“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.
I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.
Grace be with you all.” -Hebrews 13:20-25
We have made it to the end of the book of Hebrews! This is is the final section of verses, and it serves as a conclusion through the use of a doxology and some greetings from the author to his audience.
Verses 20-21 serve as a doxology. A doxology is simply praising God; the word doxology comes from the Greek word doxa, meaning glory. It’s interesting that the author calls God “the God of peace” here, as that’s a phrase often used by the Apostle Paul. Some scholars do suspect that Paul wrote this letter, but there is also support for the fact that Paul did not write it. (See this post for more on this letter’s author.) The peace referred to here is not just an absence of conflict but it’s a sense of well-being, reminding the audience that all of life depends on God.
“The blood of the eternal covenant” is one of the main themes of this letter, so it’s fitting that the author brings it up here. Much of the letter has compared and contrasted the old covenant that God had with the nation of Israel with the new covenant that all people now have through Jesus Christ.
However, this is the first place in the entire letter where Jesus is referred to as a shepherd, though there are many other times in the Bible where the shepherd imagery is used – Psalm 23, Isaiah 63:11, John 10, and 1 Peter 2:25 just to name a few. Jesus as a shepherd showcases His care for people; sheep are pretty helpless (and dumb) without their shepherd. Shepherds also had complete sovereignty over their flocks, which is something that we tend to gloss over today. Jesus should have complete rule over our lives, as He is our great shepherd.
The author’s prayer for his audience is that God would equip them with what they need. The verb for “equip” has the idea of mending something that is broken. His prayer is that God will make right whatever is not right in the spiritual lives of the readers and that they will lack nothing.
It’s interesting to see the idea of doing God’s will right next to the phrase of “may he work in us.” We are to desire to do God’s will, but doing so is only possible as a result of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. We do good works because we have faith in Jesus, and it’s that faith that allows us to do good things that are unselfish in nature (see James 2 for more on that). When we love God and desire to follow Jesus with our entire lives, our desire should be to do exactly what this doxology says – “what is pleasing to Him.” We should love God so much that our own desires are not worthwhile to dwell on, but our focus should be on pleasing God.
The last few verses of this letter are greetings to its readers, which is one way that we know it is a letter that was sent by an author to a group of people.
Verse 22 shows that the author calls this letter an “exhortation.” Exhorting simply means to communicate with emphasis, urging someone to do something. The author has clearly spent a lot of time on this letter, so he wants his readers to take it to heart. It is interesting in that the author says that he has written “quite briefly.” A 13-chapter letter like this one definitely does not fit my definition of “brief”! Some scholars take this to mean that perhaps the last chapter or two was a separate document initially that was attached to the rest of the book at some point in history.
The Timothy referred to in verse 23 is very likely the Timothy to whom Paul wrote the letters of 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, as there is no record of any other Timothy associated with the early church in this time period. The word “released” is curious, as its meaning is unclear whether Timothy is being released from prison, released from some other obligation, or released as in starting on a journey of some sort. The Greek word could mean any of these. But whatever the situation, the writer is clearly expecting Timothy to arrive at the place where he is, and then the two of them would journey on to see the recipients of this letter.
The author has written about leaders a couple of times already in this chapter, so it’s no surprise that he encourages the greeting of the leaders in verse 24, along with all the Lord’s people. It is unclear what the author means by “Those from Italy send you their greetings.” Scholars do not know enough about the author or his geographic location to make sense of that.
Finally, the author ends with, “Grace be with you all” in verse 25. This is very appropriate given that the author spent much of this letter talking about the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice and how we are freely given the gift of God’s grace. He does not exclude anyone who might read this letter from receiving God’s grace, just as God excludes no one.
I thank you for joining me on this journey through the letter to the Hebrews! It has been quite an adventure over the past year to write through this entire book, and if you haven’t read through all the posts, I continue to go back and do so.
And on that note, I’ll end as the author does: Grace be with you all!
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“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.” -Hebrews 13:15-19
The verses right before this section focused on the sacrifice of Jesus, and these verses continue that thought with more insight about sacrifices.
It is only through and because of Jesus’ sacrifice that we can offer God our praise (verse 15). We are to offer that sacrifice continually, not just occasionally. This brings to mind the idea of offering our lives as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) and continually living our lives for the good of others (James 1:27). Just as 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, we should always be giving thanks to God for everything, in all circumstances.
Because of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, there is no longer any need for the people to kill animals as sacrifices to God. Jesus took care of that once and for all, as the perfect sacrifice for all humanity at all times and in all places. The only sacrifice that is needed now is the sacrifice of praise, which we do when we praise God’s name openly. Our praise of God is not something that is supposed to be hidden, but rather it is to be done openly. Jesus openly died on the cross for us; that fact is not hidden, and neither should our praise to Him be hidden.
Even though blood sacrifices are no longer needed, there are times when we need to make sacrifices in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. The author gives two examples in verse 16: doing good to others and sharing with them. The word for doing good is a very general term, so the author doesn’t provide any specifics for what doing good looks like. The word for sharing, however, is more specific. It refers to sharing our possessions with others (goods, money, etc.) and also sharing with others in fellowship.
Just because we no longer make animal sacrifices doesn’t mean that we don’t have anything to offer those around us. We still can and should make sacrifices in our lives in ways that show our faith – doing good to others and sharing with them. These things will set us apart from the ways of the world, which are very selfishly motivated. As Christians, we are called to sacrifice our selfishness and instead practice generosity to others.
The author shifts gears a bit in verse 17 and ties this thought back to the idea of remembering and imitating our leaders from back in verse 7. This verse encourages Christians to trust those whom God has placed in leadership or authority positions over us. We are to be obedient to what they say because they care for us. The idea posed in this verse that they “keep watch over you” has the idea of the leaders staying awake at night out of concern for the people following them. This shows the level of care that an ideal Christian leader will have for his or her followers. This phrase could also be translated as “they keep watch over your souls,” which implies looking out for their followers’ spiritual welfare. Leaders are concerned for the hearts of their followers, not just their physical needs but their spiritual needs as well.
