5/02/17 Hebrews 12:22-29 “Our
God is still a consuming fire! Part 1”
Continue to take note of the
context in which this is written, following on from the chastening of God and
the fight of faith. Now we have some advice on living (and persevering in) the
Christian life, and what appears to be a warning on what could happen to those
who show contempt for God’s requirements regarding His holiness.
Hebrews 12:12 – Wherefore lift up the
hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
lift up – make erect (of a deformed person); rear again; build
anew. Used in Luke 13:13 (“made straight”) and Acts
15:16 – After
this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is
fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it
up:
hang down – relaxed; weakened; exhausted.
feeble – weakened; tottering; weak of limb; suffering from
relaxation; palsied.
The picture is of a person who has
either relaxed or has been weakened through exhaustion. It could describe a
person with palsy. In this context, it could relate to the chastening of the
Lord but is more likely to do with the life and death struggle of Hebrews
12:1-3 for which the chastening was an encouragement (exhortation Vs 5) to
increase their striving against sin (Vs 4). This would then increase the
hostility of the world against them, producing severe trials of faith,
persecutions that would tempt the battle-wearied Christian to just give in and
leave the fight to others. (Note “race” which meant more of a fight, battle,
struggle – Hebrews 12:1) There must have been a very strong temptation for some
of these Hebrew Christians to go back to their old covenant worship, noting
that some of their worst persecution had come from the temple rulers.
The exhortation is to lift up,
make upright, or make straight their hanging arms and palsied knees. That is,
be strong and fear not, for God will come and save you.
Isaiah 35:3-4 – 3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble
knees. 4 Say to them [that are] of a fearful heart, Be
strong, fear not: behold, your God will come [with] vengeance, [even]
God [with] a recompence; he will come and
save you.
Hebrews 12:13 – And make straight
paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let
it rather be healed.
Proverbs 4:26 – Ponder the path of
thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Septuagint – Make straight paths
for thy feet, and order thy ways aright.
“Make straight” can mean even to
straighten a limb that is out of joint or broken (lame) and “lame” means
“deprived of a foot” or “maimed”. The idea seems to be that if you are maimed
or crippled in some way, causing you to be deformed and not able to stand
upright, then you’ll walk (or run?) crookedly and thus be turned to one side of
the path (course) you should be taking. If we relate this to the race (battle;
struggle; fight) or “course” as Paul termed it in 2 Timothy 4:7, then the verse
is to be taken spiritually. Our struggle of faith, our battle to reach the end
of the course set before us in the stadium, is to be single-mindedly focused
upon the end (“looking unto Jesus” Vs 2), avoiding other burdens that hold us
back, not being distracted by side-issues (often related to the world) and the
sin which surrounds us (the reasoning behind the passage on the chastening of
God). If we cannot straighten out the pathways on which we are running (if we
cannot “antagonise” our sin enough), then we’ll be diverted by our “lameness”
onto the wrong pathways.
Instead, we are to let our
lameness be healed, as per the chastening of the Lord (Vs 5-11) so that our
paths for our feet will be made straight and so we don’t get turned aside off
the right pathway. Thus, the chastening of God is to heal our spiritual
lameness, to assist us to walk straight without being distracted, looking unto
Jesus, the Captain and Perfector of faith (Hebrews 12:2).
2 Timothy 4:6-8 – 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my
departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have
finished [my] course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love his appearing.
Hebrews 12:14 – Follow peace with all
[men], and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Follow – to seek after eagerly; earnestly endeavour to acquire.
peace – exemption from
the rage and havoc of war; peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord;
holiness – consecration; sanctification.
Seek earnestly after peace
(harmony; agreement) between all individuals (this has to mean primarily the
Hebrew church). Some may have been disputing the need for being so “Christian”,
so consecrated, so sanctified (set apart for God’s purposes), but without which
not one of them would be able to see (behold) the Lord. But do they actually
see God or is it simply a metaphorical statement? It does appear to be more of
the seeing of the mind, noting that we walk not by sight but by faith (2
Corinthians 5:7). Also see similar in the following verses:
Matthew 5:8 – Blessed [are] the
pure in heart: for they shall see God.
John 3:3b – Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Christians should avoid irrelevant
disputes because they only cause trouble.
2 Timothy 2:23 – But foolish and
unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
And one that affected the Jewish
Christians a lot.
Titus 3:9 – But avoid foolish
questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for
they are unprofitable and vain.
