Hebrews 3:15
As it has been said: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion."
As it has been said
This phrase introduces a quotation, indicating that the author of Hebrews is referencing a previously established truth. The use of "as it has been said" suggests a continuity and consistency in God's message throughout Scripture. It points to the authority of the Old Testament, specifically Psalm 95, which is being quoted here. This connection underscores the unity of the Bible and the importance of heeding God's voice across both Testaments.

Today
The word "Today" emphasizes the immediacy and urgency of the message. In the Greek, "Σήμερον" (Sēmeron) conveys the idea of the present moment. This is a call to action, urging believers to respond to God's voice without delay. Theologically, it highlights the concept of God's timeless invitation to enter His rest, which is always available "today" for those who are willing to listen and obey.

if you hear His voice
This phrase underscores the conditional nature of the invitation. The Greek word for "hear," "ἀκούσητε" (akousēte), implies not just hearing with the ears but listening with the heart and mind, leading to understanding and obedience. "His voice" refers to God's communication, whether through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, or the teachings of Jesus. It is a reminder that God is actively speaking to His people, and they must be attentive and receptive.

do not harden your hearts
The warning against hardening one's heart is a call to remain open and responsive to God's voice. The Greek word "σκληρύνητε" (sklērynēte) means to make stubborn or obstinate. In a biblical context, a hardened heart is resistant to God's will and leads to disobedience and unbelief. This phrase serves as a cautionary reminder of the Israelites' rebellion in the wilderness, urging believers to learn from their mistakes and maintain a soft, pliable heart towards God.

as you did in the rebellion
This phrase refers to a specific historical event, the rebellion of the Israelites at Meribah and Massah, as recounted in Exodus 17 and Numbers 20. The Greek word for "rebellion," "παραπικρασμῷ" (parapikrasmō), conveys the idea of provocation or embitterment. This serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of disobedience and unbelief. The author of Hebrews uses this historical example to warn contemporary believers of the dangers of repeating the same mistakes, emphasizing the importance of faithfulness and trust in God's promises.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Israelites
The original recipients of the warning, who hardened their hearts during their wilderness journey after the Exodus from Egypt.

2. Moses
The leader of the Israelites during the Exodus, who witnessed their rebellion and interceded on their behalf.

3. The Wilderness
The setting of the Israelites' rebellion, where they wandered for 40 years due to their unbelief and disobedience.

4. The Rebellion (Meribah)
Refers to specific events where the Israelites tested God, such as at Meribah, where they quarreled and doubted God's provision.

5. The Author of Hebrews
Traditionally attributed to Paul or another early Christian leader, who uses this historical example to warn and encourage believers.
Teaching Points
The Urgency of Today
The word "Today" emphasizes the immediacy of responding to God's voice. Believers are encouraged to act in the present, not delaying obedience.

Hearing God's Voice
This involves being attentive to God's Word and the Holy Spirit's prompting. It requires a heart open to conviction and guidance.

The Danger of a Hardened Heart
A hardened heart is resistant to God's voice and leads to disobedience. Believers must guard against becoming callous or indifferent to spiritual truths.

Learning from the Past
The Israelites' rebellion serves as a cautionary tale. Christians are called to learn from their mistakes and remain faithful.

Encouragement in Community
The context of Hebrews 3 encourages mutual exhortation among believers to prevent the hardening of hearts. Community support is vital for spiritual growth.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does the term "Today" signify in the context of Hebrews 3:15, and how can we apply this sense of urgency in our daily walk with God?

2. How can we ensure that we are truly hearing God's voice in our lives, and what practices can help us remain sensitive to His guidance?

3. In what ways might our hearts become hardened, and what steps can we take to prevent this spiritual condition?

4. Reflect on a time when you learned from a past mistake. How can the example of the Israelites' rebellion inform your current spiritual journey?

5. How can we, as a Christian community, encourage one another to remain faithful and responsive to God's voice? What role does accountability play in this process?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 95
The verse in Hebrews 3:15 directly quotes Psalm 95, which reflects on the Israelites' rebellion and serves as a call to worship and obedience.

Exodus 17 and Numbers 20
These passages describe the events at Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with Moses and tested God.

Hebrews 4
Continues the theme of rest and obedience, urging believers to enter God's rest by faith and not fall into disobedience.

