Hebrews 12:25-27

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25 So be careful and do not refuse to listen when God speaks. Others refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth, and they did not escape. So it will be worse for us if we refuse to listen to God who warns us from heaven. 26 When he spoke before, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once again I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was made—things that can be shaken—will be destroyed. Only the things that cannot be shaken will remain.  ~ Hebrews 12:25-27

Today, we return to our study of Hebrews 12. As you know, the book of Hebrews is written around five warnings: the warning against drifting away (2:1-4), the warning against disobedience (3-4), the warning against falling away (5-6), the warning against willful sin (10:26-31), and, the warning against denying the Lord which is the subject of today's passage which is the fifth and final warning in this book. 

In v.25 of today's text we read, "So be careful and do not refuse to listen when God speaks. Others refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth, and they did not escape. So it will be worse for us if we refuse to listen to God who warns us from heaven."

God has a long history of speaking to man. In Romans 1:20-23 we read, "For since the beginning of the world those things have been easy to understand by what God has made. So people have no excuse for the bad things they do. 21 They knew God, but they did not give glory to God or thank him. Their thinking became useless. Their foolish minds were filled with darkness. 22 They said they were wise, but they became fools. 23 They traded the glory of God who lives forever for the worship of idols made to look like earthly people, birds, animals, and snakes."

These verses underscore the fact that man is without excuse for not trusting God for God has communicated Himself in a multiplicity of ways to man. In fact, this book of Hebrews began with the words, "In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son." God's most profound words came to man through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God entered into man's natural world through sending His Son. He could not have been more intimate than He chose to send His Son to die for our sin. 

God did all of this and yet man rejected Him. Man rejected God because man wants autonomy. The problem with this is: left to ourselves to run our lives means utter ruin for us. God could have let us go our own way, but His heart of compassion reached out. In fact, He has been reaching out to rebellious man since the Fall so long ago.

The writer of Hebrews warns us to be careful to not refuse to listen when God speaks. God has clearly spoken in many ways and at many times down through the centuries. He has communicated because He desires to connect with us. He is not an idea to be thought about. He is a person to be listened to and understood and enjoyed and obeyed. 

The word that God spoke by His Son is His decisive word. It will not be followed in this age by any other word. This is the Word of God, the person of the Lord Jesus and His teaching. And, it is in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus that we are able to make sense of His messages to us. 

In v.26 of today's passage we read, "When he spoke before, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once again I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.'"

When God spoke at Mount Sinai, the whole mountain shook. God speaks into our lives by causing or allowing circumstances into our lives that disturb our sense of normalcy and gets our undivided attention. He "shakes" those things that can be shaken in order to reveal what can't be shaken. And, there is coming a day when He will shake not only the earth, but heavens, as well. When He does this, the whole universe will collapse. All the stars will fall out of the sky and the heavens will rolled up like a scroll. At that moment all will know what is truly substantive and eternal.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was made—things that can be shaken—will be destroyed. Only the things that cannot be shaken will remain."

The writer of Hebrews refers to the prophet Haggai who wrote, "Yet once more, I shake not the earth only, but heaven." One day soon, God will wipe out the entire universe, leaving only that which is eternal. Only the eternal things are going to remain. With this in view, we, daily are left with a clear choice: to choose to invest in the temporal things of this world which will not endure throughout eternity or to invest in the substantive things of eternity.

Clearly, God has warned us about what is going to happen at the end of time, as we know it.  And, this reveals His heart of love for all of us. He has shown this love to us most profoundly at the cross of His Son through whom He has provided a way of escape from the influence of the evil one. Will we refuse and reject what God offers? Or, will we realize our great need for His intervention in our lives. 

The Bible is full of prophecies spoken by God hundred and thousands of years earlier which He has fulfilled hundreds and even thousands of years later. In fact, 700 years before Christ, God told the prophet Micah to prophesy that the Messiah would be born in the then insignificant little town of Bethlehem. Micah penned this prophecy some 700 years before Christ walked this earth. And, 700 years later, the prophecy came true when Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem. There are dozens of prophecies just like that, throughout the Bible, which God has fulfilled. God does not ask us to believe without evidence. He calls us to believe because of evidence. And, He has given us lots of evidence. 

Finally, I have known a few times when my world has been shaken. The first was when my mother died when I was five years old. I refused to hear Him then. And then, when I was seventeen years old, my father died. This time, I did not refuse to hear Him and boy am I glad I listened. We must be diligent to not refuse Him who has spoken so much. If we do, our eternity and the eternity of those whom we love are at stake. Diligent attentiveness is a must in order to reject refusing His voice.

Hebrews 12:22-24

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22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands of angels gathered together with joy. 23 You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn children whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the One who brought the new agreement from God to his people, and you have come to the sprinkled blood that has a better message than the blood of Abel. ~ Hebrews 12:22-24

In yesterday's passage, the writer of Hebrews continued his comparison between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. We considered the first half of the comparison, along with the poor motivation of fear that came from it. Whereas in yesterday's blog we considered Mount Sinai where Moses received the Law which condemns us, today, we consider Mount Zion where the Lord Jesus Christ took our condemned position and gave us His glorified position. Today, we will consider the New Covenant that rendered us God's grace. 

In the context of today's passage, the writer of Hebrews pictures Israel, God's chosen people, gathered at Mount Sinai. He contrasts that with the picture of all who have ever trusted in the efficacy of the cross of the Lord Jesus gathered at Mount Zion. Herein we discover the difference between the two mountains. The difference is intimacy with God, as we shall see. The believer in Christ does not merely know about God and His forgiveness, the believer in Christ is granted a growing intimacy with God. Through the removal of His wrath upon us and the entrance of the Holy Spirit in us, we now enjoy a personal relationship with God that is deepening and widening as we learn to trust Him more and more. 

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands of angels gathered together with joy."

The believer's newfound relationship with the God of the Bible through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ should be the primary determinant of his identity. Having reminded his hearers that when the Old Covenant was given, due to mankind's sinfulness, we have never been able to measure up to God's standard of perfection. Of course, this is why God sent His perfect Son who measured up in every possible way on our behalf. And, it is the immeasurably painful performance of the Lord Jesus on the cross that has rendered in our heart the desire to know God in a way that we never thought possible. 

Here, in v.22, we learn we came to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. As a result, our whole disposition before God has changed and we are now His dwelling place. Whereas Mount Sinai represented the Old Covenant and the Law and judgment, Mount Zion represents the New Covenant and the grace of God and forgiveness. 

Mount Zion is another name for Jerusalem. As you know, God, in the days of Moses, set up a sacrificial system which was a provision by which He could grant forgiveness to those who believe in Him, who recognize their sin, and who know they need God's forgiveness. But, that system was inept at changing man's heart. This is why the writer of Hebrews reminds us that we do not want to go to Mount Sinai for it is there that we are condemned. 

