(prayer)
intro
heb 10:32-39:
32. But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
33. partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming
sharers with those who were so treated.
34. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing
that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
35. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
36. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what
was promised.
37. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE,
HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY.
38. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH;
AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.
39. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the
preserving of the soul.
(transition to application, personal tie)
we're done with the discussion of christ as the high priest;
starting in v18, the author has started to apply his principles.
this is a section dealing directly with some personal details of his audience; he references
their past and urges them to 'stay the course'.
32-34 memory of sufferings
32. But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
33. partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming
sharers with those who were so treated.
34. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing
that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
think back on the good you've accomplished
likely, members of their group were imprisoned, and publically humiliated.
the group as a whole endured these difficulties together, sharing in the loss, humility, and pain.
sufferings; made a spectacle (public reproaches and public tribulations)
shared with those who were suffering (prisoners, accepted joyfull the seizure of your property)
you're already invested...
"knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one" (v34)
they previously joyfully endured their sufferings because of their future hope: a "better possession and a lasting one"
in essence, the author reminds the audience that they have defined themselves already.
35,36 (endure till the end) do not throw away your confidence
35. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
36. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what
was promised.
your suffering is not in vain.
they suffered the loss of things for the gain of better possessions that can't be lost/taken away, that won't rot.
this is a basic biblical idea.
christ's parables (matt 13) speak of giving everything to purchase something worth more
than your life, showing the supreme value of things beyond life.
paul uses the illustration of a runner in 1 cor 10 to talk about the need for endurance.
paul also speaks on this theme very strongly in his letters to timothy...
it's a core idea for us; we are pursuing something outside of this life, and endurance is required.
they need to endure to the end however.
basically...the same beliefs that led them to joyfully endure their sufferings are the belifes they need to hold onto today.
37-39 a quote of habakkuk
37. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE,
HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY.
38. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH;
AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.
39. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the
preserving of the soul.
quote of isaiah 26:20 and hab:2:2-6
the quote is kind of a rough reference to some well known verses...
isaiah piece:
"37. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE,"
the isaiah quote is part of what is called the 'song of isaiah', and which was apparently part of the psalter/song book in the LXX.
so he is likely able to reference a few words in his quote and call to mind much of the song.
20 Come, my people, enter into your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while
Until indignation runs its course.
21 For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
And the earth will reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.
the verses are an encouragement to god's people to wait for a short time, that god's judgement/salvation is coming soon.
habakkuk piece:
the quote in hebrews is a bit interesting.
this section of habakkuk is god's response to habakkuk's question about the evil chaldeans being used to judge judah; god
responds that babylon will be judged in time, as will all evil on earth.
that is referenced by the author of hebrews via the LXX; the original hebrew basically says that the prophecy / judgement will come;
the LXX (greek translation of the OT) tied this more directly to the idea of the messiah, and hebrews does so even more. biblically,
this is understood as the same event...
the translation quoted here is the LXX (greek translation of the hebrew OT); additionally, the author transposes v4's contrast between
proud and good, showing the good first then the proud/unrighteous/abandoner.
hab 2:2-4
2 Then the LORD answered me and said,
“Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That the one who reads it may run.
3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
4 “Behold, as for the proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous will live by his faith.
so...basically, he seems to quote scripture as a way of expressing his thoughts with a reference to well known scripture.
summary:
this is a group of people who have suffered for the gospel in the past.
this an attempt to remind them of what they've been through, their past commitment...
it reminds them of what their future hope, and also of the fact that they can still lose.
application: heads up, gonna talk about "what are you about" again.
re: suffering. do we? don't we?
do we suffer?
not in the way they did; at least not that i know of (we aren't directly persecuted).
maybe it's harder not to suffer?
sure, maybe.
possible that the audience of hebrews is having more difficulty in their new situation (don't seem to be currently
suffering since we're being reminded of their history).
maybe humans struggle to keep their values in mind when things are easy?
maybe we're more distractable?
brief note: suffering is a biblical honor
just a brief note...suffering is considered an honor in the bible, not a curse.
acts 5:41 has the apostles leaving the jewish leadership council, having been flogged,
"rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name".
the basic message of this passage is to have endurance.
endurance in what? pursuing salvation / waiting for christ & heaven / fear of god.
why do we need this if we're not suffering?
basically, the question there is what is competing for our fear of god, our valuing heaven over earth, yes?
we consistently seem to underestimate how hard this problem is.
the need for endurance: a cute biblical overview.
1. life is not supposed to be our reward
1 cor 15:19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
our lives are supposed to be so difficult that if there isnt a payoff afterwords, we're the dumbest people evar.
just for a sec, compare that with the idea that christianity is a means to social improvement.
accept jesus and lose weight!
accept jesus and have a nicer kids, a beautiful lawn, and a peaceful life in the suburbs!
2. our life should not be our reward...becuase of self-denial.
easy to see this life isn't our reward when straight suffering occurs.
but the basic parts of xtianity are kinda the same.
- love your enemies (matt 5:44; course we just redefine love so we can forget about it.)
- forgive (matt 18; seriously, you are required to forgive people. your parents, your spouse, your enemies)
- obey the government (rom 13:1-4)/ pay taxes (matt 22) (yeah...if it's illegal we're not allowed to do it.)
3. our life should not be our reward...becuase of service and our work.
then tie that into how we should spend our time , and what we should do with our lives...
- your life should all fit into the mission of the gospel.
- we should be able to answer why we do what we do
that's why we need endurance; the christian life should be
- full of self denial (we want to sin)
- focused on useful service to others (as service to god)
how do we live this kind of a life (full of service, self-denial, fear of god, etc) with joy?
by wanting the right things.
buddha said that all suffering is caused by desire.
biblical thought kinda follows that, kinda doesn't.
- we believe in suffering and pain. the effect of sin, not desire, is suffering.
- we also believe that desire is tied to suffering however. suffering is lessened, changed, transformed under
the appropriate desires.
success in life boils down to having the right desires
1. want things you can get.
if you want things you can't get, you'll be miserable.
if i really want to be cool and have large pec muscles, i'll always be unhappy.
you have to want things that matter.
2. want things you can't lose.
if you want to have a shiny new audi s4, you might be able to get it.
you'll be super happy until you get it into a 4 car pileup and have it totalled.
this ties into fear; things you can lose are things causing fear.
heaven, rightousness, and peace with god is both of these.
we have to accept salvation.
we have to pursue righteousness, we have to endure to the end.
but the gospel is attainable - it depends on our true desire and god's work.
and heaven can never be taken away from you.
- what do i want?
do i want things that i can't get?
do i want things that can be lost (causing me fear)?
- if...you have decided to want righteousness, heaven, and god more than all else...then...
how do you measure what is getting in the way?
how do you trust your thoughts?
this is kind of useful to me...looking at what i fear is an indicator of what i want.
if what i really want is at the end of this life (god), then my fear should be focused on god as well.
think about what you are afraid of; think about what you worry about.
that's probably what you want.
it's worth it, and the alternative is a terrifying thing.
prayer