Please note that this article is derived from a sermon series on Hebrews given in Bermondsey Gospel Hall, the audio of which can be found here.
Was it the ground-breaking special effects? The use of a DeLorean car, with those iconic falcon-wing doors? Steven Spielberg’s direction, Christopher Lloyd’s portrayal of scientist Doc Brown or a young Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly? Whatever it was, there was something special about it. It was the highest grossing film of 1985 and launched one of the most successful franchises in the history of Universal Pictures. The story was very simple. By travelling back in time and revisiting the past, Marty McFly would be able to alter his present circumstances and redirect his future. Back to the Future. The name of the film summarises the plot so well. We will see over the next few weeks, that it is also a good description of what the author of Hebrews does in the next part of his letter.
The last time we were in Hebrews, we spent three weeks working through Hebrews 3:1-6. We considered Christ in 3:1. We reminded ourselves the focus of the Christian life is to be on the apostle and high priest of our confession. If we are to run with endurance the race set before us, we must do it looking unto Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
We then moved on to measuring Moses in 3:2-6. When we looked around, we seen that Moses was the most appropriate character for comparison with Christ. He too was a prophet and priest. Indeed, he was the primary prophet and priest of the Old Testament. And yet, when we measured Moses by comparing him to Christ, we seen just how superior our Saviour is. Yes, Moses was faithful as a servant in God’s house. But Jesus was glorious as a son over God’s house. Moses played his part in the house. Jesus purchased the house. At the price of his own blood, he built the house of God. That is why Jesus is worthy of more honour than Moses.
We finished our treatment of the opening paragraph by observing ourselves. That’s what we are directed to do in 3:6. ‘Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and boasting in our hope.’ Two great complimentary doctrines were considered: perseverance of the saints and preservation of the saints. Christian perseverance: we must keep going in our faith, hold fast to our confession. We are to strive in our spiritual lives. And yet, that is only half the truth, for Christian preservation teaches that as we strive, God sustains. As we persevere, God protects. We can only keep going, because somebody is keeping us.
Having considered Christ, measured Moses and observed ourselves, the writer moves into the next part of his letter, the last part of this first section running from Hebrews 1-4. Therefore. Because of the superiority of our Saviour and our need to hold fast in our faith, the author takes us back to the future.
Why do I say back to the future? Well, if you cast your eye over the rest of Hebrews 3-4, you will see that it is a long discussion about a quotation taken from Psalm 95. The quotation takes us back to a certain point in history, retelling the story of Israel in the wilderness. Writing out these verses in 3:7-11, the author will regularly requote them until the end of Hebrews 4. In 3:7-11, we return to that point in history and hear of a Voice from the Past. In 3:12-19, we arrive back in the present and receive a Warning for the Present. And in 4:1-10, we cast our eyes forward to eternity and hear a Promise for the Future. Like Marty McFly, the author hopes that by returning to the past, he can change our present and redirect our future. The whole section is then closed with those famous verses in 4:11-13, ‘For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…’. Which we shall see is the foundation of all that the author will say.
Given that this quotation is central to all that the writer says in Hebrews 3-4, I want to spend a week covering it by itself, listening to this voice from the past. What we find in 3:7-11 is a very simple message: When God speaks today, we must not stray.
1. WHEN GOD SPEAKS TODAY
‘Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest."’ (Psalm 95:1-11) These are the words that many believe were used at the beginning of synagogues services to call the congregation to worship. The former Jews reading this letter would have known them well. Written by David, the Psalm falls into two clear parts – it starts off by welcoming worshipers before going on to warn wanderers. Only the second half, the warning, is included here in Hebrews, but reading the whole psalm allows you to better see the sharpness of it, that turn in the middle of the psalm gives a weight to its warning. In Psalm 95, Augustine comments, ‘We began with exulting joy… and ended with great fear.’
I wonder why you came here today? Whether you consciously thought about it or not, there will be a reason underneath the surface. If you are a Christian, which means you have acknowledged your sins before God, turned in repentance from them and are trusting in his Son for salvation, I imagine you came to worship God. You came to gather with the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hand, in this flock here in Bermondsey so that you might raise your voice in song and prayer. We shall see that such a communal gathering is in the mind of the author of Hebrews throughout this whole section. Psalm 95 confirms there is joy in joining together to worship God. But it also tells us that there should be godly fear. For as we raise our voices to him, he may reveal his voice to us.
