We live in age of presumption. The message of the Cross is handled with little care. Many Gospel preachers presume that if they lead a man in the Sinner’s Prayer, then he will be saved for all eternity; consequently, many who pray said prayer presume that they are saved at that moment, and thus for all eternity. We presume that this prayer is sufficient to save, such that we go so far as to tell people that they are saved, and now they cannot be un-saved. We presume, and therefore we are all comfortable. We presume that the evidence of salvation can be found in a single moment in time, and therefore we are not concerned for our souls. It is because of this presumption that I have written the following article:
The account of the Exodus Generation, the generation of Israelites that God brought out of Egypt, carries with it a great warning to all professing Christians. This is the generation that had seen the ten plagues God poured out upon Egypt, were set free from their slavery in Egypt, passed through the Red Sea on dry ground, were led by God Himself in a pillar of cloud and of fire, were fed by bread from heaven and living water from the rock, were given God’s law, and were led all the way to the borders of the Promised Land. However, despite all they saw and experienced, despite all that God provided for them, this generation did not enter God’s promised rest; at the very edge of the Promised Land, they turned from God and they all died in the wilderness.
At first glance, what happened to the Exodus Generation should at least be enough to make us nervous. I mean, considering all that God had done for them, it surely appears that these Israelites are God’s people, and that they ought to believe in God. Is it possible, then, for one who truly believes in God to turn away from Him and die in their sins?
My answer is no. In the case of the Exodus Generation, we do not see that there was one time where they truly had faith, but then they turn and lose their salvation. On the contrary, we see time and time again during the Exodus that this generation longed to return to Egypt. Throughout their entire journey, regardless of the bread from heaven and the living water that God provided for them, the Exodus Generation craved the meat pots of Egypt. (Exo 16:3; 17:3; Num 11:5,18,20; 14:2-3). At Mt. Sinai, while God was giving Moses the Law, this generation made an idol and worshipped it, just as they worshipped idols in Egypt (Exo 32:1-6; Eze 20:8). Their final act of apostasy was made when, upon reaching the Promised Land, they decided not to enter, saying, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt” (Num 14:4).
I am proposing that this decision to return to Egypt was actually what was in their hearts all along. It was not because there were giants in the land of Canaan that the Exodus Generation turned away, but because their hearts were still in Egypt. They did not desire God, but they longed for the pleasures and idols of Egypt. They never believed in God, and because of their hard hearts, they all died in the wilderness. Therefore, we cannot conclude that the Exodus Generation somehow lost their salvation; on the contrary, salvation was never theirs to begin with. The Bible makes it very clear that the Exodus Generation died because of unbelief.
However, there is a serious lesson that we must learn from this generation. The author of Hebrews writes:
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
11 As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
(Hebrews 3:7-19)
This passage contains some very weighty warnings. I hope, upon considering the Exodus Generation, we can understand this passage and the warnings contained therein.
(1) Verses 7-11, taken from Psalm 95, are a warning to professing Christians: Today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts as in the Rebellion (that is, Num 11-14, when Israel decided to rebel against God and Moses, appoint a leader, and return to Egypt). Because of this, they spent 40 years in the wilderness, wherein God swore that they shall not enter his rest (that is, the Promised Land). So, the Exodus Generation stands as an example of those who, although they saw God’s mighty works, more than any other generation prior to Christ’s coming, hardened their hearts and died in the wilderness. Warning #1: Do not harden your hearts.
(2) Verse 12: Upon considering this generation, take care, lest there be in any of you an unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. This is a call for us to examine ourselves to see whether or not we truly believe, whether or not our hearts have been made new (2 Cor 13:5). For if our hearts have not been made new, then regardless of what company we may keep, which church we may attend, how we may appear to the world, what we may think of ourselves, or ever what mighty works of God we may have witnessed as the Exodus Generation did, if our hearts are evil and unbelieving, we will not enter God’s rest (i.e. heaven). Warning #2: Take care, lest you possess an unbelieving heart.
(3) Verses 13-14: There is a call not only to examine yourselves, but to encourage one another every day that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Out of godly love, we should care enough about our brothers to look out for them, reminding them, “let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12). If the Exodus Generation can have the appearance of being God’s people, and instead be evil and unbelieving, is it not also possible that many professing Christians can also possess unbelieving hearts? Is it not possible that sin can so deceive us as to make us think we are saved, when we actually don’t believe in Christ at all? Warning #3: Exhort one another every day, that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
These are very weighty, biblical exhortations. I pray that all who read this will consider the Exodus Generation and how they failed to enter God’s rest because of unbelief, and be moved to take watch over their own soul. May our assurance of salvation not rest on a decision we made years ago, but on whether or not we believe today. With this generation as our example, let us all strive to enter God’s rest, persevering until the end through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Crucified 