Hebrews 13:1-3 Continue in brotherly love. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.

The author of Hebrews spent the first ten chapters writing doctrinal truths. In chapter 11 he gave examples of faithful believers from the past. In chapter 12 he gave exhortations to believers in the present based upon the faithfulness of those saints of the past. Now in chapter 13 he puts together a hodgepodge of miscellaneous issues needing attention as he closes his epistle. These issues concern love, hospitality, marriage, and church leaders—all of which will comprise the evidences of faith expected from those who call themselves Christians.

The first evidence of true faith is “brotherly love” (Gr. philadelphia)—from philos (fond affection) and delphos (brother); literally, “the philadelphia must continue.” In short, Christians love one another (cf. Rom. 12:10; 1 Thess. 4:9; 1 Pet. 1:22; 2 Pet. 1:7). After all, the Church is a spiritual family, sharing a bond far higher than mere blood relations. The philadelphia is therefore a Christian fraternity promoting and exhibiting love (cf. John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17). The original audience appears to have had philadelpia towards each other, and though there were divisions among them due to the instability of the faith of some, they were to continue their love fraternity and not divide. Love for each other was to endure in spite of their circumstances.

In teaching brotherly love, it is possible that the author also had fellow Jews in mind who were not Christians. So the Jewish audience who had converted to the Christian faith were also to continue their love for their unbelieving Jewish brothers without turning from them. But the primary command in 13:1 is love for Christian brothers to continue. For it to continue implies that it already existed. All Christians have love and need not pray for more. They only need to put the love God has poured into their hearts into full motion and love as Christ loves.

The second evidence for true Christian faith is philoxenia, or hospitality (v. 2)—literally “the philoxenia must not be neglected.” The philoxenia was also a kind of fraternity—the Church comprised of both “the philadelphia” and “the philoxenias.” In the early Church hospitality was vital since persecution drove many Christians from their homes and jobs. There were also traveling preachers who needed lodging (cf. 3 John 5-8). Although overseers are required to be hospitable in order to hold the office of overseer/elder (Titus 1:8), hospitality is for all saints to practice (Rom. 12:13). Some have even “entertained angels without knowing it,” as was the case of Abraham and Lot (Gen. 18-19). God may send undesirables to His people for lodging, and they may very well be angelic! Bottom line: a faithful Christian is hospitable to all.

A third evidence for true faith is concern for “prisoners” (v. 3), specifically Christians jailed for preaching the gospel. This command was dangerous, for since many had been incarcerated in the first century for their faith, to bring aid to them was considered guilt by association. In other words, bringing a Christian prisoner food or water put both parties in danger. These prisoners, however, needed nourishment, essentials not typically provided for condemned criminals in the Roman Empire. But dangerous or not, ministry to a Christian prisoner is service to Christ Himself, for in helping them, we serve Him. In fact, any ministry of care toward others in need is considered service to Jesus Christ Himself (cf. Matt 25:36, 40).

Food For Thought
            What if an angel visited your front door, asking for food, water, or money? This angel might not look like you think an angel should look. Maybe he is dirty and smelly. But whether he is an angel or just a man in need, our task as Christians is to love and care for such. Be alert!
            

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Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
           
The “therefore” in v. 28 draws the author’s argument to a conclusion. Having reminded that God will return to shake the world and burn it with fire at Christ’s return (vv. 26-27), Christians are to be prepared, alert, and ready. When God has completed His final judgments, only they will remain standing and will receive that which cannot be “shaken” (Gr. asaleutos)—an eternal kingdom that is immovable. This is the eternal kingdom of God, ruled over by Jesus Christ.
           
Scripture says that Christ will return to earth and reign (Matt. 25:31; Rev. 19)—the place where He was rejected. It will not be the same cursed earth from Genesis 3 where sin and death rule; it will be a “new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth [will have] passed away” (Rev. 21:1). Being unshakable means that the new heaven and earth will not be susceptible to the events that transpired in Eden where Adam sinned. The new heaven and earth will be where Jesus reigns over His people, those glorified who will also reign with Him over the people of the Millennium—those who miss the Rapture but come to faith in Christ during the Tribulation—they and their future offspring who will populate the Millennium (Rev. 20).
           
Now since believers will receive such a kingdom by God’s grace, the author says, “Let us show gratitude”—our continual appreciation of God’s mercy and grace by never losing sight of God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ. It is quite possible that the reason many refuse to think much about heaven today is because they have it too good here on earth! Yet the opposite is also true, for the Hebrews audience illustrates the truth that when life’s trials become too much, believers can forget heaven and long for earthly relief. Continual gratitude is the fruit of true believers.
           
Gratitude for what Christ has so graciously given allows Christians to “offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe” (v. 28). Reverence for God entails attentiveness, respect, and prudence. If we define awe over God as “timid trepidation of danger,” or reverent “fear” of God, then let every Christian fear God out of respect and timid trepidation of danger. Perhaps one who is continually thankful to God is one who has a healthy regard for Scripture—reading it daily, prioritizing personal and corporate worship, and loving God’s people.
           
If this is true, then unbelievers truly cannot worship Christ, for true worship comes from a thankful heart over what Christ accomplished on the cross—precisely what unbelievers reject. Unbelievers refuse Christ’s atoning sacrifice; that is why they are unbelievers! Until their eyes are opened, they will never receive God’s grace. Hence, they cannot worship Christ.
           
True worship is always acceptable to God. In the OT, when animals were offered on the altar of burnt sacrifice, fire consumed it. In reference to “our God is a consuming fire” in v. 29 (cf. Deut. 4:24), God is either going to accept the Christian’s worship or reject it. If our offering is given with reverence and gratitude, God consumes it (cf. 1 Kings 18:38). But note the terror for those who do not offer acceptable worship to God, who fall back into a religion of works to try to gain His approval. For them, God is a “consuming fire” who devours His enemies when He shakes the earth in the end (cf. 10:27; Num. 11:1; 16:35; Ps. 97:3; Isa. 66:15; 2 Thess. 1:8).

Food For Thought
            What might God say to modern worship? Today’s irreverent music, shallow teachings, and poor financial giving points to a problem in worship. True worship comes from sacrifice, giving God what He desires, not what makes us feel good. It comes from a thankful heart over all that God has done for us through Christ. If God seeks such (John 4:23), does He seek your worship?
            

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Hebrews 12:25-27 See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. 26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
           
The author’s argument from 12:18-24 is essentially this: “As Christians, when we approach God, we come not to darkness and gloom, or death and punishment, as Israel did at Mount Sinai; we come to God’s heavenly throne of grace at Mount Zion! Whereas Israel in the past could not approach God apart from a priest, we may approach Him daily and boldly through our great High Priest, Jesus Christ who achieved salvation for us by dying on the cross, paying the penalty for our sins. Now as forgiven saints, we are acceptable to God—all because of Christ.”
           
With this in mind, v. 25 exhorts Christians: “see to it…” Unlike the previous “see to it” (Gr. episkopeo) in v. 15 which entails oversight of both oneself and others while in the Christian race of faithfulness, this “see to it” (Gr. blepō) concerns ongoing care and vigilance for oneself not to “refuse Him who is speaking”—the Holy Spirit who indwells believers (Rom. 8:9-11) to hear the voice of God. Of course back in Hebrews 1:2 the author said that “in these last days,” God speaks through His Son. But since the Spirit and the Son always agree, to hear one is to hear the other. If God had spoken to Israel on Mount Sinai promising discipline to those who refused Him by ignoring His words, then how much worse will it be for those who refuse the Son of God?
           
If the first generation of Israelites coming out of Egypt, who ignored God at Sinai, forfeited their right to enter God’s earthly Promised Land, how much worse will it be for those who hear and ignore the words of Jesus Christ who offers grace and mercy from Mount Zion through faith alone? Answer: they will forfeit their opportunity to enter the heavenly Promised Land. Thus, the blessings of the promises associated with the new covenant are infinitely greater than those of the old covenant. “For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven” (v. 25).
           
While Israel stood at the base of Mount Sinai in Exodus 19-20, God’s presence caused the earth to shake. Yet in the future when Christ returns to Zion, He will cause the heavens to shake! This is predicted in the prophecy of Haggai, God saying, “Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land” (2:6). Revelation 6:12-14 gives more insight to this: “…a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth…and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” God’s shaking of the earth!
           
The Apostle Peter wrote of that future day: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up… the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat” (2 Peter 3:10, 12).
           
The only things that will not be shaken in the end are things that are eternal, things unshakable. God has already prepared a “new heaven and a new earth” that will replace the old order which will have burned and passed away (Rev. 21:1). On God’s renewed earth, the New Jerusalem—the heavenly city, will descend from heaven, Zion itself on the new earth! Then all of God’s people will inherit the eternal, unshakable kingdom ruled by our King, Jesus.
            

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Hebrews 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
       
The beauty of Mount Zion over Mount Sinai is like comparing heaven to hell. Whereas Sinai represents law and death, Mount Zion represents God in the heavenly Jerusalem—the city of God and of His people, past and present (12:22).
       
At Mount Zion is where Christians come to worship—from the place of mercy and grace. First, the author says we come to “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22)—“the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (11:10)—what Abraham was looking for when he obeyed the voice of God and came to Canaan in Genesis 12:1-7. This city is the place of eternal treasure and hope for all believers of every age—coming to Zion for salvation. It is for those who trust in God and His word. Only them.
       
Second, Christians come “to myriads of angels, to the general assembly” (vv. 22-23). Since angels were created to praise God (Dan. 7:10) and serve His people (1:14), when Christians approach God through Christ to worship, we join this “general assembly” of elect angels doing likewise, angels who were also present at the giving of the Law to Moses (Deut. 33:2; Gal. 3:19).
       
