3:12

a wicked heart lacking faith: This expression does not refer to a heart that merely struggles with occasional doubts or suffers from a lack of faith because of ignorance. (Compare 1Ti 1:13.) Rather, it points to a heart that deliberately refuses to believe. Paul had in mind the Israelites in the wilderness who refused to put faith in Jehovah even though they had seen many astonishing miracles. (Heb 3:9) Too absorbed in satisfying their own desires, they failed to reflect on Jehovah’s works and eventually opposed his direction by expressing their wish to return to Egypt. (Ex 17:2, 3; Nu 13:32–14:4) Their hardened, faithless attitude was inexcusable and wicked. (Heb 3:13, 19; see study note on Heb 3:8.) The Hebrew Christians needed to guard against such a heart condition, which could develop in “any one of” them.

drawing away: The Greek verb here rendered “drawing away” (a·phiʹste·mi) has the basic meaning “to stand away from.” It can also be rendered “to withdraw; to fall away from; to renounce.” (Ac 19:9; 1Ti 4:1 and study note; 2Ti 2:19) It is related to a noun rendered “apostasy.” (See study note on 2Th 2:3.) “Drawing away” involves deliberate and conscious action. (Compare study note on Heb 2:1, which describes drifting away because of carelessness or distractions.) A person draws away from God by rebelling against him and by willfully withdrawing from his worship. In this context, Paul uses the example of the Israelites to show that recovery from such a wicked course is extremely difficult.​—Heb 3:7-11, 16-19.

the living God: This term was surely well-known to Jewish Christians. (Jos 3:10; Ps 42:2) The Scriptures contrast Jehovah with the lifeless gods of the nations. (Jer 10:5, 10) When God swore that the generation of Israelites who rebelled in the wilderness would not enter the Promised Land, he guaranteed the certainty of his statement by saying “as surely as I live.” (Nu 14:21, 28) The term “the living God” in this context emphasizes the serious consequences for anyone who draws away from God, the one who alone can grant everlasting life or take away any prospects of future life.​—See study note on Heb 10:31; see also study notes on 1Ti 3:15; 4:10.