God's Wrath Hebrews 3:11

While the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for “forty years”, the Hebrew writer declared they “tempted” and “proved” God and His “mighty works”. This “grieved” the Lord with that “generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.” In chapter three and verse eleven of Hebrews we see how God, because of this, “swore in” His “wrath” where we read:

So I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

The verse begins, “So I swore in my wrath,...” The writer began with the words, “So I swore” which means “affirmed, promised and threatened with an oath” “in my wrath” or “anger, temper, violent emotion, indignation, violent passion, abhorrence and vengeance”. Because the people of Israel “erred” in their “hearts”, and had “not known” God's “ways”, He responded with “violent emotion” and “vengeance” upon them.

The verse goes on to say, “ ...They shall not enter into my rest.)” The writer continued, “They shall not enter” which is the Greek phrase “eiserchomai el eiserchomai” and means “they will not go, come, take possession of or arise” “into my rest” which literally means “God's resting place” and metaphorically means “the heavenly blessedness in which God dwells, and of which he has promised to make persevering believers in Christ partakers after the toils and trials of life on earth are ended”. God did not allow them to enter into the promise land because of their woeful hearts and ways.

When we think through these words in Hebrews, we realize how passionate God was about the “error” filled hearts and ways of the people of Israel. Most of the children of Israel were not allowed into God's “rest” because of their obstinance and unbelief. Jesus Christ has come offering a much greater promise land than that of the Israelites, and yet, many people wander through life continuing to “err” in their hearts and not “knowing” God's “ways”. We must consider, that if God “wrathfully” disallowed the children of Israel to “enter” His earthly “rest”, how much more shall He react to those who reject and oppose salvation through His Son Jesus?

Next time we see the writer warn us about “an evil heart of unbelief”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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