Third, all Christians, when they approach God through Jesus Christ, come to the “church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven” (v. 23)—a reference to all Christians who have died since the beginning of the Church Age in Acts 2—our fellow heirs of Christ (Rom. 8:17)… “the firstborn of many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). In OT times, the firstborn children received the family inheritance and the blessing of the father. Christians are, as a group, the firstborn of many brethren, our names “enrolled in heaven” (Rev. 21:27), written in the Lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the earth (Rev. 13:8; cf. Eph. 1:4-5). When we worship, we gather with them!
       
Fourth, Christians come “to God, the Judge of all.” Whereas Jews believed no one could come to the terrifying God they encountered on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19, Christians know that the way to God was paved through the Son of God, who, when He died, prompted the veil of the temple, separating man from God, to be torn in two, paving the way to God (Luke 23:45).
       
Fifth, all Christians, when we approach God through Christ, come “to the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (v. 23), namely the OT saints who were also saved by faith alone in God alone (cf. Heb. 11). Unlike Christians who are made perfect at the moment of their belief in Christ, the OT saints had to wait for the death of Christ to realize their perfection (11:40), the death of Christ finally paying the penalty for their sins long after they believed and died.
       
Finally, Christians, when they approach God through Jesus Christ, come “to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel” (v. 24). This is a reference to the blood of Abel that cried out from the earth (Gen. 4:10) for vengeance and judgement after Cain murdered him in Genesis 4:8. In contrast, Jesus’ mediatory blood shouts even louder from heaven that those who place their faith in Him are forgiven and have peace with God (cf. Rom. 5:1)—guilt free! So, Jesus’ blood sacrifice, His “sprinkled blood” as the Lamb on the altar of God’s mercy, is superior—cleansing once for all.
 
Food For Thought
       Most Christians today are not looking to go back to the Law given at Sinai either for salvation or to maintain it (although some do). What most of us have a tendency to do, however, is make up our Sinaitic laws—man-made regulations (legalisms) that we not only obey but that we foist on others in order that they be as “holy” as we think we are. If you think every parent must homeschool their child, that alcohol is the devil’s juice, that card-playing is satanic, etc., then perhaps you’ve fallen into this trap? Since these man-made (not Scriptural) do’s and don’ts are not sins in and of themselves, we must never think that they are sinful in those who practice them. In Christ we are free, but we are never free to sin as defined in Scripture. Man-made legalisms are the modern Mount Sinai. But Mount Zion will always be the place of grace and mercy, the place where true Christians come to worship with a whole host of others they can’t even see!
            

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Hebrews 12:18-19, 22 For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19 and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. 22 But you have come to Mount Zion…
       
The Hebrews author contrasts two literal mountains in 12:18-22: Sinai in the desert and Zion in Jerusalem—historical, geographical locations on any map. In so doing, the author illustrates two rival systems: Sinai as earthly, temporary, and outdated; Zion as heavenly, eternal, and pertinent. Sinai represents worldly worship of God through merit and law in a fruitless attempt to please God; Zion represents spiritual worship of God on the basis of His grace, mercy, and love. Sinai thus represents the old covenant of works; Zion represents God’s new covenant of grace.
       
It was on Mount Sinai where God gave Moses His law, replete with “blazing fire…darkness and gloom and a whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and to the sound of words” from God so loud that Israel begged God to cease from speaking (12:18-21; cf. Ex. 19; Deut. 5). This was the old covenant brimming with fear, trembling, and terror of God. Even Moses was “full of fear and trembling!” (v. 21). The author’s purpose in broaching this subject was to conjure up the emotions of his audience, sternly warning them again (cf. 2:1-4; 3:7-4:12; 6:4-8; 10:26-27) about the dangers of retreating back to the obsolete Mount Sinai way of life. That old life, which could not produce eternal life, concerned living in the flesh, striving to keep a law that was impossible to keep, and coming to God in fear because of guilt. Zion was the superior place of worship!
       
As for Zion, circa 990 BC, King David drove the pagan inhabitants of Jerusalem (Jebusites) out, placing the ark of God on Mount Zion, a mount that became synonymous with God’s dwelling. His son Solomon later moved the ark from Zion to the temple he built on nearby Mount Moriah. Zion was later included in that larger area, becoming synonymous with the very city of Jerusalem—the city of God where priestly mediation was made between God and Israel.
       
Of course Sinai and Zion are polar opposites—the former representing the terrifying dread of the Law and unapproachability to God (cf. vv. 18-21); the latter representing mercy and grace with the wide-open door to approach God through Jesus Christ—boldly. Whereas the Law given at Sinai condemns, grace and salvation was provided at Zion on the cross of the Christ. After all, it is on Mount Zion that “the Lord commanded the blessing, life forever” (Ps. 133:3).
       
The Hebrews audience, by and large, because of their outward confession of Christ, had come to Mount Zion as redeemed children of God. As professed Christians, they were like all Christians of every age: citizens of the heavenly city, “for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). Since our true citizenship is in heaven, our temporary residence on earth is fleeting. But the danger the Hebrews author was addressing was the possibility that it was the faith of his audience that was fleeting! After all, they were considering falling back into Judaism—life at the base of the dreadful Mount Sinai.

Food For Thought
       Living under God’s grace is not easy for some, especially if they came from a religion like Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, Islam, or Jehovah’s Witnesses—religions that require works and good deeds to even have a chance that God might allow them into Paradise. Once saved out of these Sinai-like religions, trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, it is easy for them to fall back into old habits like works-oriented lifestyles so as to impress God. But God is only impressed with His Son Jesus Christ. Only Him! For God to ever have any affection toward us other than wrath, we must trust Jesus alone for our salvation. Zion over Sinai.
            

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Hebrews 12:18-21 For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19 and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not bear the command, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.” 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I am full of fear and trembling.”
       
Beginning in Hebrews 12:18 the author provides another pertinent example of Christ’s superiority in the new covenant (NC), reminding his Jewish audience of the events that emerged in Exodus chapters 19-20, circa 1445 BC. At that time, on Mount Sinai, God met with Moses and gave him the written Law (old covenant) that was to govern Israel in Canaan.
       
The setting for Exodus 19-20 concerns the awesome power of God as He gave Moses the stone tablets (the Decalogue) that contained both the blessing for obedience and the curse for rebellion. Mount Sinai that day was like a blazing fire, replete with “darkness and gloom and whirlwind” (Heb. 12:18), “whirlwind” being a term similar to a tornado. This was God manifesting Himself to Israel that day for their own faith (Ex. 19:9), in glory and power, giving them an overwhelming glimpse of His authority and the reverence due Him. In the midst of this validation of God’s power, no one was to go near or touch the mountain of God, for to do so meant death, for “if even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned” (v. 20; cf. Ex. 19:12).
       
The people of Israel encountered God in a terrifying way that day. As the heavenly trumpet sounded, its blast became increasingly louder, summoning Israel to mountain’s base. It was there that their frightening experience intensified to the point where they begged Moses to ask God to turn His attention away from them, to speak to Moses only, for they were overwhelmed by God. For his part, Moses attempted to comfort Israel, saying, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you that the fear of Him may be before you that you may not sin” (Ex. 20:20). In other words, God’s display of power and holiness that day was to be forever branded on Israel’s memory.
       
Moses, commenting on that dreadful occasion in Deuteronomy 9:19, himself said, “I am full of fear and trembling” (Heb. 12:21). Yet Moses was not fearful for himself only; he was fearful for Israel. After all, he was Israel’s mediator, and he had the awesome task to bring Israel’s fearful complaint and sinful lives before the Almighty God. Mount Sinai was a fearful place!
       
That was then—back in 1446 BC; this is now—at least now in the context of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The author was contrasting those ancient events with what his audience was experiencing in the here and now. These Jews knew their history, a reflection of the old covenant in the Mosaic Law. Yet they had apparently forgotten that history (cf. 12:5). Their new covenant Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, had brought them not to Mount Sinai with fear and trembling over their sinful hearts but to Mount Zion—the spiritual dwelling of God where they could come boldly before God’s very throne and stay there to find mercy and grace to help them in their time of need (4:16). Their new covenant situation was nothing like the old covenant!

Food For Thought
       A works-oriented religion (Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, Islam, et al.) attempts to gain God’s favor through merit. But God cannot be appeased through our works, for our sin killed His Son! Salvation has to come through God’s grace alone—Him deciding to pave a way for our forgiveness. Praise God we don’t live under the old dispensation of Sinai, for no one can please God through the Law, represented by Mount Sinai. By God’s grace we are able to come to Jesus Christ through faith alone, approaching God through Mount Zion. It is Christ’s work through which we approach God, and boldly! There is no other way, for salvation is only by God’s grace.
            

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Hebrews 12:15-17 …that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it with tears.
           
Hebrews 12:15 teaches that it is the responsibility of all Christians to look out for each other and monitor ungodly behavior. We are to make sure, insofar as we are able, that unbelievers and Christians in our midst do not fall short of the grace of God. No one should observe us and yet fail to see Christ. Christian behavior involves deeds in keeping with peaceful relations, growing in holiness, and keeping an eye on those with divisive attitudes, leading to a root of bitterness.
           
As such, Christians are to help themselves (vv. 12-13) by confessing their sins, reading Scripture (thus feeding their souls), and committing to regular church attendance in a Christ-honoring, Bible-teaching church (cf. 10:25). They are also to look out for one another (vv. 14-15), strengthening one another by encouraging grace and forgiveness—peace with all. And for the love of all things holy, they are not to become entangled in the sins of pornos and bebelos—immorality and godlessness (v. 16) like that of Esau. Though sexual sin finds its way into the church from time to time, it cannot be tolerated. Many a church has fallen by ignoring it.

