Hebrews 3:7-12 “Wherefore … 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
The word “Wherefore” connects “whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end” (Hebrews 3:6) with “Take heed, brethren”! In Hebrews 3:7-11 there is a parenthetical quote from Psalm 95:7-11 in which the Lord warned Israel, in the period of the Kings, to not behave as their rebellious fathers did in the wilderness after being delivered from their Egyptian Bondage. Because the Children of Israel did not believe the Word of God, those from twenty years of age and older (Numbers 14:29) were not permitted to “enter into” the Lord’s “rest” (Hebrews 3:11); that is, they were not permitted to “enter into” the Promised Land, the Land of Canaan. In the same manner, we are warned to “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”. Under Divine Inspiration, the Apostle Paul issued another similar warning; telling us, “because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.” (Romans 11:20-21)! A person believes in and knows God in a loving way at the instant they are “born again” (John 3:1-8); but here, we are being Commanded to obediently believe the Word of God, for there can be severe consequences if we do not. We fail to believe the Word of God when fear, discouragements, human weaknesses, worldly enticements, etc. hinder our worshipful obedience to the Lord. Thus, we are issued such Commandments as, “be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58); that is, no matter how severe our circumstances may be we must remain “stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord”!