Between Tradition and Trust: The Warning We Can't Ignore

00:04:54.673 --> 00:05:13.622
Today, we step into the urgent and sobering words of Hebrews 3, a chapter the warnings of hardened hearts, the weight of rebellion in the wilderness and the piercing call to wilderness, hold fast to Christ with unwavering faith.

00:05:13.622 --> 00:05:33.459
The sun has long dipped below the horizon, casting a burnt amber glow across the stone walls of a modest home tucked along a winding street in ancient Jerusalem, or perhaps Rome, or perhaps Rome or Alexandria.

00:05:33.459 --> 00:05:39.444
The location, Rome, like the author of the letter, remains cloaked in mystery.

00:05:39.444 --> 00:05:53.000
But what is clear, what pulses in every ink stroke across the parchment, is the urgency, the sacred weight of a truth that must not be forgotten.

00:05:54.771 --> 00:05:58.060
The scribe sits by the flickering light of an oil lamp.

00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:07.697
His hands are stained with ink, the skin weathered from long days of labor, scrolls to copy, letters to preserve.

00:06:07.697 --> 00:06:09.622
But tonight is different.

00:06:09.622 --> 00:06:18.459
Tonight he writes not only as a keeper of sacred words, but as a man caught between two worlds.

00:06:18.459 --> 00:06:26.031
The heavy air carries the scent of clay, sweat and olive oil Outside.

00:06:26.031 --> 00:06:31.577
Footsteps echo over the stone roads, some hurried, some hesitant.

00:06:32.589 --> 00:06:33.973
Persecution is growing.

00:06:33.973 --> 00:06:45.290
The followers of Jesus, Yeshua, are caught in the crosswinds of an empire that demands allegiance and a tradition that fears change.

00:06:45.290 --> 00:06:49.276
And yet they press forward.

00:06:49.276 --> 00:06:55.665
They gather in homes and caves, whispering prayers, breaking bread.

00:06:55.665 --> 00:07:03.103
They are Jewish believers standing at the threshold of something divine and disruptive.

00:07:03.103 --> 00:07:19.915
Hebrews is their letter, their bridge, a tether to their past and a map to their future bridge, a tether to their past and a map to their future.

00:07:19.935 --> 00:07:22.442
The scribe pauses, fingers resting on the scroll, eyes lifted toward the ceiling beams.

00:07:22.442 --> 00:07:32.137
He's remembering Moses, the great deliverer of their people, the one who stood before Pharaoh and led them through sea and wilderness.

00:07:32.137 --> 00:07:36.884
The people revered him, still do.

00:07:36.884 --> 00:07:51.081
And yet here in this letter, he must show them that Yeshua is greater, not to diminish Moses, but to fulfill the promise he himself anticipated.

00:07:51.081 --> 00:07:57.283
He breathes deep and dips the reed into ink again.

00:07:57.283 --> 00:08:07.797
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters who share in the heavenly calling, he writes with care.

00:08:07.797 --> 00:08:10.536
Every word matters.

00:08:10.536 --> 00:08:20.860
These aren't just lines on parchment, they are lifelines to those who waver, to those who ache to know whether the Messiah is truly the one.

00:08:24.093 --> 00:08:30.004
Hebrews 3 is a call, a warning, a reminder.

00:08:30.004 --> 00:08:38.937
It reaches across centuries, echoing the wilderness, wonderings, the hardened hearts of those who saw wonders and still doubted.

00:08:38.937 --> 00:08:45.154
The scribe knows this isn't just history, this is a mirror.

00:08:45.154 --> 00:08:59.309
And so he crafts every phrase like a shepherd guarding his flock, every phrase like a shepherd guarding his flock, urging them do not harden your hearts.

00:08:59.309 --> 00:09:07.251
Outside, the stars glimmer, cold and distant.

00:09:07.251 --> 00:09:08.173
Inside, the spirit burns close.

00:09:08.173 --> 00:09:11.056
The scribe is not just recording doctrine, he's wrestling with it, living it.