On the other hand, we want to dwell in the place of God's grace and acceptance and freedom. We want to dwell with the One who went to that place of the skull in Jerusalem, to that little hill south of the Old City called Zion. We want to dwell at that Jebusite stronghold which David conquered and made his royal residence in the seventh year of his reign. We want to dwell at Mount Zion which represents God’s gracious dealing with man at the expense of His Son. We want to dwell at the place of  forgiveness and grace.

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn children whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect."

When we come to Zion, we come to Christ. When we come to Christ, we come to His grace. When we come to Christ we come to the fellowship of the Lord Jesus. When we come to Christ, we come to share in His perfection.

The Greek word used here for "perfect" informs us that we have been made perfect in God's eyes and we are accepted into the beloved. At Sinai, there is death. At Zion, there is life. At Sinai, we were rejected. At Zion, we were embraced by our Heavenly Father.

In v.24 of today's passage we read, "You have come to Jesus, the One who brought the new agreement from God to his people, and you have come to the sprinkled blood that has a better message than the blood of Abel."

Abel is a beautiful type, or, a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Abel was a shepherd. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. Abel offered the sacrifice of a lamb. Jesus Christ offered the sacrifice of Himself, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God. Likewise, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ was completely accepted by God, evidenced by the fact that God raised Him from the dead. Abel was hated by his brother without a cause. Likewise, the Lord Jesus was hated by His brothers, the Jews, without a cause. Abel suffered a violent death at the hand of his brother. So too, the Lord Jesus suffered a violent death at the hand of the Jews.

In v.24 the Lord Jesus brought the new agreement from God. The blood of murdered Abel witnessed to the fact that in itself humankind was destined for God’s judgement and wrath. However, in His covenant of grace, God provided a completely new possibility, namely the prospect that the blood of Christ would bring about complete reconciliation to God and salvation from His wrath. Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance, while the blood of Jesus cries out for mercy. With view of man's hopeless condition as witnessed by the blood of Abel, the New Covenant provides us with a way out of our hopeless situation. Because of Christ's cross, we, having believed on Him, are accepted by a holy God who loves us completely. Only the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, can reconcile sinful humanity to God and only His blood can purify us and make us holy. 

Hebrews 12:18-21

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18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire. You have not come to darkness, sadness, and storms. 19 You have not come to the noise of a trumpet or to the sound of a voice like the one the people of Israel heard and begged not to hear another word. 20 They did not want to hear the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be put to death with stones.” 21 What they saw was so terrible that Moses said, “I am shaking with fear.” ~ Hebrews 12:18-21

Today, we continue our study of Hebrews 12 where we have been given some practical teaching regarding our faith in the God of the Bible. This faith, which is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see, trains our hearts to see God more vividly with each passing day. Today, we are given the first half of a comparison. The writer of Hebrews contrasts the Old Covenant with the New Covenant and the motivations involved. Today, we will only consider the first half of this comparison. 

We live in a fallen world that has been impacted by sin. As a result, living things die, and, natural disasters occur. This world is now a place where the second law of thermodynamics rules. Having been separated from God by sin, man can not exist in the presence of God. Our sin must be remedied, and, this is why the Lord Jesus came in the first place. In the future, according to the Bible, we know this world will be shaken out of existence; and nothing will be left, including space and time. According to the book of Revelation, God will Himself shake the earth and the sky.

In v.18 of today's passage we read, "You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire. You have not come to darkness, sadness, and storms."

In this verse, the writer of Hebrews points us back Mt. Sinai on that day when Moses went up the mountain to receive from God the Ten Commandments. Fear gripped the people then, and rightfully so. They had been reunited with their Creator and their sin still hung over them. This was not the way God had meant it to be, but man's rebellion had to be remedied before anyone could move forward with God.

Fear is most often a losing proposition. When we are motivated out of fear we always lose something. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and like Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai, we are frightened and then we run from God. But, it is not fear that is our worst enemy. No, our worst enemy is ourselves because until we come to faith in the Lord Jesus, we are defined by the evil one. Most unsaved people are not aware of this fact. And, as a result, man fears God. And, the writer of Hebrews asks these newly born again believers, "Having come to know the forgiveness of God through Christ, why would you desire a system that motivates you out of fear?"

In Exodus 22, 3000 people died when the Law of Moses was given. The Law of Moses, given man's sinfulness and inability to measure up to the Law, only breaks us and brings us to the end of ourselves. The Law is the bad news of the good news. Like, those Jews who were delivered from Egypt, many want the benefits of the God of the Bible without turning away from the familiar, without repenting from their normal way of approaching life. You see, the Israelites were addicted to the flesh which is the fallen part of our existence on this earth.

The words, "You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire," were penned to help these young Jewish Christians understand the daily choice that they had. Essentially, the choice is fear or faith. You see, like you and me, these young believers in Christ had come into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, and, their faith was not strong enough in order to enable them to see the folly of depending on their adherence to the Law to cause them to know the Lord like they could. They were under new management and they should have come to an end of the fear the Law produced in them. And, the only way we get to the place where we put off the fear is by growing in our personal relationship with Christ.

In v.19 of today's passage we read, "You have not come to the noise of a trumpet or to the sound of a voice like the one the people of Israel heard and begged not to hear another word."

These two thoughts, "the noise of a trumpet" and "the sound of the voice," took these young Hebrew Christians to the foot of Mount Sinai where the people of Israel "begged not to hear another word" from God. They begged this because the word of God cut them to their sinful hearts and their sin had not been removed from them. The sound of the voice of the Lord was so overwhelming that they feared they would die if they heard anything more from Him directly. As a result, God gave them the elaborate Old Testament sacrificial system that would point them, eventually, to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The way the Lord gave the Ten Commandments to Israel on Mount Sinai reveals He was checking the people’s hearts. Moses said to the people of Israel in Exodus 20:20, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." You see, these to whom the writer of Hebrews wrote were in danger of choosing the wrong mountain and Mount Sinai was the mountain of death.

In v.20 of today's passage we read, "They did not want to hear the command: 'If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be put to death with stones.'"

Anyone with unforgiven sin will always be the recipients of God's wrath which is essentially the absence of His love. In Exodus 19 we read the story of how the children of Israel came to Mount Sinai. Through His servant Moses God said to the Hebrews, "Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death." There was no mercy or grace at Mount Sinai. And, as a result, there was no forgiveness there. The Law was written on stone and it only presented Israel with death because they could not measure up to it.

Most interestingly, when asked if they will go to heaven when they die, most people, today, believe they will make it into heaven on the basis of their ... goodness. But, in Romans 3:19-20 we read, "19 We know that the law’s commands are for those who have the law. This stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, 20 because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin." 

In Galatians 3:10 we read, "But those who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, 'Anyone will be cursed who does not always obey what is written in the Book of the Law.'"

In v.21 of today's passage we read, "What they saw was so terrible that Moses said, 'I am shaking with fear.'"

Moses fully perceived the danger of violating one of the commandments of God. The word translated "shaking with fear" means "totally frightened." The only other time this word is used in the New Testament is in Mark 9:6, describing the state of Peter during the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus before Moses and Elijah. Both of these events brought such a deep fear on those who beheld the sight, that it brought about a reaction of absolute terror, and rightfully so.