1 Corinthians 10
Paul uses the example of the Israelites to warn Christians against idolatry and immorality, emphasizing the importance of learning from past mistakes.
Neglecting the Day of GraceW. Arnot.Hebrews 3:15
Now is the TimeC. H. Spurgeon.Hebrews 3:15
The Voice of God and the Hard-Heartedness of ManH. Hughes, B. D.Hebrews 3:15
To-DayJohn Hunter.Hebrews 3:15
To-DayJ. Cumming, D. D.Hebrews 3:15
The Comparison of Christ and Moses Suggests the Possibility of Apostasy from ChristC. New Hebrews 3:7-19
As Redemption from Egypt Did not Protect Israel from PunishmentJ.S. Bright Hebrews 3:15-19
People
Hebrews
Places
Egypt, Jerusalem
Topics
Angry, Ears, Forefathers, Harden, Heart, Hearts, Provocation, Provoked, Rebellion, Seeing, To-day, Voice, Warning
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Hebrews 3:15

     1412   foreknowledge
     5020   human nature
     5889   ingratitude
     6178   hardness of heart
     6663   freedom, of will

Hebrews 3:7-19

     6195   impenitence, results

Hebrews 3:12-15

     6178   hardness of heart

Hebrews 3:12-18

     8023   faith, necessity

Hebrews 3:12-19

     5705   inheritance, spiritual
     8836   unbelief, response

Hebrews 3:13-15

     6734   repentance, importance

Hebrews 3:15-19

     8705   apostasy, in OT

Library
March 22. "Hold Fast the Confidence and the Rejoicing of the Hope Firm unto the End" (Heb. Iii. 6).
"Hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" (Heb. iii. 6). The attitude of faith is simple trust. It is Elijah saying to Ahab, "There is a sound of abundance of rain." But then there comes usually a deeper experience in which the prayer is inwrought; it is Elijah on the mount, with his face between his knees, travailing, as it were, in birth for the promised blessing. He has believed for it--and now he must take. The first is Joash shooting the arrow out of the windows,
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

April 10. "Hold Fast the Confidence" (Heb. Iii. 6).
"Hold fast the confidence" (Heb. iii. 6). Seldom have we seen a sadder wreck of even the highest, noblest Christian character than when the enemy has succeeded in undermining the simple trust of a child of God, and got him into self-accusing and condemnation. It is a fearful place when the soul allows Satan to take the throne and act as God, sitting in judgment on its every thought and act; and keeping it in the darkness of ceaseless condemnation. Well indeed has the apostle told us to hold firmly
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

A Persuasive to Steadfastness
We shall have to show the value of faith while we try to open up the text before us, in which I see, first, a high privilege: "we are made partakers of Christ;" and secondly, by implication, a serious question--the question whether or no we have been made partakers of Christ and, then, in the third place, an unerring test. "We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." I. First, then, here is A VERY HIGH PRIVILEGE. "We are made partakers of Christ."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872

The Mind of Jesus.
THE MIND OF JESUS! What a study is this! To attain a dim reflection of it, is the ambition of angels--higher they can not soar. "To be conformed to the image of His Son!"--it is the end of God in the predestination of His Church from all eternity. "We shall be like Him!"--it is the Bible picture of heaven! In a former little volume, we pondered some of the gracious Words which proceeded out of the mouth of Jesus. In the present, we have a few faint lineaments of that holy Character which constituted
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

Discourse II.
Chapter XIV.--Texts explained; Fourthly, Hebrews iii. 2 Introduction; the Regula Fidei counter to an Arian sense of the text; which is not supported by the word servant,' nor by made' which occurs in it; (how can the Judge be among the works' which God will bring into judgment?') nor by faithful;' and is confuted by the immediate context, which is about Priesthood; and by the foregoing passage, which explains the word faithful' as meaning trustworthy, as do 1 Pet. iv. fin. and other texts. On the
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Exercise of Mercy Optional with God.
ROMANS ix. 15.--"For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." This is a part of the description which God himself gave to Moses, of His own nature and attributes. The Hebrew legislator had said to Jehovah: "I beseech thee show me thy glory." He desired a clear understanding of the character of that Great Being, under whose guidance he was commissioned to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. God said to
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Of the Creation 0F Man
Gen. i. 26, 27.--"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them."--With Eph. iv. 24.--"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."--And Heb.
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Weighed, and Found Wanting
'And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 3. And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? 4. And they said one
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"And if any Man Sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,",
1 John ii. 1.--"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,", &c. There is here a sad supposition, but too certain, that any man may sin, yea, that all men will sin, even those who have most communion with God, and interest in the blood of Christ. Yet they are not altogether exempted from this fatal lot of mankind. It is incident even to them to sin, and too frequently incident, but yet we have a happy and sweet provision, for indemnity from the hazard of sin,--"we have an advocate
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Saints' Privilege and Profit;
OR, THE THRONE OF GRACE ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The churches of Christ are very much indebted to the Rev. Charles Doe, for the preservation and publishing of this treatise. It formed one of the ten excellent manuscripts left by Bunyan at his decease, prepared for the press. Having treated on the nature of prayer in his searching work on 'praying with the spirit and with the understanding also,' in which he proves from the sacred scriptures that prayer cannot be merely read or said, but must
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Jesus Angry with Hard Hearts
But I must not let imagination mislead me: they did nothing of the kind. Instead of this, they sat watching the Lord Jesus, not to be delighted by an act of his power, but to find somewhat of which they might accuse him. When all came to all, the utmost that they would be able to allege would be that he had healed a withered hand on the Sabbath. Overlooking the commendation due for the miracle of healing, they laid the emphasis upon its being done on the Sabbath; and held up their hands with horror
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

