Hebrews 3:10
Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
It speaks of the forty years after the coming out of Egypt, when Israel tempted and proved God though they saw His works, and He was grieved with that generation. To always err in heart is persistent inward unbelief and rebellion that departs from the living God, showing itself in murmuring and complaining, distrust and fault-finding, judging fellow workers and sitting on the judgment seat, and in pride and selfishness. To have not known His ways is failing to believe He was leading, refusing to look to Him instead of men, trying to shape His work to human minds, and hearing His voice yet not receiving it by faith or putting it into practice. Because the word preached was not mixed with faith, God could not give the blessings He designed, but poured out wrath so that all but two of the adults who left Egypt fell in the wilderness and He swore they should not enter His rest. It is the voice of the Holy Ghost saying Today if you will hear His voice harden not the heart, calling everyone who hears it now, especially those who have received light, to guard against unbelief, to daily exhort one another and hold confidence firm to the end, for this history will be repeated intensified in the last years as God's people stand on the borders of the heavenly Canaan.
Israel Grieved God in Wilderness
The forty years after coming out of Egypt were the time when Israel tempted and proved God though they saw His works, and for that whole generation He was grieved. They sinned after coming out by Moses, their bodies fell in the wilderness, and He swore they should not enter His rest because they did not believe and could not enter in because of unbelief. The same gospel was preached to them as to believers now, but the word preached did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in those who heard it. Their unbelief and departure brought His grief and wrath and barred them from His rest.
To always err in heart was persistent inward unbelief and rebellion that departed from the living God. It was going astray and going wrong in heart again and again, resisting and refusing to know His ways. That unbelief and resistance grieved Him and led to the judgment that they would not enter His rest.
Erring in heart showed itself in murmuring and complaining, in suspicion and distrust of fellow workers, and in cherishing doubt and distrust planted by suspicious minds. It weighed fellow workers in human scales and put wrong constructions on their words and movements, blamed others when appearances were not encouraging, and charged blame where it did not belong. It wanted to sit on the judgment seat and take the scales out of God's hands, with persistent personal feeling and fault-finding that bring His rebuke. It also showed itself in unbelief, pride and selfishness, for they heard Christ's words from the pillar of cloud but did not receive them by faith or put them into practice.
The hardening works through the deceitfulness of sin, for Satan presents his temptations under the guise of goodness. One violation of straightforward truthfulness prepares the way for a second until wrongs repeated harden the heart of unbelief and the conscience loses its sensitiveness. Speaking words of unbelief that cast reflection on Him who is too wise to err and too good to do harm belongs to this erring and requires humbling the heart before God and asking forgiveness.
Not to have known His ways was failing to believe God was leading, refusing to look to Him instead of men and the arm of flesh, and trying to fix His work to suit human minds. It was disobeying His voice though truth was kept before them again and again, so that they might have known His ways. It was separating from God to follow the wisdom of men not under His direction. It was hearing Christ's words from the pillar of cloud without receiving them by faith or putting them into practice, in persistent failure to trust and obey from hearts that did not know His ways.
Their wrong-heartedness was obstinate refusal to receive warnings from God and persistent backsliding in unbelief, obstinacy and idolatry. It was seen in the unfaithful spies and the murmuring congregation who acknowledged the goodness of the land yet declared the inhabitants too strong. They magnified difficulties into insurmountable obstacles, wept and murmured against God-appointed leaders, wished to return to Egypt, and rejected the faithful testimony of Caleb and Joshua. Such cherished doubts and criticisms and complaints sowed seeds of unbelief and distrust to leaven the whole congregation, let the golden opportunity pass by, and kept God's prepared work of manifesting His greatness and favor from being done because of wicked unbelief and rebellion.
God was grieved and could not give the blessings He designed them to have, because leaders and people yielded to Satan's temptations and did not obey His voice. He poured out wrath for their destruction so that their bodies fell in the wilderness and all but two of the adults who left Egypt died. He swore they should not enter His rest because of unbelief, except for the two who wholly followed Him. He would have brought them quickly into the promised land if they had submitted to Him and loved His leading.
Hear His Voice Today
The verse is the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking now, saying Today if you will hear His voice, harden not the heart as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness. It belongs to the forty years in which Israel tempted and proved God though they saw His works, and it declares that God was grieved with that generation because they always erred in heart and had not known His ways. Those who sinned after coming out of Egypt could not enter in because of unbelief, their bodies fell in the wilderness, and He swore they should not enter His rest. The same gospel was preached to them as to believers now, but the word preached did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in those who heard it.
Its warning must be taken personally, especially by those who have received light but do not walk in it. No one is to harden the heart when God speaks, or turn from the living God through an evil heart of unbelief, or fail to enter His rest by refusing to trust Him. Hardship is not to be answered with doubt, but faithfulness and heed to His voice are required. The heart must be guarded against unbelief and against being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Instead there must be fear lest, a promise being left of entering His rest, anyone should seem to come short of it. There must be daily exhorting of one another while it is called Today, lest any be hardened, and a cherishing and talking and acting of faith because God manifests His grace and power again and again. Character is to be molded after the divine likeness and there is to be cooperation with God so He will work with human effort. Believers are to hold the beginning of confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm and steadfast to the end as His house and partakers of Christ, with patience doing His will, living by faith and not drawing back, not casting away confidence which has great recompense of reward, in order to enter His rest.
The passage about God's discipline of His church is meant to purify His people. In times of distress God remains their refuge and His Word their sure defense.
The warning applies to every worker, and to teachers and students as a lesson for God's people in the last days. It warns the children who entered Canaan and all who hear it now not to follow the course their fathers took and to avoid the same mistakes. Trust is to be in God alone rather than seeking help from those who do not serve Him. Those who refuse present invitations and persist in disobedience are urged not to harden their hearts while mercy still calls, but to answer with immediate repentance and obedient action rather than a mere promise.
God is grieved now by believers who hinder His work by working at cross-purposes with Him and clinging to their own way. He will not be trifled with, and His judgments are His reproof to arouse them. Those who have defied Him must stop dishonoring Him and must take up His work intelligently and unitedly, proclaiming with one voice the message of warning and salvation.
This experience will be repeated in the last years of the history of God's people, when history is repeated and the perils encountered in past ages are encountered again intensified. Men whom God has greatly honored will pattern after ancient Israel, as Satan obtained influence over men honored above all human intelligence as he honored Solomon, when leaders yielded to temptation and did not obey His voice so God could not give the blessings He designed them to have. The history stands as admonition for those living just on the borders of the promised land before entering the heavenly Canaan, who face the same danger of falling under the oath that they shall not enter His rest. The call is urgent because the end is near, Christ may come suddenly and find them unready with no second probation, and now while it is called Today if they hear His voice and turn fully to Him when He that shall come comes and will not tarry, He will have mercy and abundantly pardon.