After the people of Israel made the golden calf at the bottom of Mount Sinai, Moses went back to the Lord and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." 

Fear is an emotion induced by a perceived threat of significant loss. There is nothing that makes us more uncomfortable than fear which is counter-productive. The problem is that fear is paralyzing because it shuts down the brain and paralyzes heart-felt action. Tomorrow, we will consider how grace motivates.

Moses was "shaken with fear" because he knew the requirements of the righteous God of the Bible. He also knew Mount Sinai represented the Old Covenant which only led to condemnation, since the people could not be holy enough before God. Today, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that such a covenant offers no lasting safety for sinners. And, in the end, it only leaves us overwhelmed by the wrath of God or its prospect. Thank the Lord He sent His Son to take that awful place of suffering because we could never have remedied our sin problem.

Hebrews 12:16-17

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16 Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin or is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have received everything from his father, but he sold all that for a single meal. 17 You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing, but his father refused. Esau could find no way to change what he had done, even though he wanted the blessing so much that he cried. ~ Hebrews 12:16-17

We return to our study of Hebrews 12 which comes on the heels of the faith chapter. It was in Hebrews 11 that the writer of Hebrews gave us the best definition of faith and now he is giving us some practical teaching regarding how our faith in the God of the Bible should grow and be expressed to others.

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin or is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have received everything from his father, but he sold all that for a single meal."

As we return to our study of Hebrews 12, we are reminded that the very same word translated "holiness" in Hebrews 12:14 is the exact same Greek word that is also translated throughout  this letter as "sanctify" or "sanctification." And, as we have said, to "sanctify" is to put something to its proper use. As we would expect, the enemy of God is always looking for ways to distort God's definition of things, and, this is why the writer of Hebrews brings up the subject of fornication in today's passage. It is as if God is saying to you and me, "Don't cheat on me by using sex out of its proper use," whether it is fornication or adultery.

When we first believed on Christ, the Holy Spirit indwelt us. At that point we were given a daily choice to be defined by God or not. And, when we are being defined by Him, we and His word are being "put to its proper use," the use for which God intended. Unlike positional holiness or justification, this is practical holiness, this sense of dependence and availability to God.

Now, when we do not let God define us, when we take God's word out of its intended purpose, as Esau did, it is as if we are looking at pornography. Especially in light of the fact that the word used here translated "sexual sin" is the word from which we get our word pornography. Esau's sexual addictions, as seen in him marrying multiple foreign wives, began with his fantasies which were not held in check by the word of God. And, left to himself, Esau was gobbled up by his sin.

Esau was Abraham’s grandson, the older twin born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau's twin brother was Jacob. And, even though Esau was the firstborn, he lost his firstborn status because he sold his birthright to Jacob for a single meal. Esau lost his birthright because he chose not to let God define him. The birthright had to do with the promise given to Abraham concerning the coming of a Seed that would set men free from self. To despise the promise, as Esau did, is to say that the things that God offers to do for us are of no importance at all. Esau chose to ignore what God had to say on the subject and it was at this point that he began being defined by something other than God.

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing, but his father refused. Esau could find no way to change what he had done, even though he wanted the blessing so much that he cried."

As in the case of Esau, when we ignore God, a hardness of heart sets in and when we are being defined by the enemy, it will increasingly be more and more difficult to turn back to God. Repentance means a change of mind. When Esau came back to his father later and requested his birthright, his father said it was too late. Esau had sold it to his brother. Esau wept bitterly and tried to change his father's mind, but his father could not change his mind because it was already promised to Jacob.

In spite of the fact that Esau and Jacob eventually made peace with one another, Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, never got along with Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites. Edom regularly opposed and fought against Israel. A big part of the problem was that the Edomites were pagans and the Israelites followed God. The prophets Jeremiah and Obadiah both warned God would "bring disaster on Esau" and that the Edomites would be eventually destroyed.

Esau valued the definitions of this fallen world rather than those of God. He chose the temporal and physical cravings of this world rather than God’s definitions of all things. Esau was defined not by God and the writer of Hebrews used him as an example of one who resists the expression of God in his life. All of this underscores the fact that our actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences take us to places we would rather not go.

As believers in the Lord Jesus, we must walk as sons intent on the pleasure of God’s blessing, not as rebels intent on the pleasures of sin’s false promises. As we have seen, Esau was a fool who was a sexually immoral man, who lusted after and married pagan Hittite women. We must be careful to not be deceived like Esau. It is interesting that he did not become sexually immoral over night. But, his problems began when he chose not to be defined by God which lead him to being enslaved to sexual immorality. 

Hebrews 12:14-15

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14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ~ Hebrews 12:14-15

We return today to the development of our faith in the God of the Bible and the practical outworking of that faith as we endure trials of various kinds. The main thrust of today's passage is making it our priority to live out of the holiness or perfection the Lord Jesus earned on our behalf. As a result, being at peace with God will enable us to be at peace with ourselves and others. We can not be at peace with others until we are at peace with the Lord for ourselves. This is why the Lord Jesus came to earn our perfection and subsequent acceptance before God.

Today's verses are not a means to our justification before God.  They are a means to our sanctification. The writer of Hebrews is not suggesting that we can earn the favor of God by pursuing peace and holiness. Our ability to live out of Christ's perfection is realized in our lives through being at peace with God, ourselves, and then, others.

The phrase, "Make every effort to live" is one word in the Greek. This Greek word episkopeō means to take oversight. As believers in the Lord Jesus, we are to take the oversight over our choices to be defined by God alone. Even though we have the perfection of Christ assigned to our account before God, it does not automatically mean we will live at peace with God, ourselves or others. Since we are at peace with God, we should be peacemakers.

In Matthew 5:9 we read, "You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family."

Again, we can never earn God's favor which is a gift the Lord Jesus purchased and earned for us. When we understand that we are secure positionally before God in Christ, we should be at peace with God, ourselves and others. Having believed on the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we have peace with God. We have experienced the imputed righteousness of Christ. The question is: Do we live out of that acceptability before God, ourselves and others? If Christ is not defining us, we will not live out of this position. This is why the writer of Hebrews has so emphasized the utter value of our pursuit of the Lord. And, it is not as if the Lord does not want to be found by us, but, if we are not willing to bow our will to His, we will not be defined by Him.

In v.15 we read, "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

The Message translation of this verse puts it this way: "Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent."

Bitterness is toxic to the effectiveness of God's grace in our lives. Bitterness is like emotional suicide. It is holding onto a hurt that someone has exacted upon us. Bitterness turns us into a perpetual victim. When we are always the victim, we find ways to justify our poor choices. I find it mind blowing when I think of how it is so much easier for the bad or the evil desires yet within to triumph in my life over the good of Christ's presence. In this case, our injured condition beats up our accepted position in Christ. When we lose sight of God's grace He has extended to us, we will not be gracious to others. In fact, as the writer of Hebrews points out here, we will be great hosts for bitterness. 

