The Book of Hebrews – Heb 3:7-19 “Today if You Will Hear His Voice, Harden not Your Hearts” – Part 2

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Heb 3:7-19 “Today If You Will Hear His Voice, Harden Not Your Hearts”  – Part 2

[Study Aired July 2, 2020]

Heb 3:7  Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 
Heb 3:8  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 
Heb 3:9  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 
Heb 3:10  Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
Heb 3:11  So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

Heb 3:12  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 
Heb 3:13  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Heb 3:14  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 
Heb 3:15  While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 
Heb 3:16  For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 
Heb 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 
Heb 3:18  And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 
Heb 3:19  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. 

Last week we looked at why we must “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.” This week we will be looking at how that through the ongoing pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ (Php 3:14) we can be granted the victory in this life over our deceitful and desperately wicked hearts that can only be brought into subjection to Christ by grace through faith (Rom 7:24-25, Eph 2:7-9).

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith [Gal 2:20]; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Whatsoever is not done in faith is sin (Rom 14:23). However, if we are granted to hear the voice of the true Shepherd, the faith that comes from God through hearing and seeing spiritually what His word means (Rom 10:17, Mat 13:16) will lead to our victory over the sin of unbelief (1Jn 5:4, Joh 6:28-29).

Rom 14:23  And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Rom 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

The sons of God are led by God’s spirit just as Christ was (Rom 8:14-17, 1Jn 4:17) so that we can please Him (Heb 11:6). We please our Father when we do what He commands us to do, and that obedience is something which can only be learned through suffering (Heb 5:8). The body of Christ is being led to repentance (Rom 2:4-6), unlike Christ who was tempted in all diverse manner yet without sin (Heb 4:15). Christ’s purpose as our savior is to teach His disciples how He and we are to overcome in this life, and He outlined the way this can be done with this prayer:

Luk 11:2  And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luk 11:3  Give us day by day our daily bread.
Luk 11:4  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

The only part of this prayer not applicable to Christ personally was “forgive us our sins” (1Pe 1:19), and the words of life in this prayer were given to those who would be quickened by the holy spirit (Joh 6:63) being cleansed and sanctified (Joh 17:17) in this age through the manifold trials and temptations (1Pe 1:3-6) from which God has promised to deliver us through our perfect high priest (Rom 5:10, 2Co 1:3-5, 1Co 10:13). We are brought to perfection on the third day for the same reason Christ was so that we can now, as mature sons, discern good and evil and “comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” That comfort is what we give to each other when we are granted to overcome in this life and share in the communion of Christ’s suffering (Heb 4:15, Luk 13:32, Mat 24:13, 1Co 10:16).

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

God was “grieved with that generation” in the wilderness because there was no conversion happening despite the trials that came to Israel for forty years. Their groanings in the wilderness were not for “the redemption of our body” as is the case with God’s elect whose hearts are being softened through our suffering that cause us to cease from sinning so that we can spend the rest of our lives fulfilling the will of God (Heb 3:9, Rom 8:22-23, Rom 8:28, 1Pe 4:1-2). God never intended that generation in the wilderness to overcome, but what they went through was written for our sakes upon whom the ends of the ages are come, and serve as a admonition of what the body of Christ must go through in order be saved (1Co 11:10, 1Pe 1:12, Mat 23:35).

Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

What happened “between the temple and the altar” is typified by Israel in the wilderness who could not overcome and were meant to continue to grieve God because of that unbelief, even as the world will not be able to change inwardly during the symbolic thousand-year reign. The world will be ruled with a rod of iron, but just as with the Israelites of old, there will be no change of heart, no conversion (Rom 9:15-21, Mat 20:15-16). Conversion is initially only granted to those who are judged (1Pe 4:17) and brought to see themselves as these unconverted generations which are guilty of all (Luk 11:51). The thousand-year reign of God’s elect under Christ is another witness that will testify against the true nature of man which cannot change (Isa 63:17) without experiencing the miracle of God’s holy spirit being given that softens our hearts and destroys the wretchedness of the old man as Christ the new man increases in us (Eze 36:26, Rom 8:36-39, Rom 8:9).

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses [1Pe 1:12], I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion [Rom 11:30-31].
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Mat 20:15  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. [The carnal mind cannot accept the goodness of God described in these verses (Rom 11:30-31).]

In type and shadow, “for some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses”, means, in type and shadow ,some did come out, but many did not (Mat22:14). The answer to whom it was that did not continue to come out of Egypt is clearly shown in the next two verses (Heb 3:17-18) reminding us that belief and unbelief are both a work of God, and God knows those who are His, those who are in His hands and bound to the altar. God willing, we will do this or that [sin or not sin, believe or not believe] as we continue to steadfastly look to our Lord who alone can give us the power to leave “the principles of the doctrine of Christ” and “let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.” (Heb 6:1-3, Jas 4:15-16, Rom 11:20-22)

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Heb 6:3  And this will we do, if God permit.

