Hebrews 3 Mumbling & Grumbling: Beware the hardened heart!

Bible Study Series: Jesus in Hebrews - Better by Far!

Hebrews 3 - Mumbling & Grumbling: Beware the hardened heart!

by I Gordon

In the first part of Hebrew chapter 2 we spoke about the peril of unconscious decay and the slow drift away from the Lord that can take place with some believers. Well Hebrews chapter 3, focusing heavily on Israel's experience in the wilderness, contains another warning to heed. So I've called it this message 'Mumbling and grumbling - beware the hardened heart!' Now I know what you are thinking. You're thinking 'well I've never mumbled and grumbled!' Yeah, me neither. Ok... my nose is starting to grow. Human nature being what it is, there is a slim chance that both you and I might relate to some of this! We'll look at the entire chapter today focusing on the following points:

• The One greater than Moses - who should we focus on and what are some distractions?
• The experience of Israel in the wilderness - what were the 10 times Israel tested the Lord and what caused them?
• The deceitfulness and hardening of sin - what leads to mumbling and unbelief and who are some 'good' men that even struggled with this when the pressure was on?
• The wonderful Psalm 95, quoted in Hebrews 3 - What seven points does it also give that stop the mumbling and grumbling?

Let's go.

One greater than Moses

Heb 3:1-6  Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.  (2)  He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house.  (3)  Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.  (4)  For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.  (5)  Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future.  (6)  But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

We see in this passage the contrast between Moses and Christ and we can understand the need for the author to address this. Imagine being a Jewish believer in those days with the intense pressure from your family and community to 'come back' to 'the faith of your fathers'. They would have said 'we have the temple, the Priests, the law, the sacrifices, Abraham, Moses & David... and what do you have?' Well, what do believers have? We have a heavenly calling, home and citizenship. We have a holy standing before the Father. And most importantly we have Jesus! And Jesus plus nothing is more than enough! Adding to that, we have a faith that without which, no one can please God. But you will note something about all these things that the believer has - none are seen to the natural eye. They are spiritual blessings. Yet they are clearly seen and held by the eye of faith. People love religion because of what they can see - the wealthy buildings, the garments, the statues, the images, the idols, the incense. People like things they can hear, touch and see. A couple who used to be on our leadership team at church had a Catholic background and they used to speak of the outward attraction of what they called the 'smells and bells' accompanying the Catholic mass. They said this impressed many as something holy and spiritual. 

Yet the writer says we have Jesus, our apostle (meaning One sent by God) and high priest and we need no other priests! So having shown in chapters 1 and 2 that Jesus is greater than the angels, the writer now makes it clear that Moses is also no match for our Lord! In Judaism, Moses is generally considered the most important person and certainly he was a great man of faith as Hebrews 11 attests to. But Jesus is greater! The argument that the writer makes is that Moses was a servant in God's house and as faithfully as he served in his time, he was still a servant. In contrast, Jesus is the son, not a servant, in that house.   

When the focus isn't true

It is really important that we focus on the Lord Jesus. I listened to an interview with a Jewish believer recently¹, who on his first ever visit to a church, heard the preacher speaking about the transfiguration. He heard how Moses and Elijah met with Jesus on the mount which he found very interesting as being Jewish, he was familiar with them. But then he got to this bit:  

Mar 9:5-8  Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  (6)  For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified.  (7)  Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!"  (8)  All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

Just when Peter was almost putting Moses and Elijah on the same level as Jesus, three things happened:

1. A cloud descended and obscured his view
2. A voice from within the cloud said "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!"
3. The cloud cleared leaving Jesus alone. 

Yes, Jesus was the only One that the Father wanted focus on. He didn't say 'this is my beloved deliverer and law-giver Moses, listen to him!' No it was Jesus alone. No one compares! And needless to say that this really spoke to this Jewish man!

Today if you hear His voice...

Heb 3:7-11  So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice,  (8)  do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert,  (9)  where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.  (10)  That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.'  (11)  So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' "

The writer delves into Israel's history in what will become the main focus of this message and chapter. Specifically he quotes from Psalm 95 concerning Israel's hardened hearts during the time of the wilderness wanderings.

