Hebrews 3:7-11: To Day If Ye Will Hear His Voice
2022-08-20
Hebrews 3:7
With the word “Wherefore” we should consider the previous context. This would include the superiority of Jesus to Moses, and the consequences of rejecting Christ. Paul then quotes Psalm 95:7-11 here and in the subsequent verses. The psalm recounts the wilderness generation of Israelites before they went into the promised land. We now look at this in detail.
What follows is what “the Holy Ghost saith.” “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” or is God-breathed, as we discussed previously. The question that may be appropriate is that perhaps is the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Godhead, the one speaking these words, in the original context?
Here begins the quote: “To day if ye will hear his voice...” By “today,” the emphasis is something urgent, and something not meant to be put off to another day. God’s Word has been spoken in His Son Jesus Christ (cf. Hebrews 1:1-2). The Gospel has been preached. You must hear and respond today.
The Jewish people hearing this letter were the ones who seemed to be slow to learn. The Jewish nation at large could not make up their mind on whether Jesus was the Christ. On a national level and a personal level, they needed to decide immediately that Jesus was the Christ, superior to angels, superior to Moses, and that He alone is Savior. This is not written to Jews alone; we also must settle it in our minds that Jesus is the Savior. We can profess one thing, but in secret recesses of our soul believe an entirely different thing.
Hebrews 3:8
When hearing the Gospel, they could harden themselves. Historical examples are given: “as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness.” Look at Psalm 95:8, the original quotation: “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness” (Psalms 95:8). Your translation may make this more obvious, but the words for provocation and temptation are Meribah and Massah, respectively. These refer to places where the people spoke against the Lord.
Consider first Exodus 17:1-7. Previously, the people had been delivered from the Egyptians at the Red Sea. God purified bitter water for the people at Marah (Exodus 15:22-26). Once He had done this for them, the Lord said, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26). Does this sound familiar to Hebrews 3:7-8?
Then, He provided for them again at the oasis Elim in Exodus 15:27. Afterwards, the people challenged Moses and the Lord again in Exodus 16, and they received the manna, which they would receive for 40 years.
Now, in our passage of interest, once again, the people have no water to drink. They believe again that God brought them out of Egypt to kill them with thirst. Having forgotten the lesson at Marah, they argue with Moses to the point he feels his life is threatened. The Lord provided them water from the rock. Moses struck the rock, and they and their cattle were provided for. With ample provisions, the Israelites has plenty of opportunity to learn of the Lord’s trustworthiness but failed to do so. This is a human trait, not limited to ancient Israelites. This place is called Massah and Meribah: “And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?” (Exodus 17:7).
Fast forward many years later, and a similar story is shared. Consider Numbers 20:8-13. This is a different narrative, considered one of the doublets of the Pentateuch by the higher critics. This plays out much the same way as the other narrative. The major difference is that Moses should speak to the rock (see 1 Corinthians 10:4; Christ was struck, and we received the living water) rather than strike it to receive water. This might be a part of his sin. He followed the old instructions offered in Exodus 17:6. But this was not the main sin; Moses’ main sin was that he was going to get water from the rock, and the water was not rather God’s provision for them. He took credit for God’s provision, and this caused him to forego the promised land. See what is says? “Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them” (Numbers 20:12). Moses himself did not believe God at the instant. These waters are called Meribah also. See how we must conclude Moses’ inferiority to Jesus.
These experiences are referenced repeatedly throughout the Bible as points of failure and warnings:
Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. (Deuteronomy 6:16)
And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath. (Deuteronomy 9:22)
And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. (Deuteronomy 32:50-51)
And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah (Deuteronomy 33:8)
Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. (Psalm 81:7)
Hebrews 3:9
These were two events, but these events became typical of the entire 40-year experience. Meribah and Massah could be a synecdoche (a figure of speech where a part represents the whole) for the entire wilderness experience. The Israelites saw repeated instances of God’s miraculous works, but they forgot them each time. This is testing the Lord; they saw the miracles, but when their needs arose and the deliverance did not come fast enough, they provoked Him to action. It sometimes did not end well. They doubted the goodness of God repeatedly. This is a call to action for us, where we see the Lord seemingly not responding to our needs in our time, to rest in His goodness rather than to not trust in Him.
Hebrews 3:10-11
With which generation was the Lord grieved? The one that came out of Egypt. Consider the spies sent out from Kadesh into the promised land. Ten spies came back focusing on the strength of the Canaanites, while Caleb and Joshua trusted that the Lord could give them the land: “If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not” (Numbers 14:8-9). But the ten were believed over the two, and they wanted to stone them.
Consider Numbers 14:22-24, 27-32. They saw the miracles of the Exodus and the preservation in the wilderness. Because they did not trust God on that premise, they would not see the promised land, the “rest.” Everyone 20 years and older would die in the wilderness. However, the younger generation, under 20 years, would enter the promised land. The only exceptions would be Joshua and Caleb, because they believed the promises of the Lord.
These are physical examples to illustrate something spiritual. I do not believe that everyone in the wilderness was unsaved and went to hell when they died. However, the example is showing us a physical example so we can understand the spiritual reality before us today. The subsequent sections of verses will apply this passage to the spiritual application.
What is the original context of Psalm 95? We saw some of the history; let us look at the context within the psalm.
Psalm 95:1-2
We sing to the Lord because He is the “rock of our salvation.” He saved; we rejoice. We did not elicit this salvation. We now rejoice because He saved us. We do so with thanksgiving and with singing the psalms.
Psalm 95:3-6
Next, we see that God is the God and King over all, including other so-called gods. Once again, we see God has the highest and lowest of all things in His hands. This is like what we saw in Psalm 8. The deep places and the mountains are a merism, or two opposite extremes to signify a whole. For example: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), i.e., He created everything!
The mention of the sea is significant, because many ancient Near Eastern cultures thought that the sea was a god, and that the world began by the defeat of these water gods (see discussion). We see here that God is supreme over all these things deified in the ancient world.
Because He is the supreme Creator, there is no one else to worship but to the LORD.
Psalm 95:7
Here, we get personal, since this God that is supreme over all creation is our God. We belong to Him. We are likened to sheep of a great Shepherd. But it is with this, we are cautioned, because we must hear His warning and learn from the error of the previous generation. From here, we see the verses of interest in Hebrews 3:7-11.