We also see in this verse that leaders will be called to account for their followers. Of course, all people have their own free will, and leaders are not responsible for their followers' actions in that sense. But leaders are called to look out for their followers, and leaders are responsible for making sure they lead in a manner that is honoring to God and helps their followers to grow and mature in their faith.
When the people submit to their leaders, then the leaders’ “work will be a joy, not a burden.” Leaders will be much more effective at what they are called to do when their followers are helping them in that work rather than hindering it. If the followers submit to the leaders’ authority, then the leaders can lead better, which then, in turn, benefits the followers by having good leadership in their lives.
Finally, the author closes this section with a brief call to prayer in verses 18-19. He urges the audience to pray for “us.” Scholars are not sure who else is included with the author in that “us,” mostly because scholars are not sure of the identity of the author. It may simply be like how we sometimes refer to ourselves in the plural, even when it’s just one person speaking, especially given the author’s use of “I” in the next verse.
But whoever is included in that, he shows the importance of prayer. While the author has at times rebuked and at times encouraged his readers throughout this letter, he still counts on them for their prayer support when he is not present with them. Even though he has the desire to live an honorable life, he knows that he will fail at that, but he asks for prayer to live a life that gives honor to God and keeps his conscience clear.
It is unclear what is keeping the author from “being restored” to his audience, which is again difficult to discern because scholars don’t know the identity of the author. Perhaps he was imprisoned for his faith, perhaps he was physically ill, or perhaps he was doing the work of God’s Kingdom in some other geographic location and was not able to leave. But whatever the reason, it is clear that the author’s situation needs prayer, which he urgently asks for from the audience of this letter.
These few verses of Hebrews encompass a variety of subjects – making sacrifices for the good of others to live out our Christian faith, being respectful and submitting to our Christian leaders, and the importance of prayer. While these may seem like all different topics, they are all simply different aspects of living life as a follower of Jesus Christ. These are all things we should do not because we feel obligated to do them but because we love God and want to honor and glorify Him with our lives. Which of these areas do you need to work on in your life? How will you give God glory through each of these areas?
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“The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” -Hebrews 13:11-14
This final chapter of the book of Hebrews contains many pieces of advice and encouragement for Christian living. But, the verses we’re looking at today are a bit less practically-minded and focus on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ – which is why we are followers of Jesus Christ in the first place.
Verse 10, right before today’s passage, states, “We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.” That verse referred to the fact that believers in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ have an advantage over those who do not consider Jesus Christ as the Messiah – specifically those who still followed the Jewish faith. Considering many ancient manuscripts title this letter “To the Hebrews,” this is the audience who would be reading this letter – the Jewish/Hebrew people by nationality, many of whom likely had not yet heard the gospel message and may still be following the Jewish traditions.
This letter contains many references to Jewish customs, and each time the author shows the connection to Jesus Christ and how He fulfilled those previous traditions. The verses we’re looking at today give a specific example of that: the Day of Atonement. The author has already referenced this holy day and its relation to the high priests earlier in the letter in much greater detail (see Hebrews 4:14-5:10 and Hebrews 7:1-10:18), but he needs to reference it again here to set up his next point.
In verse 11, he gives the highlights of the Day of Atonement, and then explains how the bodies of the sacrificial animals are “burned outside the camp.” This general practice for sacrifices was commanded in Leviticus 4:11-21. Using the word “camp” refers to the practice of the Israelites when they wandered in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. The author of Hebrews often refers back to that time frame because it’s one that all of the Israelites of his day would have had in common. After entering the Promised Land, the nation split up into more separate settlements, so their history was not as common, although it was still similar.
In verse 12, we see the author’s next comparison between the Day of Atonement and Jesus. Just as the bodies of the animal sacrifices were burned outside the camp, so Jesus “suffered outside the city gate.” This is not a perfect analogy, however, as the sacrificial animals were actually killed inside the city. But the point is that the animals that were sacrificed on the Day of Atonement were to provide for the forgiveness of the sins of the people, just as Jesus’ suffering and death did. The animal sacrifices were imperfect and temporary, however; Jesus’ sacrificial death provides permanent forgiveness of sins. Animals needed to die each year to cover the sins of the people of Israel, but Jesus only needed to die once for all people in all times and in all places.
The call to “go to him outside the camp” in verse 13 is an interesting one. Considering that the bodies of animals were burned outside the camp, that would not be a place that the Israelites would naturally want to wander to. Faith in Jesus Christ is “outside the camp” of the Jewish beliefs, so the people needed to go to Him to have faith in Him. To remain within the Jewish faith would be to remain outside of faith in Jesus and be separated from Him and His sacrifice. The readers of this letter must be prepared to go outside of their comfort zone of the Jewish traditions to embrace faith in Jesus Christ.
But going to Jesus outside the camp comes at a price. We don’t like to be faced with suffering (whether our own or someone else’s), but we need to see Jesus suffer to even begin to understand what His sacrifice means for us. We need to see Jesus’ disgrace to understand how much He truly loves humanity, that He would experience all that suffering and pain when He deserved none of it.
While we often desire to remain in the traditions that are comfortable to us, in verse 14 the author reminds his readers why it’s worthwhile to step outside of their Jewish faith and embrace faith in Christ. They do not have an “enduring city” in Judaism, but in Jesus Christ, they can look for what is to come. The author has referenced this eternal city before in Hebrews 11:10; its architect is God, and it will endure forever, unlike anything we experience here on earth.
We generally prefer to look to the security of things that we can see and feel here on earth, but those things do not endure. Only things that are of God will endure forever, which is why we need to pursue the things of God rather than the things of this world. We need to look forward to the eternal things rather than getting caught up in the temporary things of this world.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the most important thing we can keep in our hearts and minds. We need to see His suffering so we can truly appreciate it, and we need to remember that His sacrifice is outside of our comfort zone. Do you desire the eternal security we have through faith in Christ, or is your heart set on the temporary things of this world? The choice is yours – if you do not yet have faith in Jesus, go to him outside the camp today!