In v. 17 the writer appealed to Genesis 27:30-40 where Esau later regretted his decision to sell his birthright. Having realized his error in judgment, and even though he “desired to inherit the blessing” reserved for the firstborn son, what he had done could not be undone. Although he sought this blessing with tears, he was rejected because there was no place for repentance. Now this could be taken in one of two ways. On one hand, it could be said that what Esau did was like a person losing his or her virginity. Once it is gone it can never be regained. So although God forgives, the sin itself has lifelong ramifications. For Esau, he lost his birthright and could never regain it. But his sin was certainly forgivable by the grace of God.

More accurately, Esau was simply an “immoral” and “godless” person who desired God’s blessing but not God. Notice he did not regret his actions until it was time to receive the blessing. His regret was thus too late. He willfully despised his God-given birthright for a single meal, and though he was later sorry for the consequences of his actions, he never repented of his actions. If he indeed sought forgiveness, and we hope he did, God would have granted it! But, like David (cf. 2 Sam. 12:9-11), he would have to live with the consequences of his sin. He could finish his race faithfully as David did, but the consequences of his sin would always haunt him.

Sadly, there will be many in the eternal fires of hell who are just like Esau (cf. Heb. 6:4-8; 10:26). They will cry with regret over the consequences of their sins, but they will find no place for repentance because they do not truly regret their sin, only the consequences. Regret of sin, yes, but regret that is far too late and for all the wrong reasons.
 
Food For Thought
No Christian who has committed sexual sins, either before coming to Christ or after, commends such behavior. Everyone who has repented of their selfish unbelief knows that sexual and physical appetites, when given free rein, will ruin us and certainly hinder our Christian race. The grace of repentance is always available of course, but what we lose in our rebellion can often never be regained. The consequences of sin are never worth a quick fix, never worth the cost. Christians therefore have many things for which to be cautious. We might like to be around men like Esau—down-to-earth hunters and fishermen, but godless people are not worth our time, unless we’re sharing Christ with them. We cannot tolerate their behavior in our churches. Jesus spoke very strongly about dealing with those sinful people (cf. Rev. 2:14-17; 3:20).
            

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Hebrews 12:15a-16 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God 16 …that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
           
Recall that “see to it” (Gr. episkopeō) in v. 15 is a present active participle that modifies the main verb in v. 14 which is “pursue peace with all.” So, while a Christian is pursuing peace with all, they are daily seeing to it that “no one,” not them and no one they know of claiming to be Christian in Christ’s holy Church, “comes short of the grace of God” (v. 15). With this command in mind, attention is turned to an OT man who came up far short of God’s grace: Esau, the twin brother of Jacob and son of Isaac and Rebekah.
           
Verse 16 reveals two obvious, yet prevalent, sins that can destroy—and has destroyed—many a runner in the Christian race: the sexual and physical appetites. These two sins are easily seen in Esau, “who sold his own birthright for a single meal” (v. 16). Esau’s story can be found in Genesis 25:19-34. As a hunter of wild game, he came home one day hungry after a big hunt and found his twin brother Jacob cooking some lentil stew. Desiring to have some, he asked Jacob to serve it to him quickly since he was famished (Gen. 25:30). The crafty Jacob, seizing the moment, responded saying, “First sell me your birthright” (v. 31), for although they were twins, Esau was the firstborn (25:25) with the right of Isaac’s blessing. We might expect that Esau valued his birthright more so than his appetite, but no, for Esau responded to Jacob, saying, “Behold, I am about to die… of what used then is the birthright to me?” (25:32). Esau therefore chose a quick meal over the Abrahamic blessing.

In Hebrews 12:16, Esau is first depicted as being “immoral” (Gr. pornos) from which the English “pornography” is derived. Notably, nowhere in the OT is Esau called immoral, but the women he married were—the two Canaanite daughters of Heth (progenitor of the Hittites) whose marriage to Esau made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah (Gen. 26:34-35).

Though the Bible says little about Esau’s immorality, Rabbinical tradition, both Palestinian and Hellenistic, paints the biblical red and hairy, man’s-man Esau as a slave to his sexual urges. Philo of Alexandria (20 BC to AD 50) in his Questions and Answers on Genesis observed this about Esau: “The hairy one is the unrestrained, lecherous, impure and unholy man.” Likewise, the Palestinian Targum on Genesis 25:29 depicts Esau as coming home famished on the same day he sold Jacob his birthright, claiming that “that day he had committed five transgressions,” one of which was adultery with a betrothed maiden. These accounts verify what the Hebrews author says about Esau, that he was a pornos subject to the whims of his libido. He was thus the epitome of the modern, testosterone-driven man’s man. Before he thought of anyone else, he thought of himself, his lusts driving and overwhelming him to be the pornos he inherently was.

Not only was Esau a pornos, he was a bebelos—“godless.” This Greek term depicts one who, although they might believe in God’s existence, they have no regard for God. John Calvin says of such men: “those in whom the love of the world so holds sway and prevails, that they forget heaven as men who are carried away by ambition, addicted to money and riches, given over to gluttony, and entangled with other kinds of pleasures, and give the spiritual kingdom of Christ either no place or the last place in their concerns.”

In sum, Esau was a hairy, red-headed ruffian who valued hunting for fun and food almost as much as the women with whom he fornicated. Today, he would have perhaps been called “Big Red” (since his nickname “Edom” means red), known as a tough man’s-man who knew many women, ate big, and drank liberally. Bereft of any thought of heaven, Esau was wholly earthbound.

Food For Thought
R. Kent Hughes says of Esau, “Instant gratification was his rule of thumb. He was void of spiritual values. Godless! Esau was like a living beer commercial—bearded, steroid-macho, with two things on his mind: sexual pleasure and physical pleasure—food, drink, sports and sleep. ‘Hey, you only go around once. You’ve got to get it while you can.’ He was the prototype of modern godlessness—like the forty-five-year old man who had spent all his post-college years devoted to money and when asked, ‘How is it with your soul?’ answered candidly, ‘My soul? I don’t even know whether I have one.’ Tragic!”
            

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Hebrews 12:14-15 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.
           
The imperative verb “pursue” (Gr. diōkō) in v. 14 is, first, a command for Christians to chase after “peace with all men.” Also, as a present tense verb it signifies a daily quest for this peace with all men. Though this is a general command to all, it is specifically for Christians, for  unbelievers are dead in their trespasses (Eph. 2:1), unable to seek God (Rom. 3:10-12). Only those indwelt by the Spirit (Rom. 8:9-11) can please God. But why would the writer exhort Christians to pursue such peace if they already have the peace of Christ? The answer is that Christians, though at peace with God through Christ (Rom. 5:1), still must strive to be at peace with one another. In spite of having been made holy by Christ when they first trusted Him, Christians still must pursue, strive after, and struggle for holiness. Though the pursuit concerns loving others and being “at peace with all men” (Rom. 12:18), this is no easy task.

Now Christians don’t just pursue peace, they pursue “the sanctification” (Gr. hagiasmos), a Greek term also translated as both “holiness” and “set apart” in English. The pursuit of peace is thus a pursuit of holiness, a life spent in pursuit of a pure, obedient life set apart from a selfish life in order to glorify God. How is such a life achieved? One way of peace is through forgiveness. After all, God is not instructing His people to be at peace with warmongers and those who hate that which his good. But in pursuing peace with those we might have grievances against, “the sanctification” is practiced—the divine fruit that only true Christians bear.

Notably, “the sanctification” is essential for one to “see the Lord” (cf. Matt. 5:8). Christians can practice this in their evangelism, for by sharing the gospel with unbelievers, they too are given the opportunity to be at peace not only with God through Christ but with Christians. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Being sanctified after coming to know Jesus is what evangelism reveals, for when unbelievers see Christians pursuing peace and holiness with them, they can be attracted to Jesus.

Verse 15 says, “See to it” (Gr. episkopeo)—a participle that means “to oversee,” the noun form translated in English as “bishop; overseer.” Christians are to thus oversee each other, helping one another grow in holiness. In light of v. 14’s exhortation to live at peace with all, coming up short of God’s grace in v. 15 is an exhortation to forgiveness. After all, if peace with others is hindered by anything, it is an unwillingness to forgive those who have hurt us. To “come short of the grace of God” would thus be a failure to show the same grace towards others in forgiveness as God has shown to us as believers by forgiving us our sins.

The second phrase in v. 15 confirms this, for to come short of the grace of God would mean that a “root of bitterness” has sprung up in one’s life, highlighting our unwillingness to forgive and come short of the grace of God. That root of bitterness toward one who hurt us can and will “defile” (Gr. miainō) us. It will stain our holiness and hinder our witness. We Christians must “see to it” that this never happens—not only in us but in our fellow believers. If it happens to us, we must repent. If it happens to others, we exhort them that they not fall short God’s grace.

Food For Thought
            The Christian life is both a proactive and a reactive life. It is one of vigilance—looking for and being alert for those who want anything but peace. So live in peace with each other, yet refuse to tolerate troublemakers in Christ’s Church. They can defile a church in one minute. We are not to tolerate them any more so than Christ would (cf. Rev. 2:14-16, 20).
            

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Hebrews 12:12-13 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

The image of the race comes back into view in vv. 12-13, and the author urges believers to persevere when fatigued. Marathoners say the first thing that tends to tire are the arms that keep pace with the legs, pulling them through each stride. The position and motion of the arms are thus vital, for when they tire and begin to drop, the knees grow “feeble,” paralyzed. At this point, the runner may inadvertently drift into the opposing runner’s lane causing a collision and even an injury to one or both runners. But once the fatigue sets in, the experienced runner knows to shun all thoughts of being tired and focus solely on the finish line. For Christians the focus is Jesus.