00:09:11.056 --> 00:09:28.144
He, like his brothers and sisters, longs to enter the rest spoken of in Scripture, not just a physical promised land, but a deeper, eternal Sabbath, a home in God himself.

00:09:28.144 --> 00:09:44.318
This chapter is where Judaism and Christianity embrace intention and fulfillment, where the faith of the patriarchs, meet the faithfulness of Christ, where the household of Moses bows to the sun over the house.

00:09:44.318 --> 00:09:46.703
So lean in.

00:09:46.703 --> 00:09:58.301
Hear the rustle of the scroll Picture the flicker of lamplight dancing over weathered walls, feel the weight of a faith forged in fire and love.

00:10:00.791 --> 00:10:07.024
As we prepare to hear Hebrews 3, I invite you to step into the scribe's sandals for a moment.

00:10:07.024 --> 00:10:10.995
Feel the quiet tension in the room as he writes.

00:10:10.995 --> 00:10:21.692
Feel the quiet tension in the room as he writes Each word a lifeline to fellow believers, wavering between the comfort of tradition and the challenge of faith in Christ.

00:10:21.692 --> 00:10:32.985
He knows the weight of what he's saying that Jesus is greater than Moses, not in opposition but in fulfillment.

00:10:32.985 --> 00:10:41.811
Imagine the pressure in the scribe's chest as he calls his brothers and sisters to hold fast, to not let their hearts grow hard like their ancestors in the wilderness.

00:10:43.793 --> 00:10:44.975
This is more than a letter.

00:10:44.975 --> 00:10:50.424
It is a warning, a plea and a beacon of hope.

00:10:50.424 --> 00:11:11.679
Let these words remind us that faith is not only believing but persevering, that Christ, the builder of the house, calls us daily to listen, to respond and to walk forward, even through the unknown, with trust in the one who leads us home.

00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:18.434
Now let's take a moment to quiet our hearts and listen to the word itself.

00:11:18.434 --> 00:11:30.813
Let these words sink deep into your spirit, bringing comfort, conviction and encouragement, whether you're sitting in a quiet place or out in the world.

00:11:30.813 --> 00:11:34.150
Allow scripture to meet you right where you are.

00:11:34.150 --> 00:11:38.198
I hope you have your favorite cup of tea or coffee.

00:11:38.198 --> 00:11:47.163
Sit back, relax and let's step into the sacred text of the Epistle to the Hebrews 3.

00:12:02.586 --> 00:12:05.750
The Epistle to the Hebrews 3.

00:12:05.750 --> 00:12:14.962
Holy brothers and sisters, God chose you to be His people, so keep thinking about Jesus.

00:12:14.962 --> 00:12:20.126
We embrace Him as our apostle and our high priest.

00:12:20.126 --> 00:12:25.125
Moses was faithful in everything he did in the house of God.

00:12:25.125 --> 00:12:30.407
In the same way, Jesus was faithful to the God who appointed him.

00:12:30.407 --> 00:12:36.186
The person who builds a house has greater honor than the house itself.

00:12:36.186 --> 00:12:42.087
In the same way, Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses.

00:12:42.087 --> 00:12:49.087
Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

00:12:49.087 --> 00:12:54.186
Moses was faithful as one who serves in the house of God.

00:12:54.186 --> 00:12:58.325
He was a witness to what God would say in days to come.

00:12:58.325 --> 00:13:06.292
But Christ is faithful as the son over the house of God, and we are his house.

00:13:06.292 --> 00:13:16.520
If we hold tightly to what we are certain about, we must also hold tightly to the hope we boast in, to the hope we boast in.

00:13:16.561 --> 00:13:22.869
The Holy Spirit says listen to His voice today.

00:13:22.869 --> 00:13:24.778
If you hear it, don't be stubborn.

00:13:24.778 --> 00:13:26.803
You were stubborn when you opposed me.

00:13:26.803 --> 00:13:31.677
You did that when you were tested in the desert.

00:13:31.677 --> 00:13:32.099
There.

00:13:32.099 --> 00:13:34.666
Your people have long ago tested me.