Jas 4:15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: [Heb 5:7]
Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: [Rom 2:4] otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Rebellion continued in the wilderness, and rebellion will continue during the reign of God’s saints among the future camp of Israel, as we understand Israel in the negative sense to represent the world. It may not look like rebellion on the surface, and sin, like leaven, does not manifest its fruit immediately (Gal 5:9), but over the course of time it will become evident just as it was in Christ’s life that people appreciated Christ’s miracles, but their hearts were not converted and were far from being truly obedient. God’s elect will put down all overt rebellion during this period. However, that does not mean that the heart of mankind will change just because of the rod of iron rule being administered (Luk 6:46). It is only those few who are being dragged to Christ today and who have this earnest relationship through God’s holy spirit (Eph 1:14) who will be able to endure the seven last plagues (Rev 15:8) likened to a stone that must crush us in this life. This is the workmanship of our Lord within (Php 2:13, Heb 12:6) that we must experience in order to become disciples indeed who are received as sons built upon the rock or corner stone Jesus Christ. (Mat 21:44, Joh 6:55, 1Co 10:16, Mat 16:18, Eph 2:19-20).

It is those who give an accounting in this age, and who acknowledge being guilty of all and the chief of sinners who will be considering and looking to “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus” whose hearts will be blessed to read, hear and keep the sayings of the prophecy (Rev 1:3). We must die daily and go through much tribulation to enter into the kingdom of God, and in this section of Hebrews we are being told to think it not strange that this is the case, for without those trials and judgment within our life we would spiritually go astray (1Pe 4:12, 1Pe 4:17, 1Jn 4:17, Pro 6:23).

Pro 6:23  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Pro 6:24  To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman [churches of Babylon that say there is not need to endure the seven last plagues (Job 2:10)].

There is a hope-filled message being given in regard to the certainty of what God can and will do through those few whom He had determined to save since the foundation of the world (Eph 1:9-12). The lesson for us now is to keep asking God to help us in our unbelief (Mar 9:23-25) so we can see and believe that we are His workmanship that needs his judgment in our life which is perfecting His love within us (1Jn 4:17). Together we are experiencing this judgment and overcoming by looking to Christ who alone can create the zealousness that is being formed within us through repentance (what godly sorrow produces – 2Co 7:11). We are being brought to give an accounting of all the dead works in our lives which need repentance, all the giants in the land that will be bread for us (Num 14:9), including our initial inability to see the need for the trial of our faith so that we can go beyond the foundational faith spoken of in Hebrews 6:1-3 that has not yet been matured through fiery trials (Rom 2:4, Rev 3:18-19).

There is no room for boasting as this work of faith unfolds in the lives of the few who are being dragged to Christ in this age (Mat 22:14, Joh 6:44) and so we are admonished in the book of Romans to be careful to not be conceited in our thinking by looking down on anyone who is in the bondage of unbelief that we are miraculously being taken out of (Rom 11:13-32, Joh 8:36). Therefore we say “Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” which is where that conceited heart will hold us. No, instead we ought to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession”, Christ Jesus, who understood, as we should, that everyone is exactly where they’re supposed to be in God’s plan, either in the bondage of sin through unbelief or being made free from sin, appointed at this time to be granted that liberty of going from glory to glory (2Co 3:18) to the glory of God: “but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (Joh 8:36, Joh 9:1-5). God’s workmanship or the works of God are both the light and the darkness and the good and the evil over which He is sovereign and working all of it according to the counsel of His own will (Isa 45:7, Eph 1:11).

Heb 3:7  Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 
Heb 3:8  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 
Heb 3:9  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 

The word “today” applies solely to the elect who are blessed to hear the true Shepherd’s voice and called to be led by God’s spirit today (Joh 10:27, Rom 8:14-16).

Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.

It is not just in the hearing but in the doing that we will be justified (Rom 2:13), and that justification is predetermined (Rom 8:30-33), as explained in this parable in Matthew 21:28-32 showing us that the elect are led to repentance and eventually do not despise that correction, but rather give thanks (Luk 17:17) for His wonderful work in our heavens leading us to our safe haven, Jesus Christ (Psa 107:30).