Of course the “race” is a metaphor for the Christian life, and it is the author’s way of setting the tone for the application of his letter. Having instructed his audience about Christ’s superiority (chaps. 1-11), reminding them that their trials equate to God’s loving discipline (12:1-11), it was now time to encourage them to action—action in keeping with the Christian faith and doctrine. Teaching doctrine is designed to transform one’s thinking about Christ, but without any action doctrine means little. Truth that is known but not obeyed does not bless, it curses. Doctrinal teaching must therefore lead to holy behavior, for it is one thing to know that Christ is Lord; it is another thing altogether to submit to Christ as Lord and prove their faith genuine.

The author is thus saying, “Having been reminded of who Christ is and what the Christian race is, start running your race!” The audience had been in the race but had grown weary. Having been reminded of who Christ is and His superiority, they now had the wherewithal to gain the strength they needed for their arms which would strengthen their knees which would in turn keep them in their own lane looking to the finish line. Notably, the audience, and by extension all Christians in every era, were not only to strengthen their own hands and their own knees but “the hands… the knees” as a corporate effort. As the Church, Christians are to avoid concentrating on themselves and look to help others. The hands and the knees would thus entail the entire body of Christians working together, helping one another. In this sense, the Christian race is not only an individual contest, it is a corporate effort whereby Christians help each other to the finish line.

Those feeble Christians who comprised the Hebrews audience had strayed into the lanes of others, as it were, causing them to stumble. The word for “paths” (Gr. trochia) in v. 13 refers to the tracks left by the wheels of a cart that other travelers could follow. The author is thus saying that strong Christians who are focused on Christ should encourage others by “make[ing] straight paths” in the sense of being role models for their weaker brothers who had become fatigued in their race, perhaps ready to throw in the towel. These feeble runners are dubbed “the limb which is lame.” They needed stronger runners to come alongside so that they would not be “put out of joint, but rather be healed.” These “lame” (Gr. chōlos) Christians are those who, though known as such, were perhaps not genuine in their faith. They were in danger of apostatizing—willful turning away from Christ (cf. 6:4-6; 10:26-27), needing to strengthen their weak faith.

Food For Thought
            Biblical doctrine is beautiful and essential to becoming a Christian. But without careful obedience it is ultimately worthless. We are running a race, so it’s no wonder we get tired and want to stop for a rest. But what will weak Christians and unbelievers think of us and our Christ if we just sit on our doctrine? The time is now to run the Christian race, maintain our focus on Christ, help others along the way, and persevere in faith to the ultimate end—to our last breath.
            

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Hebrews 12:9-11 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Children are commanded to obey their parents in Scripture (Eph. 6:4), and parents are commanded to discipline their children, that is, if they desire to please God and raise godly children. Since “foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him” (Prov. 22:15), and since “He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently” (Prov. 13:24), godly parents must never “hold back discipline from the child, for although you discipline him with the rod he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod and rescue his soul from death” (Prov. 23:13-14). As a result of proper discipline, children learn to respect their parents and function properly in society.

The Hebrews author, after making this obvious truism, says, “Shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits and live?” If an adult can look back on his childhood and respect his parents for disciplining him accordingly, then a Christian should be able to recognize God’s discipline as divine love. For an earthly father merely loves his fleshly son through his own sinful nature. But the “Father of spirits”—contrasting earthly parents with the spiritual Father—loves far beyond what an earthly, sinful father is capable of loving. So if a sinful father can love his son/daughter through discipline, how much more so our loving God His children? “Shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?” (12:9). The implication here is that, if we do not submit, we might not live. This may very well be another allusion to Hebrews 6:4-8 and 10:26-27 where falling away from Christ entails eternal damnation with no chance to repent.

A father who loves his children will warn them, discipline them, and will test them to mature them into mature adults. That kind of discipline is transitory since childhood is transitory, but fathers who care enough for their children are appreciated for their efforts for a lifetime. Of course God’s discipline takes a giant leap beyond what temporary earthly discipline achieves. God disciplines His children to bring about their holiness, and holiness emerges from suffering and tribulations. But God is no sadist; He does not take pleasure in disciplining His children any more so than a father enjoys spanking his children. Chastening a child is desirable neither for the son nor the father, but its benefits are valuable. Those benefits for children include learning right from wrong, respect for authority, and most notably they learn about Christ and His salvation.

Truly, discipline is not something anyone enjoys, whether giving or receiving. As v. 11 teaches, it is scarcely enjoyable and mostly sorrowful. But the benefits are like a field producing crops at harvest time: discipline “yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” God’s discipline, though at times painful, produces righteousness in His children simply because He loves them.

Food For Thought
Someone once said in reference to discipline: “And so what do I say? I say let the rains of disappointment come, if they water the plants of spiritual grace. Let the winds of adversity blow, if they serve to root more securely the trees that God has planted. I say, let the sun of prosperity be eclipsed, if that brings me closer to the true light of life. Welcome, sweet discipline, discipline designed for my joy, discipline designed to make me what God wants me to be.” Wow! That statement can only come from a child of God who truly wants to be molded to God’s will. Let us learn to pray such a prayer so that we can molded daily after God’s own likeness through trials.
            

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Hebrews 12:6 …those whom the Lord loves He disciplines.
 
Throughout Scripture there are examples of people suffering and of God’s people being disciplined—in the case of His faithful people, discipline being a mark of His love, not His wrath. Notably in Hebrews 12:5-6, the author quotes King Solomon who wrote, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights” (Prov. 3:11-12). That said, the examples of God’s discipline for His children in Scripture come to various people for various reasons.
           
First, we note the example of David, king over all of Israel, a man sought by God after King Saul’s failures—a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). He was loved by God, directed and protected by God, and appointed to be king over Israel by God. His early years, though filled with victories like the defeat of Goliath and the success he had as Saul’s servant, were also filled with struggles and loneliness. By the time David became king, he was mighty and seen as a great man of God. All of Israel regarded David as great, their nation being blessed because of his faithful relationship with God. Then David sinned, committing adultery with Bathsheba and impregnating her, later ordering her husband to the front lines of battle where he would be killed. Why? In order to take Bathsheba as his own wife and deceive all of Israel into believing that the child she conceived by him was done so after they were married. What was God to do?
           
The answer is that since David was God’s beloved son, he would need to be disciplined for his sinful actions. Although adultery demanded the death penalty in Israel for both parties (Lev. 20:10), God graciously allowed both David and Bathsheba to live. Yet since David was God’s son, there had to be discipline. Not only would the child of their adulterous union die, God decreed to David, “The sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife” (2 Sam. 12:10). This is what we might call corrective discipline, for by such discipline, God corrects His children.
           
A second form of discipline carried out by God towards those He loves might be called preventative discipline. This can be illustrated through the Apostle Paul who was given “a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment…” (2 Cor. 12:7). What this “thorn” was exactly is debated, but what is known is that Paul had committed no sin to deserve such, at least not like David. Paul knew that God had given him this thorn “because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations” (v. 7) he had received from God. Such revelations and closeness with God might easily have caused Paul to exalt himself, so he knew that God gave him such an infirmity “to keep me from exalting myself.” Although Paul pleaded with God on three occasions to remove the thorn, God’s response to him was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (v. 9). Paul therefore boasted in his weaknesses—in God’s preventative discipline.  
           
A third form of discipline God uses in Scripture might be dubbed educational discipline. Job is a great example of such, for although Job was a righteous man who had committed no blatant sin and who thought he knew God well, God’s discipline brought him to an entirely new understanding of who God was and is. After suffering greatly over an unknown period of time—losing ten children, his wealth, and his heath, Job demanded that God answer for how He had treated Job. Yet after God answered him, Job replied to God, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:5-6). Through divine discipline intended to educate both Job and all who read his account, God educates those He loves—moving us to a greater understanding of His character.

Food For Thought
            How has God disciplined you in your life in your Christian race? Did He remove an idol from you, taking something, or someone, near and dear to you? Has He removed your health, your wealth, a loved one? Perhaps only you can answer whether such discipline is corrective, preventative, or educational. But whichever one it might be, the fact that it happened, or that it is happening, means that God loves you. After all, God disciplines those He loves.
            

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Hebrews 12:5-8 Have you forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons?  “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

The Hebrews audience needed encouragement. They had endured many sufferings, had been made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and had endured the seizure of their property (Heb. 10:32-34). Also, they had been chastised for their conversion from Judaism to Christianity, and they had been shunned by their own families. But in spite of all this, they had not yet suffered to the point of death (12:4) like their faithful brothers before them (cf. 11:1-40).

Now instead of just leaving this audience with the idea that being a faithful believer in Christ is an intense struggle, the writer informs them that their sufferings were merely part of God’s loving discipline. God actually shows His love and interest in His children through discipline. The writer quoted from Proverbs 3:11-12 asking them, “Have you forgotten?” Apparently they had because they mistook their earthly misfortunes and persecutions for God’s abandonment when in reality their misfortunes and sufferings were clear signs of God’s love and favor toward them. The quote from Proverbs was a reminder to them not to take God’s discipline lightly, for He disciplines those He loves. He even “scourges” (to beat with a whip) “the ones He receives”—showing that He does not receive just anyone, only His true children.

The term “discipline” (Gr. paideia) comes from a root that means “child,” the training of a child. It concerns the education of children in order to develop and mature them as adults. Because of sin, children without discipline grow up to adulthood as selfish tyrants. It takes a loving parent to discipline their children in order to mature them. Predictably, children inherently know that parents who refuse to discipline them don’t really love them. But those who are disciplined appropriately by loving parents typically grow into mature adults.

