IX.
An Exhortation to Perseverance (continued) ()
C.
An Exhortation to the Christian Life ()
1.
() From the acceptance of life's discipline in general, the writer turns to the way this discipline is applied in Christian experience. (; ) It is important that God's people live as God's people. They are not to take their standards from the ungodly. "Therefore" links this exhortation to what has gone before. Because of what they now know of God's loving discipline, they must let the Lord control their lives. The "hands" are pictured as "weak" and thus useless. They accomplish nothing. The knees are "feeble" (see , from where the writer may have taken his imagery). "Strengthen" presents the picture of someone whose hands and legs are for some reason out of action but are put right. The exhortation implies that the readers are acting as though they are spiritually paralyzed. They are urged to let go and let God control their bodies.
2.
() A quotation from is added. The idea is to put the paths into better shape in order to facilitate travel, specifically for the lame. The writer is mindful of the fact that Christians belong together. () They must have consideration for the weak among their members, i.e., the "lame"; they must not "be put out of joint" (lit., "be turned away"). By caring for the weaker members of the congregation, the stronger members can help them along the way and revitalize them.
3.
() The New Testament contains a number of exhortations to believers to be at "peace", either with one another or with people in general (cf. ; ; ). People are often selfish and abrasive, but this is not the way Christians should be. For them peace is imperative, and they must put forth "every effort" to attain it. The readers should make every effort to live peaceably with all people. The author’s exhortation covers all relations, not only those among believers. Coupled with peace is "to be sanctified" (lit., "holiness"). Holiness means being set apart for God. It is characteristic of believers to live differently from and separate from the world.
4.
() The verb rendered "see to it" is an unusual one. It conveys the idea of oversight (the verb is connected with the noun we translate as "overseer"). In this context, the thought is that believers must have care for one another. The writer speaks of three things in particular that the readers must avoid:
a.
They must not come short of God's grace. Paul could speak of receiving God's grace in vain () and of falling from grace ([optional reading] ). God is not niggardly in offering grace. Accordingly, it is important for believers not to fail to make use of their opportunities.
b.
They must guard against the springing up of a "root of bitterness." This is a root that bears bitter fruit, a metaphor taken from the growth of plants. Such growth is slow, but what is in the plant will surely come out in time. So, it is possible for a seed of bitterness to be sown in a community and, though nothing is immediately apparent, in due time the fruit will appear. It will certainly "cause trouble" and possibly defile a whole community. (; ) "Defile" often refers to ceremonial defilement, but it is also used of moral defilement. Bitterness defiles people and makes them unfit to stand before God.
5.
() The final warning begins with a reference to the "immoral", a warning that occurs frequently in Scripture. With this is coupled the warning not to be "godless” ("unhallowed" or "profane") like Esau. Esau was not spiritually minded but rather taken up with the things of the here and now. This is apparent in the incident referred to, when Esau for a single meal bargained away his inheritance rights as the oldest son (cf. ). He could not recognize its true value. His insistence on the gratification of his immediate needs led him to overlook what was of infinitely greater worth: his rights as the firstborn. It should be noted that his brother demanded Esau’s birthright before he would give him stew when he was famished. That Esau agreed to this demand shows that he didn’t realize the value of a birthright for the eldest son in a family. Apostates copy this principle, energized by Satan.
a.
Continuing his reflection on Esau, the author appeals to knowledge common to his readers and himself. Nothing is known about Esau's change of mind other than what we read here. It appears that in due course Esau came to realize he had made a mistake. He wanted to go back but found he could not. There is often a finality about what we do. Esau could have come back to God. But he could not undo his sinful act.
D.
Mount Sinai and Mount Zion ()
1.
() The writer proceeds to contrast the Jewish and Christian ways by contrasting the terrors associated with the giving of the law on Mount Sinai with the joys and the glory associated with Mount Zion. He sounds the note of warning that great privilege means great responsibility. Though the word "mountain" is not in the original Greek, there is no doubt that the events on Sinai are in mind. The writer chooses to refer to what the mountain represented — the outward, the physical, and the material. () The phenomena listed are all associated with the Sinai event. Elsewhere they are linked with the presence of God: (; ) fire, () darkness, and () whirlwind; () the trumpet is associated with the end time when God will manifest Himself (; ; ). (; ) Also, the trumpet is spoken of repeatedly in connection with Sinai, and on that occasion the people heard the voice of God ([optional reading] ). ([optional reading] ; ) But the effect of it all was to terrify them, and they asked that they should hear God's voice no more. They were overcome with awe and wanted no further part in the wonderful events.
2.
