3:1 and 4:14 appears to be the opening and closing statements of a long discourse on our knowledge of Yeshua, the great high Priest of our faith. 3:1 tells us to think of Yeshua, whom God sent - High Priest of our faith; while 4:14 ends with the injunction to hold firmly to our faith, knowing that we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God.
In between those two verses above is a discourse warning against losing our faith, our "courage and confidence in what we hope for" (3:6), against having "evil and unbelieving hearts" that turn away from the living God (3:12).
This warning is based on the prophecy of Psalm 95: 7 - 11, as the Holy Spirit says (3:7) with particular reference to the word, "Today" - the LXX puts it this way, "If you hear God's voice today . . ."
Through this warning, we are told to help one another everyday as long as this "Today" of Psalm 95: 7 applies to us. In other words, everyday is a "Today" for all believers in Yeshua the Anointed One. (3:13). In this manner, we are to help one another to "hold firmly to the end" the confidence that we had at the beginning (3:14).
After the reminder about "Today" of Psalm 95:7 being everyday of our lives, 3:15ff goes on to dwell on the word "rebelled" (put to test) as found in Psalm 95: 7 - 8. The following is a comparison of this passage in TEV and the LXX:
TEV
|
LXX
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Listen today to what he says
"Don't be stubborn as your ancestors were
at Meribah as they were that day
in the desert at Massah
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If you hear God's voice today,
do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were
when they rebelled against God.
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The above verses of Psalm 95: 7 - 8 refer to the rebellion at Massah and Meribah, recorded in Exodus 17:1 - 7 and in Numbers 20: 2 - 13 respectively.
Note that the rebellion of the Israelites (3:18) both at Massah as well as at Meribah arose from their unbelieving hearts. This unbelief is the subject of the warning in 3:6 and 3:12. Particularly, 3:19 tells us that they failed to enter the land because they "did not believe".
A closer look at 3:16 - 18 shows that :
- They were all who had heard God's voice,
- They all had been led out of Egypt by Moses,
- With all of their rebellious way, God was angry for 40 years in the desert.
- This culminated in Psalm 95: 7 - 11 (referring to Num. 14: 20 - 23, Deut. 1:34 - 36; 12: 9 - 10) - where God solemnly promised that all of them "will never enter the land where I would have given them rest" !
Now, as we move on to 4:1, we are confronted with the word, "Rest".
to be continued . . .