I believe that Christ is in every psalm, although I admit that I am not able to find Him in every psalm. However, here He is in Psalm 95: "For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart...
J. Vernon McGee

So this Psalm speaks of Christ as our great Shepherd and the One who we are to follow. He is the One who we listen to, as a sheep hears the voice of His master. It is a great Psalm showing many things we should do in our walk. And yet, as was the case with Israel in the wilderness, it is possible for things to go wrong in our hearts when we instead let the difficulties of this life harden our thoughts towards the Lord. That is what happened to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and that is what this Psalm also warns against. It says 'Today' if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. 'Today' is a prominent word in this Psalm and also in Hebrews 3 and 4. It emphasizes that this is a message for now... It is a message always in the present, always relevant. 

So what did Israel see during those 40 years? And what was their response? They saw and heard from God yet they repeatedly hardened their hearts. Whenever things began to get difficult they mumbled, grumbled, murmured and complained, often saying how they wanted to go back to Egypt. It all comes to a head in Numbers 14 where the 10 spies brought back a bad report of the Promised Land, leading to this inevitable response from the people:

Num 14:2-4  All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!  (3)  Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?"  (4)  And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

Oh you can hear their thoughts here - 'Didn't I tell you coming here was a mistake? We should have just died in Egypt!' 'Yeah I agree, I told you Moses was out of his depth. He doesn't know what he is doing. He led us out here to die!' 'Amen brother. Even the Lord is out to kill us.' 'Ok, let's get rid of this Moses, choose someone else, turn around and go back!' 'Well I said right from the beginning not to come. Didn't I say that? You heard me!' For his part, Moses still cared for his people and interceded for them before the Lord. And note the Lord's response to this intercessory prayer:

Num 14:20-23  The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked.  (21)  Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth,  (22)  not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times--  (23)  not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.

You will note that Numbers 14:22 says that Israel tested God ten times during their wilderness journey and while it doesn't specifically state what those ten times were, the following is a general common list given by commentators. Let's look briefly at all ten showing the attitude of the Israelites and what God did in response to this 'testing':

The Ten Tests of Israel Against God

1. At the Red Sea as the Israelites saw Pharaoh’s army approaching (Exodus 14:10-22) 

• Israel's attitude: Fear and doubt (Exodus 14:10-12). Israel complained that Moses (and God) had taken them into the wilderness to die and they would have been better living as slaves in Egypt!
• God’s response: He did an incredible miracle, parting the Red Sea (a picture of the resurrection) to save them while drowning their enemies! (Exodus 14:21-22)

2. The bitter water at Marah where the people complained about undrinkable water (Exodus 15:22-25) 

• Israel's attitude: Complaining and grumbling (Exodus 15:23-24) Only days from the miracle of the Red Sea, they were already mumbling and grumbling!
• God’s response: He purified the water through the use of a tree (a picture of the cross) giving them purified water to drink (Exodus 15:25)

3. The hunger complaints in the Wilderness (Exodus 16:2-15) 

• Israel's attitude: Ingratitude wishing they had died in Egypt. (Exodus 16:2-3) They thought back on the food they used to have in Egypt with longing to still be there!
• God’s response: He provided manna (a bread from heaven as a picture of Christ) and quail (Exodus 16:4, 13-15)

4. The disobedience regarding manna storage (Exodus 16:19-20). 

• Israel's attitude: Disobedience to Moses' instruction, trying to keep the manna overnight (Exodus 16:19-28)
• God’s response: The extra manna spoiled and did not last (Exodus 16:20)

5. Trying to gather manna on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:26-30) 

• Israel's attitude: Disobedience again to what God had declared (Exodus 16:27)
• God’s response: No manna was provided or found as God had said (Exodus 16:27)

6. Complaints about a lack of water at Rephidim (Exodus 17:1-7) 

• Israel's attitude: Doubting God’s care and ability to provide, again stated that Moses had taken them out of Egypt to let them die in the wilderness. (Exodus 17:1-3)
• God’s response: God did another miracle, providing water for all the people from a rock that Moses struck (a picture of the Holy Spirit being given after Christ, our rock, was struck!) (Exodus 17:6)

