Devotional 09 June 2025

June 09, 2025 • Steve Torres

Hebrews 3:15.jpg

"As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:15-19, ESV)

The writer of Hebrews draws a sobering line: those who rebelled, sinned, and disobeyed were ultimately guilty of unbelief. Their outward actions were symptoms of a deeper inward failure: they didn’t believe God.

This echoes the tragedy of Eden. God’s command to Adam and Eve to not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not arbitrary, it was protective. He warned them that death would follow, not just physical death, but separation from the very life of God. But when Eve saw that the fruit was good for food, delightful to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise (Genesis 3:4-6), she was not lacking food, beauty, or wisdom. God had already given them these things. The serpent’s lie was that God was holding back (Genesis3:4-5). And the sin that followed was the fruit of unbelief.

Faith is not simply believing IN God, it is believing God. It is trusting that what He says is good is good, that what He forbids is truly destructive, and that what He commands is for our joy. We were created to reflect Him. Every sin is a counterfeit of a gift God has already promised, sought in a way that severs our connection to Him. He is not a thief, so He teaches us to work and trust. He is not an adulterer, so He calls us to faithfulness. He is not a liar, so he commands us to tell the truth.

All goodness flows from Him (Matthew 7:11, James 1:17). We can do nothing good apart from Him. So when we struggle with sin, the real struggle is one of faith, do we trust that what He says is true and sufficient (Matthew 4:4)? Do we believe that obedience leads to life (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)? Every fall into sin begins with a failure to trust Him. And the way back is not self-effort, it’s asking Him for more faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We should not harden our hearts to Jesus, the Word made flesh, who walks with us, to be an example to us and help us on our path. We can only be faithful to Him by having faith in Him. So we must pay much closer attention to what He commands, and not harden our hearts.