery never entered the Promised Land. Instead, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. It was the following generation that found the Promised Land (3:10-11).

"Exhort one another daily." (3:13) - "Encourage one another every day." Christians should support and encourage each other.

"The deceitfulness of sin." (3:13) - The pull of sin is deceitful. Sin can be tempting, glamorous, alluring, or even appear to be necessary. We can convince ourselves that immoral, destructive, or unethical behavior is not a sin. Or that it's only wrong when someone else does it.

"We are made partakers of Christ." (3:14) - "We are made partners in Christ." We are partners with Jesus when we have faith. As partners, believers will see Jesus' promises fulfilled. We will see this theme reinforced in Hebrews 6:4-6.

"If we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end." (3:14) - "If we firmly maintain the confidence we had when we first believed, until the end (of our life)." This verse is another reminder to remain faithful; see also verse 3:6.

"To day if ye will hear his voice..." (3:15) - This plea to remain faithful is reinforced from Psalm 95:7.

"For some, when they heard, did provoke." (3:16) - "For some, after hearing God's word (and benefitting from His miracles), rebelled." Another reference to the unfaithful, rebellious Israelites (Numbers 14:2).

"Whose carcases fell in the wilderness?" (3:17) - "Whose bodies fell in the wilderness" (Numbers 14:29; 14:32). Because of their rebellion against God, they never saw the Promised Land.

"Them that believed not?" (3:17) - Unbelievers will not receive God's eternal rest. It is our faith that saves us.

"A promise being left." (4:1) - "The promise remains." Refers to God's promise of a heavenly rest.

"The gospel preached." (4:2) - "The good news preached."

"The word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith." (4:2) - "The preaching did not benefit them, because they were not faithful." Christians must have faith, and apply the truths learned from the Bible to their lives. If they do, they will "profit" from God's word and find heavenly rest.

"We which have believed do enter into rest." (4:3) - The Bible repeatedly reminds us that only faith will save us.

"As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest" (4:3) - From Psalm 95:11.

"On this wise." (4:4) - "In this way."

"And God did rest the seventh day from all his works." (4:4) - See Genesis 2:2.

"If they shall enter into my rest." (4:5) - A paraphrase from Psalm 95:11.

"It remainth." (4:6) - Means God's promise is still valid.

"It was first preached." (4:6) - Refers to the Gospel being preached.

"He limiteth a certain day." (4:7) - "He sets a certain day."

"Saying in David." (4:7) - God spoke through David.

"To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (4:7) - Repeated from Psalm 95:7.

To learn more about Jew's "tempting" God in the wilderness read Numbers 14:1-45.

New Living Translation

Hebrews 3:7-4:7

7 That is why the Holy Spirit says,
  "Today when you hear his voice,

8 don't harden your hearts
   as Israel did when they rebelled,
      when they tested me in the wilderness.

9 There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
      even though they saw my miracles for forty years.

10 So I was angry with them, and I said,
   'Their hearts always turn away from me.
      They refuse to do what I tell them.'

11 So in my anger I took an oath:
      'They will never enter my place of rest.'"

12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.

13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still "today," so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.

14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

15 Remember what it says:

  "Today when you hear his voice,
      don't harden your hearts
      as Israel did when they rebelled."

16 And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn't it the people Moses led out of Egypt?

17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn't it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness?

18 And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn't it the people who disobeyed him?

19 So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

Hebrews 4:1-7

Promised Rest for God's People

1 God's promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.

2 For this good news-that God has prepared this rest-has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn't share the faith of those who listened to God.

3 For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,

  "In my anger I took an oath:
      'They will never enter my place of rest,'"

even though this rest has been ready since he made the world.

4 We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: "On the seventh day God rested from all his work." 5 But in the other passage God said, "They will never enter my place of rest."

6 So God's rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God.

7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:

  "Today when you hear his voice,
      don't harden your hearts."

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's question:

1. Why the warning?

Let me know if your email address is changing.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. The author uses the story of the Israelites and their waning faith to warn Christians not to abandon their faith.  Loss of faith often results in complaining, hardening of hearts, backsliding, or rebelling against God.  God freed the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and offered them the promised land. But after they rebelled, that generation was left to wander in the wilderness. Just as then, if believers rebel against God after being freed from the bondage of sin, He will withhold the eternal promised land.



Application thought for the day:

Do you harbor disbelief?

Continue to study the Bible and ask God to increase your faith.

God will open your heart to His truths.

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
© 2023 evolke

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