The warning in Psalm 95 is built on this belief. When God’s people gather together, God’s voice can be heard. ‘Today, if you hear his voice’. And did you notice that this isn’t just the belief of David in Psalm 95, but the author of Hebrews believes this is just as true in his day. Look at how he introduces the quotation to his audience, ‘Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says…’. The Holy Spirit speaking is in the present not past tense. One translator will render it ‘as the Holy Spirit is saying’, explaining that the author brings the witness of the Spirit from the past into the present (Lane). The author is telling his audience that the Spirit speaks these words today just as much as he did back then.
Think of the timeline of the text with me. We will soon see that they retell the story of God speaking to the nation of Israel in the wilderness, which was around 1450 BC. God spoke in 1450 BC. Then we see him speaking again to Israel through the Psalmist, looking back on the example of the past, David writes around 1000 BC, stating that the voice of God can be heard in his day. God spoke in 1000 BC. And then, the author of Hebrews comes along, around 60-70 AD, and tells us that the Spirit speaks these words in his day. God spoke in 60-70 AD. In these words that open the section we see an illustration of what the writer says as he closes the section, that ‘the word of God is living and active’ (4:12). That God speaks in the present as he did in the past. God’s voice is not limited to one point or period in time. It does not die. God does not lose his voice. God spoke in 1450 BC, 1000 BC and 60-70 AD. God speaks in 2020 AD. Revelation is a reality today.
Notice not only the reality of this revelation but notice it’s content. God not only speaks just as he spoke in the past, but speaks through what he spoke in the past. It is the word of God to Israel in the wilderness that David draws to the attention of the hearers in Psalm 95. It is the same words spoken by David in Psalm 95 that the author in Hebrews says are being spoken by the Spirit in his day. The quotation in 3:7-8 is not new revelation, it is ‘re-revelation’ (DA Carson). When God speaks, his word does not simply communicate once at a particular point in time but continues to communicate. This was what it was intended to do. Paul explains in Romans 15:4, ‘For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.’ What was written in the past is for you in the present. It was spoken then so that it would speak to you now.
This surely is why I am standing up here. This is the belief that causes this very strange behaviour among Christians each Sunday. Somebody stands up and reads out a modern translation of ancient documents and goes on to explain what they mean for us today. No other field or discipline does this. Which is unsurprising, as no other documents are like this one. We believe that the word of God is living and active today. Not only can we be sure that God speaks today, but we can be sure of what God speaks today. Not just the reality, but the content. God speaks in the present what he spoke in the past. When the eternal God speaks, it is eternal words that are spoken. The Bible is not a dead book, it is alive. The voice of God is not silent, it is active.
‘Therefore, as the Holy Spirit is saying, ‘Today, you hear his voice…’’. Christian, are you confident that God speaks today? Are you certain that when you open the Scriptures you will hear the voice of God speaking to you by the Spirit? That when we read Hebrews 3, he speaks to us as much as he spoke to those first readers? If you are certain of that, do you see what comfort such confidence brings? Think of all that the voice of God has done in this world. In creation, it was the voice of God that spoke the world into existence. ‘God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light’ (Genesis 1:3). And since that beginning, it has been the voice of God that has sustained creation. The author of Hebrews reminded us in 1:3 that he ‘upholds the universe by the word of his power’. The voice of God is the most powerful force the universe, for it is the force that made the universe. And that voice is still available today. In the church, it was the voice of God, heard through the Spirit-filled preaching of Peter, that caused 3,000 to cry out at Pentecost ‘what shall we do?’ (Acts 2:37) and pass through the waters of baptism, in faith receiving forgiveness of sins. Fast forward 1500 years to the Reformation, that movement which recovered the true church and gospel, what was it that brought about this great movement? What was it that overpowered kingdoms and empires? What was it that redrew the map of Europe and changed the destiny of this continent and this country? When the man at the centre of it all, Martin Luther, was asked that very question, he responded: ‘I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word…I did nothing; the Word did everything….I let the Word do its work.’