Hebrews 12:15 – Looking diligently
lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up
trouble [you], and thereby many be defiled;
Looking diligently – episkopeo
(look upon; inspect; look after; care for; of the care of the church which
rested upon the elders) Used one other place:
1 Peter 5:2 – Feed the flock of God
which is among you, taking the oversight [thereof], not by
constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Thus this has especial application
to the Hebrew church leaders, the ones who had the oversight of the flock.
fail – to fall behind;
fall short of the end; to be wanting; to lack (be inferior) in excellence.
bitterness – bitter gall; extreme wickedness; producing bitter fruit;
bitter hatred.
defiled – to dye with
another colour; to be stained; polluted; contaminated; defile with sins.
They were to carefully look after
the flock in case any might be falling short of the grace of God, that is, to
have sinned presuming upon the availability of God’s grace. This assumes a
certain measure of wilfulness.
Hebrews 10:26 – For if we sin
wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
The consequence of such can be a
root of bitterness (probably between people of the church) that causes trouble
(disturbances; annoyances) between the members such that many may be led astray
into contamination with sin.
Hebrews 12:16 – Lest there [be] any
fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his
birthright.
fornicator – pornos from pernemi (to sell)
(a male prostitute; a man who indulges in unlawful sexual intercourse; a
fornicator) Thus “pornography” which means “writing about (male) prostitution”.
Sometimes translated as “whoremonger”.
profane – unhallowed (unholy); common; ungodly (of men); focused
upon the earthly.
We know a lot about Esau who sold
his birthright (the special blessing for the first-born) to Jacob for a bowl of
soup or stew (Genesis 25:30-33). It doesn’t tell us in Genesis that Esau was a
fornicator, yet Jewish tradition suggests he lived an impure life. But here it
is most likely meant in a spiritual sense, much as God called His people spiritual
harlots and spiritually profane.
Hosea 1:2b – And the Lord said to
Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and
children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed
great whoredom, [departing] from the Lord.
Malachi 2:11 – Judah hath dealt
treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for
Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married
the daughter of a strange god.
“One morsel of meat” represents
the despising of Esau for that which should have meant much more to him. Esau
was contemptuous of God’s provision (his birthright); there were more important
things to worry about! He prostituted himself to the world, forsaking God and
the birthright that was his by birth. He would rather worship the unholy (the
profane) than worship the one true God; that is, he was an ungodly man.
This could allude to those who
might say they are Christians, yet cannot see God as important enough to let
Him dictate how they should live their lives. However, the birthright of every
person on this earth is to receive the free gift of justification of sins which
is activated by faith in Christ, something that will determine their eternal
future, yet they forsake this for a few years of “life” or “pleasure” on this
earth before they go to the grave. They choose a short time of pleasures rather
than afflictions followed by an eternity of life.
Hebrews 11:25 – Choosing rather to
suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
for a season;
Hebrews 12:17 – For ye know how that
afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he
found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
For you know that later on, when Esau
came to receive the blessing which should have been his
by birthright, he was rejected by his father Isaac who wouldn’t change his mind
(repent) concerning this, even though Esau sought it, even begging for it with
tears. Isaac just would not (could not) repent of his decision that had blessed
Jacob.
Genesis 27:37-38 – 37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have
made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and
with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my
son? 38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one
blessing, my father? bless me, [even] me also, O my father. And Esau
lifted up his voice, and wept.
All on earth have the right by
birth (as those created in God’s image) to claim God’s redemption through Jesus
on the cross; all may be saved, if only they would call upon the name of the
Lord (Romans 10:13). But most reject their birthright (of eternal life) for one
morsel of meat (the pleasures of a moment of life); once they die they will
face a judgment that will condemn them for eternity, though they might
earnestly seek that God would repent of the harm He will bring upon them and
would give them one more chance to make the right decision.
When Moses begged of God that He
change His mind concerning the destruction of Israel after the incident of the
golden calf, God did indeed repent.
Exodus 32:14 – And the Lord repented
of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
But this repentance is but a
figure of speech, for God does not really repent but instead says this for Moses’
understanding of the matter, for God would have known about this incident (through
His foreknowledge) from before the foundations of the world.
Numbers 23:19 – God [is] not a
man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he
said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make
it good?
God also says He will forget our
sin, yet God cannot forget anything, ever! There are times when God says things
at our level of understanding, knowing that we wouldn’t understand otherwise.
In Vs 17 above, it means that there will come a time when it is too late to
change our minds concerning our birthright. No amount of pleading, begging, no
amount of tears and weeping will ever change God’s decision on your eternal future
once your window of opportunity is gone.
