How could one see what Israel saw and know what Israel knew, yet be disobedient and rebellious and fall in the wilderness? They watched God bring plague after plague upon the Egyptians, culminating with the death of the firstborn. They not only saw the Egyptians drown in the Red Sea after they themselves had passed through on dry ground, but they sang a song and rejoiced in their deliverance (Ex. 15).
Despite all of these benefits and blessings, however, Israel rebelled in the wilderness. Why? They had hardened their hearts. Why? “The word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (Heb. 4:2).
In other words, knowledge does not imply obedience. Sometimes, when a brother or sister well-versed in the Scriptures falls away from the church, we often scratch our heads and say, “How could such a thing have happened? Why, brother X taught the Bible for 15 years and did an excellent job, too. How could he forsake the truths he has known and taught?”
We are likewise perplexed when a preacher deserts his family and disappears with a woman who may also be a member of the congregation (an all too frequent occurrence). “Why, he knows better than that, and so does she.” These statements are true, but it is not a matter of knowledge; it’s a matter of faith.
Let’s consider Israel first. She experienced God’s deliverance firsthand in being allowed to leave Egypt without even engaging in a battle for freedom; God took care of the entire matter. One would think that such great salvation would generate faith in God. But as they are hemmed in between Pharaoh and the sea, whatever confidence they might have had has disappeared.
Instead of praying to God for help, they accuse Moses instead: “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt so with us, to bring us out of Egypt? Is not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to have served the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness” (Ex. 14:11-12).
Moses replies with authority: “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Ex. 14:13-14). Implicit in these remarks is the idea that God’s people, as a whole, lacked faith.
The same God who delivered them from Pharaoh in the land of Egypt could deliver them from Pharaoh by the Red Sea, which He does. But then the people complained about not having water, and meat, and conquering the land. Could they not remember what God had already done for them? Yes, but they continue to demonstrate a lack of faith.
Such is the problem with many in the Lord’s church today. Like Chicken Little, they run around cackling that we’re losing members and losing young people, and we’d better start being like the denominations round about us if we hope to have any relevance in the future. The problem is not one of knowledge; it’s one of faith. Somehow we can not trust the God who saved us from our sins and who has preserved His Word for us all these generations to be effective any more.
Did God somehow fail to take into account the twentieth century? The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16); can the gospel and the church, which is the pillar and ground of the truth, no longer be pertinent in our age? To entertain such a foolish notion demonstrates a lack of faith in God–that He knows what He’s doing.
Or consider the knowledgeable brother that leaves his wife (and maybe even goes so far as to write a defense of his lustful actions). Why did he abandon his family, and violate the vows he made on his wedding day? On the human side, there was a breakdown in communication somewhere; there was also a lack of trust in God’s institution of marriage. Did God not design it and teach us how to make it work (Matt. 19:3-9, Eph. 5:22-33)?
A lack of faith is at the root of many of today’s problems. More than once elders have allowed sins of immorality to go unnoticed because of the generous givers in the congregation who threatened to withhold their contribution if a certain sin was preached against (which insistence was typical of their spirituality). In one case, elders forbade a preacher to teach on divorce and remarriage because the new building had to be paid for.
King Amaziah was once told to dismiss the Israelite soldiers he had already bought and paid for. He was assured that the battle was in God’s hands “. . . for God has power to help and to overthrow” (2 Chron. 25:7-8). When he protested about the money, he was told, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this” (v. 9). If we are following the will of God, He will bless us and take care of us. If not, we will eventually fail. It’s a matter of our knowledge being mixed with faith.
What is the context of Hebrews 4:2? It is part of one of the exhortations to Christians to be careful of “falling away.” Brethren are to “exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13). Israel is cited as an example to let us know that God’s children can fall. Just as that one generation of Israelites was kept out of the promised land because of their unbelief (Heb. 3:19), so can we be denied our eternal rest.
Oh, but we have obeyed the gospel. Israel had the equivalent of what we have, but it did not do them any good because though they knew God’s word, their knowledge was not mixed with faith. And Christians must therefore be careful, lest we find ourselves repeating these past mistakes. Knowledge plus faith equals a servant pleasing to God. But when faith is removed from the equation, the remaining knowledge becomes both barren and useless.
We must trust in the Word of God, that it is sufficient to live by. We must trust in God, that He knows what He’s doing (Rom. 8:28). We must trust God when the world is marching in the wrong direction. We must trust Him when the church is following false brethren.
Do we not entrust our souls to Him for our salvation? Do we not believe that the blood of Christ has cleansed us from our sins? Do we not count on God to establish us and keep us spiritually safe (John 10:27-29, 1 Cor. 10:13)? And aren’t our souls more valuable than all else (Matt. 16:26)? If we can trust our God with that which holds the greatest value, how much easier is it to trust Him in all lesser matters! Let’s be sure that our knowledge is “mixed with faith.”