Image: "Tidal Bore", 2013, Vicinity of St. Johns, Newfoundland, Ca
Hebrews 3:5–6 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
Hebrews 3:7–8 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,
Hebrews 3:12–14 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,
Hebrews 3:18–19 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
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The Bay of Fundy has the largest tidal variation in the world. Boats moored to a dock will ride easily abreast it at high tide only to rest on the ground at low tide. Not only that but the tide will have receded as much as a quarter of a mile from the dock. And when it comes in it arrives with a rush.
This tidal variation creates an interesting phenomenon called a "tidal bore." Rivers that normally flow to the sea during low tide will have a reverse flow as the incoming tide races toward its zenith. In the image above you see the incoming tide crashing against the flowing river as the reverse flow begins.
There's a tidal "rhythm" in history also. God does something wonderful and for a period history "flows" in a healthy and beneficial manner for the people of God. Then sin begins to "come back." During this phase, even the people of God can crash against God's purposes and even reverse course. God lets this go for a while and then He fixes it. He brings judgment or does another great work and the cycle begins again.
The ebb and flow of human events are registered in belief vs unbelief.
In this chapter, the writer speaks to this phenomenon. God has done something wonderful! He has provided us with an "Apostle and High Priest", Christ Jesus, "who was faithful" in all things. (vs. 1,2) Thus God is reversing the "flow" of "belief/unbelief" again, only this time in a superlative manner. The writer draws a contrast with a previous era when God did something similar, the time of Moses, and draws a parallel and contrast between now and then. God's sending of Jesus is so much more wonderful than His work with Moses. Moses was a "house steward" in God's kingdom, the most important "servant" in the household, but a "servant" never-the-less. This time God has sent His Son who is the Heir of God's House. The House and all in it are His possession. Thus Moses was not even remotely in the same league as Jesus. (vs. 5-6)
But, we are warned, the ebb and flow have not been eliminated. Even as happened in the day of Moses, as spectacular as God's works were then, man's sin "crashed into" the witness of God's works. Unbelief is beaten down for a moment but then begins to reassert itself. The writer is here concerned to tell us that we must not only be aware of this tidal shift but we must consciously and diligently guard against it. We will prove to be the "house" of God if we "hold fast... firm to the end."
The crucially important teaching here is that the reverse flow of sin, pushing against the great works of God, is inevitable but so is the corollary. God will again act, at some point, to reassert Himself over and against man's sin. This is also inevitable. It is as predictable as the Fundy Bay tides themselves.
So, this period of time we are in, called "today" in this chapter, must be understood very clearly. Christians must see the parallel between our time and Moses' time. Then, God's people "hardened" their hearts and as a result, virtually their entire generation died in the desert of ignominy. They did not "believe." They went "astray in their heart". (vs. 10) You see, unbelief is a lifestyle... it is a flow of human events. It is not a matter of philosophical agreement with certain propositional truths, it is belief registered in action, in willing, heart-felt obedience to a living God who owns the "House" which we are.
If the people of God, of all the world's people, fail to grasp the seriousness of this truth then unbelief will enter in, and, like the rest of the world, they will run head-on into the coming "correction" God will bring. However, this next "correction" will not begin another cycle as it did with Moses. There can be no greater "correction" given to the flow of history than that which God sent in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God.
We must accept the fact that if we evidence unbelief we also will die in the desert. This life is "today" and it is the only "day" we will get to register lives of faith. It is left for us, once to die, and then face judgment. Beyond this next "correction" the doors to "eternal rest" will be opened wide. The restless rivers of human discontent will be stilled. We must "partake of Christ" through faith and then "hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." (vs. 14)
We are not standing on the banks of the river watching this tidal bore, as was I when I took this image. We are the waves crashing and pounding below. There is nothing more important in our lives than to grasp this truth and ensure that we are the waves of belief in the picture... otherwise our peril is assured.
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