The author was demonstrating to his audience from their own circumstances that God indeed loved them as sons. Their sufferings were reminders that God had not abandoned them, so they needn’t abandon Him. Satan strives, both then and now, to convince Christians that life’s problems prove that God does not love. But the opposite is true. Scripture rebukes believers in sin, and life’s trials mold them into mature Christians as a loving father molds his son into a man. The "scourges” of God are meant to keep His children reminded of His love.

The frightening passage is v. 8 that speaks of those who are not disciplined by God. They are called “illegitimate” (Gr. nothos)—“not lawful; born out of wedlock.” The clear implication is that those not disciplined by God through perilous trial are simply not His. And if they’re not God’s children, they can only be Satan’s (cf. Matt. 13:38; John 8:44; 1 John 3:10).

Food For Thought
Some professed Christians sin willfully and rebelliously but never seem to suffer for such. Likewise, many pastors today refuse to preach the gospel message, opting instead for positive thinking and tradition over truth, believing that truth is too offensive. Yet they continue to grow in wealth and numbers without God’s discipline (cf. Pss. 37; 73). There’s a simple conclusion as to why: God does not consider them His children (12:8). So if you know someone who lives in sin while you struggle daily with God through trials, consider the likelihood that they’re illegitimate children, and you’re a child of God. After all, God disciplines those He loves.
            

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Hebrews 12:3-4 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.
 
The author of Hebrews is admonishing his audience to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (12:1)—the “race” (Gr. agon) being the Christian life itself, at times filled with agonizing hurdles. Two vital tactics for effectively running the Christian race are, first, to “lay aside every encumbrance,” and second, to “lay aside the sin which so easily entangles us.” Encumbrances are those habits that are not sinful in and of themselves but that tend to weigh Christians down—from too much TV to social media to busyness to leisure, etc. These should be controlled by Christians, not be controlling over Christians. But of course the sin that easily entangles us must be repented of and shunned for faithfully completing our Christian race. For that is what the race is—a task to be completed and to completed faithfully. It is not a race whereby Christians compete with each other; it is a race of faithfulness from birth to death.
           
The author’s immediate audience were Hebrews (aka, Israelites, Jews) who came to know Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, or Christ. They therefore had converted from Judaism to Christianity. In so doing, they not only invited criticism from their fellow Hebrews who had not converted, they incurred threats of death from the Roman Empire who, from time to time, viewed Christians as enemies of the state.
           
As with most new Christians, the Hebrew Christians experienced many early joys in knowing Christ as Lord and God. The truth of the gospel had set them free, and they wanted everyone they knew to experience their same joy. But then reality set in, and their joy was put to the test by the trials they began to endure in the agon, the race. Old friendships were lost, family bonds were shaken, jobs were lost, and marriages whereby only one partner converted and which were stressed contributed to these Hebrew Christians questioning whether their conversion was worth it all. Added to that, it became clear to all that following Christ did not shield them from all the common frailties of life like ongoing illness, infirmities, and death.
           
All of these issues are what motivated the author of Hebrews to put pen to paper in order to encourage his beat-down brethren. While some of them were still in the race faithfully slugging it out, some were lagging far behind, and some it seems had quit the race altogether and were standing on the sidelines completely out of breath and with little or no motivation to re-enter. They were like many Christians today: downtrodden, depressed, disappointed, tired, and wondering if following Christ is truly worth the struggle.
           
In vv. 3-4, the writer first compares the “author and perfecter of faith,” Jesus, who “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” with the Hebrews audience. Jesus’ race was truly the worst of the worst, for He endured the worst that mankind could dish out, and He ultimately endured the wrath of God for the payment of man’s sin (cf. John 19:30; 2 Cor. 5:21). As a result, Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (v. 3). He endured hatred, scorn, torture, and death. In comparison to Jesus, the author of Hebrews in v. 4 says, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.” So while Jesus endured the worst of the worst, his audience wasn’t really even in the same ballpark. In other words, life for us may be difficult at times, but it’s never as bad as it could be.
 
Food For Thought
            Complaining today about how unfair life is? Playing the victim? Consider all that Jesus endured. He is our model. Since we’re still alive, we can keep on running our race. Faithfully.
            

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Ephesians 4:20b-24 …just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
           
Having heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and taught the truth, those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior learned about Him and had their minds enlightened, moving from darkness to light (4:20-21). They have been delivered from their previous way of life, a life in which they at one time lived according to the futility of their minds, being darkened in their understanding and being excluded from the life of God—all due to their hardness of heart which produced in them a willful ignorance to the truth of the gospel (4:17-18). They lived in slavery to their own depraved desires, insensitive to their wicked behaviors (4:19).
           
But having come to salvation, Christians “lay aside the old self,” literally, the “old man.” The “old self” is that previous person the Christian was, “being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit.” The present passive participle “being corrupted” speaks literally of “destruction” that is done to the unbeliever by the deceitfulness of sin, for the “corruption,” or destruction, comes from his own “desires of deceit.” In other words, what the unbeliever desires is that which has deceived him into thinking that what he wants is what he needs. One given to sensual lusts, for instance, is deceived into thinking he or she needs to satisfy those lusts by giving in to them. As they give in to them more and more, their consciences become calloused and they live enslaved to their own wicked desires. Paul speaks of this old way of life like an old filthy garment that has been soiled beyond cleaning but removed and thrown away.

Christians, having once lived in slavery to self, remove the “old self” like an old garment needing to be thrown away and are “renewed in the spirit of your mind.” To renew is to become reestablished, or refurbished and improved. This occurs first “in the spirit of your mind.” If one’s former mind was darkness, and the renewed mind is light, then the renewal of the mind results in an entirely new way of life—from the deeds of darkness to the deeds of light.

When believers come to faith in Christ, they “put on the new self,” to replace their old way of living with a clean life in service to Christ. Paul says that this “new self” is “in the likeness of God,” or literally “in God.” The “old self” was in corruption; the “new self” is “in God.” Whereas the Christian was previously “dead in their trespasses and sins” (2:1), in Christ God has “created” them “in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (v. 24).

From a translation position, it is difficult to determine whether Paul uses the three infinitives in vv. 22-24 (lay aside, be renewed, put on) as commands or indicatives. Does he reflect on what is true of Christians, that they have already laid aside their old selves, renewed their minds, and put on the new garment of righteousness? Or is he commanding Christians to do these things? Though the infinitive verbs are present passive and not commands, they do reflect previous commands. Truth is, Christians are renewed at conversion and are delivered from the penalty of their sins. Yet Christians are still susceptible to the corruptions of the world. So, both are true! Christians are new in Christ, and they must strive to live as new creations in Christ.

Food For Thought
            If you were a prisoner with bright orange clothing, no one could mistake you for anything else. And if you were released from prison, would you not remove your prisoner’s clothing and put on new clothes, garments of the free? Clothing should fit the occasion. So too is it fitting that God’s people wear the clothing of righteousness, having thrown away their old self -- for all the world to see.
            

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Romans 13:11-12 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
           
In view of the Christian’s command to love his neighbor as the fruit of his salvation (not the root of salvation) and the fulfillment of the law of God, believers in Christ are to be reminded of the “time” (Gr. kairos) in which they live—the era or season. This “time” concerns the era after Christ’s resurrection, awaiting His return. This era, season, or epoch, is one for action, not self-centered leisure. Kairos and its OT Hebrew equivalent are used frequently in relation to periods of time. For example, during David’s reign as king, the sons of Issachar were described as “men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do” (1 Chron. 12:32). Jesus used this term while being tested by His adversaries to perform miracles as a sign that He was the Messiah. In response, Jesus chastised them for not understanding the “times” (Matt. 16:1-3), for if they had understood the “times” (or era of the Messiah) they would have concluded that He was indeed the Messiah. Being in the very center of the era (time) of the Messiah, they missed it!
           
Paul, however, was speaking to redeemed Christians in Rome who knew the time/era which was the time of the Messiah. This does not mean that Paul and the early Church believed that Jesus would return in their lifetimes per se; he merely understood that his generation, as do all generations after Christ, lived during the era in which the second coming of Christ (the Parousia) was imminent—the same era as today. In light of this truth, he was striving to admonish believers everywhere to wake up from their slumber, metaphorically speaking, put off the works of darkness (wicked and loveless deeds), and put on the armor of light (the love of Christ).
           
When Paul says that “salvation is nearer to us than when we believed,” he is stating the obvious—that although salvation was initially accomplished upon simple faith in Christ alone, one’s ultimate salvation awaits the day of Christ’s coming, or one’s death. Of course that day becomes nearer with every passing heartbeat! The “night is almost gone” is merely that for the believer their darkness has passed. The “day” of Christ, being “near,” is therefore imminent!
           
In John 3:19, Jesus makes clear that evil people (godless unbelievers) prefer the dark to the light—“dark” being a metaphor for evil and “light” for the Truth. After all, men’s deeds are evil, and when those deeds are exposed, there is shame. While there is cover in darkness, there is exposure in the light. Evil deeds most often occur under the cover of darkness, and although the doers of wickedness assume they are hidden, the light of God exposes them. Those who crave the darkness are actually admitting to their hatred of the light. It is one’s willful ignorance of God that Paul calls “night.” For willfully ignorant people have left the light (cf. Rom. 1:18-23) while they live and sleep peacefully in their sins. By contrast, those who live by “light” are those who have received divine truth—the Son of righteousness who shines through them. Those who are “awake” are those who are equipped like a soldier for battle to serve and glorify Christ. They are armed with the “armor of light” which enables believers “to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” in their struggle against the rulers, powers, world forces of this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:11-12).
 
