“For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So, we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:16-19).
Because of unbelief, only two men of Moses’ generation entered the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Over 600,000 adult males (Numbers 1:46) chose unbelief over obedient faith. What a ghastly choice!
The generation which witnessed the ten plagues in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea on dry land, stood at Mount Sinai while it thundered and shook at God’s presence, received the Ten Commandments carved in stone by God’s finger, saw the construction of the tabernacle, and beheld the glory of the Lord when it appeared at the tabernacle and consumed the initial burnt offering with fire died in the wilderness because of unbelief.
This dark period of Israel’s history teaches five unvarnished truths about unbelief:
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No one is exempt from the horrific possibility of having an evil heart of unbelief.
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Anyone who chooses can hear God’s commands and rebel, instead of obeying.
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No one’s sin is exempted from God’s wrath and the certain death sin pays in wages.
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Not obeying God is not a minor or trivial choice.
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Unbelief is the sure path to total spiritual ruin.
These five unvarnished truths about unbelief have not changed in the past 3,500 years.
