December 10 / Hebrews 12:12-17

Hebrews 12:12-17

See to it … that no one is … unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. (vv. 15a, 16b) There must be more information elsewhere in this letter, because I cannot follow what my Study Bible is suggesting, that the author’s “readers were thinking of compromising their faith in order to gain relief from persecution. But to trade their spiritual birthright for temporary ease in this world would deprive them of Christ’s blessing. The author had earlier in this chapter mentioned persecution: “… you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (v. 4b) So there is probably some basis for what my Study Bible is saying. Confusing.

Slava Bohu!

December 9 / Hebrews 12:1-11

Hebrews 12:1-11

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. … If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. (vv. 6, 8) I do not disagree with these verse, but I am asking myself how the Lord has disciplined me. He has shown me my sin and made me sorrowful for mistakes I’ve made in the past – and continue to make today. But where is the discipline? I understand our parents’ discipline, but what do we mean by “the Lord’s discipline”? I had to go online to get some answers. Here’s the best that I found:

“God’s discipline comes from His great love for us. It is a token of His adoption of us as children. He loves us too much to allow us to remain in our sin. He loves us so much that He will do whatever is necessary to make us holy… While discipline is sometimes painful, God’s purpose in disciplining us is for our own good, our holiness. The ultimate good for a Christian is to be sanctified, which is to be conformed to the image and likeness of Christ. God allows us to undergo trials and temptations so our faith will be tested and we will grow in maturity as Christians. God uses these trials to discipline us for godliness.”

https://www.compellingtruth.org/God-discipline.html (my bold added)

Trials and temptations… I have undergone trials – difficulties, times of great testing. And I have undergone temptations – and too often succumbed to temptations, and later regretted it. I think I understand “the Lord’s discipline” a bit better now, but I still need to reflect more on the Lord’s discipline in my life.

Slava Bohu!

December 8 / Hebrews 11:30-40

Hebrews 11:30-40

They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. (v. 37a) I don’t know of any Biblical references to any Jewish “followers” being sawn in two. And while there are references to people being killed with the sword (e.g., leaders in the David-Absalom wars), it’s not clear that any of these men were killed for their faith. It’s possible that the author of Hebrews is referring to torture and lives lost in the Maccabean wars (2nd century B.C.), information that might be found in the Apocryphal or other lost writings or as word-of-mouth handed down by faithful Jews through the ages. It’s quite a list that the author has compiled of torture and death associated with men of faith in the Old Testament. And the author is not even including those of his own and later generations who were tortured and killed for their faith.

And all these … did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (vv. 39-40) What a gift we and the author of Hebrews have of living on this side of the Resurrection. Those “saints” of old had some idea, but really did not know what they were praying for and hoping for. We have the advantage of knowing Jesus and His Resurrection and eternal life; in that sense we have much more for which to be thankful!

Slava Bohu!

December 7 / Hebrews 11:23-29

Hebrews 11:23-29

By faith Moses … considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt… (vv. 24a, 26a) It’s easy to be confused when a speaker or writer uses the word “Christ”. That word is both a title (the Messiah) and, effectively, a name (Jesus Christ – more appropriately translated as “Jesus, the Christ”, that is, “Jesus, the Messiah”). But we often hear statements like “Christ died for our sins”, knowing that the person speaking this sentence is referring to Jesus. So we often translate “Christ” as “Jesus” or “Jesus Christ”. But in the verses quoted above “Christ” is not referring to Jesus; it simply means “the Messiah”. So Moses chose “…the reproach of [the Messiah]…” over the pleasures of Egypt. Thus this phrase is referring to the mistreatment of the Jews by the Egyptian authorities. In essence, Moses preferred to be numbered among the persecuted Jews than to enjoy his luxurious position as Pharaoh’s daughter.

Slava Bohu!

December 6 / Hebrews 11:13-22

Hebrews 11:13-22

By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph… (v. 21) It’s always been strange to me that of the twelve sons of Jacob, only three rise to any level of prominence – Judah, Levi, and Joseph – Judah as the tribe from which David and Jesus were descended, Levi as the tribe of the priests and Levites, and Joseph in his position as “prime minister” of Egypt and with each of his sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) being allotted a share in the Promised Land. A fourth, Benjamin, also gets further mention, but in a negative sense when the tribe of Benjamin was nearly eliminated (see the full story at Judges, chapters 19-21).

He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead… (v. 19a) I guess maybe I considered this verse lightly in the past, but my Study Bible pointed out that Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac physically from the dead if Abraham had gone through his sacrifice of Isaac. Was that the case? I don’t see that claim in Genesis 22, so I tend to think not. I think that from Abraham’s perspective, Isaac was dead, but that somehow God would continue with His promise to make Abraham the father of many nations. Again, my thoughts…

If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. (v. 15) When I think back to the “land from which I had gone out” (the years before my born-again experience) I have no desire to return!! The Lord has filled me with Himself and His people so completely that my old (happy) life is a distant memory!

Slava Bohu!