Ecclesiastes 12:5-7 – 5 Also [when] they shall be afraid of [that which
is] high, and fears [shall be] in the way, and the almond tree shall
flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because
man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about
the streets: 6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the
golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel
broken at the cistern. 7 Then shall the dust return to the
earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
In the parable of the rich man and
Lazarus, the rich man, being in torments, cried out for someone to warn his
five brothers to repent before it was too late for them as well (Luke 16:19-31).
The time for salvation is always
now, while you have the opportunity; there may never be a tomorrow.
2 Corinthians 6:2 – (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day
of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time;
behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)
Hebrews 12:18 – For ye are not come
unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto
blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
For we are not dealing with a God
who can be treated just like any common thing.
Deuteronomy 4:11 – And ye came near and
stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of
heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
The God of the old covenant was a
fearsome God, unapproachable, a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). Anyone who
might dare approach God here would be struck down without warning.
Note the similarity with the
touching of the Ark of the Covenant by Uzzah:
2 Samuel 6:6-7 – 6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth [his
hand] to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook [it].
7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for [his] error; and
there he died by the ark of God.
It is certain that Uzzah’s main concern had been to protect the Ark, yet he
died.
Likewise Isaiah feared death for
just coming into God’s presence in a vision.
Isaiah 6:5 – Then said I, Woe [is]
me! for I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the
King, the Lord of hosts.
Even using (saying or writing) the
term “curse” with God’s name was absolutely forbidden by the rules of Israel.
That is why Job should sacrifice for his family in case they might have “blessed”
the Lord (as the Hebrew has it in Job 1:5). It is why Naboth
was stoned to death by order of Jezebel for “blessing” God (translated as
blaspheming God in the KJV in 1 Kings 21:13).
So much preparation had to be
carried out according to the Law before anyone could approach God, and if
preparations were incomplete, God would not be approached!
This is in contrast with Hebrews 12:22 – But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, That is, this is not the old covenant system where no-one
might approach God so boldly, or else they would be struck down for disrespect.
Hebrews 4:16 – Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need.
Now we may approach God with no
personal preparation other than presenting ourselves through Jesus Christ,
because the preparation has now been completed, perfected through the sacrifice
and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our High Priest in the heavenlies.
Hebrews 12:19 – And the sound of a
trumpet, and the voice of words; which [voice] they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any
more:
Exodus 19:16-19 – 16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that
there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the
voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that [was] in
the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought forth the people out
of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended
upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and
the whole mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the
trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake,
and God answered him by a voice.
Deuteronomy 4:12 – And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the
voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only [ye heard] a voice.
It was all so fearful that those
who heard all this begged that no more be said to them or else they would not
be permitted to live.
Exodus 20:19 – And they said unto
Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us,
lest we die.
Deuteronomy 18:15-16 – 15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from
the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16
According to all that thou desiredst of the
Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly,
saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see
this great fire any more, that I die not.
Deuteronomy 5:25 – Now therefore why
should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the
Lord our God any more, then we shall die.
And God added no more to His words
spoken on the mount.
Deuteronomy 5:22 – These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst
of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and
he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them
unto me.
Hebrews 12:20 – (For they could not
endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain,
it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
Exodus 19:12-13 – 12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about,
saying, Take heed to yourselves, [that ye] go [not] up into the
mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth
the mount shall be surely put to death: 13 There shall not an
hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether [it
be] beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth
long, they shall come up to the mount.
This probably means they could not
continue to bear the terror of what might happen if they were to break any of
God’s rules, and the more rules they were given, the more risk they had of
being caught out, thus paying the penalty which was more often death than not.
Even if an ignorant beast touched the mountain, it would be killed, so what
hope did they have who were not ignorant?
Hebrews 12:21 – And so terrible was
the sight, [that] Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:
Deuteronomy 9:18-19 – 18 And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty
days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all
your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to
provoke him to anger. 19 For I was afraid of the anger and
hot displeasure, wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you. But
the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also.
Even Moses’ terror was so great
that he, the friend of God, feared and quaked at the word of God, the law.
I feel that we today have grown
far too used to a God who stays out of our way and doesn’t interfere unless we
go looking for trouble. Thus, Christians seem to think that if you don’t go
looking for trouble with God, then He’ll give you everything your heart desires
(or similar platitudes). To many people today, God is a consumer item that is
paid for when they go to church and do all the right things according to their
church’s rules and traditions. Then, having done their duty, their “God” is now
obligated to give them His part of the agreement. It’s a pity God hasn’t agreed
to such; the judgment will find them out, yet be too late for them to change
their minds.
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