(; ) The fearfulness of the giving of the law on Sinai is brought out with reference to one of the commands laid on the people, namely, that neither humans nor animals should even touch the mountain under penalty of death. The command that nothing touch it indicates the holiness and separateness of the mountain. Killing by stoning (or by arrows) was prescribed so that those taking part would not touch the mountain themselves.
3.
() This verse cites a further indication of the awesomeness of the experience at Mount Sinai. (Optional reading] ) At the time of the giving of the law, Moses was the leader of the people. He was known as one who had an especially close relationship with God. Yet even he was frightened. () The words quoted are not found in the Sinai narrative but do occur at the time of the golden calf. The author is picturing an awe-inspiring occasion on Sinai, one that affected all the people and frightened even Moses, the man of God. The author may have had contact with a resource that is not around today.
4.
() "But" is a strong word that introduces a marked contrast. It is not a Sinai-type experience that has befallen Christians. They "have come" to Mount Zion. This is one of the hills on which the city of Jerusalem was built. () It sometimes stands for that city and stands here, of course, for that city as the home of God's people. It is also called "the heavenly Jerusalem" and "the city of the living God." Elsewhere in the New Testament there is the thought of the Jerusalem above ([optional reading] , where again there is a contrast with Mount Sinai; cf. also [optional reading] ; ). The expression "myriads of angels" looks at the unseen at Mount Sinai. The words translated “myriads of angels” meant originally a national festive assembly to honor a god, then more generally any festal assembly (such as angels).
5.
() "The church of the firstborn" is a difficult expression. Does it mean the angels just spoken of? They are not usually called a "church," but the Greek word ecclesía basically means "assembly " and so could be applied to angels. If it refers to people, it is not easy to see it as the church triumphant because that is the same as "the spirits of righteous made perfect" at the end of the verse. Nor is it easier to see it of the church here and now, for (1) the readers would be included and would be "coming to themselves, and (2) it would give a strange sequence — angels, the church on earth, God, the departed. Nor are angels normally described as being "enrolled in heaven," whereas there are references to the recording of the names of the saved (e.g., ; ). Perhaps the best solution is to see a reference to the whole communion of saints: the church on earth and in heaven. Believers not only come to it but into it. This would follow naturally on the reference to angels, after which there is the thought of God as Judge.
a.
In the next part of the sentence, then, the author is concerned with the Judge (God), who has rewarded "the spirits of righteous made perfect." It is unusual to have the departed referred to as "spirits." It is probably used here to give emphasis to the spiritual nature of the new order that the righteous find themselves in. There is a sense in which they are not made perfect without Christians (). But there is also a sense in which they have been brought to the end for which they were made.
6.
() The climax is reached with the reference to Jesus, seen here as "the mediator of a new covenant". The covenant involves "sprinkled blood" (cf. [optional reading] ), which reminds us of the cost of the covenant. The idea of blood speaking is not common, and there is undoubtedly a reference to [optional reading] , where Abel's blood cried from the ground for vengeance on his killer. But Jesus' blood speaks "a better” word than that. His blood opens up for us a way into the Most Holy Place ([optional reading] ), whereas Abel's blood sought to shut out the wicked person (Cain).
E.
A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken ()
1.
() Several times in this letter Judaism and Christianity have been contrasted, and here the contrast concerns the way God speaks. The basic contrast is between the way God spoke of old and the way He now speaks. Israel of old "refused" Him, which means that in their manner of life they rejected what God said and failed to live up to what He commanded (cf. ). This warning was "on earth" because it was connected with the revelation at Sinai. If then, the Israelites of old did not escape the consequences of their refusal of a voice on earth, the readers ought not to expect to escape far worse consequences if they "turn away from Him who warns us from heaven" ([optional reading] ).
2.
() The solemnity of Sinai is recalled. Repeatedly we are told that then the earth shook ([optional reading] ; ; ; ; ). The writer has already spoken of the awe-inspiring nature of what happened when the law was given. Now the reference to the shaking of the earth brings it all back. At the same time, it enables him to go on to speak of a promise that involved a further shaking, the one recorded in . The prophet looked forward to something much grander than Sinai, a day when God would shake "not only the earth but also the heavens." The reference to heaven and earth shaking refers to the Second Coming of Christ, when the saved will be blessed and the unsaved will be condemned by Christ. It points to the decisive intervention that God will make at the last time Jesus returns to earth.
3.
() The divine writer picks out the expression "once more" to point out the decisive significance of the things of which he is writing. There is an air of finality about it all. "The removing" of what can be shaken will occur in the final day. This physical creation can be shaken, and it is set in contrast to what cannot be shaken —the things that really matter. The author does not go into detail about the precise nature of the ultimate rest. But whatever it may be, it will separate the things that last forever from those that do not. "So that" introduces a clause of purpose. It is God's will for this final differentiation to be made so that only what cannot be shaken will remain.