7. The Golden Calf at Mount Sinai (Exodus 32:1-35) 

• Israel's attitude: Impatience at Moses' departure lead to gross idolatry with the creation and worship of the golden calf (Exodus 32:1-10)
• God’s response: God struck the people with a plague (Exodus 32:35)

8. Complaining at Taberah (Numbers 11:1-3) 

• Israel's attitude: Complaining again of their hardships and discontentment with God’s provision (Numbers 11:1)
• God’s response: He sent fire as judgment and consumed some (Numbers 11:1-3)

9. Craving Meat Instead of Manna (Numbers 11:4-34) 

• Israel's attitude: Greed and dissatisfaction with God's provision, they demanded meat with a longing for the things of Egypt (Numbers 11:4-6)
• God’s response: He sent quail but also a plague (Numbers 11:31-33)

10. Fear of Entering Canaan (Numbers 14:1-23) 

• Israel's attitude: Fear at the sight of their enemies lead to unbelief and rebellion and a desire to return to Egypt (Numbers 14:1-4)
• God’s response: He sentenced them to 40 years of wandering (Numbers 14:22-23)

So the Israelites saw what God did - with the Red sea and their enemies, with the miracles of provision in water, manna, quail, in judgment of those that disobeyed... and yet it didn't stop their complaining. Now why do I go into all of this? Because their experience has relevance for today as stated by the Apostle Paul:

1Co 10:1-12  For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.  (2)  They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.  (3)  They all ate the same spiritual food  (4)  and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.  (5)  Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.  (6)  Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.  (7)  Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."  (8)  We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty- three thousand of them died.  (9)  We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes.  (10)  And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel.  (11)  These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.  (12)  So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

And it should be noted that their mumbling and grumbling started even before leaving Egypt. Right back when they were first faced with the Red Sea and the Egyptians closing in, listen to their voice once again:

Exo 14:12  Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

Beware the hardening of sin

Heb 3:12-14  See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  (13)  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.  (14)  We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

So it is with this context and background that the writer of Hebrews warns them not to turn from the living God... don't harden your hearts... don't look at turning around and going back when times get hard. The word translated 'Turns away' here is 'aphistēmi' meaning 'to withdraw, remove oneself, forsake, desert, retire, cease from something'. It was used by Jesus in His Parable of the Sower of those that 'believe for awhile' but in times of difficulty fall away. Jesus said:

Luke 8:13: "Those on the rock are they who, when they have heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for awhile believe, and in time of temptation fall away (aphistēmi)."   

And who are they falling away from? Not a Church or religion, but the living God. The writer of Hebrews said the process is through being 'hardened' by 'sin's deceitfulness', so what sin are we talking about and how does it harden us? The specific sin is unbelief, leading to mumbling, grumbling and dissatisfaction at our lot in life. It comes from thinking that we know better than God as to what is good for us and slowly but surely hardening our hearts towards Him. Now the Bible has examples of people struggling when times are hard and God's ways don't make sense to our limited minds. For example, early in the book of Job we read this tremendous statement of faith in the midst of extreme suffering:

• Job- Job 2:8-10  Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.  (9)  His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"  (10)  He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
  
  And yet later in the book we see him struggling and blaming God for what has happened:
  Job 10:1-3  I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.  (2)  I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me.  (3)  Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?
  
  
• John the Baptist - Even a great man like John the Baptist struggled with this. We read:
  Mat 11:1-3  After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.  (2)  When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples  (3)  to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
  
  Part of Jesus' response to John included the following convicting words:
  Mat 11:6 (NIV) Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
  Mat 11:6 (NKJV) And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."
  'Fall away' or 'offence' here is 'skandalízō' meaning 'a trap, stumbling block. To cause to stumble and fall, not found in Gr. writers. In the NT, figuratively to be a stumbling block to someone, to cause to stumble at or in something, to give a cause of offense to someone."
  
  

So what is the solution? Well Christ is! And the writer of Hebrews gives some practical advice about staying close to Him:

• See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God - That is, watch your heart. Watch what the affections of your heart are drawn to. Keep coming before the Lord and asking Him to guard your heart and minds.
• But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. - Encourage one another. The Christian life is not to be lived in isolation. You need other believers and they need you. 

