Hebrews 3

Grace and Greetings,

What a gift! I am continually amazed at God's Word. Today, I am thankful for Hebrews 3. What a gift. The Chapter outline begins with the 'N' of SoN is Mediator:

• Not Moses but Jesus (1-6)
• Not hardened but hear Him (7-19)

The memory passage taken from these main sections are:

• Not Moses but Jesus
  Hebrews 3:3
  
  ³For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.
• Not hardened but hear Him
  Hebrews 3:13-15
  
  
  ¹³But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. ¹⁵As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

The first section, 'Not Moses but Jesus', focuses on the priority of Jesus over Moses. Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest; The Father's Apostle to us and our High Priest to the Father. The writer certainly does not disrespect Moses (which might raise undo angst from his target audience) and gives him the honor he is due in light of his service to the Lord. But it must be made clear that while Moses was faithful as a servant, Christ is faithful as a Son. Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of the house has more glory than the house itself (3). This house is further defined as us, the church; those who 'hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope' (6). The only confidence we have is Christ, and our only hope is found in the Gospel He proclaimed and embodied.

The second section, 'Not hardened, but hear Him', draws its title and theme from a quote from Psalm 95. The phrase 'Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion' is written twice in this section (7,15). The writer skillfully draws on the history and commensurate warning to the nation of Israel (Ex 17:1-7, Num 14:20-38, Ps 95:7-11) and transposes the lesson to the body of Christ. "Remember how your fathers put God to the test and provoked His wrath! They were not allowed to enter His rest. So you, guard your heart that it not become evil and unbelieving. Exhort each other so that you do not grow hard with sin and fall away from God. I repeat, if you hear God, don't harden your heart!'

Then, so as to make sure there was no misunderstanding, the writer reviews the facts.

1. Who rebelled? Israel rebelled after God rescued them from Egypt.
2. Whom did God punish for 40 years? Those who rebelled.
3. Who did not enter His rest? Those who disobeyed.
   

Verse 19 lucidly concludes the thought: '...they were unable to enter because of unbelief'.

How does this affect my worship?

How quickly I forget God's faithfulness. Days, if not moments, after He comes through for me or my family in a miraculous way I find myself groping the air for some sign of His love. He doesn't need to remind me of His faithfulness, I must remember. We laugh at Israel; 'how could they doubt God!? He just unleashed an unprecedented display of heavenly warfare on Egypt (see the plagues), guided them through the desert with a cloud by day and fire by night, split the stinkin' Red Sea in half so they could walk on through (and holding it just long enough to finish off the Egyptian army), and now they're whining about food and water! Don't they remember what just happened?!?!' And yet I do the same thing. Not only that, I get envious when I see Him bless others the way I want to be blessed. That's no way to worship Him. Even in praise, I must come humbly to His throne in awe and wonder of His faithfulness.

How does this affect my discipleship?
This building metaphor pops up all over the Bible. There are different applications, and we must beware of mixing them too much. Here, 'the house', seems to take on two different meanings. For Moses, the house was God's people; Israel. He was faithful as a servant with the tasks He was given. For Jesus, the house is us; His Body. And our belonging in His house has to do with our trust in Him and our hope in His Word. This serves as one of the many goals of disciple-making; grow in our own confidence in Christ as we lead others to grow with us. Have hope and give hope. Obedience without hope does not seem to be the full life Jesus offers.

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me,

Hebrews 2

Greetings,

While at first I wasn't sure about tackling Hebrews, I have found it to be a tremendous blessing. After only 2 chapters, the richness of this letter is plainly evident. Hebrews 2 has two main sections which are outlined with the 'O' of Son is Mediator (the first O, obviously).

• Observe Salvation (1-4)
• Originator of Salvation (5-18)

The memory passages from each section are:

• Observe Salvation
  Hebrews 2:1
  ¹Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

• Originator of Salvation
  Hebrews 2:10,17-18
  ¹⁰For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
  ¹⁷Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

The first section, while short, packs a heavy warning punch for us to Observe Salvation: we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it (1). The Old Testament message was affective in its designed purpose. The warning for us now is to not neglect the great salvation which was declared by Christ, attested to by the apostles, and born witness to by signs, wonders and gifts of Holy Spirit. To me, the phrase 'we must pay closer attention to it' doesn't necessarily refer to a one-time adjustment. I read this to mean that I must pay closer, and closer, and closer attention to it as I continue to walk with God. One readjustment of the rudder cannot permanently prevent drifting; one must continually pay closer attention to keep the ship righted as wind, current, and weather changes.

The second, and much longer section, focuses on the Originator of Salvation. The writer has not forgotten this issue about the angels (as covered in ch 1). He spends considerable time at the beginning of this section (5-9) again separating the role and priority of Christ from that of the angels. Quoting Psalm 8, the writer re-asserts that man, not angels, were given dominion on the earth and created a little lower than the angels. Jesus, who for a time was made (not created) to be lower than the angels (in the form of man) suffered and died on behalf of everyone and now is crowned with glory and honor.

We can see how this sets the stage for the argument to follow. While angels have a ministry and purpose, man was made lower than the angels and given dominion on the earth. Jesus did not have to become like an angel in order to save human-kine; He had to become a man and suffer willingly unto death to pay the debt for our sin.

Verse 10 (one of the memory verses) picks up on this; It was fitting for God (who made everything), in order to bring salvation to humanity, to make the blameless sacrifice (Christ) perfect through suffering. This is not to say that Christ wasn't already perfect (which He was in every way), but that his role as High Priest (more to follow) was made complete by His 'completion' of the human life and His victory over it in resurrection.

Look at the beauty of verse 11; because Christ and those He sanctified are of the same source (family; like in human-hood), He is not ashamed to call us brothers. Wow. And then we get 3 OT references to back it up (Ps 22:22, Isa 8:17,18). Verse 14 continues the explanation: we share with Christ in flesh and blood, and because He partook of all the sufferings of humanness even unto death, we can be free from slavery to fear! He beat the human life through His suffering, death, and resurrection so that we (not the angels) could be free. Hallelujah!!!

At 17-18 we get the clincher. He had to be made like us in order to 1) fully be qualified as our high priest, 2) take care of our sin debt, and 3) help those who suffer under temptation. Because of His incarnation, His life, His suffering, and His death, He proved to be the one and only worthy Lamb who could completely pave the way for the redemption of mankind. This would all be impossible if Christ were anything but fully man and fully God.

How does this affect my worship?
The joy and impact of the incarnation should not be limited to the yuletide season. The implications of Christ's work in birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension stretch to the very core of our salvation. He had to become a man to save mankind. So 'Go, Tell it on the Mountain' that Jesus Christ was born!

How does this affect my discipleship?
Look at the last couple verses in light of the relationship God wants with us. Christ becoming like us was not just some isolated event to technically and legally deal with sin, it allows Him to be our merciful and faithful Advocate and to help us when we are tempted. He went through what He had to in order that we may have life and so He could help us through life. He gave His life for our sin and now He offers us His life (eternal life) now and forever. His work was not finished at our redemption and regeneration; He continues His work through our relationship with Him.


May we all pay closer, and closer attention to what we have heard,


Ethan