Because of unbelief — Israel refused to trust God's promise to give them the land.
God told them to go in and take Canaan and promised to drive out the inhabitants, but the nation sided with the ten spies who said, "We can't do it." Hebrews 3 states plainly that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Les Feldick emphasizes that even their immorality and idolatry were not the decisive issue; unbelief was.
Hebrews 3:18-19 — These verses directly state that God swore they should not enter into His rest because they believed not, and that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:15-19 directs our attention to the wilderness generation: 'While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.' The passage recounts that some provoked God when they heard, though not all who came out of Egypt by Moses. It asks, 'But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?' The decisive answer comes in verse 18: 'And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?' And then verse 19 states plainly: 'So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.' Scripture therefore points to unbelief as the direct cause of Israel's exclusion from the promised rest.
Les Feldick stresses that God never intended for Israel to send spies into the land. God had said, 'Go in and take the land,' and promised to send hornets ahead of them. But Israel could not take God at His word, so they asked to spy it out first. The ten spies came back and said, 'We can't do it — we are as grasshoppers in their sight.' That was unbelief. Les then points to Hebrews 3, where the writer rehearses Israel's wilderness failure. God did not exclude them because of their immorality or the golden calf, though they were guilty of both. The question is asked, 'To whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?' God did not remind them of their immorality; He reminded them of their unbelief. Even the golden calf worship was rooted in unbelief. Had they believed in the God Moses was dealing with, they would never have asked for an idol. Their hearts were hardened, and only Joshua, Caleb, Moses, and Aaron survived the wilderness judgment. Les applies this to today: 'What's the matter with Christianity tonight? Unbelief.' People cannot break down and say, 'I believe what God says.' The same unbelief that barred Israel from Canaan is the root problem in every generation.
God never intended for Israel to send the twelve spies. When He said, 'Go in and take the land,' He promised to send hornets ahead of them and to do whatever was needed to drive out the enemy. Israel's request to spy out the land first was a hedge — they could not simply take God at His word. The ten spies' fearful report then showed their unbelief.
Les Feldick points out that Israel had been guilty of gross immorality and idolatry around the golden calf just a few months before Kadesh Barnea. Yet when God swore that they would not enter His rest, He did not remind them of their immorality — He reminded them of their unbelief. Even the golden calf incident itself was rooted in unbelief; had they truly believed Moses' God, they would not have asked for an idol. So the deciding factor was unbelief.
Les applies the lesson directly to the present: 'What's the matter with Christianity tonight? Unbelief.' People just cannot break down and say, 'I believe what God says.' The problem today, just as much as it was then, is that people will not believe the Word of God.
Spying Was Israel's Unbelief
God told Israel to take the land and promised to drive out the Canaanites, but Israel's demand to spy first showed they could not trust His word — the root of their failure.
Could Not Enter Because of Unbelief
Hebrews 3 shows that God swore they would not enter His rest because they believed not, so they could not enter because of unbelief.
Unbelief, Not Immorality
The 40 wasted years in the wilderness were due to unbelief — not immorality — and the same unbelief is crippling Christianity today.
Rejection at Kadesh Barnea
Despite God's promise to send hornets ahead of them, Israel rejected the land, saying they were like grasshoppers and could not take the cities.
Golden Calf Rooted in Unbelief
Even the golden calf worship stemmed from unbelief; had they believed God, they would not have asked for an idol, and they could not enter because they believed not.
Weeping Over Lost Opportunity
Israel wept when they saw the land before them but could not take it; Hebrews 3 rehearses the provocation and the grieved 40 years.
God Reminded Them of Unbelief
Though Israel had recently committed gross immorality at the golden calf, God did not remind them of their immorality — He reminded them of their unbelief.
Only a Few Escaped Unbelief
The generation that came out of Egypt was, for the most part, in total unbelief, and only a few — Joshua, Caleb, Moses, and Aaron — survived the wilderness judgment.
Hebrews 3:15: While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
This verse connects the warning against hardening hearts to Israel's wilderness provocation.
Hebrews 3:16: For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
It shows that the generation which provoked God was not every single Israelite, but the majority.
Hebrews 3:17: But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
This identifies the ones God was grieved with — those whose unbelief led to their deaths in the wilderness.
Hebrews 3:18: And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
It directly ties the oath of exclusion to unbelief.
Hebrews 3:19: So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
This is the plain conclusion of the passage: unbelief kept Israel out of the promised rest.
Only two — Joshua and Caleb — believed. The ten others said the Canaanites were too strong and that Israel was like grasshoppers in their sight. Les Feldick points out that the majority report was rooted in unbelief.
No. God had told them to go in and take the land immediately. The wilderness wanderings were a judgment because of unbelief, and God was grieved with that generation for forty years.
According to Les Feldick, yes. The Bible says they could not enter because of unbelief. Even though Israel had committed idolatry and immorality, God did not remind them of those sins — He reminded them of their unbelief.
In Hebrews 3, the rest is the land of Canaan that Israel could have entered. Les Feldick says 'which Canaan would have been.'
Watch the Teaching: The Unpardonable Sin: What It Really Means for Israel