Now, it is foolish of us to be defined by the lesser things of this world because, as in this case, bitterness in our hearts contaminates love in our souls. In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to "let no bitter root develop in you." And, the greatest prescription for bitterness is the grace of God.

The second half of v.15 reads, "...that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

Unchecked bitterness always develops deep roots and these roots are very difficult to uproot. The roots of bitterness are hidden but they have many expressions out in the open. Overcoming bitterness means letting go of grudges. Holding a grudge comes out of our inability to express anger directly. When our hearts are bitter, God is not real to us. Bitterness blocks the rays of God's gracious love toward us and through us. And, the greatest way to abandon the power of bitterness in our lives is to grant a home in our souls for the active grace of God. 

This is why we are exhorted in Jude 21 to "keep ourselves in the love of God." The diligent maintenance of God's love in the  uppermost in our thoughts arms us against the evil of an unforgiving heart. The Living Bible renders Jude 21 this way, "Stay always within the boundaries where the love of God can reach and bless you." We must be diligent to remind ourselves, frequently, that God loves us. And, that His love is unmerited and unconditional. This is the posture out of which we are to approach God, ourselves, and others.

Hebrews 12:12-13

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12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. ~ Hebrews 12:12-13

We return to our study of Hebrews 12 wherein the writer of Hebrews has established the fact that the believer in Christ is involved in a race. This is not a race of competition, it is a race to attain the goal of knowing Christ most intimately. One essential in this race is trials which are used of God to deepen us in our hearts ability to see and hear Him. Another essential is hearing the spoken word of Christ on a daily basis. This is not an audible word. This is His word that resounds in our souls as we seek Him in everyday life and through His written word.

As with any race, there are times when we may "grow weary and lose heart." In fact, we are often tempted to stop the pursuit for a while. But, as we considered in the previous passage, we have been given a revolutionary truth intended to aid us in this process. This revolutionary truth is the God of the Bible has become our Father through the death of the Lord Jesus. As children of God, the Father disciplines or trains us in and through our struggles. And, His motive behind all of His training is always love.

In v.12 of today's passage we read, "Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees."

Here, the writer of Hebrews begins to summarize the practical results of our trials: They are the means to the end of knowing God more deeply. Our trials are intended to strengthen our faith in the God of the Bible ,so that, we are able to realize the outworking of the New Covenant the Lord Jesus ratified with His blood on the cross of Calvary.

The analogy of "strengthening our feeble arms and weak knees" delivers the message of "stop being so anxious and worried." 

God's training technics are not given to us to slow us down; they are designed to enable us to maximize our ability to pursue Him most effectively. The writer of this book uses an athletic metaphor encouraging us to get our second wind. And, our ability to catch our second wind depends primarily upon our ability to be dependent on God for our identity and purpose in this life.

Now, the first thing that happens to a good runner, when he gets tired, is he drops his arms. In order to be the best runner, it is the best practice to utilize rhythm throughout the body. The motion of the arms is very strategic to the movement of the runner's body. And the rhythm of the whole body has to be in congruity if the runner is to be successful. Metaphorically, when our pursuit of God wanes, our rhythm is broken and we lose our stride which is essential for us to pursue God with all of our souls. 

The second thing that always happens to a runner, when he gets tired, is his knees begin to wobble and pretty soon he is fighting against the growing numbness in his legs. And, if he begins to concentrate on the numbness in his legs, he’s finished. There’s only one thing that a runner can do at that point, and that is to look intently at the goal and tell himself, "I am going to make it to the goal." It’s the only thing he can do.

Like so many illustrations used in the book of Hebrews, this illustration comes from the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. In Isaiah 35, the children of Israel were given very similar words as these given in today's passage. As it was for the struggling Jews in Isaiah's day, it is in our pursuit of the Lord that is the issue. The real issue isn't our fatigue, although it is very real. The real issue is what gives us the unction to continue the race. There may come times in our lives when our arms begin to droop, and our knees begin to wobble, and we begin to think we can't continue. It is at this point that we must look to the Lord Jesus. Fixing our eyes on the One who gave birth to our faith is the very One who will mature it, if we let Him.

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."

It is always disastrous when a runner changes running lanes. To make level paths for your feet means we must be diligent to stay in our lane and not be distracted by all of those things that would distract us from pursuing the Lord. If we fail to run the race in our own lane, straight ahead at full speed, we will not be successful in our pursuit of the Lord. 

The word "paths" here means the track left by wheels. The point is that we are not only running for our own benefit, we are leaving a track for others who might follow in our steps. Every day we leave a pattern for others to follow. And, for the maturing believer in Christ, the pattern is determined pursuit of God. And, when we pursue Him, we will find Him, and He will define us with His truth and culture.

The word "lame" in v.13 is a reference to the weaker Christian. Whenever we change lanes we could have a negative impact on those who are weaker than we. The weaker Christian has enough trouble just getting down the track. The analogy is this: If we start going from side to side, we are going to knock over the weaker brother. 

The Greek word used here translated "disabled" means to be put out of joint. The weaker brother is already limping. The writer of Hebrews is saying, "don’t permanently dislocate the weaker brother." As believers in Christ, we should run in such a way that the weak brother may be encouraged to pursue Christ for himself. If we are distracted from the Lord, if we start getting mad at God, if we start getting ticked off because we've got some troubles, and we start losing our testimony, somebody who’s watching will be impacted.

The goal of our sanctification is healing, not only for us but also for others. The point of our sanctification is that we are so convinced that we need the Lord that we pursue Him with all we have. All too often we think our sanctification is about a better us. Any time we are emphasizing self, we are out of wack. 

Dennis Kinlaw once wrote, "I have come to believe that the mark of the truly sanctified heart is that it cares more about another’s salvation than it does about its own well-being. It is not the words you say or the deeds you do that really matter. It is whether deep down in your spirit you have taken the way of the Cross and come to the place where you care about what Jesus cares about and are willing to give up everything so people will be redeemed."

Let me close with another great quote from Dennis Kinlaw who once said, "Satan disguises submission to himself under the ruse of personal autonomy...the shift in commitment is never from Christ to evil; it is always from Christ to self. And instead of his will, self-interest now rules and what I want reigns. And that is the essence of sin."

Our biggest enemy is self, and, anytime we magnify self, we should be greatly alarmed. The goal of this pursuit that we are engaged in is the Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul put it so well when he wrote in Philippians 3:12, "I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me." The goal is reaching out for the One who first reached out for us.

Hebrews 12:7-11

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7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. ~ Hebrews 12:7-11

Today, we return to Hebrews 12 where the writer of Hebrews is yet giving us reasons we want to invest in the invisible kingdom of God. This requires faith which is the product of two things according to the James 1 and Romans 10:17. And, those two things are enduring trials and hearing the spoken word of Christ.

In v.7 of today's text we read, "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?"