Mat 21:28  But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
Mat 21:29  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
Mat 21:30  And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Mat 21:31  Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
Mat 21:32  For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

Can I really prevent my heart from being hardened if God has purposed that my heart is hardened? The answer is emphatically ‘no’ (Pro 16:1-4). It was just as impossible for the Israelites of old who could not do anything other than what was predestined for them to do “in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness”. Therefore when we read this impossible request of God, let’s look for the answer He provides through the exceeding great and precious promises (2Pe 1:4) which tell us that He has made a way for us to overcome this heart that is deceitful and desperately wicked and easily tempted in the wilderness. Yet through Christ we can bear the trials and suffering we must endure as we are strengthened through Him who makes a way for us to bear or carry our cross (1Co 10:13). If God was not true to his word and did not give us the way of escape through Christ, we would in turn live the rest of our lives fulfilling the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and pride of life. God, however, does give us the power to resist that pride in ourselves and gives us the grace we need to overcome so we can live the rest of our lives fulfilling His will (Jas 4:6-10, 1Pe 4:2).

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Pro 16:2  All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
Pro 16:3  Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Inwardly it is our old man that is being symbolized when we read “your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years” and so we need to consider Moses, who was a type of Christ and lived for 120 years, demonstrating the process of fiery trials (3×40=120) which is needed in order for us to overcome our rebellious hearts that God is changing through much tribulation (Act 14:22). These fiery experiences (Deu 8:15, Psa 21:9, Dan 3:15, Dan 7:10, 1Pe 4:12) are confirmed as something that absolutely must happen in our lives to inherit eternal life and be part of that foundational government that God is going establish (120).

The endurance we need to run this race is happening as a result of God’s love being shed abroad in our hearts, a spirit of love that is described as one of power and love and soundness (2Ti 1:7) and can bear all things, endure all things and hope all things, as God fills us with that hope through Jesus Christ, each joint supplying what is needed for this new creation in our Lord to be formed (1Co 13:7, Gal 6:2).

Deu 8:15  Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

Psa 21:9  Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

Dan 3:15  Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

Dan 7:10  A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

1Co 13:6  Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
1Co 13:7  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Heb 3:10  Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
Heb 3:11  So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
Heb 3:12  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

The bible is written in such a way that it leads the natural mind to believe we have free moral agency, with words such as “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” In reality God is telling us that those who do give heed are those who are given to believe and act upon this admonition that states we should “hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end” (of verse 6).

Heb 3:6  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Inwardly, what is not going to inherit the kingdom of God is any part of our raw, not-tried-with-fire, unclean, leprous, weak flesh, our old man (Lev 13:14-15, 1Pe 1:7, Mat 26:41, Mar 14:38). “So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest“, but the new creation that is being formed through Christ has already, from the foundation of the world, been determined to endure until the end.

Lev 13:14  But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean.
Lev 13:15  And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Mat 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mar 14:38  Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

We were made in weak flesh that cannot claim the end from the beginning as God the Father can, Who knows who will endure until the end, and Who knows exactly when Christ will return dispensationally as the King of kings and Lord of lords, and who knows who those kings and lords are. He has purposely put a veil over our eyes that is being ripped as we cry out to God with fear and say, “Take not your spirit from me and let no man take my crown” (Psa 51:11, Heb 5:7, Rev 3:11).

God’s language is adamant in regard to that generation that “do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways“, and goes on to describe what we must do the rest of our natural lives until our last breath, not taking anything for granted, realizing at the same time that God is able to finish what He has started in us through Christ (Php 1:6).

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” is an admonition of how we are to live the rest of our lives dying daily and examining ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2Co 13:5). Last week’s study focused on how it is by our cleaving to Christ by considering “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus” that we will be given or supplied all that we need to endure until the end (Php 4:19).

Heb 3:13  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 
Heb 3:14  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 
Heb 3:15  While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 

The next step that follows with what we do after we look to the Lord from whence comes our help (Psa 121:1) is that we spend the rest of our days exhorting “one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin“. Sin is deceitful, and the breeding ground for it is in a spirit of neglect of those things which we are admonished to do and all the more as we see the day approaching (Heb 10:25, Mal 3:16).

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

God willing, we are being made “partakers of Christ“, and if God has determined that then we will “hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end” and nothing shall take us out of the hand of our Father (Joh 10:28). ‘Don’t be discouraged’ is the simple straightforward message of this section of Hebrews, said in this manner: “While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” If God’s spirit is bearing witness with you that you are his son (Rom 8:16), and that is the manner of love He is bestowing upon you (1Jn 3:1), then rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice (Php 4:4). Recognize who you are (Joh 8:12-16, Mat 5:14, 1Jn 4:17), and don’t give the devil opportunity to discourage you in this life. Resist him, and he will flee from you (Jas 4:7, Heb 12:4, 1Pe 5:7-10).

1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Heb 3:16  For some, when they had heard, did provokeG3893: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 
Heb 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 
Heb 3:18  And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 
Heb 3:19  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

The word “provoke”G3893 in verse 16 has its root in the word ‘bitter’ or ‘to make bitter’, and this bitterness is what leads to unbelief and rebellion as we saw unfold in the example of Korah (Num 16:1-3) where “two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown…gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?”

