There are at least five great passages of warning in the Book of Hebrews, in chapters 2, 4, 6, 10, and 12. Previously, we considered the passage in chapter 2, which exhorts us to give earnest heed to every teaching about Christ so that we do not drift away. Here in chapter 4, the appeal—which really begins in the middle of chapter 3—is a warning about the hard heart of disobedience.

Having presented the sufferings and glory of Christ in chapter 2, the Spirit of God speaks of Him as “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession” (3:1) and the Son over God’s house. Then follows an exhortation: we are that house “if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end” (3:6). By way of example, the Israelite fathers did not hold fast in the wilderness but instead rebelled against God. They heard His voice and saw His works, but they hardened their hearts. As a result, they did not enter God’s rest, the land of promise, but died in the wilderness. Their unbelief gave them evil hearts, and the deceitfulness of sin led to hardened hearts (3:7–19). Although they had heard the word of God, it did not profit them because they had no faith (4:2).

There remains a future rest for God’s people today (4:9), and therefore God still warns against disobedience and unbelief. Let us be diligent to enter His rest! Diligence alone does not earn any standing with God, but our diligent response to His voice will reveal the reality of our faith. Although the entire Bible is living and powerful, piercing our souls (4:12), in this context the specific “word of God” is His calling to follow Christ, just as Israel should have followed Moses. Will we obey, or will we harden our hearts?