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“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.” -Hebrews 13:7-10
While the previous section of Hebrews 13 focused on the theme of love, the first few verses this section talks about leaders – specifically, how we as Christians should treat our leaders. Then, the author moves on to talk about faith and God’s grace.
The first thing to note is the Greek word used for leaders in verse 7. This is a general term for leader that does not distinguish what type of leader that person is. It can be used for the leader of a religious body (like the church), a political leader, a military commander, etc. There is a different Greek word that’s used elsewhere in Scripture for “elders,” so this word likely does not refer to elders in the church specifically.
Given the next phrase, “who spoke the word of God to you,” these leaders were likely involved in some form of teaching or preaching. “The word of God" here refers to the gospel message as a whole; remember that at the time this letter was being written, the New Testament was not yet formed, and some of it was not even written yet. So speaking the word of God could refer to the Old Testament Scriptures, the gospel message, or even the early documents that were already in existence that would be included in our New Testament today.
These leaders were being held up as an example for believers to imitate. Some scholars think that the word “outcome” here is actually a euphemism for death, meaning that the readers should consider how their former leaders were killed for their faith. That brings a bit of a different message here to the author asking the readers to imitate their faith that led to the outcome of death! But the reader is also encouraged to remember their way of life, how they truly lived out their faith and did not compromise it – even in the face of death. Whoever these leaders were, they were clearly good examples of faith to follow.
While being charged to remember their earthly leaders, the author tells his readers that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (verse 8). The reader can be assured that they will be following the same Jesus who those leaders followed, the same Jesus as was constantly portrayed in the word of God. This short verse emphasizes the unchanging nature of Jesus. The same Jesus who existed before the creation of the world is the same Jesus who took on human flesh, died, and was resurrected. He is the same Jesus who was worshipped and followed by the early church, He is the same Jesus we worship and follow today, and He is the same Jesus we will worship in the future – both in the rest of our earthly lives and into eternity in heaven.
It is clear from verse 9 that there were some “strange teachings” present in that day that the audience would be familiar with; we do not know today what those teachings were. It is possible that this relates to Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 10:14-33 about eating food sacrificed to idols, but there is no strong link there. Many religions of the day, including Judaism, had rules and regulations surrounding food.
The author’s point here is that we need to rely on God’s grace to sustain us rather than getting caught up in the rules about food or other such things. This is reminiscent of what Jesus said while He was being tempted in the wilderness in Matthew 4:4: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,’” where He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3. There is no benefit in God’s eyes to eating ceremonial foods; we need to continually rely on God’s grace rather than following rules about what we eat or do not eat.
Verse 10 seems confusing in this context. What is this altar that the author is talking about? This has been interpreted as the Holy Communion table, from which only believers in Jesus Christ partake of the meal of communion. But, he just finished saying in the previous verse that we shouldn’t worry about food rules, and now he said that some can’t eat from this altar.
One commonly held view is that the altar referred to here is the cross of Jesus Christ. “Those who minister at the tabernacle” are the Jewish priests, or possibly all Jews in a general sense. They have no right to “eat” from this “altar” because they do not accept the sacrifice of Jesus as providing for their salvation. The fact that Jesus was crucified, died, and was raised again does not mean anything significant to them, as they still believe that the Messiah had not yet come.
The author is pointing out that his readers, as believers in Jesus Christ as the one true Messiah, have a privileged position over those who do not yet share this belief. They should consider their faith as a privilege that others do not yet have, but they do have the ability to welcome others to the table, to welcome them to a saving faith in Jesus Christ as well.
While the ideas presented in these few short verses seem rather disjointed (remember your leaders, Jesus never changes, don’t get caught up in food rules, and we are privileged because of faith), they are all connected in instructing believes about how to live the Christian life. We are called to imitate those who have been leaders of the faith; they trusted in the unchanging Jesus, and we should do so as well. We need to remain true in our teachings and not get caught up in any false teachings that may happen, including becoming too legalistic about what we can or cannot eat.
It really is all about the cross of Jesus Christ and the saving faith we can have through God’s grace to us!
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“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'
So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?'” -Hebrews 13:1-6
This final chapter of the book of Hebrews contains more advice on how to live righteous living, continuing that theme from the last section of chapter 12. The theme of these first few verses is love and how we should live out the love of Christ for one another.
Verse 1 starts out with a clear command: “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.” If you don’t have a great relationship with your siblings, perhaps that command sounds easy to follow – if you don’t feel like you love your brothers and sisters, then maybe this Christian love thing is not that hard! But “brothers and sisters” in this verse refers to our brothers and sisters in Christ – all of our fellow believers. We are not linked by close blood relations, but we are all linked thorugh the blood of Christ that was shed for us.
In Greek, however, verse 1 is just 3 words. The idea of it is simply to remain in brotherly love for one another. In English, we just have the word “love,” but in Greek there are actually 8 words that refer to different forms of love (though just a few of them are used in the Scriptures). We most often see agape love, which refers to the unconditional, sacrificial love of God. This occurrence, however is the phileo love, which is the friendship love. The actual Greek word used is philadelphia which does literally mean “brotherly love.” We should strive toward having that brotherly, friendship love with all believers, because we are brothers and sisters in Christ.
How do we show this brotherly love to one another? One way is to show hospitality to others, as in verse 2. The reference to unknowingly showing hospitality to angels looks back at the narratives of Abraham and Lot in Genesis 18 and 19. God is pleased when we show hospitality to others, which can take on many forms. It could mean providing lodging for a fellow believer in your home, providing a meal for someone, or serving someone in any way.
In the context of the time period of the letter to the Hebrews, hospitality was one thing that truly helped spread the gospel throughout the known world. As the early Christian preachers traveled from place to place, they were able to do so because of fellow believers providing them with lodging and meals. Many of the inns of the day were expensive, and they did not have great reputations as being reputable places, so believers showing hospitality to others facilitated the mission of Jesus Christ to spread the gospel.