Food For Thought
Christians are not to live as though this life will continue forever. It won’t! We are to eagerly await our coming Savior (Heb. 9:28) when the day of our complete transformation into Christ’s image will be finalized (1 John 3:2). And on that day we’ll eat the Supper with Jesus (Matt. 26:29) and enjoy the fellowship of His Church from that day and into eternity.
            

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Hebrews 12:3-4 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;.
           
The author exhorts all in v. 3 to “consider” (Gr. analogizomai)—analyze, a Greek term that means “to think about with effort and precision.” In this case, we are to think about Jesus, expressly the “hostility” (Gr. antilogia)—the contemptuous behavior He “endured” (Gr. hupomenō)—that He withstood; remained under. The author could be talking about Jesus’ entire ministry on earth, but he is likely referring more specifically of His passion—His sufferings on the cross and the immediate events that preceded. Worse, Jesus endured what He did not by righteous people with pure motives but “by sinners.” Why would the author want Christians to think so deeply about Jesus’ sufferings? “So that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” It is believed that this phrase was sports lingo in the ancient world for a runner’s exhausted collapse. In relation to Christians, we are to take our trials and difficulties and compare them to what Jesus endured. And lest we think that Jesus was impervious to pain, and His physical sufferings on the cross were somehow easier for Him than the average man, John Henry Newman says this:

           
As compared the Jesus, the writer points out that we, unlike Jesus, “have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin” (v. 4). In other words, our trials do not even compare to Christ’s who suffered death for the gospel. And He remained faithful unto death, the very worst kind of death preceded by hours of torture on a cross. The message is clear for Christians: we must be totally absorbed with Jesus, not ourselves. As such, we are to turn away from those things that distract us and turn toward He who gives us life through His death, Jesus. It no wonder that reading and re-reading Gospels is so helpful for believers.

Food For Thought
As Christians, we are in the race surrounded by a great cloud of people whose examples call us to be excellent: the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob); the prophets (Moses, Elijah, Samuel, Daniel, Jeremiah); the apostles (Peter, John, Paul); the martyrs (Stephen, Polycarp, Cranmer, Elliott, Saint); the preachers (Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Spurgeon); the missionaries (Carey, Taylor, Carmichael); and there are the countless others we do not know but that God knows who finished their race well. Their very existence, and the stories of their lives, propel us on to finish our own races. Now let us lay aside all encumbrances and sin and finish our race strong!

            

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Hebrews 12:1b-2 …run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
           
Just one bad shoe on a sprinter can cause him or her to lose their race to one who has indeed laid aside his or her encumbrances. Likewise, as every Christian knows, it only takes one sin in our lives, or one encumbrance, to totally sabotage our Christian walk. The Hebrews author writes to encourage his fellow Hebrew Christians, telling them to lay aside all encumbrances and sin in order that they might “run with endurance the race that is set before” them. The Christian race simply cannot be completed faithfully with encumbrances and sin entangling us. Encumbrances and sin will certainly compete for our attention, but with “endurance” (Gr. hupomonē)—steadfast perseverance, we will not only throw them off, we will finish our race faithfully. That is the goal.
           
To “run with endurance” in 12:1 is the main verb in the context, but there is an attendant participle that explains how to run with endurance: “fixing our eyes on Jesus…” (12:2). By “fixing our eyes” (Gr. aphorontes) we direct our attention toward something, namely Jesus, as our example of perfection. Of note here is that the author does not say “Christ” but “Jesus,” perhaps focusing on the example Jesus set for us in His humanity. Jesus endured everything a human endures—from hunger, lack of sleep, betrayal of friends, death of loved ones—even the cruel injustice of being arrested without charge, tried in a kangaroo court, mocked, beaten, scourged, and crucified. Jesus endured it all without ever sinning. That is why God the Father sent His Son—God in flesh to live our lives sinless. Why? Because we cannot not sin. We needed someone to go before us, do what we are unable to do, and win the victory we cannot win. Jesus did this! Now His victory is our victory when we trust in Him. It is truly that simple!
           
Our focus, Jesus, is first called “the author and perfecter of faith” (v. 2). As the “author” (Gr. archēgos) Jesus is the trailblazer, or pioneer—He who established an institution. In this case, Jesus is the author of “faith,” the Christian faith, or Church. As the “perfecter” (Gr. teleiōtēs)—a term that means “finisher; completer,” Jesus completes the Christian faith which is based on the Jewish, or Hebrew, faith. Jesus completes it, for He is the fulfillment of all that God promised.
           
It is this same Jesus “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (v. 2). Jesus did not focus on the pain of the cross; rather, He looked to the joy of what His time on the cross would accomplish. Likewise, He did not fear the “shame” of the cross but despised it, looking to the glory of ascending to His Father in heaven where He, “having made purification for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (1:3). So as Jesus focused on the future, looking past present trials, so too must we. Jesus simply looked beyond the here and now to the future glory that awaits all the faithful.

Food For Thought
As a runner is not to look at his or her feet when they run, we as Christians ought not dwell either on our failures or victories. We fix our eyes on Jesus and never move our gaze from Him. After all, Jesus is He who went before us in this race of faith. He gave us life, and He gave us our faith. Certainly He will see us through to the end of the race He put before us. Like Him, we must look beyond the here and now, looking to heaven. Let us set our hope on Christ and our future with Christ—looking to the future joy that awaits us in Christ. Along the way in our race, we will persevere, like Christ if we keep our eye on the ultimate reward. And with our eyes on Him, we will “not grow weary and lose heart” (12:2-3) as our natural enemies rail against us. We have Christ to look at and a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us who did what we’re doing.
            

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Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…
           
The “therefore” in v. 1 calls attention back to the previous context in chapter 11 regarding the long list of faithful men and women from the OT who, though imperfect, simply believed God. They lived by faith while looking to their divine reward in the future. Their faith was “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (11:1, 6).
           
The author of Hebrews was writing to Hebrews, namely Israelites (aka, Jews) who had converted from Judaism to Christianity which is fulfillment of Judaism. Since the sacred writings in Judaism promised a future Messiah who would fulfill all of God’s promises, realized in Jesus of Nazareth, all true Hebrews believed Jesus was, and is, the Messiah, or Christ. These Hebrews, however, were being persecuted by their fellow Hebrews who had not converted to faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Also, they lived and ministered the gospel during harsh times of persecution under the Roman emperors. As hated outsiders, the persecution was weakening their faith.
           
The Hebrews author therefore highlighted in chapter 11 the saints who had gone before, who had believed God’s promises without ever receiving them on this side of glory. They endured great persecutions (11:35-38), yet they remained faithful. Like Abel, their faith still speaks loudly in spite of their deaths (11:4). This of course was meant to encourage the discouraged. With the testimony of their heroes before them, perhaps they might be reinvigorated.
           
Therefore, with such a great “cloud of witnesses surrounding” them, those first-century persecuted Hebrew Christians might be encouraged. The mention of “cloud” in v. 1 might have caused them to recall how God had led Israel through the wilderness under Moses—Yahweh “going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way” (Ex. 13:21). The OT saints of chapter 11 acted as a “cloud” to lead those early Christians, as “witnesses surrounding us” (12:1). Yet “witness” (lit. martyr) does not imply that they watch NT saints, like a stadium full of fans. Instead, their example of faithfulness motivates. The only real audience any Christian should care for is God alone, for as Oswald Guinness said, “I live before an audience of One; before others I have nothing to prove, nothing to gain, and nothing to lose.”
           
So with faithful witnesses of the past surrounding us, how ought Christians to live? First, “let us also lay aside every encumbrance…” An “encumbrance” (Gr. ogkos) is an impediment, not necessarily a sin. In a footrace, an encumbrance might be certain clothing, boots, or a heavy coat that slows us down. In the Christian life, an encumbrance might be social media, TV, certain friends, food—none of which are evil in and of themselves but which can encumber one’s walk with Christ. Each of us must identify these and then lay them aside; abandon them altogether.

Second, Christians must “lay aside… the sin which so easily entangles us.” All are sinners, but not all of us struggle with the same specific sins. Some struggle with gluttony, some with the love of money, some with drinking and drugs, some with sensual pleasures, some with envy, and so on. Each of us is to identify what our struggles are and lay them aside; repent. Like a spider web that captures a fly, so too will our sins so easily entangle us—unto death. We must therefore repent of such sins and run our race without impediments to our fellowship with Christ.

Food For Thought
The main verb in Hebrews 12:1 is “run,” “laying aside” encumbrances and “laying aside” sin being participles that describe the most effective way to “run” the Christian race. In this we see that the Christian life is like a race. But it’s not a race to see who finishes first, as is evident in how others lived and died before us, finishing before we were ever born. No, the Christian race is simply a race to finish—to our ultimate end. Each of us has a different route—some are doctors, some athletes, some homemakers, some restaurateurs, some pastors, etc., each with various turns and winding uphill roads leading to their ultimate end. Who knows why some have to struggle harder than others or why others seem to suffer so much worse? But when it’s all over, we will have run our race. May it be the prayer of our lives every day that we live that we live each daily faithfully and that we die faithfully. And when we stand before our Creator, Judge, and Savior one day, He says to us, “Well done good and faithful servant!”  
            

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Hebrews 11:39-40 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

From Abel to Abraham to David to the others, “all of these…gained approval” by God by their faith. The “all” omits none of them, for God would never forget a single one of His faithful children. Faith is what pleases Him (11:6), for it trusts in God and His word—hoping for and being assured of the things not seen that God has promised. For these to have “gained approval,” they received God’s salvation by His grace, through faith. Those who died before Jesus Christ attained salvation based on what Christ would do. Likewise, those who have gained salvation in Jesus Christ following the cross attain salvation by what Christ has done. Both come by faith.