December 5 / Hebrews 11:1-12

Hebrews 11:1-12

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (v. 3) It’s constantly amazing to me that God SPOKE all things into existence. If we were meeting together Carol could tell you all she’s learned from her students’ Senior Projects about sound vibrations as the basis for solids’ existence. Amazing!!

…for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. (v. 6b) To me it’s easy to believe that God exists – looking through a telescope or a microscope is all I need to know that we are not just accidental beings. But the second half – that God is rewarding us just for seeking Him… That’s a wonderful thought, very encouraging!

For he [Abraham] was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (v. 10) I’m not sure what “city” Abraham was looking forward to, maybe just the thought that soon he would be abandoning his tent living in favor of solid structures. Maybe he had some vision of the Temple and Jerusalem – probably not. But to the present day… We all are looking forward to that heavenly city, which foundation is God and God alone! Again, another really encouraging thought!!

Slava Bohu!

December 4 / Hebrews 10:32-39

Hebrews 10:32-39

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property… (v. 34a) My first reading of the day is from the NKJV Chronological Study Bible. Therein this verse reads “on me in my chains” instead of “on those in prison” (ESV) or “on prisoners” (NASB). So right away I wondered if Paul was the author of Hebrews – that he was writing from prison to believing Jews in Jerusalem who were undergoing persecution or to faithful Jews anywhere who were being persecuted (e.g., Galatia, Thessalonica), where he himself had suffered persecution at the hands of the synagogue leaders. We’ll never know this side of eternity!

…since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. (v. 34b) This verse is the second half of the verse quoted above. I see its application today as we work our way through these troubling times. We have endured a challenging presidential election and are still working our way through a serious recession and a continuing pandemic – all of which have created worries and anxiety for many people. Yet those of us who believe in Jesus know that there are better times ahead – and not only that, but also we know that He is not unaware of all that is going on around us. He is allowing these difficulties, just as He allowed suffering for Christians in that 1st century past. So through our difficulties today we continue to pray, “Your will be done”, confident that His Spirit is working in and among us. Our faith adds a certain measure of peace to our souls, diminishing (if not eliminating) our worries and anxieties. Peace be with you.

Slava Bohu!

December 3 / Hebrews 10:26-31

Hebrews 10:26-31

A scary section today… For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins … How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? (vv. 26, 29) I daresay that most commentators would look on “…sinning deliberately…” as a full rejection of Jesus’ redemptive works. The triad set of verbs in verse 29 seems to confirm that thought: trampled underfoot the Son of God…, profaned the blood of the covenant…, and outraged the Spirit… The author of Hebrews even captures all three members of the Trinity in that last verse, since to mention the “Son of God” is to mention both the Father and the Son. So these verses cover each and every member of the Trinity; that is, if someone is saying “I believe in God, but not in Jesus as God”, that person is “trampling” and “profaning”. Not good.

And the scariest line of all: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (v. 31) This is a verse we need to use on universalists – those folks who believe in universal salvation. I wouldn’t want to take the chance!!

Slava Bohu!

December 2 / Hebrews 10:19-25

Hebrews 10:19-25

Some really great material today…

The author of Hebrews has argued for Jesus’ high priesthood, so now he tells us that we …have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus (v. 19) and that we …have a great priest over the house of God. (v. 21) He then provides us with three “let us” passages: let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith… (v. 22a); Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering… (v. 23a); and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works (v. 24). My Study Bible added two more items as subsets of the third one that I have listed above: …not neglecting to meet together… (v. 25a) and …encouraging one another… (v. 25b). I daresay we could solve a lot of our personal problems if we were to actively pursue all five of those behaviors on a regular basis.

In addition, my Study Bible highlighted four conditions in verse 22 for drawing near to God: with a true heart; in full assurance of faith; with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience; and our bodies washed with pure water. (v. 22b) While the five items noted in the paragraph above are mostly our human behaviors, these four conditions in this paragraph are more internal – lived out, but not verbally or physically expressed. As above, if we have these internal conditions within ourselves, we could also solve a lot of our personal problems.

Today’s reading is an awesome lesson for life!

Slava Bohu!

December 1 / Hebrews 10:11-18

Hebrews 10:11-18

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. (vv. 12-13) I have probably noticed it in times past, but saw it again this time: He sat down at the right hand of God. We only sit down to eat or to rest or to engage in conversation with our friends. Here Jesus is sitting as a rest from His labors and is rewarded by sitting on His Father’s right hand, a place of honor in any culture. We have a phrase in our vernacular – “my right-hand man”. That’s my top foreman, that one person that I can always count on. That’s Jesus alongside His Father. If the Father has any questions, Jesus has the answers. And if Jesus has any requests of the Father, it’s done. What a thought!!

A second item from the verses quoted above – when will Jesus’ enemies be made a footstool for his feet? Through His cross and resurrection Jesus defeated Satan, but there’s no doubt that Satan is still alive and well and active in our world today. So as I read those words above, it seems to me that there will come a day when all of Satan’s power will be obliterated and he will be placed under Jesus’ complete authority. Until then we have the Holy Spirit to fight our battles. Jesus has already told us, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NASB). He’s done it all. Rest in Him.