"And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who disobeyed?"
"And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who disobeyed?"
Here he was not referring to heaven but to the rest of Canaan. Because of their unbelief they did not know what it would be like to walk through Canaan, enjoying the fruits of that land, and experiencing satisfaction simply by believing in God. God said they would not enter their rest. And he took an oath in connection with that decision. God did not need to do that, but in doing so, he wanted to leave a clear demonstration that he was serious.
Again we emphasize that he was speaking of those who did not believe. Their worship of the goat and their sexual immorality were not the sins that kept them from enjoying God's blessing. His most serious sin was that of unbelief. Dear listener, unbelief strips us of blessing and also prompts us to commit other sins.
One can hear many believers say that they are believers, or that they at least think they are believers, and they say, "To think that I am a believer and I could have done that stupid thing!" And what they have done was really dishonest, but the fact is that they are deeply concerned about their dishonesty, and ignore the root of dishonesty, which is not having believed in God.