When God speaks today. The voice that was heard then, can be heard today. The Spirit that spoke then, speaks today. When he read the Scriptures, whether it be Psalm 95 or Hebrews 3, God speaks by his Spirit. It is a powerful truth. But it is also a perilous truth. Like David in Psalm 95, it ought to fill us with both great joy and great fear. For while there is no doubt that God speaks today, we must decide whether we will we listen.
2. WE MUST NOT STRAY
‘Those that fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.’ So said Winston Churchill a few years after the end of WWII. The proverb actually originated with another around 40 years before Churchill said it. And yet, its sentiment is much older still. Paul, writing about the same events as David did in Psalm 95, said in 1 Corinthians 10:6, ‘Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.’ The author of Hebrews clearly agrees, for the reason we return to this voice from the past is so that it may impact our present and redirect our future. The author would have us learn from history, so that we do not repeat it and end up condemned. If we hear God speak in the present, we must not react as they did in the past.
Where is it in the past that our author takes us back to? What are these events that David in Psalm 95 refers to in his day? Where does this DeLorean-like time machine place us? We are told not to react, ‘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.’ Exodus 13 records the Passover, tenth plague struck the first born of Egypt and the Hebrews were set free. Led out of Egypt by pillars of cloud and fire, in Exodus 14, though they are pursued by the armies of Pharaoh, they are delivered, for God parts the Red Sea so that they may pass through. Having experience such a great deliverance, in Exodus 15 the nation come together to sing thanks to God. However, Exodus 15 ends by recording the first of a series of similar events. Three days after passing through the Red Sea, they people complained to Moses because the water they found to drink in the wilderness was bitter. God graciously sweetened this water and led them to a place with many springs. However, in Exodus 16, things only get worse, for the people start to complain about the lack of food and claim that they had it better back in Egypt as slaves. Yet again, God graciously provides for his people, manna falls from heaven for them to eat. And yet, still the people haven’t learnt the lesson, they haven’t understood that they can trust God to provide for them. For, in Exodus 17 they arrive in a place called Rephidim, where no water could be found to drink. Once again, the people grumble and complain, demanding that Moses provide water for them. And so, God instructs Moses to strike the rock so that water may flow from it. However, before leaving Rephidim, we are told Moses renamed it ‘Meribah’ and ‘Massah’. You may have noticed that in Psalm 95, the words ‘rebellion’ and ‘testing’ in our quotation are instead ‘Meribah’ and ‘Massah’. ‘Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness.’ These are the Hebrew words for rebellion and testing. Moses called that place, where the people had complained and demanded that God provided for them, the place of rebellion and testing. That is where the author of Hebrews, where David, wants us to return to. A place of rebellion. Or perhaps better, a period of rebellion. For this is not the only place called Meribah in the Bible.
The nation travel from Rephidim straight to Mount Sinai, where in Exodus 20 they are given the ten commandments and they will remain throughout the rest of the book of Exodus and all of Leviticus. For a book and a half of the Bible, the people of Israel will remain at Sinai, receiving the law of God. They heard the voice of God, they were given the law through Moses, they were taught how they ought to respond to the God who had delivered them from Egypt and promised them a land of their own. And yet, despite the words spoken to them by God at Mount Sinai, we see that nothing has changed from when they were at Meribah and Massah. In Numbers 1-10 they prepare to leave Mount Sinai behind, and they are hardly out of its shadow when in Numbers 11 they start to complain again. ‘Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.’ (Numbers 11:4–6) Their attitude doesn’t improve, despite receiving both quail from God to eat and suffering a plague for their complaining. In Numbers 12, we see Miriam and Aaron trying to overthrow Moses, only relenting when they were struck with leprosy. And then, perhaps worst of all, in Numbers 13 spies are sent out to Canaan and return with reports of enemies that strike such fear into the hearts of the nation, having forgotten how God destroy their last enemies in the Red Sea, that there is a full scale rebellion in Numbers 14. The people try to choose a new leader who will take them back to Egypt. In Numbers 16, there is another rebellion, this time led by Korah. And in Numbers 20 the nation once again, being in a place with no water to drink, demand that God provide them with water to drink. On this occasion, Moses is so infuriated with them that even he falters in faith, failing to carry out God’s instructions in striking the rock. Once again, he names a place ‘Meribah’ or rebellion.