The Apostle Paul said, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18), and each saint mentioned in Hebrews 11 looked toward not only that glory yet to be revealed but also what Peter said was “an inheritance that is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven” (1 Pet. 1:4). So because God’s promise is ultimately fulfilled in eternity, it can never be ultimately fulfilled on this side of glory. No wonder v. 39 says that all those OT saints “did not receive what was promised.” They gained the promise but not the promises fulfilled before they died. The ultimate blessing was merely inaugurated in Jesus Christ. But even now all of God’s promises are not entirely fulfilled so that Christians too can look forward in faith to their ultimate completion following Christ’s return (cf. Rev. 19-22).

There were times in the lives of the OT saints listed in Hebrews 11 that their faith saved them from death. But sometimes that same faith brought them death. They were believers of the highest order, trusting God with so little. But what they had, God’s word, was enough. Though their faith was strong, it was limited to the inferiority of the old covenant that looked forward to something better, namely the new covenant under Jesus Christ. Old covenant saints expected the fulfillment of God’s promise with the Messiah’s arrival, but they never saw it fulfilled. No matter! They still believed it would, and they were willing to suffer for their faith until it did.

Only up to the past 2,000 years when Christ appeared, died, and rose again did those OT saints gain complete salvation. They trusted God and, like Abraham, were counted as righteous (Gen. 15:6). But they died. The same is true with Christians today who believe and are counted as righteous. The believer’s ultimate salvation comes after death. Truly, all of God’s promises are ultimately fulfilled in what will transpire after the believer’s death. For faith is the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1). The final fulfillment of God’s promises is not for anyone to see in the flesh, on this side of glory, but to believe by faith.

Food For Thought
We Christians today are far more privileged than the saints of the past, for we have all of God’s Word, all of His promises. We’ve seen so much more come to pass in relation to God’s promises. Christians today should be writing a new chapter on faith that surpasses yesterday’s saints, for we have so much more to strengthen our faith, even our own testimonies. In the same way that technology and information has increased exponentially in the past 50 years, so too has the ability to understand God’s word increased. What that should translate to is a new Hall of Faith like Hebrews 11—a modern chapter about faithful saints who trust in Christ, read and heed His word, and live in obedience to Him. So, if God were still inspiring holy writ, would your faith qualify you to be added to such a book? Perfection is not required, only true faith.
            

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Hebrews 11:35b-38 …and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 and others experienced mocking and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
 
Though many a Christian has a victorious story of great faith with rewards in the here and now, v. 36 refers to “others” (Gr. heteros). This Greek term refers not simply to other similar examples but “others of a different kind.” These too had strong faith, but it wasn’t part of God’s plan to deal with them as He had dealt with Noah, Joseph, Gideon, or David. God has that right; He is God! The “others” the author refers to had only torturous deaths to attest to their faith.

“Tortured” (Gr. tumpanizō) comes from a term that refers to a kettledrum—skins stretched out across a surface to be beaten. This is the picture of the word for “torture,” for it involved a human being stretched out to be beaten repeatedly like a drum, often until death ensued. This ghastly form of abuse was meted out on Eleazar, a 90-year old scribe depicted in the apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees 6:18-31 circa 150 BC. He was told that he would be released if he violated the Law by eating pork, forbidden for Jews. When he refused, he was beaten, “tortured,” to death. If not Eleazar, it could refer to any number of others, known and unknown, whose faith in God was exhibited through perseverance in the face of the cruelest trials and hardships.

Those “tortured” to death in Jewish history who, like Eleazar, were offered “release” if they would compromise their faith. Many refused “so that they might obtain a better resurrection.” This “better resurrection” may refer to the first sentence of v. 35 that refers to the young men resurrected by both Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:8-36). Both of these incidents are described as “resurrections” in spite of how we might refer to them more accurately as  resuscitations since they in fact later died as all humans do. Yet the Hebrews author carefully distinguishes between the two resurrections by calling the latter one “a better resurrection.”

Other faithful saints endured verbal mocking, some were scourged with chains, and some were imprisoned and left to die (v. 36). Unlike those who experienced victory through faith (vv. 33-34), God received glory through these saints in their sufferings. But they too endured what they did “so that they might obtain a better resurrection” (cf. Dan. 12:1-2).

Verse 37 speaks of some who were stoned to death—the Jewish way of capital punishment (cf. 2 Chron. 24:20-22; Matt. 23:35; Acts 7:59). Others were actually “sawn in two,” perhaps a reference to the tradition that the prophet Isaiah was sliced in half by the wicked King Manasseh. Some were “tempted” in that they were forced by their persecutors to decide between God and death. Those forced out of society to wander in the wilderness had to cloth themselves “in sheepskins, in goatskins.” They were not exalted for their faith but were “destitute, afflicted, ill-treated.” The author says that these were those “whom the world was not worthy.” While the godless lived in safe homes enjoying fine food, some of God’s greatest saints were “wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground” (v. 38). Their godly faith distinguished them from the faithless tyrants of this world. Their very presence on the earth graced the land, for while living here, they blessed the world with their examples of faith.

Food For Thought
God can both heal us and deliver us, or neither. Whatever He does is for His glory, not ours. Actually, it takes more faith to endure our trials than it does to escape them. With the example given by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, we too must trust God even if He doesn’t deliver us (Dan. 3:16-18). Our brief time in this world should grace the earth even if we are accused as the Apostle Paul was, for the Roman governor Festus said Paul was out of his mind (Acts 26:24). His fellow Jews claimed he was not fit to live (Acts 22:22). Others said he was “the scum of the world... the dregs of all things” (1 Cor. 4:13). So, although the world may insult us, we know from the OT saints to Paul to our Lord Jesus that what the world thinks of us matters not. The only thing that matters is what God thinks of our faith. What might He think of yours today?
            

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Hebrews 11:32-35a And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection…
 
In vv. 32-34, the author covers Israel’s era under the Judges their second king, David who reigned from 1010 to 970 BC, and the prophets. The Judges mentioned, as is true with all the faithful, had their faults in addition to their faith. They ruled over Israel during a time when “there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Their example of faithfulness in the midst of evil was a model for the audience the author of Hebrews addressed, a Christian audience in the midst of prodigious persecution.

In Judges 6-8 we meet Gideon, a man of timid faith whom God chose to lead an army against Israel’s oppressors, the Midianites. To mold his faith, God told him to trim his army from 32,000 men to 300! God did this to make it obvious that when Israel emerged victorious, Gideon would know that it was God alone working through his faith.

In Judges 4 we meet Barak, a military leader under the judgeship of Deborah. He recognized that God was with her and would not go into battle without her to fight the Canaanite King Jabin with his mighty commander Sisera who had 900 iron chariots. Since Barak believed God’s promise of victory, he had no concern that a woman would receive glory for his actions (4:9). Barak went out with a small army, trusting that God would work victory through him. God did.

In Judges 13-16 we meet Samson, a strange addition to the Hall of Faith! Even so, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he knew it. He confidently went into battle against enormous odds and claimed victory each time, that is until he became proud. But even after his pride brought him down, he faithfully called upon God to deliver him and his people. God did.
In Judges 11-12 we meet Jephthah, a faithful man of God with a clear grasp of God’s past work in and through His people Israel (Judges 11:15-28). He thus feared God and delivered Israel from the Ammonites. Like all, he had his faults. But he was a man of sound faith.

David was a man who trusted in the Lord throughout his life, in spite of his sin with Bathsheba. From the time he was a shepherd boy fending off wild animals (1 Sam. 17:34-36) to victory over Goliath, he trusted God. Though sinful, David was thus a mighty man of faith.
Samuel was a prophet and a judge in the midst of Israel’s crookedness. He, like David, was faithful from a very young age, a true model of faith. The idolatry and immorality among his people Israel was his struggle, not invading armies per se. His faith was tested in that he was forced to confront sinful people, even King Saul whom he had anointed king over Israel.

The mention of the prophets is notable, for they not only received God’s word, they boldly preached it. Together, these people “conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection.” These monumental feats depict those great men and women of faith in the OT, their works attesting to their trust in God.

Verse 35 speaks of women whose children were dead but who through faith received them back. The widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-24) and the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8-36) are in view, but there was also the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-14) whom Jesus restored to life—miracles achieved through faith. Thus, even the dead can rise through faith!
 
Food For Thought
All of those who have gone before us with great faith shared two common traits: they trusted God, and they had faults. John Calvin said of these, “There was none of them whose faith did not falter… in every saint there is always to be found something reprehensible. Yet although faith may be imperfect and incomplete, it does not cease to be approved by God. There is no reason therefore why the fault from which we labor should break us or discourage us provided we go on by faith in the race of our calling.”
            

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Hebrews 11:30-31 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

Forty years after Moses led Israel out of Egyptian captivity he died and passed the torch to Joshua who then led Israel into the Promised Land—Canaan, or modern Israel-Palestine. The first city engaged in battle was Jericho which, like some cities, was heavily fortified and protected by a large wall (Josh. 6:1-21). Typically, these walls were massive, designed to protect against the strongest of enemy attacks. The walls of Babylon were said to be wide enough for two chariots to ride side-by-side, so it could take years for an invading army to infiltrate some cities. Yet God’s plan for Israel was not the traditional battle plan; it was simply for Israel march around the city of Jericho for seven days, then on the last day to blow trumpets. Like the Passover, this was a strange plan to Israel, but if they would obey, they would conquer.

