Why does Hebrews use so much Old Testament material?
Paul wrote the book of Hebrews primarily to Jewish believers, so he drew heavily on Old Testament contacts and experiences to make his point. He quoted Psalms and Israel’s forty-year wilderness testing to warn them against hardening their hearts through unbelief.
Les explains that when Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, he was writing primarily, not exclusively, to Jewish believers. Because of that audience, Paul used an awful lot of Old Testament contacts and experiences to make his point. In Hebrews 3:7 he quotes from Psalms: “Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, as in the day of temptation in the wilderness.” Les ties this to Israel’s forty-year wilderness experience that followed their rejection of going in at Kadesh Barnea. Verse 10 adds that God was grieved with that generation.