In verse 3, the author turns his attention to showing love specifically to those in prison. A person would need to actively seek out those who were imprisoned in order to help them; obviously, prisoners won’t just come knocking on our door asking for a place to stay or for a meal. In that time period, prisoners often did not receive much (if any) food, so they would depend on the love of others for their basic necessities. It was dangerous to help prisoners, as anyone seen sympathizing with prisoners could be imprisoned themselves, but the author encourages them to help prisoners anyway.
This verse goes along with the teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:26 where he wrote about all believers being the body of Christ: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” We are encouraged to care for those who are suffering in prison and those who are suffering in other ways or other places. We share in their suffering as the body of Christ.
The author turns to upholding marriage and discouraging sexual sin in verse 4. Marriage should be kept pure, not only for the sake of the marriage but because committing any sort of sexual sin will be judged harshly by God. The author specifically calls out adultery but also the general “sexual immorality.” For more on what the Bible says about these topics, check out this post and this post.
Verse 5 addresses sins of greed and coveteousness. Anyone who covets after something pursues that thing selfishly, regardless of what it does to other people. When we love money and all the possessions and security it can provide for us, we are trusting money and the things of this world more than we are trusting God. When we are content with what God has given us, we will not love money and desire after other things. For more on what the Bible says about money, check out this post.
The quotation in this verse is interesting, as it is not an exact quotation from any verse in the Old Testament. It is similar to Deuteronomy 31:6 where it says that God “will never leave you nor forsaken you.” Or it could refer to Joshua 1:5 where God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” It is suspected that the author is quoting from a manuscript that has since been lost. But even if we don’t have those exact words recorded elsewhere in Scripture, the idea rings true. We can fully trust in God that He will never leave us nor forsake us, therefore we do not need to trust in the material things of this world.
Finally, in verse 6, we see the author quoting Psalm 118:6-7. This emphasizes that we can confidently count on the Lord for all things. There is no reason to fear, because we have God on our side! Nothing that goes against God’s plan for our lives will succeed.
While these verses read almost like proverbs in that each verse seems to contain a different encouragement for how to live this Christian life, they really are all tied together in love. When we love one another, we will show them hospitality. When we love prisoners, we will care for them and remember them. When we love our spouse, we will honor our marriage. When we love other people, we will not commit any sexually immoral acts with them. When we love God, we will not love money nor the things that it can buy. We need not be afraid of anything in this world, because God loves us and He will protect us.
Live out the love of Christ today by loving others just as God has loved us!
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“See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ The words ‘once more’ indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’” -Hebrews 12:25-29
In this last section of chapter 12, the author again employs contrast to continue encouraging his readers to live Christlike lives. All people will be judged by God, and only those who worship God will be on the right side of that judgment.
The contrast in this passage starts out in verse 25, looking at how “they” responded to God speaking and how we today respond to God. The “they” referred to is the nation of Israel in the Old Testament times. God warned the people time and again through many prophets how He would bring judgment on them for their disobedience. But the people didn’t listen, and they did receive the necessary punishment multiple times, especially during the years of the Babylonian exile.
Israel did not escape the consequences of refusing to listen to God, and that has not changed even under the new covenant. Yes, we are recipients of God’s grace, but He still warns us to follow Him and obey what He commands us to do, and we will still receive the just consequences when we disobey. This is why discipline is so important among fellow believers, so we learn from each other how to obey God better.
In verse 26, the author brings up what happened on Mt Sinai in Exodus 19:18. This shaking of the earth shows how important of an event this was when Moses received God’s Law for the people. Simply God’s voice shook the earth and caused it to tremble violently! God promised that He would shake the earth and also the heavens again, as the author of Hebrews quotes from Haggai 2:6. This refers to a great cosmic event, possibly at the end of time. It may be looking toward the new heaven and the new earth that we see in Isaiah 66:22 and Revelation 21-22.
The fact that the author picks out and explains the words “once more” in verse 27 shows that this is a final moment that is coming. It is the decision time, the judgment day. We see that the world that God created can be shaken, but in contrast, the things that are truly of God cannot be shaken. God is beyond time, eternal, and permanent, even though this world that He created is fragile and passing away. Only the things that cannot be shaken will remain after God “once more” shakes not only the earth but also the heavens. We may not know exactly what that looks like, but this will be a final separation that occurs one day.
In verse 28, the author gives us the good news that we receive these things that cannot be shaken by way of God’s Kingdom. When we become believers in Jesus Christ, we enter into that kingdom. It’s not a place like we may think of a kingdom here on earth, but it’s a mindset and a way of life. We live as residents of the Kingdom of God while we’re here on this earth, and we will one day live fully in that kingdom!
Because we are a part of God’s Kingdom, we are called to “be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” Interestingly, the word used for “be thankful” in Greek is more commonly translated as grace rather than an idea of gratitude. A few English translations render it as “hold onto God’s grace” or similar language to bring out that idea, but most go with some form of thankfulness or gratitude.
The word translated here as “worship” also means to serve, which is a great picture for us to live out. We commonly think of worship as what we do on a Sunday morning when we gather with fellow believers, but worship really should encompass our entire lives in everything that we do. We worship God by obeying Him, which means loving and serving all those around us whom God has called us to. Anytime we’re serving a fellow human being and doing what God has called us to do, we’re worshiping Him.
Finally, this verse says to worship God “with reverence and awe.” These words are meant to show us our place as humble and lowly creatures in comparison to the majestic creator God of the universe. We are to be in awe of Him because we cannot fathom His greatness and majesty. We are to revere, treasure, cherish, and admire God simply because of who He is. He is the Almighty God of the universe, and we are simply His creation.
Verse 29 gives us another reason to worship God – that He “is a consuming fire.” This expression appears to be taken from Deuteronomy 4:24. We need to remember who God is, and the fact that He can literally consume us with fire at anytime should He choose to. We often get so caught up in God’s grace, love, mercy, and compassion that we forget that He cannot be in the presence of evil (which we are). God is love, but God also has wrath and anger against anything that goes against His pure holiness. This should also cause us to worship Him with reverence and awe!
