‘Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ‘

Hebrews 3:12

Unbelief! It’s a horrific word. The only sin that will send people to the lake of fire is unbelief. When they refuse to believe what God has so plainly said for salvation. In Hebrews 3 & 4, we find God’s number one controversy with the human race…‘UNBELIEF’. Let’s read Hebrews 3:12 again:

Hebrews 3:12

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart (of gross immorality? Nope. An evil heart of adultery? No. An evil heart of being addicted to drugs or an evil heart of anything else you can think of? No! But what?) of unbelief (and when there is NO Faith it is easy to do what), in departing from the living God.”

Again, God’s number one controversy with mankind is ‘Unbelief’. The human race hasn’t changed one bit since the fall. Mankind’s problem isn’t drug addiction, immorality, or any other sins of the flesh (or thought). Mankind’s problem is unbelief!

The human race since the fall had a sin dilemma, but sin “old Adam” was dealt with at the cross (Hebrews 1:3), Christ reconciled ALL mankind to God by and through His death, burial, and resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:14-21). So what’s the problem? Mankind will not believe it, they can’t take God at His word, no faith. The human race rejects God’s FREE GIFT of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone.

The opposite of unbelief is faith and without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). And so you have it so clearly delineated in Hebrews chapter three and four God’s number one controversy with the human race, UNBELIEF. The hearts of mankind have been hardened because they refuse to believe what God has said regarding His Son, Jesus Christ, the Truth, the gospel, and the free gift of salvation.

To get a better understanding of what Paul is talking about when he says “an evil heart of ‘UNBELIEF'”, we need to back up a few verses to Hebrews 3:7-11.

Hebrews 3:7-11

‘Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice (God expects mankind to believe Him especially when He removes the veil and gives them understanding), Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers (remember Paul is addressing his kinsman, Jews, so he is going back into Israel’s history & the nation coming out of Egypt and gathering around Mt. Sinai in preparation to enter the promised land) tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”

Remember the apostle Paul is writing to Hebrew believers on the fence about Jesus Christ. They’ve come out of Judaism making the hard break from their religion but were having second thoughts. After all, Judaism has been drummed into all Jews from the time they could walk. So they were questioning… is this Jesus of Nazareth really Who He said He was? Is He really the Messiah, the Redeemer of mankind? This is what Paul is dealing with and he is addressing his kinsman by going all the way back into Israel’s history at Kadesh Barnea to make his point.

Kadesh Barnea

Here is a quick summary of events leading up to “Kadesh Barnea”: The nation of Israel is led out of Egypt by Moses, then encamped at Mt. Sinai where God gives Moses the law and instructions to build the tabernacle. Now within a matter of two years, the nation of Israel has the Law of Moses and the tabernacle and now ready to make their way to the promised land.

‘“Then we set out from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lord our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which the Lord our God is about to give us. See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord , the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’ ‘

Deuteronomy 1:19-21

The nation of Israel is encamped at the gates of the Promised Land in Kadesh Barnea. All they have to do is walk in and possess the land. God told them… He would drive their enemies out using hornets just go in and possess the land, there will be no opposition, you don’t have to fear the Canaanites, because they will be gone. You don’t have to worry about food or shelter because you’re going to take over their homes, farms, and vineyards. God allowed the Canaanites to live and work for 400 years preparing the land for Israel, a land of milk and honey. But what Israel does is unimaginable? They tell God we can’t do it, the men there are stronger than us. There are also Giants in the land. They did NOT BELIEVE what God told them, they couldn’t take God at His word.

So what was it that prevented the nation of Israel from entering the promise land? Unbelief…! They had no faith in what God told them.

Now, let’s go back into Israel’s past to see what Paul is talking about in Hebrews 3:12 & 3:7-11. Let’s look at Exodus chapter 23 verse 20-32.

The Setting: the nation of Israel had come out of Egypt and are encamped around Mt. Sinai and the Lord is speaking to Moses. This is shortly before God gives Moses the instructions to build the tabernacle (Exodus 25). God is already telling the Israelites what He will do for them and what’s just around the corner.

Now Exodus 23:20-32

Exodus 23:20-33

20. ‘“Behold, I send an Angel (the Lord, Jesus Christ) before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared (the promised land, the land the Lord promised Abraham in Genesis 12 & 15, Israel).

21. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.

22. But if (conditional) you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

23. For My Angel (Christ) will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off (Christ Himself will destroy & move out these wicked Gentile nations).

24. You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

25. “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.

26. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

27. “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

28. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.

29. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

30. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.

31. And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River (these boundries of the land God gave to Israel, not the tiny strip of land the nationis on now). For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.

32. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

33. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”’

In Conclusion

God’s Number One Controversy with the Human Race is “Unbelief”

It’s important to note that it was only months prior to the events Kadesh-Barnea that the people of Israel demanded Aaron make a golden calf. And Israel fell into the abyss of moral degradation and yes of course God dealt with it. Yet it is amazing that when they get up to the gateway of the promised land and Israel rejects God’s offer to take the land without lifting a finger. God doesn’t bring up their horrible sins of the flesh or their worshiping of the golden calf or any other sin. The only sin that prevented Israel from entering God’s rest was UNBELIEF.

Unbelief is the world’s greatest problem. Even in our beloved America, we’ve become a nation of unbelief. We’ve lost our faith!

As a nation of people, we no longer have any respect for the word of God and the absolutes contained in the Bible. And we’re suffering the consequences.