No Hard Hearts

Hebrews 3:7-15

This section contains another lengthy quote from the OT, in this case from Psalm 95. This strengthens the assumption that this letter is being written to Jewish Christians who would have been familiar with the OT and with Israel's history. The quote is a recitation of Israel's history, in particular the forty years they spent in the wilderness. The point the author is making is that his audience must be careful not to harden their hearts to the voice of God as their ancestors had done. The flow of his argument is that because Christ is supreme, the readers must listen to his voice.
The author also makes the point that we are responsible for each other. We are supposed to look out for each other, watching for symptoms of a hardened heart. The antidote is encouragement and so the author exhorts us to encourage each other daily so that all of us together can share in Christ by holding firmly to the end.
The author clearly points out the three pillars of our faith: the Word - the voice of Christ (v. 7b), the Spirit (v. 7a) and the community of faith (v. 12-13). We need all three in order to thrive in our faith. When we lose one, we become imbalanced and risk failure in our lives. I must make sure to lean on all three in order to have a greater understanding of what Christ is calling me to and to ensure that I do not develop a hard heart.