This passage serves as a warning to us that we need to keep a proper perspective of who God is and what He has done in this world. We need to listen to Him, or else we will face the consequences of His judgement. He is worthy of all our thankfulness, worship, and praise, and we need to give Him the proper place of reverence and awe in our lives!
The end of chapter 12 is somewhat of an ending to this letter, as chapter 13 is almost like an appendix of extra thoughts tacked onto the end. We’ll dig into that final chapter starting next week.
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“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.’ The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” -Hebrews 12:18-24
In the sections before this in the book of Hebrews, the author has been talking about various aspects of Christian living. So you may be wondering, why is he suddenly talking about mountains? This is another aspect of living the Christian life – he is contrasting the Jewish life, represented by God giving the Israelites the law on Mt Sinai, with the Christian life, represented by Mt Zion.
The author does not specifically mention Mt Sinai, but it is clear in verses 18-19 that this is what is being referred to. We see the fire of God burning on Mt Sinai in Deuteronomy 4:11-13. The things that are mentioned in these verses can all refer to the presence God appearing on Earth – fire (Judges 13:20, 1 Kings 18:38), darkness (1 Kings 8:12), storms (Nahum 1:3), and the trumpet (Exodus 19:16-19, Matthew 24:31, 1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16).
This is not the presence of a calm, gentle God but one that should strike fear and terror into our hearts. The next element we see confirms this – “such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them” (verse 19). The people of Israel experienced this in Exodus 20:18-21 and Deuteronomy 5:25-27. The fear of the Lord was so great that the people of Israel simply could not handle it and didn’t not want to hear God’s voice anymore!
Verse 20 provides a quote from Exodus 19:13. The people were so fearful of God and they lived in fear of God’s commandment that anyone (man or beast) who touches the mountain should die. This shows how holy and separate God is from the people. God made the mountain so holy that the people could not even touch it!
In the passage from Exodus 20:18-21 referenced above, the people were terribly afraid of God, but Moses was not afraid to approach God’s presence. But in verse 21, the writer tells us that even Moses was trembling with fear at God’s presence. This is not a direct quote from the Mt Sinai experience that Moses had, but it does happen during the golden calf incident (Deuteronomy 9:19). The author is portraying a situation where God is greatly to be feared – even by Moses, the Old Testament figure who was known to have the closest personal relationship with God (Exodus 33:11)!
But! Verse 22 begins with this strong contrasting conjunction, indicating something completely different is about to be written. We now see the contrast to the great fear of God at Mt Sinai with the great joy of Mt Zion. Mt Zion is one of the hills on which Jerusalem was built, so Zion and Jerusalem are often considered synonymous to each other. This is considered the “home” of God’s people. This is the city where God dwells. This refers back to Hebrews 11:10 where the author refers to “the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” This is a living city, home to the living God. The people have come by the thousands to experience this joyful assembly that takes place in God’s presence! They have come to give God the glory and honor which He is due.
Verses 23-24 continue to list the reasons that the people have come to this holy city. They have come to celebrate the triumphant church, the assembly of those “whose names are written in heaven.” This may refer to the early martyrs of the church, or some scholars believe it refers to angels; we do not know for sure. The people have come to see God, who is the great Judge of all people. He has made the righteous people perfect through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus is that “mediator of a new covenant” which has been thoroughly described earlier in the letter. The blood Jesus was shed as the perfect sacrifice for all people in all times and in all places; Jesus is the only one who could open up the way to having a relationship with God as no mere human could. Abel’s blood is the first human’s blood recorded to be shed in the Scriptures, and the author shows how much greater Jesus’ blood sacrifice was than Abel’s.
This passage shows the great contrasts that happen simultaneously in our relationship with God. We should have great fear and awe of God, knowing that He is sovereign over everything and has the power to strike us down in death. But we also know that we should have great joy in God because of what Jesus has done for us! The God of the Old Testament and Mt Sinai is still the God of the New Testament and Mt Zion. He is still the same God who we worship today, and we are still commanded to fear Him and also experience joy in His presence to give Him glory.
How are you relating to God today? Are you experiencing great fear of God’s awesome power? Or are you rejoicing in His presence? Both are good! We should have balance between those two – being both joyful and fearful of God’s awesomeness all at the same time.
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“Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ‘Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” -Hebrews 12:12-17
In the previous section, the author of Hebrews talked about the importance of having discipline in our lives as followers of Jesus. We need to be corrected when we’re not on the right path. This next section is an extension of that thought, encouraging us to live upstanding lives, living as a witness to our God.
The “therefore” at the beginning of verse 12 links what’s coming with what just preceded it. Because of the discipline that God provides to us, we need to do our best to live our lives in a righteous manner. If our arms are feeble and our knees are weak as the passage says, we need to strengthen them to do the hard work of living rightly! The Greek word used for “strengthen” also means to “make upright” or “make straight,” giving the idea of living in an upright manner.
In verse 13, the author quotes from Proverbs 4:26. This builds on the idea from verse 12 of strengthening our bodies to do the good works that honor God. If our paths are level, we’re better able to walk on them. This is connected to the idea of discipline among believers in Jesus. We’re meant to live as communities of believers, not to go it alone. When some are feeling “lame” or “disabled” and struggling with doing what is right, the community is to come alongside them to encourage them and provide spiritual healing. While we are not saved by the good things that we do, they do show God’s glory and demonstrate our faith (see James 2:14-26).
Starting in verse 14, we see the author giving more specific ways of how to live in a righteous manner. The Greek verb that’s translated as “make every effort” really has a meaning of pursuing or chasing after, so this verse starts out by saying, “Pursue peace with everyone.” This is a common idea in the New Testament, as we also see in Matthew 5:9, Mark 9:50, and Romans 12:18 just to name a few. Some scholars have debated whether this verse means to try to live at peace with everyone or just fellow believers, but the general consensus is that we are called to live at peace with all people, though peace within the Christian community is important for our witness to those who do not yet believe.
