Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 3:9

"Where your fathers tried [me] by proving [me,] And saw my works forty years." — Hebrews 3:9 (ASV)

The thought of “testing” God continues. The Israelites ought to have proceeded in faith. Since God had done so much for them, they should have trusted him where they could not see. Instead, they tested his works where they could see. This faithlessness was no passing phase but something that went on for forty years. Possibly when this letter to Hebrews was written, it was the fourth decade since Jesus’ crucifixion. The Israelites had rejected God for forty years, and it was now nearly forty years since their descendants had rejected Jesus—a reason for serious concern.