Literally, the first two words in v.7 of today's text reads, "Into training you endure." This sentence includes an indicative and an imperative statement. This sentence includes a statement of fact and a command. And, it indicates a strong connection between training and endurance, specifically, endurance in the race of knowing Christ for ourselves.

In training us, "God is treating us as sons." This is what a good father does for his children, he trains us. The bottom line before any blessing or seeming curse happens to us, we must first be convinced that God is good. We have known times when we thought, due to the circumstances, that God was not good. For me, I blamed God for the death of my mother when I was five years old. For years I was angry at Him. I did not understand that He truly is good, and, the fact that we live in a fallen world wherein Satan reigns and pain and death are its products. For years I wrongly accused God for that which Satan was ultimately responsible.

In v.8 of today's text we read, "If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all."

Now, if our heavenly Father does not train us, He is not our Father and we are not his children. This means we are "illegitimate children." Training, then, should be received as a sign of the nearness of the Father and that all the privileges of being his sons are ours. The training of the Lord that He has caused or allowed in my life down through these forty years that I have know Him has included some horrible things. I have learned the Lord uses all things in my life for my good and for His glory. I have not understood it all but His training has always been motivated by His love for me and it gives me great comfort to know that I am in His family and He has my best interest at heart.

This is why we must garner His culture everyday through our study of His word. Otherwise, we will interpret life's events incorrectly. It's difficult for us to accept the truth of these verses because they teach something that is foreign to our experience. So much of the bad things that happen to us are not motivated by human love and are not signs of human acceptance. In fact, they are motivated by human anger and are signs of human rejection. They are expressions of non-redemptive punishment or retribution. Their intention is to hurt, not to help. That is our human experience, which makes it difficult for us to understand God's heart through such experiences. And, to make matters worse, it is difficult for us to understand God's training as motivated by love when that training comes in the form of human punishment motivated by anger. It may seem that God is treating us as enemies or aliens when in reality He is treating us as sons and daughters.

This is why the writer of Hebrews writes in v.9-10 of today's text, "9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. "

The first response when we encounter any trial that we must value in our souls is: "This is happening because I am my heavenly Father's son, and He is allowing or causing this to happen in my life for my good and for His glory." God is ultimately sovereign in our lives, and, this text does not say that God looks on while hostile sinners hurt His people, or while Satan badgers us, and only then steps in to turn all this evil for good. God is not a passive observer in our lives while sinners and Satan beat us up. He rules over sinners and Satan, and they unwittingly, and with no less fault or guilt, fulfill his wise and loving purposes of discipline in our lives. God's discipline or training in our lives is necessary because we lack to resounding influence of His culture in our souls. 

Ultimately, the questions for us will always be: "Do I trust Him?" And, if we subject ourselves to Him we will "live," according to v.9 of today's text. This means we will experience the life the Lord Jesus died to give us. This is talking about "eternal life" in our lives right now. It is His life which includes joy, holiness, peace and righteousness. The word "holiness" can also be translated "completeness." At the root of all my anxieties is my lack. And, it is our lack that throws the door to our heart open to covetousness. God's joy, holiness, righteousness and peace are all gifts of the New Covenant. Our suffering takes us to a deeper place, where we encounter deeper aspects of the relationship we have with the Father. Growing closer to Him, He becomes more and more prominent in and through our lives.  

In v.11 of today's text we read, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

We do not like discipline, but, give God enough time and He will show us the benefits of the discipline that He causes or allows. The greatest benefit is that we receive a deeper intimacy with Him. When we endure, first hand, the involvement of God in our lives through the tool of trials, we discover that we have been trained or prepared by God's righteousness and peace, as indicated in this verse. These gifts enable us to have vision which is what sets us apart in this world. And, the greater the trials, the greater our vision of God. This translates into a life of faith which takes on the big things of this world. You see, this kind of vision or faith will take us outside the realm of the predictable, the safe, and the expected to the realm of the absolute miraculous. The adventure awaits ... will we trust Him?

Hebrews 12:4-6

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4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” ~ Hebrews 12:4-6

Today, we return to our study of Hebrews 12. In these three verse that we will consider today, we will gain valuable principles on battling those things in this life that would trip us up in our pursuit of the Lord Jesus.

In v.4 of today's passage we read, "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood."

Like any important relationship that we have, our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus requires endurance. The writer of Hebrews has written these words so that we would not grow weary in our pursuit of Him. In order to do this, our focus is to be placed on the Lord Jesus who suffered as He did on the cross. As a result, we will be enabled to look at our difficulties and sufferings through the lens of His wisdom. 

Our struggle against sin or the temptation that leads us to choose contrary to God's wisdom is and always will be intense due to the fact that we are born again and we live in a world that is naturally in opposition to God and His culture. In this struggle we often find ourselves positioned to see our nothingness the best. When we come face to face with His greatness and our own nothingness, it is imperative that we are defined by the Lord Jesus greatness because He made us to be in fellowship with Him. 

In Hebrews 12:1-3, we saw how drawing encouragement from the lives of other believers who have gone before us helps, but not completely. It is only when we look to the Lord Jesus that we gain the additional motivation to endure in our pursuit of Him and His culture.

The "sin" that these to whom the writer of Hebrews wrote was the sin of others, not their own sin. The struggle was to not be influenced by whatever opposition they faced from "sinners," fellow Jews who opposed the gospel, and to continue believing in God's promises. Up to this point, they had "not yet resisted to the point of shedding their blood." 

In v.5-6 of today's passage we read, "5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son."'

In these verses the writer of Hebrews quotes Proverbs 3:11-12 where he provides the the encouragement these young believers needed. This reminder included the reminder that they were the sons of God. When we consider what the Father thinks of the Lord Jesus, we are given the understanding of what He thinks of us who believe in His Son as our Savior. God, the Father, wants us to understand something so thoroughly foreign to our thinking that it is difficult for us to accept it and easy for us to forget, just like it was for the original readers of Hebrews. But if we hear it, and remember it, and believe it, our spirits will be lifted in the middle of our greatest struggles.

The phrase "loose heart," here in v.5, is the same word that is translated "grow weary" in v.3. The hostility of sinners often causes us to grow weary. And, it is the discipline or the training of the Lord, that enables us to understand that our growth in the Lord includes the opposition or hostility of sinners.

From Proverbs 3:11, we discover that God's training can include reproof and scourging for destructive behavior, although it is by no means limited to reproof and scourging. Training, or discipline, is not to be confused with punishment. That would be a negation of the cross, where Christ absorbed all of God's wrath and punishment for us. In punishment, there is no intent to help, only to hurt. The goal of punishment is vengeance, not redemption. God's discipline of us is always redemptive.

According to v.5 of today's passage, we are not to regard the discipline or training of the Lord, "lightly," "because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." 