The structure of this verse indicates that we are to pursue both peace and holiness. What is holiness? It means being set apart and striving to be more like God. When we strive to live our lives in a way that is holy and glorifies God, others will be drawn to Him and see Him in and through us.
We see the community of believers at work in verse 15. While we are only responsible for our own actions, we are also called to live in community with one another. This ties into the idea of discipline from the previous passage. When we see a fellow believer pursuing the wrong things and headed down the wrong path, we need to lovingly provide them with correction.
But what’s the deal with the “bitter root” in the second half of verse 15? This is the same idea expressed in Deuteronomy 29:16-18. If people turn away from God, they will be like a bitter root - perhaps it will grow slowly, but its true colors of bitterness will be seen in time. A seed of bitterness can be sown in a faith community, and while it may not be visible right away, if left unchecked it will eventually defile the whole community.
The next warning in this passage is in verse 16 and has to do with sexual immorality. Again, the community of believers is called upon to help keep each other living in right ways and not falling into this temptation. The author next refers to Esau as being godless. The word for “godless” can also mean unholy or profane, which implies that Esau was more focused on the things of this world than on Godly things. Esau did not recognize the value of his birthright but instead gave it away to fulfill an immediate need (see Genesis 25:29-34 for the story). Unlike Esau, we are to look at the big picture that God sees as much as we can rather than focusing on the immediate needs we experience here on earth. Anyone who turns away from God doesn’t care about God’s plan; they only care about their own needs being met.
Verse 17 continues the narrative about Esau and how he did not receive the blessing he was to inherit. There was a finality to Esau’s actions; he could not undo what he had done. There are choices we make in life that cannot be undone. There’s a song by my favorite band called Bullets that has lyrics that say, “Can’t put the bullets back into the gun / Can’t undo what we have done.” While we can always receive forgiveness, some actions are more final than perhaps we would like them to be, just as Esau’s was.
The main ideas we can take from this passage are that we are all to pursue righteous living, both individually and in our communities of faith. We are to strengthen ourselves and one another in the faith so that we can more easily understand and follow God’s commands to us so that we honor and glorify Him. We are to lovingly discipline and correct one another in the context of our faith communities because we know that we can’t live this Christian life on our own. We are better together than by ourselves, to both encourage one another and help one another stay on the right path of honoring God with our lives.
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“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.’
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline —then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” -Hebrews 12:4-11
Moving into this next section of the book of Hebrews, the author begins sharing about different aspects of the Christian life. The first thing he shares is about discipline – a topic that basically nobody enjoys.
It’s important to note that the author starts this section with a comparison between the believers’ struggle and that of those who had been killed for their faith (verse 4). Persecution to the point of being killed for the Christian faith was a very real danger at the time when this letter was written. All believers struggle with sin, and one of those temptations may have been to give up their faith to save their earthly life. Remember that this is just a few verses after the author provided the great list of the heroes of the faith, many of whom were killed for their faith. The struggle with sin is very real, but it’s important to keep our own struggles in the proper context. Yes, we go through difficult times in life, but at least we have not yet been killed for faith!
Then, the author brings up the topic of discipline, starting with the relationship between a father and son in verse 5 that he uses to introduce quoting Proverbs 3:11-12 in verses 5b-6. God is our father and we are His children, so He disciplines us as a Father would discipline His children. Being disciplined by God is not a sign that God doesn’t like us but rather it shows us how much He loves us! A father corrects his children because he loves them and wants to teach them to live correctly, and God disciplines us in the same manner. Contrary to how we tend to react, we should be encouraged when God disciplines us because it’s Him showing us His great love for us.
The ancient Roman world had a different understanding of discipline than we do today. It was expected, and a father in the Roman world had absolute authority over his children, even to the point of deciding whether to keep a child alive! The father even had the right to execute his child as a form of punishment, though this rarely happened. This shows the extremely serious attitude that they took toward discipline in the culture when this letter was written.
Verse 7 encourages us to look at any hardships we face as God providing discipline to us. God is treating us as his children and providing us with the discipline that we need to correct our wayward behaviors. Again, it was completely expected that a father would discipline his children, just as God does for us.
In verse 8, the author turns that around the other way. Because we are God’s children, He disciplines us; and if we are not receiving that discipline, then we must not be God’s children. Just as it was expected for a father to discipline his children, we as children should expect to BE disciplined by our heavenly Father. If the father felt no responsibility toward his children, he would not correct them. Likewise, God is showing His love and care for us as His true children by correcting us to His ways.
Verses 9-10 again make the connection between the human family and God and us as His children. But the author takes it one step further, showing how God’s discipline is different than that of a human father. Earthly fathers do their best for a short time while their child is young, but God’s discipline is perfect and holy, and it lasts for our entire lifetime. The goal of God’s discipline is to make us more like Him – sharing in His holiness.
The first part of verse 11 may seem like a very obvious statement – “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.” The author puts this in contrast to the long-term effects of discipline, which is to “produce a harvest of righteousness and peace.” We need to experience the short-term difficulties, pain, and suffering of God’s discipline in order to become more like God, to work toward that goal of teleios.
Whether you are the giver or receiver of discipline, it is not a pleasant thing to experience. But discipline is very necessary for our lives, both from a human standpoint and a spiritual one. We need to be corrected and instructed in the ways we should live in this world, both by our human parents and by God. That often has to happen through discipline, being punished when we do something wrong.
We will all experience suffering in this life, whether due to our own actions, the actions of those around us, or for reasons we can’t figure out. But when we can look at those times of suffering as being disciplined by God, they have greater meaning in our lives. Jesus experienced suffering on the cross, not as a form of discipline since He did nothing wrong, but He was able to endure that suffering because it had greater meaning – the salvation of all humanity who would turn to Him in faith. If we see the greater meaning in times we’re suffering as God guiding and correcting us, we are better able to endure it as well.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” -James 1:2-4
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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” -Hebrews 12:1-3
This section of the letter to the Hebrews is both a conclusion and an introduction. While Hebrews 11:39-40 concludes the “heroes of the faith” section, these verses tell us what to do with the stories of everyone the author just described. It introduces the topic for the rest of the letter - practical ideas on how to live a Christian life.
