7 Wherefore, (as the Holy Spirit saith, 'To-day, if His voice ye may hear— 8 ye may not harden your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of the temptation in the wilderness, 9 in which tempt Me did your fathers, they did prove Me, and saw My works forty years; 10 wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, Always do they go astray in heart, and these have not known My ways; 11 so I sware in My anger, If they shall enter into My rest—!') 12 See, brethren, lest there shall be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in the falling away from the living God, 13 but exhort ye one another every day, while the To-day is called, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of the sin, 14 for partakers we have become of the Christ, if the beginning of the confidence unto the end we may hold fast, 15 in its being said, 'To-day, if His voice ye may hear, ye may not harden your hearts, as in the provocation,' 16 for certain having heard did provoke, but not all who did come out of Egypt through Moses; 17 but with whom was He grieved forty years? was it not with those who did sin, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? 18 and to whom did He swear that they shall not enter into His rest, except to those who did not believe?— 19 and we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Hebrews 3:7-19
Commentary on Hebrews 3:7-13
(Read Hebrews 3:7-13)
Days of temptation are often days of provocation. But to provoke God, when he is letting us see that we entirely depend and live upon him, is a provocation indeed. The hardening of the heart is the spring of all other sins. The sins of others, especially of our relations, should be warnings to us. All sin, especially sin committed by God's professing, privileged people, not only provokes God, but it grieves him. God is loth to destroy any in, or for their sin; he waits long to be gracious to them. But sin, long persisted in, will make God's wrath discover itself in destroying the impenitent; there is no resting under the wrath of God. "Take heed:" all who would get safe to heaven must look about them; if once we allow ourselves to distrust God, we may soon desert him. Let those that think they stand, take heed lest they fall. Since to-morrow is not ours, we must make the best improvement of this day. And there are none, even the strongest of the flock, who do not need help of other Christians. Neither are there any so low and despised, but the care of their standing in the faith, and of their safety, belongs to all. Sin has so many ways and colours, that we need more eyes than ours own. Sin appears fair, but is vile; it appears pleasant, but is destructive; it promises much, but performs nothing. The deceitfulness of sin hardens the soul; one sin allowed makes way for another; and every act of sin confirms the habit. Let every one beware of sin.
Commentary on Hebrews 3:14-19
(Read Hebrews 3:14-19)
The saints' privilege is, they are made partakers of Christ, that is, of the Spirit, the nature, graces, righteousness, and life of Christ; they are interested in all Christ is, in all he has done, or will do. The same spirit with which Christians set out in the ways of God, they should maintain unto the end. Perseverance in faith is the best evidence of the sincerity of our faith. Hearing the word often is a means of salvation, yet, if not hearkened to, it will expose more to the Divine wrath. The happiness of being partakers of Christ and his complete salvation, and the fear of God's wrath and eternal misery, should stir us up to persevere in the life of obedient faith. Let us beware of trusting to outward privileges or professions, and pray to be numbered with the true believers who enter heaven, when all others fail because of unbelief. As our obedience follows according to the power of our faith, so our sins and want of care are according to the prevailing of unbelief in us.