When we called on the Lord Jesus to be our Savior, we became the sons and daughters of God. The purpose of God’s discipline of us is not to punish us but to transform us. He has already meted out His punishment for our sins on the Lord Jesus at Calvary. The key words here are "loves" and "accepts." The emphasis here is not at all on the result of training but the motive behind it, and, His motive is always pure love. The Lord trains us because He loves us. Bad things happen to us because He loves us. The training of the Lord is a sign of His acceptance of us as sons. It is a sign that He wants us close to Him. More than that, it is a sign that we are close to Him, for if we are disciplined, we are the accepted sons and daughters of God.

Hebrews 12:3

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Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ~ Hebrews 12:3

Today, we continue our study of Hebrews 12 where the writer of Hebrews continues to give us an idea of what a life of faith in the God of the Bible looks like. There are those who place the focus on the amount of our faith, however, the most important aspect of our faith is the object of our faith. The object of our faith is made most evident when life gets most difficult. It was J.R.R. Tolkien who once said, "Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." 

One of the most remarkable capacities of the human mind is the capacity to direct its own attention to something it chooses. Due to those capabilities, we have the ability to focus our attention on anything we choose. The Bible calls us again and again to use this remarkable gift to pursue God in such a way that we get to know Him personally and intimately. Our tendency is to grow weary and to become despondent and choose to get out of the race. This is the problem these young Hebrew Christians to whom the writer of Hebrews wrote this letter had. And, of course, this is the problem we face in our lives today. 

When we run the race of faith, we access the joy of the Lord which is what helped Him endure the torment of the wrath of God. Of course, running the race is our pursuit of Him. This race is not the pursuit of a better self or a sanctimonious faith that somehow sets us apart from others. This is a pursuit of the One who made it possible for us to place our faith in Him in the first place. Our challenge is to contemplate the unfailing endurance of the Lord Jesus as He went through the experience of the suffering and death of the cross. And, when we grow weary, we must look intently to His overwhelming steadfastness in the face of extreme suffering. This will enable us to realize that we, even under extreme duress, have not endured anything like He did, therefore we will be enabled to take heart and persevere in our pursuit of Him.

The Lord Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be made full." We share in His joy because He has made us to sit also at the right hand of the Father. In the Lord Jesus believers are enthroned with Him as joint heirs of all that is His and His Father's. This is all possible because the Lord Jesus laid hold of us after He laid hold of the prize of conquering sin and death at the cross.

In today's verse we read, "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

The word translated "consider" occurs only in this place throughout the entire New Testament. It means "to analyze." If we think deeply about who the Lord Jesus is and all He went through for us and all that He has accomplished for us, we will be able to endure this race of pursuing Him. In the process of all of this, personal relationship with Him will occur. You see, it is not that we analyze to the point of gaining information about Him; it is that we analyze Him so much that we experience transformation from Him. And, this transformation will always render a deeper personal walk with Him.

The Lord Jesus was and is God, and, at any moment He could have rendered total annihilation on those who opposed Him and put Him on that cross, but He didn't. He didn't because He has a God-sized patience for the ignorance of sinners. The good news is He took the burden of our sins and placed them on Himself at the cross. Then He rose from the dead and sat at the right hand of God interceding on our behalf so that we continue in the faith. As a result, we will be energized to endure all this world will throw at us because He is the One who defines us. As we consider Him "who endured such opposition from sinners," we will gain the ability to see as others do not.

In the book of Ephesians there is a phrase that is used repeatedly. The phrase is "in heavenly places." When we pursue the Lord Jesus, we gain the perspective of this life from the vantage point of the heavenly places. When this happens, we are enabled to see our lives from His vantage point. We will access His wisdom in and through our pain and troubles and we will not grow weary and lose heart. It is at these very important moments in life that we are enabled to recognize that the events of our lives are controlled by a loving God who desires for us His best. So, when we encounter frustrations and disappointments, we will be enabled to recognize that He either has caused them or He has allowed them. And, He always has purposes that can only be seen from the vantage point of the "heavenly places." 

The word "gospel" means "good news that is announced." When we pursue the Lord Jesus personally and daily, we discover that the good news is that even though we are lost and broken in this fallen world, God has come to find and save us. To do that He became a man who lived an ordinary human life, distinguished only by the startling fact that He never did anything wrong. He kept all of God’s laws, both internally and externally, and having done so, He transferred all the credit for that obedience to those who trust in Him. Having entered into a personal relationship with Him, we are granted the privilege of really knowing Him. And, as we get to know Him, He orders our lives and we find ourselves defined by Him as we apply His way of living to our lives. This is why we are exhorted to consider Him, to analyze Him for it is out of this growing relationship with Him that we realize His eternal life.

Hebrews 12:1-2

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1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~ Hebrews 12:1-2

Today, we transition into Hebrews 12 wherein the writer of Hebrews instructs us on how to live in view of the faith of all those Old Testament men and women of faith whom he wrote about in Hebrews 11. Based upon the testimonies of those Old Testament saints, we are called to run the race of faith in the God of the Bible. This is not a race that we run, the Lord Jesus ran it for us. When we run we are positioned to realize His run in our lives.

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

I know, we are commanded to run. We run the race but we do not earn it. We do not achieve the victory. That is what the Lord Jesus has done for us. And, we apply these principles of throwing off those things which keep us from Him in order to realize the victory the Lord Jesus has already earned for us. 

The phrase "since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses," means the lives of those Old Testament believers in Hebrews 11 tell us we ought to lay aside everything that hinders our faith pursuit in the God of the Bible. 

Now, the word "race" in v.1 is a metaphor which means we are  engaged in a race, doing all we can to pursue the Lord Jesus. The word "race" literally means agony. As believers in the Lord Jesus, we are to agonize in our pursuit of knowing the Lord Jesus. And, this race that we are involved with is not a sprint. This race is a marathon; it is a faith race. 

The writer of Hebrews writes, "let us throw off everything that hinders." This is not referring to sin. This is a reference to those good things in this life that hinder us in our total pursuit of the Lord. These young Jewish believers were being hindered by their religion. They were pursuing the rituals and the ceremonies, but not the Lord Himself. They were running like overweight people who were going to collapse in a pile of their own legalistic duties. This race is run by faith plus nothing, and anything we hold onto from past religion that is made up of pointless ceremonies, traditions, rituals, and rules only slows us down. 

The writer of Hebrews also writes, we are to "throw off the sin that so easily entangles." The sin here is the sin of unbelief; the failure to take the revelation about the reality of Christ in our lives seriously. When we lack eternal perspective, we tend to value things which are not to be valued as much. And, the key to our success spiritually is an ever increasing intimacy with the Lord Jesus.

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

The secret to our persistence is found in this phrase, "fixing our eyes on Jesus." It is quite instructive to discover the Encyclopedia Brittanica uses 20,000 words to describe the life of Jesus Christ. Take all of the words used in the Encyclopedia Brittanica to describe the lives of Caesar, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Buddha, Confucius and Mohamed and the Lord Jesus' life required more.

It is also very instructive to learn that ancient history heroes were identified as those who vanquished their enemies. But, the Lord Jesus was the one who changed it, He changed the definition of the hero. Now, we consider the hero as the one who lays down his life for others. We go out of our way, today, to thank the first responders and the nurses and the doctors who save lives, and, all the while risk their own.