The “therefore” at the beginning of verse 1 is that hinge point that connects the previous stories with what we should do about them. Because of all those who have lived by faith and were commended for that faith, we need to live like that as well! The people and stories mentioned in the previous chapter are not just imaginary stories, but they were real people who actually lived out their witness to the faith. The author includes himself in being surrounded by all of those witnesses to the faith; he, too, is striving to live the life of faith.
The Greek word used for “cloud” can refer to the clouds in the sky, but it also refers to a throng of people. When used in that way, it emphasizes the great number people included in the group. The author only had space to mention a handful in their stories and a few more by name, and many others were referenced by general events in life. But there were far too many to list in that chapter, and many, many more have lived between tha time Hebrews was written and today as well!
Because of all those who have gone before us, “let us throw off everything that hinders” us (verse 1). The word translated “everything that hinders” is a Greek word meaning any kind of weight. Sometimes it refers to any excess body weight, like an athlete would need to shed during their training process. This fits with the metaphor of the race at the end of verse 1. Throwing off this weight also means to carry nothing excessive with us; you never see athletes competing in a race with backpacks of stuff on them! Anything that we don’t need will just hinder our progress of living out our Christian faith. This is especially of true of the sins we get entangled by.
The race we are to run is not a sprint but a marathon. We need to be prepared for the long haul of living the life of faith. It’s not something we do quickly once and then it’s over, but something that requires endurance and perseverance. That is what the witnesses who came before us did, especially in light of the fact that most of them never received the “prize” they were running for, the fulfillment of the great promises of God. We, too, need to strive to run this race. We have seen the fulfillment of God’s promise of sending a savior in Jesus, but we will not be truly victorious until our race is over on this earth.
In verse 2, we see the focus that is required to run this race. Our eyes need to be fixed on Jesus! A runner cannot be distracted by the fans in the stands, what the clouds in the sky are doing, look that that flower over there, etc. A runner fixes her eyes on the goal of the race – the finish line. We need to have our eyes fixed on our goal – Jesus Christ. He is “the pioneer and perfector of faith.” Faith is all about Him, not about us. He originated the faith and He perfects and completes the faith. Even though He was not yet on earth in physical form during the days of the Old Testament and the witnesses that the author spent chapter 11 describing, Jesus was still present as God. He existed since before time began and before people were created to have faith. Faith all points to Jesus, no matter when the faithful people have lived or will live.
Why is faith all about Jesus? Because “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (verse 2b). Was death on the cross a joyful experience for Jesus? Definitely not! But He knew there would be joy at what He accomplished through that torturous death – salvation for all of humanity who has faith in Him. He endured what He needed to endure so that we would be able to experience salvation in Him through our faith. After accomplishing His work on the cross, Jesus sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, which symbolizes that His work is complete and He is now reigning over the entire world because of it.
Verse 3 shows us that Jesus’ endurance of the cross gives us benefit. The word “endured” is in the perfect tense in Greek, which indicates that it is a completed action with an ongoing effect. Jesus has already died on the cross; that is complete, yet it has an ongoing effect of bringing salvation to all of us sinners. He endured the opposition that He needed to endure so that we can be encouraged in our faith.
There is weariness involved with running a long race, and runners can easily be tempted to quit when it gets difficult. But that is not what we are called to in our life of faith! The witnesses that came before us endured their situations by faith. Jesus endured death on a cross for the joy that was coming after it. We, too, are called to endure whatever is in the race set before us, and we can do that when our eyes are fixed on Jesus!
What has God called you to endure at this point in your life? Perhaps you’re at an easier point in your race, or perhaps you’re climbing a steep hill and feel you can’t take one more step. Either way, fix your eyes on Jesus! He began this faith and He fulfills this faith, and His work is done. Do not grow weary and lose heart, but keep your faith in Him, being encouraged by all those who have come before to run the race marked out for you with perseverance.
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“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” -Hebrews 11:39-40
In our modern world, we tend to want instant gratification for everything – fast food, the speediest Internet service, quick travel across the country, immediate responses from too-connected friends, etc. But that’s the opposite of what the author of Hebrews points out in this conclusion to the great Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11.
First, in verse 39a he again commends all of them for their faith. This refers to not only the people he mentioned by name but also those he ran out of space to write about. For some, he just listed names, and for others, he gave descriptions of what happened to them or what they did in general terms because of their great faith in God. God never forgets any person who has lived by faith in Him. Whether they had great earthly significance because of their faith like Abraham or Moses or whether they had little earthly remembrance, ALL who have lived by faith have great significance in God’s eyes.
The Greek word translated here as “were commended” is the same root where we get our word “martyr” from, meaning one who has been killed for their faith. It can also mean to give testimony, testify, or be a witness. The NASB translates this as “having gained approval.” It is a passive form here, so those meanings do fit better than the more active meaning of giving testimony or testifying. But it is the same verb used in verse 4 where the author speaks of Abel being commended for his faith, the first person on his list. This acts as sort of “bookends” to this chapter – it both begins and ends with this commendation or approval because of the testimony of all of these who have lived by faith.
But even after looking at all those whose lives were lived by faith in God, we see that “none of them received what had been promised” (verse 39b). That’s the opposite of instant gratification; they never saw the fulfillment of God’s great promise in their lifetimes. But, that does not mean that they never saw any of God’s promises fulfilled. In fact, verse 33 told us that they “gained what was promised.” God always keeps His promises, so the people who lived their lives in faith did see some of God’s promises fulfilled – just not THE promise. That one great promise of God that they did not see was the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. God kept that promise unfulfilled until the proper time in history had arrived for Jesus to come to earth in human form and fulfill everything that was promised in the Old Testament.
Then in verse 40a, we see that “God had planned something better for us.” The author intentionally leaves this vague and unclear because God’s work has not yet been fully revealed. By the point in time when this letter was written, Jesus had already come to earth, lived His perfect life, died a terrible death, was raised again, ascended into heaven, and the early Church had begun to be formed. So the promise of God to send a savior for all people had already been fulfilled, but the author knows that this is not the end of God’s plan!
