Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
they shall not enter my rest.”
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
Hebrews 3:7-11
The book of Hebrews utilizes the story of the Wilderness Generation to warn us of the danger of presuming we belong to God when actually our hearts are far from Him. First we can note that this passage is a stunning commendation of the authority of all of Scripture: the inspired New Testament author is quoting the Psalms, but gives credit for the words to the Holy Spirit, and the sacred content is a retelling of narrative from The Pentateuch. We need all of these words, and all of these words are from the very mouth of God the Spirit.
The application for us from this quotation is “Take care about your heart, and seize the day for mutual encouragement, because perseverance in the faith is the sure proof that you already have Christ as your own.” When you experience suffering or insufferable waiting, don’t waste that moment! Time in the wilderness is a gift from God. It serves to slow us down so that we can notice our hearts. What do you seek? On what are you banking your hope? What would make it “all better”? What do you fear? What do you trust? What do you really want out of life? What do you pray for? [The fact that we pray doesn’t necessarily mean we’re in a good place….prayer can be a key revealer of the idols of our hearts.] Like the Wilderness Generation, our hearts crave and demand many things that they shouldn’t.
But also like the Wilderness Generation, we have a tabernacle in our midst; not a physical one but the spiritual reality more permanent, and utterly effective, in the finished work of Jesus. In Him a priesthood and a sacrifice have been provided so that we can draw near…always. Unbelieving hearts give lipservice to God, but act as if He is distant and will not provide. Believing hearts have confidence in the God of the gospel, and so they have nothing to hide, and everything to gain from transparent community. Let’s not shrink back into secrecy, but share in Christ with soft hearts together.