00:13:34.666 --> 00:13:39.017
Yet for forty years, they saw what I did.

00:13:39.017 --> 00:13:40.899
That is why I was angry with them.

00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:44.763
I said their hearts are always going astray.

00:13:44.763 --> 00:13:47.907
They have not known my ways.

00:13:47.907 --> 00:13:51.750
So when I was angry, I made a promise.

00:13:51.750 --> 00:13:58.296
I said they will never enjoy the rest I planned for them.

00:13:58.296 --> 00:14:02.519
Brothers and sisters, make sure that none of you has a sinful heart.

00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:10.626
Do not let an unbelieving heart turn you away from the living God, but build one another up every day.

00:14:10.626 --> 00:14:13.568
Do it as long as there is still time.

00:14:13.568 --> 00:14:16.672
Then none of you will become stubborn.

00:14:16.672 --> 00:14:23.534
You won't be fooled by sin's tricks.

00:14:23.534 --> 00:14:29.798
We belong to Christ if we hold tightly to the faith we had at first, but we must hold it tightly until the end.

00:14:29.798 --> 00:14:34.465
It has just been said Listen to his voice today.

00:14:34.465 --> 00:14:38.291
If you hear it, don't be stubborn.

00:14:38.291 --> 00:14:41.442
You were stubborn when you opposed me.

00:14:41.442 --> 00:14:46.004
Who were those who heard and refused to obey?

00:14:46.004 --> 00:14:50.365
Weren't they all the people Moses led out of Egypt.

00:14:50.365 --> 00:14:54.325
Who was God angry with for 40 years?

00:14:54.325 --> 00:14:56.682
Wasn't it with those who sinned?

00:14:56.682 --> 00:14:59.403
They died in the desert.

00:14:59.403 --> 00:15:05.346
God promised that those people would never enjoy the rest he planned for them.

00:15:05.346 --> 00:15:08.779
God gave his word when he made that promise.

00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:12.589
Didn't he make that promise to those who didn't obey?

00:15:12.589 --> 00:15:17.183
So we see they weren't able to enter.

00:15:17.183 --> 00:15:27.326
That's because they didn't believe.

00:15:38.182 --> 00:15:46.519
As we come to the end of our time together, let's take a moment to reflect on the powerful truths woven throughout Hebrews 3.

00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:50.779
This chapter is more than just a historical reflection.

00:15:50.779 --> 00:15:54.480
It's a mirror held up to our own hearts.

00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:08.951
The scribes' words remind us of the human tendency to harden our hearts, to drift back into old patterns of doubt and self-reliance, just as the Israelites did in the wilderness.

00:16:08.951 --> 00:16:28.403
But it also calls us back to something greater, something eternal, to Christ, the one who built the house we now belong to, and to the rest he offers us, not as a distant promise but as a present reality.

00:16:29.950 --> 00:16:45.883
Hebrews 3 beckons us to guard our hearts and encourage one another daily to stand firm in faith and to remember that we no longer live for ourselves but for the one who is faithful, the one who is greater than all.

00:16:45.883 --> 00:16:49.581
The fire has dimmed now.

00:16:49.581 --> 00:16:54.158
The scribe leans back, eyes heavy, but heart still stirred.

00:16:54.158 --> 00:17:03.780
His hand rests beside the scroll, still smudged with ink, a quiet testimony to a night spent in holy labor.

00:17:03.780 --> 00:17:13.295
The words are there, sealed on parchment, alive with meaning, waiting for hearts ready to listen.

00:17:13.295 --> 00:17:29.406
And now we too sit with those words, centuries later, not in the lamplight of a stone room, but perhaps in our cars and our homes or walking beneath the open sky.

00:17:29.406 --> 00:17:38.053
And yet something in us knows we are not so far from that ancient field.

00:17:38.053 --> 00:17:53.269
We too are caught between worlds, between the familiar and the faithful, between the identity we were born into and the calling we've received in Christ.

00:17:58.592 --> 00:18:00.642
Hebrews 3 asks us to reflect, to consider.

00:18:00.642 --> 00:18:01.265
It doesn't shout.