Anyone who has ever run a race knows that we have to keep our eyes on our goal. We can not run effectively looking at our feet or behind us. The Lord Jesus must be the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. He Himself ran the race. He laid aside every weight, every restraining hand he brushed aside that He might resolutely vanquish our foes. He set his face against the popular sin of unbelief and walked on in patient perseverance, trusting the Father to work everything out for Him. He set the example.

We are to look daily to the Lord Jesus because He only can do what we and the others mentioned in Hebrews 11 could not do. They can inspire us, but only the Lord Jesus empowers us. Moment by moment, when we look to Him we discover the secret to our success. He is the secret. The faith of the Lord Jesus made Him alienated from God, to bear all the sins of all the people throughout human history who would eventually believe, and to emerge triumphant. The triumph or the race  has already been won at His cross. He is the One who enables us to win the race of total dependency upon Him and this is Christianity.

Hebrews 11:37-40

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37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. ~ Hebrews 11:37-40

Today, we complete our study of Hebrews 11 where we have been given a robust look at faith. The full gamut of faith has been covered. We have gone from weak faith to very strong faith. Today's passage reveals a very strong faith. 

The greatest struggle of faith is to be preoccupied with our faith rather than our Savior. This is probably why God waits to bring His promises about, to demonstrate it was He that brought it about. As we have seen in this list of Old Testament believers, they didn't have it all together, but their difficulties led them to the God of the Bible who does have it all together. This is why the key to it all is the object of our faith.

In v.37 of today's passage we read, "They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated."

The Bible contains more information about Jeremiah's life and times than any other prophet. But with regards to how he died, the Scriptures leave no record. Church tradition suggests that Jeremiah was stoned to death in Egypt by Jews. Another example of someone who was stoned to death is Zechariah. According to 2 Chronicles 24, the officials of Judah did not like hearing the convicting words of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, so they stoned him to death in the Temple.

And, then some "were sawed in two." The Old Testament prophet Isaiah prophesied to the people of Judah during the reigns of the kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This great prophet was martyred by King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah. According to tradition, Isaiah was tied inside a sack, placed within the hollow of a tree trunk, and then sawed in two. This story traces back to a first-century, non-canonical book called the Ascension of Isaiah, which claims to tell the story of Isaiah’s death.

"Some were killed by the sword." Ken Wuest once wrote, "The Greek has it that they 'died by sword-slaughter,' indicating mass-slaughters. Examples of this abound in the Maccabean period." The most striking quality of faith is it dares. When God has spoken, faith ignores the contrary evidence even though it seems to be absolutely impossible. These endured on the basis of the future which was contrary to their present.

"They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated." All of these things would be somewhat familiar to the Jewish people who were hearing this being read to them. They knew the stories of these people that we don’t know because they’re not necessarily contained in the pages of Scripture, but likely much of it was passed down. These people of God were wanderers, vagabonds, just existing because they had been rejected by society. That was the price they paid for their faith in the faithfulness of God.

In v.38 of today's passage we read, "the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground."

The world thought these to be unworthy to live, but, the truth is the world was not worthy of them. All of these men and women of faith in the God of the Bible endured all of this because their hearts had been apprehended by the God of heaven. They, to varying degrees, saw the Lord with their hearts. These were convinced of God and heaven and they were convinced of His promise which included a better resurrection. 

In v.39 of today's passage we read, "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised."

All that these believers had was their faith in the Lord. These gained approval through their faith, though they didn’t receive what was promised. The promise referred to here is the resurrection the Lord Jesus made available to all of His followers. 

In v.40 of today's passage we read, "...since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

The writer of Hebrews has sought to encourage these young Hebrew believers to keep on believing. He has exhorted them to faith by these Old Testament examples of faith. Just as they did not "cast away their confidence" in the face of difficulties, so neither should the readers. In these closing verses the writer tells them that the reason that God did not bring to pass all that He had promised in the Messiah was because to do so would have been to leave these contemporary believers out. And, I might add, it would have left you and me out, as well.

The word "perfect" at the end of this verse means "saved." It means access that is opened and granted to God. Full access to God which the old covenant couldn’t give. Access into the very presence of God both in time and eternity. These Old Testament believers lived by a faith in someone they couldn’t see. And, their faith was courageous because they counted on a salvation that would be provided in a way they could not see.

Hebrews 11:35-36

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35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ~ Hebrews 11:35-36

In the Bible faith and belief are used interchangeably. However, one can have false faith or incomplete belief, which is inadequate. The difference is not between the two words but in the object faith or belief. Having said that, we must be careful to differentiate between weak and mature faith. We have seen in our study of Hebrews 11 the difference between these two, and yet, the key to it all is the object of our faith and belief.

As we come back to our study of faith in Hebrews 11, we read in v.35 of today's passage, "Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection."

In the latter part of this chapter we have seen the achievements of the God of Old Testament believers' faith in the midst of great difficulty. These "women who received back their dead, and raised to life again" include the widow in 1 Kings 17 whose son was awakened out of death by Elijah. It also refers to the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4 whose son was raised by Elisha.

In 1 Kings 17 we read of the prophet Elijah and the widow from Zarephath. The chapter notes that the Lord was withholding rain from Israel. The drought was in judgment of the nation’s rampant idolatry, led by the royal couple Ahab and Jezebel. The Lord commanded Elijah to go to Zarephath, a gentile town outside Israel, to a widow who would provide him many meals even though she had very little. Then, one day, the woman’s son one day died of an illness and, in her anger and grief, the widow blamed Elijah for his death. She wrongly assumed God was judging her for her sin. But Elijah cried out to God, and the son was restored to life. 

The Lord Jesus referenced this story in His teaching, He said, "In truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow." 

Elijah found more faith outside of Israel than within it. God often uses unlikely people and sources to accomplish His purposes. 

In 2 Kings 4 we read of the Shunammite woman whose son was raised from the dead by Elisha. This woman was a wealthy married woman who rented a guest room to Elisha, acknowledging him as a prophet of God. Elisha often passed that way in his travels, and he stayed in the guest room. Elisha asked his servant how he could help the woman in return for her hospitality. His servant mentioned that she had no son and her husband was old. Elisha then called the woman and told her she would have a son by that time next year. The prophecy was fulfilled, and the woman had a child, but the story was not over. 

Several years later, the child came down with some kind of sickness, and he died in his mother’s lap. She immediately found Elisha and asked him to come heal her son. When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he went up and lay on the child. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. Then the child sneezed seven times, and then his eyes opened. This Shunammite woman’s sincere faith led to an amazing series of events. And it all began with her desperation.

The Greek word translated "tortured" in v.35 included an instrument that had a wheel-shaped contraption over which criminals were stretched as though they were skins. And they would have all their extremities stretched to the circumference of the wheel, and they would rotate on the wheel while people pummeled them with clubs. These maintained their allegiance to the God of the Bible, enduring the most vicious treatment known to man.