These are the events that the author of Hebrews, and David in Psalm 95, are referring us to. Here are the lessons from history that we are to learn. Not that when we are thirsty in a dessert, we should refrain from disrespecting and doubting God. But that when God speaks to us, we should not rebel as they did. Next week we will think more about what such rebellion looks like – we will see that our hearts become hardened by unbelief when we stop believing the gracious promises of God and start believing the deceitful promises of sin. However, we see it clearly this week as well. ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…’. God is far more concerned about the rebellion our hearts than the rebellion of our hands, as the former is what leads to the later. Jesus himself explained, ‘For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.’ (Matthew 15:19) Long before the people of Israel strayed physically in the wilderness, they strayed spiritually in their hearts. Their heart left the way before their feet did. The way of faith, of trusting God for provision and protection. That nation that had seen the works of God, experienced the deliverance from Egypt, had been give more than enough evidence of God’s goodness and grace toward them.
What was the result of this rebellion? Again, in two weeks time we will be thinking about this more. However, our text points to it. ‘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.’’ (3:10–11) In Numbers 14, after the nation has refused to enter the Promised Land on account of the report from the spies, the LORD declares to them the result of their rebellion. Instead of entering into the Promised Land, the generation who refused to trust God, who rebelled in their heart against him, would die in the wilderness. For forty years they would march in circles around the desert until they all perished and their children took their place, for God would fulfil his promise to them. Instead of being able to enjoy his rest, the peace of the Promised Land, they would suffer the results of his wrath. Death in the wilderness. And not just the people, but in Numbers 20, at Meribah, Moses himself will be told that he will die before reaching the Promised Land, on account of his rebellion and unbelief. Wrath not rest, is the result of our rebellion.
CONCLUSION
We are going to be thinking about the events recorded in Psalm 95 a lot over the coming weeks. However, before things get more complex, as we close I want to take the simple message of this text and apply to each of us. When God speaks today, we must not stray.
If you are not a Christian this morning, do you realise that when you gather with us on a Sunday you not only hear our voices being raised to God, but his voice being revealed to us? That when he read the Scriptures, the voice of God is speaking? When we share the truths of the gospel from this book, explain that we have all rebelled against a righteous God and deserve wrath not rest and yet he sent his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins so that if you trust him, acknowledge your sin and turn from them towards him, you can enter into that rest of which the Promise Land was only a shadow, the voice of God is speaking? When you hear that voice, you can either believe in your heart or in not believing, you hardened it against him. You stray even further from him. You fail to know his ways. Every time you hear the voice of God your heart either receives or rejects. And if it does the later, do you understand what danger you are in? How much closer you move towards death under the wrath of God? Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. For ‘who has hardened himself against him and succeeded?’ (Job 9:4) Turn and trust him today.
If you are a Christian this morning, I want you to realise that the call to hold fast to our confession is a call to hold fast in our hearts. To keep believing. To keep trusting. To keep relying on the God who has surely demonstrated he is more than able to protect and provide. How much more have we heard the voice of God than even Israel in the wilderness. It is not the flawed and faltering Moses that we turn away from if we doubt God today. For we turn away from Christ, the one who is greater and far more glorious than Moses. God speaks far more clearly in the present as he did in the past. ‘For long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken by his Son…’ (Hebrews 1:1-2). The voice that we hear is the voice of God in his Son. The salvation we stray from is not deliverance over Egypt, but over sin and death and hell. The future destination we wander away from is not earthly rest in Canaan, but enteral rest with God. Have we not seek his works to know that we can trust him? Those works that culminate at the cross, where the wrath of God was poured out for us. ‘Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?’ (Hebrews 2:1–3) If you are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hand. Listen to the voice of God, the words he has spoken by his Spirit through his Son. For Jesus himself would explain, ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.’ (John 10:27)
ALEXANDER ARRELL