Hebrews 3:11

Hebrews 3:11

They will never enter my rest!

None of us are capable of putting ourselves in God’s shoes! But many of us have been, or are, parents. We know what it is like to have the very best hopes and ambitions for our children, we can see their potential and encourage them to take steps to fulfil it, but rarely does it go exactly as we planned! There is rebellion implanted in the hearts of all human beings, even our kids, and we are all born with an inclination to ignore advice and to do things our way. 

God did so much for those ancient Israelites, He used miracles to deliver them from Egypt, He parted the Red Sea and calmly drowned the Egyptian soldiers who were in pursuit. He fed and watered them on their journey and led them to Mount Sinai where, for the first time in human history, He revealed His heart and the means by which those people could honour and obey Him. He was not a merciless tyrant, who insisted on unquestioning subservience, He was a compassionate Father who wanted the very best for His children. So, when they arrived at the boundary of their destination, the Land that was Promised, and the people refused to go on, to enter the earthly paradise God had ordained for them, He was angry. Why had He bothered with these recalcitrant, faithless wasters? At the very point of delivery of His greatest gift to them, they chose to refuse it and Him! Yes, God gets angry, the full account of this is set out in Deuteronomy 1. The writer of Psalm 95:8-11 goes further and describes these people as senseless and fools, and indeed they were for their intransigence led to 40 years of aimless wandering in the wilderness, lives wasted in pointless pursuits. 

Are we any different? If we fill our lives up with our own self-interests, if we while away hours in front of the TV or a computer screen, if our lives are all about self-protection and advancement, are those lives wasted and a far cry from the hopes and ambitions that the Lord may have for us? The consequence for Israel is that they were banned from entering God’s rest and much of the next few verses will be spent unravelling exactly what this meant for Israel and what it means for us!

 

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