In v.36 of today's passage we read, "Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment." 

This verse is yet another reference to those who had mature faith in the God of the Bible. These had experienced God's involvement in their lives so much that they were enabled to endure anything for their trust in God. 

In Jeremiah 37, it is recorded that the prophet Jeremiah was scourged, whipped and imprisoned for simply speaking the word of the Lord to a nation who didn’t want to hear it. Jeremiah was imprisoned in a muddy cistern and left to starve to death when the city’s bread was used up. Thankfully he was rescued. Whether we are rescued or not, the stronger our faith is in the Lord, the more we will suffer for His glory. 

If believing in Christ could possibly mean we could even lose our lives, then why do it? We obviously would not do this to gain entry into heaven because it is only through Christ that anyone will ever get into heaven. This is the consequence of sanctifying faith because sanctifying faith takes us from knowing about the Lord Jesus to knowing Him personally and experientially for ourselves.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3 that he ran these risks in order to "know Christ and the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings." And, the more we know the reality of Christ, the more he will live for the invisible and eternal world that is to come. You see, the believer who is growing in faith in the Lord Jesus, sees life differently than those who do not know the residence of God. Knowing the Lord Jesus causes the believer to be defined by that which the Lord Jesus values.

Hebrews 11:32-34

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32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ~ Hebrews 11:32-34

Today, we return to our study of faith in Hebrews 11. This passage describes the faith of people who were used by God to bring His culture to us. History proves faith does not act blindly. It evaluates, it weighs the possibilities, and takes note of the faithfulness of the object that it trusts. Biblical faith takes educated risks in the God of the Bible!

In today's passage we read of notable people who maintained their faith in the God of the Bible. In these three verses, starting with the Judges, the writer of Hebrews rapidly moves us to the Old Testament prophets. His point: History has always made it clear that it is faith in the God of the Bible which ushers in His involvement in and through our lives. Described with great intensity are the difficulties and subsequent faith in the lives of these Old Testament believers. These believers endured life-and-death situations because they were convinced of the utter faithfulness of God. 

When God sees fit to expose us to this intense type of pain described here, courage is required. There are six men mentioned in v.32, and they are not in chronological order, but they were all very critical to the nation of Israel establishing itself in the promised land. And, each of them required great courage for their faith in the God of the Bible to be demonstrated.

The first was Gideon who was a leader who made important decisions for the people Israel. Gideon faced a 135,000 man Midianite army and even though he began with a 32,000 man army, God paired it down to 300 men. For Gideon, all military strategy was out the window, because there is no military strategy by which 300 men can defeat 135,000 soldiers. Gideon was at the mercy of God who instructed him to gather pitchers used to pour water, trumpets, and torches. Then God told Gideon to go to the Midianite army armed with these three very important weapons. Gideon didn’t argue, and per God's instructions, he split his 300 men into three groups. At a certain strategic point, Gideon order the men to light their torches, and at the appropriate time, they were to smash their clay water pitchers. The breaking of the pitchers made so much noise, the sound reverberated in the dark. Then, the lights with the torches dispelled the darkness with such a bright light the Midianites were caused to be confused. And then, the men of Israel loudly sounded their trumpets. As a result the Midianites panicked, and, were subsequently defeated. That day Gideon vanquished the enemy and weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

Then, there was another man of battle, Barak, who had 10,000 men, and he was going against the massive force of Sisera the Canaanite commander. The odds were greatly against Barak, and, he had no way to win. But God, sent a message to Barak through a woman by the name of Deborah. Barak believed the message that God would give him the victory which was the message from God through Deborah. Gideon and Barak gained what was promised through their battles.

Then, we come to Samson, who demonstrated great courage in the God of the Bible. Samson rose to the place of leadership because of his prowess and his strength, and he was called by God to conquer the Philistines. He never feared to enter into battle. And he knew that his strength came from the Lord. The symbol of his strength was his Nazarite vow. Samson's strength came from the Lord, and he knew when he went into battle that at any moment that strength could disappear because he knew he did not deserved this power. At the end of his life, due to a series of poor choices that he made, Samson was compromised and bound by the Philistines. But, he recovered his strength and he went into the Philistine temple and brought it down on the Philistines. 

The next name in today's list of faithful Old Testament believers is Jephthah who was driven away from his family as an adult because he was an illegitimate child. But, there came a day when the Israelites were about to fight the Ammonites and they requested Jephthah to fight for them. When life is hard one learns valuable lessons of making it, and for Jephthah, the difficulties in his life taught him to be dependent upon the Lord. After the people requested the help of Jephthah, he accepted their request and went out to battle. He crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. Jephthah's life teaches us God can use us regardless of our background. 

The last list of names in today's passage are David and Samuel and the prophets. King David is the most notable here  and his victory over Goliath is the most notable battle in all of the Old Testament. This teenage kid was used of God to deal with Israel's greatest enemy at that time. Goliath was intimidating for he was about 9 feet tall. When David went down into the valley to spar with Goliath, everyone laughed. But, David did not for he was not afraid. Fear is the opposite of faith. In fact, when we are giving into fear, we are going backwards. It is said that 85% of all things we fear never happen.

When we are living by faith in the God of the Bible, we are advancing. That day, David and Israel advanced because the day before this battle, David was pronounced to be the next king of Israel by Samuel. David had learned to be defined by God, and so, that day he went into battle against Goliath. And, when David went into the battle, he was armed with vision of and from God. Having shut the mouths of lions, that day David didn't see a giant, he saw a big target. Goliath presented himself a total of 80 times challenging Israel over a 40 day period of time. On day 40, David showed up and escaped the edge of the sword and like all of the others, his weakness was turned to strength.

David defeated Goliath because he remembered past victories of God. He remembered those many times that he protected the sheep in the wilderness from lions and bears. Fear in the present is conquered by recalling victories in the past. If we have a good memory and a sound theology, we are prepared for any battle. That day, David became powerful in battle.

David defeated Goliath because he realized his personal assets. That day, David had five smooth stones, which, due to their smoothness, were aerodynamic. And, when David hurled one of those stones, it hit Goliath at just the right spot and down he went. That day, God gave David the victory over the much more sizable Goliath. 

David was prepared that day because he had done his homework, knowing Goliath had four brothers, which may have potentially retaliated against him after knocking Goliath down. Therefore, David chose five stones in order to prepare for his battle against Goliath and his very large brothers. And, that day, David took on his giants with a giant sized saturated soul of God.

David conquered Goliath that day because he was dependent upon God's power. He showed up referring to God. No one else that day discussed God. But, David talked about no one else but God. Goliath was not just attacking any old army, he was attacking the people of the LORD. That Day David came "in the name of the LORD" and he gained what was promised by God. If we are too slay giants, we must have a healthy respect for the God of the Bible. When God is magnified in our hearts, our fears are vanquished. The others could not win these battles because they compared Goliath's size to their size. As a result, they feared. David compared Goliath to God, and as a result, he increased in his faith in the God of the Bible and won the battle.