00:18:01.265 --> 00:18:12.241
It invites today, if you hear his voice.

00:18:12.241 --> 00:18:13.587
Today, not yesterday, not tomorrow.

00:18:13.587 --> 00:18:20.455
Today, the scribe knew the cost of waiting too long, of turning away when the voice of God called from the wilderness.

00:18:20.455 --> 00:18:23.039
And so he writes with a voice both urgent and tender.

00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:25.805
Do not harden your hearts.

00:18:25.805 --> 00:18:40.461
This is for you, for every listener walking the tightrope between heritage and hope, between law and grace, between the wilderness of wondering and the promise of rest.

00:18:40.461 --> 00:18:46.182
What does it mean to live as one who belongs to the house of Christ.

00:18:46.182 --> 00:18:52.138
It means guarding your heart, not in fear but with faith.

00:18:52.138 --> 00:18:59.080
It means encouraging others daily, while it is still called today.

00:18:59.080 --> 00:19:04.358
It means remembering that Christ is not just a figure of reverence.

00:19:04.358 --> 00:19:14.938
He is the builder of the house you live in, the one who shapes you, stone by stone, into something eternal.

00:19:14.938 --> 00:19:25.940
But to truly grasp the weight of this chapter, look back with the eyes of the scribe, see how it connects with what he's already written.

00:19:27.790 --> 00:19:35.859
In Hebrews 2, we saw Christ step into our suffering, not above us but beside us.

00:19:35.859 --> 00:19:47.065
The great king became our brother, our high priest, bearing our weakness so that no one, not one soul, would suffer alone.

00:19:47.065 --> 00:19:49.531
Apply that now.

00:19:49.531 --> 00:19:57.099
When you meet someone in grief, in doubt, in fear, don't look away.

00:19:57.099 --> 00:20:00.723
Enter into their wilderness.

00:20:00.723 --> 00:20:03.291
Sit beside them, just as he sat beside us.

00:20:03.291 --> 00:20:07.121
Let your faith speak, not just in words but in presence.

00:20:07.121 --> 00:20:19.517
And in Hebrews 1, we saw the majesty, the sun, radiant with the glory of God, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

00:20:19.517 --> 00:20:22.378
That isn't just theological truth.

00:20:22.378 --> 00:20:30.146
It's your anchor when you're overwhelmed, unsure if you belong in this hybrid of history and hope.

00:20:30.146 --> 00:20:42.068
Remember the one who reigns in glory also came to whisper today.

00:20:42.068 --> 00:20:50.413
He is not only transcendent, he is with you.

00:20:50.413 --> 00:20:57.792
So, as you leave this episode, picture yourself in the field, maybe like the shepherds of old, looking up at a sky scattered with stars, uncertain but full of wonder.

00:20:57.792 --> 00:21:04.765
You are part of the story now - p art of the household he is building.

00:21:06.009 --> 00:21:06.570
The scroll.

00:21:06.570 --> 00:21:12.683
It may be finished, but the word is still being written on hearts every day.

00:21:12.683 --> 00:21:15.250
But the Word is still being written on hearts every day.

00:21:15.250 --> 00:21:22.848
Encourage one another, stay tender, stay listening.

00:21:22.848 --> 00:21:27.501
Thank you for joining me today as we journeyed through the epistle to the Hebrews 3.

00:21:27.501 --> 00:21:43.065
I pray that you carry these reflections with you into your day, into your week, and that you find strength in knowing God is with you in every trial, every temptation, and every step of obedience.

00:21:43.065 --> 00:21:49.971
If this time in God's word has encouraged you, take a moment to share it with someone who might need it.

00:21:49.971 --> 00:22:01.300
And be sure to join me next time as we continue walking through the scriptures, learning, growing, and staying faithful in the field of life.

00:22:01.300 --> 00:22:10.124
Until next time, may you find peace in the quiet trust in God's call and rest in His unchanging love.

00:22:10.124 --> 00:22:17.855
This is In the Field Audio Bible, where we Listen to the Bible One Chapter at a Time.