And against the backdrop of people falling away, the writer again speaks clearly saying 'We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.' This is the same as what he said earlier in Heb 3:6 where we read 'And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.' That is, a sign of a true believer is endurance in the faith. William MacDonald writes:

Verses like this are often misused to teach that a person can be saved and then lost again. However, such an interpretation is impossible because the overwhelming testimony of the Bible is that salvation is freely bestowed by God's grace, purchased by Christ's blood, received by man's faith, and evidenced by his good works. True faith always has the quality of permanence. We don't hold fast in order to retain our salvation, but as proof that we have been genuinely saved. Faith is the root of salvation; endurance is the fruit. Who are Christ's companions? The answer is, “Those who by their steadfastness in the faith prove that they really belong to Him.”
Believers Bible Commentary

Those that fell in the desert...

Heb 3:15-19  As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."  (16)  Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?  (17)  And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert?  (18)  And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?  (19)  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Thus we see the following about the Israelites who fell in the wilderness:

• They doubted God's power when the Egyptians closed in on them
• They doubted God's intentions when they had no water to drink
• They doubted God's care when they had no food to eat
• They doubted God's word when they saw the giants in the land.

So the scripture says God was angry with them for 40 years and they weren't able to enter His rest. Which begs the question, what is His rest? For the Israelites it was being in the Promised Land. It was the land and the good things that it contained which had been promised by the Lord. As a type, it is important to note that it is NOT speaking of heaven for the Christian. Some make that mistake and think that if they didn't make it to the Promised Land, then they weren't saved and were lost for eternity. And then they have to think about some of those who didn't make it into the land like Moses, Aaron and Miriam to 'name drop' a few! No, the Promised Land, as a type, is not heaven but speaks of the rest in Christ which is available when we see that we can't do it, but Christ can. The Promised Land, as a type, speaks of 'Christ in you, the hope of glory'. And it doesn't mean that there aren't battles and challenges there either for we know that Israel still had battles once they arrived. But they did so with 'the man with the sword in his hand' (Josh 5:13-15) leading the way! There are many Christians who believe for salvation but know very little about the rest in the Christian life. So each new difficulty, as it was with the children of Israel in the wilderness, is met with grumbling and doubt. They can be saved eternally, but not resting in the here and now. That is why the word 'Today' is mentioned three times in this chapter. The. Rest. Is. Today! We will speak much more about this as we get into the next chapter where it becomes the central theme.

Conclusion

So what have we seen? We've seen that we are to learn from the example of the Israelites in the wilderness and not repeat their mistakes. We are to watch our heart, especially when we see it getting hardened by the deceitfulness of sin or slowly drifting from the Lord our Savior. There is a rest that is still available to all the people of God Hebrews tells us. Again, we'll focus on this next time, but I do want to leave on a positive note. For while many may mumble and grumble against the Lord, it doesn't (and shouldn't) have to be that way. Psalm 95, that has been quoted from in this chapter, Hebrews 3, also has 7 important points on what we should be doing. So throw out the mumbling and grumbling and practice these 7 points instead! 

Psa 95:1-7  Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  (2)  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  (3)  For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.  (4)  In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.  (5)  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  (6)  Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;  (7)  for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. 

Psalm 95 - What we should do...

Here are 7 quick points that we should always practice in our Christian life:

1. Have joy in the Lord (in contrast to moaning and groaning!) - 'Sing for joy to the LORD'
2. Acknowledge Him as your rock! - 'Shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.'
3. Be thankful before Him - 'Come before His presence with thanksgiving'
4. Recognize His greatness! 'For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods'
5. Acknowledge that all things are in His hand (even the difficulties you face) - 'In whose hand are the depths of the earth'
6. Bow in our hearts and worship - 'Come, let us worship and bow down'
7. Realize that He is the Great Shepherd (and that He guides and protects even when not seen!) - 'We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand'

May we practice these things and forget the moaning and groaning! 

God bless!

FOOTNOTES