Oftentimes God’s instructions seem illogical to us. But they are always perfect. Since Joshua was a godly man of faith like Moses, he did not question God’s plan; he obeyed it. Also, there is also no indication that this new generation of Israelites grumbled about God’s plan. It may have sounded absurd to them, but that generation had learned from the previous one about the consequences of grumbling against God. They were thus trained to obey God and wait for His plan to unfold. Of course what happened in seven days of marching around the city would have taken years to achieve by human means. But by God’s divine hand, the great walls of Jericho, on the seventh day of marching, collapsed. When they did, Israel took the city, killing its inhabitants as God had commanded. Once again, God’s power was displayed to Israel through their faith.

Only one person and her family are mentioned as having survived the Jericho massacre, and her name was Rahab. As a prostitute, she was a product of the corrupt Canaanite society. But she and her people had heard of God’s deliverance of Israel 40 years prior when they walked through the sea of reeds on dry ground. As a result, she feared Israel’s God without actually knowing Him. Her faith is evident in how she helped Israel by hiding the two spies when they came to stake out the city just prior to Israel crossing the Jordan (Josh. 2). Her faith was revealed in her willingness to put her own life at risk so as to help the nation whose God she feared. She is mentioned favorably in James 2:25 as one whose faith was evident in her actions. She later married an Israelite, Salmon (Matt. 1:5), and they had a son they named Boaz. Boaz was the great-grandfather of David, the ancestor of Jesus (Matt. 1:17)—the Messiah.
           
Notably, Rahab was a Canaanite, specifically an Amorite—a people God informed Abraham was marked for ruin (Gen. 15:16). She lived in a perverse society. The Canaanites were known to put living babies in jars and build them into the foundation of their cities and their walls as sacrifices to their pagan gods. Her conversion is therefore most unlikely. Yet she demonstrates how people living in the most corrupt of societies can be saved through faith. The fact that she is in the line of the Messiah proves that God calls people from all walks of life. She expressed her faith by welcoming Israel’s spies and giving them friendly hospitality in fear of God Almighty.

Food For Thought
It’s been said that God delights in slaying the pride of men. Imagine how foolish those Hebrew warriors felt walking around Jericho for seven days. So too does God sometimes humble us through our trials in order to break our pride and leave us nothing except to trust Him. It’s a risk to have faith, but true faith takes risks because it trusts God even when doing so makes us look silly. We all have a Jericho in our lives in order to develop our faith. Identify it, and trust.
            

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Cypress, TX 77433 

Hebrews 11:28-29 By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.
           
Moses’ faith was also characterized by his obedience in keeping the Passover—a feast he could not have fully understood when it was instituted just prior to the exodus from Egypt. God told Moses to inform Israel that they must assemble on a specific night to sprinkle the blood of a selected lamb on the doorposts of their homes in order to avoid God’s final plague—the death of the firstborn in Egypt (Ex. 11-12). God gave Moses very specific instructions for Israel in order to avoid the plague, and as long as Israel obeyed it literally, they would indeed avoid the plague.

Now if we put ourselves in the shoes of those Israelites, we would see the seeming absurdity of God’s instructions regarding the lamb and its blood that was to be painted on their doorposts. For Moses to take these instructions from God and pass them on took faith on his part, for he had to believe that what God said was true, in spite of how strange it certainly seemed. Of course there was no power in a lamb’s blood; the power was in the act of faith it took to instruct Israel to do this and for Israel to obey and spread the lamb’s blood on their doorposts. Those who did showed their faith and avoided the plague of death. “Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did” (Ex. 12:1-3, 28).

Neither Moses nor Israel could not have fully understood that their act was symbolic of Christ’s future sacrifice on the cross, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), which would save all who trust in Him for salvation. But even in the midst of his ignorance, Moses showed faith by obeying God down to the letter. As a result, when the death angel flew over the people of Israel that night, it “passed over” those who had demonstrated faith by painting blood on their doorposts. As a result of their obedience, each firstborn child lived.

Note in v. 28 the phrase “by faith he kept the Passover.” This perfect tense verb means that he carried out his task; he celebrated it—instituting it as a lasting ordinance in Israel (Ex. 12:14), an ordinance that prefigured the death of Jesus Christ. By carrying out the task of the Passover, it is clear that Moses never once doubted that Israel would be delivered from Egypt. How did he know this? He believed God and His word. And through Moses’ obedience, God saved Israel.
           
In v. 29 Moses’ faith was also demonstrated in his patient boldness. Having led Israel out of Egypt following the ten plagues which demonstrated the power of God to His people, Israel’s weak faith became evident as they approached the Red Sea. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert” (Ex. 14:11, 12). But Moses replied, “Do not fear! Stand and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today… the Lord will fight for you while you keep silent” (14:13-14).

God then worked through Moses’ boldness and parted the waters so that Israel could pass through safely. But in spite of their lack of faith, it took great faith for them to walk through the parted waters, seeing the danger all around them. They had no guarantee that God would let them pass through to the end, but they proceeded by faith as if God would. And of course God’s word proved faithful, for those who believed Him passed through without harm. The Egyptians, however, not acting on faith, did not fare so well after God allowed the water walls to collapse. Their hardened hearts, which only trusted in themselves, led them to their ultimate demise.

We note here how one man’s faith was so genuine and effective that it transformed a faithless people and delivered them from death. Clearly, those powerful in faith can elevate others to greatness and ultimate deliverance. Through faith in Jesus Christ, anything is possible!

Food For Thought
            Sometimes life’s problems bring us to a dead end in our walk with Christ, just like Israel when they came to the Red Sea. We see no deliverance, only despair. It is at that point that we must be bold like Moses and believe in the face of fear that God will deliver us. And when life’s problems seem like walls of water around us, we just have to move forward and take another step. On the other side is relief if we will only trust. God loves to show His faithfulness by taking us to the brink of despair to test our faith. And we love to tell others about it after we’ve experienced it. How humiliating it is to fail God’s tests. Yet His grace gives us another day!
            

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14954 Mueschke Road
Cypress, TX 77433 

Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
           
In v. 27 the author speaks of Moses as having the same bold faith as his parents who, according to v. 23 (cf. Ex. 2:1-3), had no fear of the king of Egypt when they defied his order to throw their newborn son into the Nile. Instead, they put their beautiful child into a wicker basket and floated him up the Nile under the watchful eye of his sister Miriam. By God’s ordination, Moses was found by the daughter of Pharaoh, rescued, and raised in Pharaoh’s household. It was thus by their bold faith in defying Pharaoh that Moses had the abundant life he enjoyed.
           
Since v. 27 speaks of Moses “not fearing the wrath of the king,” it is clear that the story of Moses around the age of 40 in Exodus 2:11-12 cannot be in view. In that account, Moses stumbled upon an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of Moses’ brethren. Moses then struck the Egyptian and killed him, burying him in the sand (Ex. 2:11-12). Although he thought his actions were hidden, they became known to Pharaoh, and Moses had to flee Egypt for the crime he committed (2:15), for Pharaoh was intent on killing Moses for his actions. This hardly fits what Hebrews 11:27 is talking about because it is said of Moses in Exodus 2:14 that he “was afraid.”
           
What Hebrews 11:27 is referring to is how Moses returned to Egypt 40 years later as a changed man—a man who feared no one except the God he served, Yahweh (cf. Ex. 3:14). Beginning in Exodus 5:1, Moses confronted Pharaoh “not fearing the wrath of the king,” demanding that Pharaoh release the Israelites from bondage. But Pharaoh had a heart of stone, continually balking at letting Israel go, even enduring ten devastating plagues from God to soften his heart. From the first day that Moses confronted Pharaoh, Moses appeared before him repeatedly, demanding Israel’s release—never once fearing the most powerful king on earth.
           
So how could Moses repeatedly stand so courageously before such an arrogant king, a man who was prone to kill anyone who defied him? Hebrews 11:27 answers this, revealing that Moses “endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.” The verb “endured” (Gr. kartereō) signifies perseverance, or steadfast persistence. This is exactly what the author of Hebrews repeatedly exhorts his readers to do (3:12, 14; 6:12; 10:35, 38; 12:1). Moses was their model for such.

But to simply endure without a basis is not how the author encourages such. For Moses endured for one reason: he was “seeing Him who is unseen.” Now Moses did not actually see God who is invisible in spite of the fact that elsewhere it is said that God spoke face to face with Moses (Num. 12:8; Deut. 34:10). That was an expression of God’s close union with Moses, not a literal face to face relationship (cf. Ex. 33:20). What the author therefore means is that Moses endured in his boldness as if he was seeing God who is invisible. Thus, Moses’ focus in the midst of grave danger was the invisible God (cf. Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17). This was the key to his successful leadership and servanthood, enduring difficulties and disappointments. P.T. O’Brien says, “The text is thus not concerned with extraordinary experiences that were attributed to Moses, but with his enduring faith, the contrast between what is seen and unseen (11:1, 3), and his perseverance towards the final goal with his eyes fixed on the invisible One.”

How was this pertinent to the Hebrews audience? With the faith of Moses in view, they had a powerful example for not fearing the authorities who threatened the early Church (10:34; 13:3). As Moses endured by perceiving the invisible God, they also could endure by looking to the glorious Christ, who was also unseen yet always present (Matt. 28:20).

Food For Thought
Any Christian worth his salt sees the invisible God on a daily basis. It’s not a miracle; it’s just common Christianity. To have fellowship with Him comes through faith, and as our faith grows, our vision of God through Jesus Christ gets clearer every day that we serve Him.
            

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Copyright © 2024 Harvest Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Harvest Bible Church
14954 Mueschke Road
Cypress, TX 77433