The Work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ Himself is the one perfect manifestation in history of the complete work of the Holy Spirit in man. 1. Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit. We read in Luke i. 35, R. V., "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee; and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God." As we have already seen, in regeneration the believer is begotten of God, but Jesus Christ was
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

Apostles To-Day?
"Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are ye not my work in the Lord?"--1 Cor. ix. 1. We may not take leave of the apostolate without a last look at the circle of its members. It is a closed circle; and every effort to reopen it tends to efface a characteristic of the New Covenant. And yet the effort is being made again and again. We see it in Rome's apostolic succession; in the Ethical view gradually effacing the boundary-line between the apostles and believers;
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Introduction to Four Discourses against the Arians.
Written Between 356 And 360. There is no absolutely conclusive evidence as to the date of these Discourses, in fact they would appear from the language of ii. 1 to have been issued at intervals. The best judges, however, are agreed in assigning them to the fruitful period of the third exile.' The Discourses cannot indeed be identified with the lost account of the Arian heresy addressed to certain Egyptian monks (see Introd. to Arian Hist. supra); but the demand for such a treatise may have set Athanasius
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Predestination and Calling
Eternal Father, who shall look Into thy secret will? None but the Lamb shall take the book, And open every seal. None but he shall ever unroll that sacred record and read it to the assembled world. How then am I to know whether I am predestinated by God unto eternal life or not? It is a question in which my eternal interests are involved; am I among that unhappy number who shall be left to live in sin and reap the due reward of their iniquity; or do I belong to that goodly company, who albeit that
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

How Shall the Soul Make Use of Christ, as the Life, which is under the Prevailing Power of Unbelief and Infidelity.
That we may help to give some clearing to a poor soul in this case, we shall, 1. See what are the several steps and degrees of this distemper. 2. Consider what the causes hereof are. 3. Shew how Christ is life to a soul in such a case; and, 4. Give some directions how a soul in that case should make use of Christ as the Life, to the end it may be delivered therefrom. And, first, There are many several steps to, and degrees of this distemper. We shall mention a few; as, 1. When they cannot come
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Coming of the Called.
"That the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth."--Rom. ix. 11. The question is, whether the elect cooperate in the call. We say, Yes; for the call is no call, in the fullest sense of the word, unless the called one can hear and hears so distinctly that it impresses him, causes him to rise and to obey God. For this reason our fathers, for the sake of clearness, used to distinguish between the ordinary call and the effectual call. God's call does not
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Shepherd and the Fold
... Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation.' EXODUS XV. 13. What a grand triumphal ode! The picture of Moses and the children of Israel singing, and Miriam and the women answering: a gush of national pride and of worship! We belong to a better time, but still we can feel its grandeur. The deliverance has made the singer look forward to the end, and his confidence in the issue is confirmed. I. The guiding God: or the picture of the leading. The original is 'lead gently.' Cf.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Exod 20: 4-6. I. Thou shalt not
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

After Prayer Jesus Selects Twelve Apostles.
(Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. X. 2-4; ^B Mark III. 13-19; ^C Luke VI. 12-16. ^c 12 And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain ^b 13 And he goeth up into the mountain, ^c to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God. [It was a momentous occasion. He was about to choose those to whom he was to entrust the planting, organizing, and training of that church which was to be the purchase of his own blood. Jesus used such important crises, not as occasions for anxiety and
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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