3:17
The warning is emphasised. The point is also made that the outcome was not simply an automatic response, it was not like getting a speeding ticket for exceeding the speed limit. God was “provoked”. God was exceedingly patient with the people, but they constantly disobeyed Him and tested Him. We are in a relationship with God, and that relationship can be either good or bad. The people died in the desert because they sinned against God, because they refused to believe Him. The rest of the letter will emphasise a number of areas where we need to have a deeper faith in what God has done in Christ.
3:18,19
And so it continues. It was those who were disobedient who died in the desert. They had been rescued from slavery, but that was not the end of the matter. It was also a matter of what they were saved to, not just what they were saved from. The salvation of the gospel is a salvation from sin, which in itself has enormous consequences, and it is a salvation to becoming ever more Christlike. The people of the exodus were unable to enter the Promised Land because of their unbelief. We will be unable to enter God’s rest unless we believe.
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