A new testament example of this disgruntled rebellious spirit is spoken of in (3Jn 1:9). A root is something that grows over time and this old covenant example in the book of Numbers is also written for our own selves upon whom the end of the ages have come, and is why we must diligently examine ourselves day by day  “whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you (Col 1:27, Joh 21:22), except ye be reprobates?” (Heb 12:15, 2Co 13:5).

“Provoke” G3893 parapikrainō par-ap-ik-rah’ee-no
From G3844 and G4087; to embitter alongside, that is, (figuratively) to exasperate: – provoke.
G3844 para par-ah’

A primary preposition; properly near, that is, (with genitive case) from beside (literally or figuratively), (with dative case) at (or in) the vicinity of (objectively or subjectively), (with accusative case) to the proximity with (local [especially beyond or opposed to] or causal [on account of]). In compounds it retains the same variety of application: – above, against, among, at, before, by, contrary to, X friend, from, + give [such things as they], + that [she] had, X his, in, more than, nigh unto, (out) of, past, save, side . . . by, in the sight of, than, [there-] fore, with. In compounds it retains the same variety of application.

G4087 pikrainō pik-rah’ee-no
From G4089; to embitter (literally or figuratively): – be (make) bitter.
G4089  pikros  pik-ros’
Perhaps from G4078 (through the idea of piercing); sharp (pungent), that is, acrid (literally or figuratively): – bitter.

Heb 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Heb 12:15  Looking diligently (Heb 11:6) lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

[Esau let go of his birthright that typifies the crown of life in Revelation 3:11 for one idol of his heart, one false doctrine, and this was written in his book for our sakes to admonish us to not be a spiritual “fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright“]

Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance though he sought it carefully with tears.

[This story of Esau despising his birthright is a type and shadow of those who cannot be renewed again unto repentance “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” (Heb 6:4-6Rom 2:4)]

What Korah and his camp were accusing Moses of was akin to Diotrephes in the new covenant who, with a spirit that was centered around the subject of wanting preeminence, was not able to humble himself (3Jn 1:9). Moses was a threat to their already established position of being renowned in the congregation, and God used the spirit realm to manifest this heresy within the camp of Israel for the sake of those who would be preserved through this fiery trial that tried the entire camp of Israel. Pride was allowed to enter in to demonstrate to us how we must be grateful and thankful to be the door keeper as we operate in the measure of faith that God gives us (Psa 84:10, Php 4:12-13). If we are being judged in this life, we are in the day of the Lord, the only day that makes it possible for very few to go unto perfection on the third day as we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God (2Pe 3:8, Luk 13:32).

Psa 84:10  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Korah, and the entire camp of Israel, was accusing Moses of not doing the right thing, yet scripture confirms that Moses really did want all to be able to prophecy, and he was willing to utter these words for the sake of others: “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin –; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” this being a type of the selfless life of Christ who did divest Himself from His position of power for the sake of everyone else (Num 11:29, 1Co 14:1, Eph 4:16, 1Co 12:22, Exo 32:32).

Num 11:29  And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!

1Co 14:1  Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.

Later on, in the right spirit of giving advice and not with the spirit of Korah, Moses was instructed by the Lord through Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, to divide his work load up and share it with others. Notice the difference in attitude and how there was no spirit of competitiveness or jealousy. Instead it was a spirit of only wanting what was good for the whole nation of Israel, which typifies the Israel of God, God’s elect. There are different administrations and diversities of operations within the body of Christ that God gives to us in order to get the work done which we are to be careful to maintain together. Exodus 18:5-24 is a type and shadow of these later new covenant diversities of operations that are working within the body of Christ today (1Co 12:5-12).

Exo 18:5  And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
Exo 18:6  And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
Exo 18:7  And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
Exo 18:8  And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
Exo 18:9  And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
Exo 18:10  And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
Exo 18:11  Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
Exo 18:12  And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God.
Exo 18:13  And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
Exo 18:14 And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
Exo 18:15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
Exo 18:16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
Exo 18:17 And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
Exo 18:18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
Exo 18:19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
Exo 18:20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
Exo 18:21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
Exo 18:22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
Exo 18:23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
Exo 18:24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.

1Co 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
1Co 12:5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
1Co 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
1Co 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
1Co 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
1Co 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
1Co 12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
1Co 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
1Co 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is [the] Christ.

The ongoing admonition for those who God is working with today is this:

“To day if ye will hear his voice” and therefore we are to “exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

…and that exhorting must be done by our being careful to listen to all the commandments of God “as the Holy Ghost saith” so we can be found living the rest of our lives according to His will as we are led by His spirit (1Co 2:4, Rom 12:1-2, Rom 8:14-16).

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

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