Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
This passage opens with a reflection on Moses, a hero of the faith from the Old Testament. If you’re not familiar with him, take time to read Exodus. The Lord used Moses to lead his people out of a 400-year run of slavery in the land of Egypt. It was no small task, and although Moses had a few blunders along the way, the author of Hebrews continues to refer to him as one who was faithful to God. The Lord used Moses to institute the wilderness Tabernacle, a place where the One True God could dwell with His people. Even so, the author of Hebrews desires that his audience understand that Jesus Christ is even better than Moses. He’s more faithful than we can articulate, and believers, as “God’s house” (v. 6) or God’s people, are His very own possession. Because of Jesus, God dwells within those who belong to Him. Praise God for that!
Further down in the passage, there is a warning. In verse 12, the warning is to beware of drifting or turning away from God. The author is reminding us that despite having seen the work of the Lord and knowing the truth of His love for us, it’s still possible to drift from Him - to hear Him and know Him, but still follow your own desires. Two times in this passage you’ll see the phrase that calls us not to harden our hearts in rebellion, referring to the people of God, the Israelites in Exodus. They had been delivered from slavery, fed with manna from Heaven, met with the presence of God, and yet turned from Him.
When we read what they did, we usually respond, “Why in the world would they do that?” or “How could they be so foolish?” However, Hebrews reminds us that this turning away can happen to any of us before we realize we are drifting because sin is deceitful. Notice verse 13, “But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.” (CSB). This is just another reason why the people of God are better together. When we allow other believers into our lives, we also allow their encouraging voices to speak into us. When we truly love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can speak to one another in loving accountability and bear with one another in prayer, which helps us to avoid the drift.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.