In an effort to exhort his readers to obey God and not neglect the great salvation of which they had tasted, the inspired writer of Hebrews drew a lesson from the past, making a compelling argument from the lesser to the greater.
The “lesser”: “For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward” (2:2). In Old Testament times, every disobedience received a just reward.
The “greater”: “…how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation…” (2:3). The covenant, promises, priesthood, rest and salvation under the new testament of Christ are so much greater (i.e., “better” in the book of Hebrews), those who live under it can by no means expect that every disobedience today will not also receive a just reward.
Disobedience with good intentions is still disobedience. When the oxen stumbled at Nachon’s threshing floor, which must have also jostled the ark of the covenant, “Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it…and God struck him there for his error” (2 Sam. 6:6-7). Uzzah may have meant well, but that did not excuse his action of disobedience to the will of God (cf. Num. 4:15).
Disobedience sparked by another’s disgraceful behavior is still disobedience. Again and again, over and over, day after day, Israel complained against the Lord and against Moses. In Numbers 20, “Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod,” after the Lord had told him to “speak to the rock” (vv. 8-11). As a result, Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land. He may have been provoked by their misconduct, but that did not excuse his disobedience.
Disobedience when no else knows about it is still disobedience. When Achan saw the spoils in the city of Jericho, he “coveted them and took them” and hid them “in the earth in the midst of his tent” (Josh. 7:21-22). No person knew about this, but God knew that His commandment (Josh. 6:18) had been broken. While he may have kept his action a secret and not intended to harm anyone by it, that did not excuse his action of disobedience.
If these did not escape, but every disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape? The answer is: we shall not escape if we neglect God’s will!