Not only does God have something better planned for us, but “only together with us would they be made perfect” (verse 40b). Jesus was the one who accomplished our salvation once and for all, but it still involves the entire Christian community. We are saved individually but we are also saved communally. Contrary to our highly individualistic society today, the perspective of the nation of Israel was a very communal one. What some people did (or didn’t do) could affect the entire nation. That still happens in our world today, but we have less national identity and tend to focus more on individuals.
All followers of Jesus Christ, including us today, are included in the “us” in verse 40. God has something better planned for us, and it will be “made perfect” in us as a whole people of God! That word translated as “made perfect” is from teleios, which contains the ideas of perfection, maturity, wholeness, and completeness. That is our goal as Christians, to become teleios in God – complete, mature, and whole.
This is impossible to achieve without Jesus Christ. It is only because of the work of Jesus on the cross that we have the opportunity to be in relationship with God and experience salvation. It’s not because of what we have done, and our actions will never lead us to teleios. Only the work of Jesus Christ fulfilled the ultimate promise made to all those who lived by faith in the Old Testament. Only the work of Jesus Christ fulfilled the ultimate promise to those who lived in the New Testament era. Only the work of Jesus Christ fulfilled the ultimate promise to all of His followers who have lived throughout history and to us who follow Him today.
Have you lived a life of faith that is worthy of being commended? What is your testimony and witness to what God has done in your life? We don’t have to be an Abraham or a Moses to be able to give God glory through what He has done in our lives and to show that we have lived by faith. We don’t even have to have a dramatic story of how God saved us from a terrible situation in life, though God does work in that way sometimes. Even a life lived by making daily choices to follow God in the small things is a great testament to His glory.
We can be encouraged and inspired by the “great” stories of what God has done and how so many people of old lived by faith. But every single person who lives by faith even in what may seem like an ordinary or mundane life is just as great as the stories we read about in this chapter of Hebrews. We likely won’t see instant gratification from it, but we will have a life lived for God as a witness to others.
What are you doing to live your life by faith in God?
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“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” -Hebrews 11:32-38
Up to this point in Hebrews 11, the author has been spending at least one verse on each specific case that he has brought up. However, to continue at that rate, this one chapter would be way too long! There are so many people of faith documented in the Old Testament, and they all deserve to be commended for their faith, but the author needs to move on. However, he does not move on before mentioning a few more of them by name in verse 32, and then he turns to various acts of faith in a more general sense.
While the author of Hebrews does not give us details of what Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel did, we have the Old Testament to give us their stories. You can click those links to read blog posts by Logan Ames about each of them, and I’ll give some highlights here.
The stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah were all recorded in the book of Judges. Each of them faced enormous odds stacked against them. Gideon was to use an army of just 300 men to fight one more than 400 times its size – and he was victorious because of his faith (Judges 6-8). Barak would not go into battle without Deborah, and they were up against the mighty army of Sisera (Judges 4). They had faith, and God gave them victory in that battle. Even though Jephthah was a mighty warrior, he was the least of his family and had to overcome those odds. He, too, needed to have faith that God would win his battle for him, and God came through. Jephthah even had enough faith in God to follow through on a vow he had made, which cost his daughter her life (Judges 10-12).
At first, Samson did not seem to have much faith in his life. He was arrogant and often ignored his Nazirite vow, being disobedient to what God had called him to before he was even born. But Samson’s arrogance caught up with him, and after Delilah betrayed him, he was greatly humbled. At that point of humility when he had basically nothing left, Samson finally trusted God and had faith that God would still use him for His good purposes of killing hundreds of oppressive Philistines (Judges 13-16).
David’s story is well-documented in the Bible, from his days as a shepherd boy, to killing Goliath, to running from Saul, to being a mighty warrior, being crowned king of Israel, committing adultery and murder, and still being known as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). We see David’s faith spelled out in much of the book of Psalms. Only faith in God could lead David through a life like that and leave him with a legacy of being known as the greatest king that Israel had.
Samuel and the other prophets had to have faith in the messages that God gave them to share with the people. Prophets were not known for bringing good news, but most often their messages were that of “Repent or die!” They needed to have faith to give them the courage to share difficult messages with the people to whom they were told to deliver those messages.
Verses 33-35a give lists of other acts of faith that people did. We can put names to some of those acts from the narratives we have in the Old Testament, but there were likely others that fit in these categories as well since the author of Hebrew doesn’t mention names in these verses.
In his blog post series and his book on the Heroes of the Faith in this chapter, Logan Ames covered specific people who fit all of these descriptions. I encourage you to check out either or both of those resources for more on them and how their faith helped them do those amazing things.
Some of the things on the list do appear to be possible in our human strength, but in reality, all of them are only truly possible by the supernatural power of God Himself. Can people conquer kingdoms, quench flames, or become powerful in battle? Sure; but everything that we do is all part of God’s sovereign plan and because He gave us life and various abilities. We need to rely on God by faith for everything that we do, as He has the ability to help us succeed or fail.
Verses 35b-38 tell of the harsh ways in which followers of God have been treated. People have been tortured in many different ways because they hold fast to the faith that God has given them. If this faith were not true, we would not have so many examples of people who gave their lives for it! Sometimes that persecution led to death, while other times it meant a more difficult lifestyle while here on earth.
Either way, we see that “the world was not worthy of them.” While the world may have thought these faithful people were not worthy of living in the world, the truth is that God sees them as completely and totally worthy of the life and faith that only come from Him.
Are you living out your faith in a way that mirrors the faith of these great people of God mentioned by name and of all these others who are not specifically listed by name? Does the world consider you unworthy and treat you harshly because of that faith? While we do not yet face outright persecution like that in the United States, there are many places in this world where Christians are persecuted and have to keep their faith secret or else they risk their lives. Now is the time to become confident in God and the faith we have in Him so that when the testing of our faith does come, we’ll be ready for it!
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