"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 3:16-19
The AV rendering of 16 is not clear. It should read, along with 17 and 18 as one of a series of questions the Apostle asks, thus: 'For who, when they had heard did provoke? Was it not all who came out of Egypt by Moses?' This makes the question similar in form to the others in 17 and 18. The force of these questions is that it was the very people whom God brought out of Egypt, and who were destined for such great privileges by Him, who failed so disastrously and brought judgment upon themselves. It is not enough to begin well; it is necessary to hold fast the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end (14). A good beginning does not of itself ensure a good ending; many who begin well fall away after a time, as was the case with that whole generation. Their exclusion from the Promised Land does not, to be sure, imply forfeiture of salvation, but loss of reward and blessed fulfilment of their destiny. But this could be a cause for relief and complacency only to hearts that are still under the deception of Satan, for in the glory it will be everything just to hear the "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou…." These, we are told, could not enter in because of their unbelief (19), and this is the real application for the believer who is unfaithful. Israel as a whole may not have been concerned, in their blindness of heart, not to have been allowed to enter in, but Moses certainly was, and it should be highly disturbing to us - aye, much more so than it often is! - that such a giant as he forfeited the reward of long years of faithfulness by his lapse at the end (Numbers 20:12; see also Deuteronomy 32:48-52). Well might the Apostle say, 'Take heed, brethren...'!