Hebrews 12:25 - 13:9
Hebrews 12:25 - 13:9 What cannot be shaken
Hebrews 12:25-13:7
Recap
Re-read the last part of ch12 again
Hebrews 12:25-29 (NKJV) 25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more [shall we not escape] if we turn away from Him who [speaks] from heaven,
26 whose voice then shook the earth (with Moses at Mt Sinai); but now He has promised, saying, (quoting Haggai) “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”
27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
29 For our God [is] a consuming fire.
Hes says: we serve a powerful God whose voice shook the earth during Moses time.
But then he directs their attention to Haggai and says:
Remember that God told us that once more He was going to shake heaven and earth
Let’s look at the passage from Haggai to understand its context
Haggai the prophet receives a word from the Lord that He’s going to shake heaven and earth again.
Now the context of this is that Zerubbabel is the governor
Joshua is the high priest
They are rebuilding the temple after it was destroyed by Babylon
But they’re discouraged because of all the opposition they were facing
Their opponents (neighbors):
Intimidated and discouraged the builders.
Interfered with the construction.
Hired officials to obstruct their plans.
Made false accusations built on half truths to the Persian government.
Eventually obtained an official order stopping the work.
Haggai 2:4-7 (NKJV) 4 ‘Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the LORD;
‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest;
and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the LORD,
‘and work; for I [am] with you,’ says the LORD of hosts.
5 ‘[According to] the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’
6 “For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it [is] a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
7 ‘and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations (this is a title referring to Jesus), and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts.
So this is the context of the passage the author of Hebrews is quoting from Haggai:
He’s telling them, in the same way they were going through opposition in building their earthly temple,
You also are going through opposition as God builds us into His heavenly temple
26 …“Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” (quoting Haggai)
27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
He says: this opposition was Gods shaking
But shaking was exactly the point
Shaking indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made
He says He shook things so that the things that are made (the things of this world) might be removed
So that the things which cannot be shaken might remain
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
But we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken
Therefore let us have grace, or it can also be translated, let us be thankful
Let us be thankful that God is shaking our world so that what is temporary might be removed
Leaving only the things which are eternal to remain
29 For our God [is] a consuming fire.
This is the context leading us into ch13
Scripture
Hebrews 13:1-25 (NKJV) 1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so [doing] some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them--those who are mistreated--since you yourselves are in the body also.
He left off ch12 talking about how God is shaking things loose in our lives so that all that remains will be that which is eternal
It is in this context that he says let brotherly love continue. Why? Because that kind of shaking is difficult and discouraging
It was discouraging for:
Zerubbabel and Joshua
the first century Jewish Christians
for you and I
he’s already told us multiple times now to look out for one another, not to forsake the fellow shipping of ourselves together.
The word fellowship in the Greek is the word “koinonia”.
It means more than just getting together once a week in a shared interest.
It means an active and shared participation in one another’s lives.
Can you faithfully come to church and not have fellowship? Yes
When he says let brotherly love continue he’s talking about within the fellowship.
But though we have fellowship he tells us not to neglect those outside the fellowship. Strangers
Then he tells us that some people entertained angels without their knowledge.
There’s numerous cases in the OT where angels came down in the form of men.
He says remember the prisoners as though you were chained with them.
Remember those who are mistreated as though you were mistreated with them.
Can you do this if you’re merely seeing each other once a week in church? No
What kind of relationship is required for you to share in these things with one another? Fellowship
And he says to do this because you yourself are part of the same body.
Paul uses this same language to refer to us in the church.
He says the church is a body, and each of us possess the ability to do things that the other can’t. We lean on one another. We look out for one another. We share with one another.
He tells us to let brotherly love continue, and bear one another’s burdens, because you guys are all part of the same body.
You are in fellowship.
And the shaking you’re enduring can be discouraging, so don’t forsake the fellowship.
4 Marriage [is] honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 [Let your] conduct [be] without covetousness; [be] content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD [is] my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Marriage is honorable - it is a picture of our relationship with Christ.
Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church.
How did Christ love the church? Did He give the church whatever they wanted? Did He make their goals and their desires His ultimate priority?
No, He loved the church seeking their highest good (shaking and pruning), even to the point of death.
Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
We’ve just been studying how the Lord is working in our lives to make us more like Him and we’re told to trust Him, even when it’s hard.
And in the same way wives are told to trust their husbands.
Husbands this isn’t merely authority. It’s responsibility.
The decisions you make don’t just affect you. They affect her as well.
Lead her carefully as though your decisions affect both of you spiritually. Because it does.
Let your conduct be without covetousness and be content with what you have: why?
Because He’s told us “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.
That means as long as I have Him I have everything I need.
Thats the context in which I can boldly say, “the Lord is my helper I will not fear what man can do to me”.
I will not fear, because I have all I need in Him and He has promised, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of [their] conduct. 8 Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Now he switches over to pastors, elders, those who shepherd you.
Just as husbands don’t possess power they possess responsibility, so shepherds also possess the responsibility to live by faith.
He says, whose faith follow.
That is a tremendous weight of responsibility to model to the best of my ability what it is to walk in faith.
James warns that such a position should not be sought lightly
Because every teacher, of which all shepherds are required to be, will be judged by a stricter standard
A shepherds decisions don’t just affect them. They affect those they watch over as well.
I pray daily that I don’t screw this up.
And the only way I can do it is to stick to scripture as closely as I can. I don’t possess the wisdom or talent to do this on my own. So I have to rely on nothing but His word.
I cannot model perfection for you. But I can model repentance and transparency and accepting responsibility when I make a mistake.
When he says Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, he’s talking about how these things are a principle.
Jesus doesn’t change
The same Jesus that was written about in the first century is the same Jesus in the 21st century.
This means what God has revealed to us about Jesus in His word is more valid than any tradition that comes after.
If Jesus doesn’t change then the Jesus of scripture is the true Jesus.
where traditions affirm this Jesus, they become redundant,
where traditions contradict this Jesus, it is to be rejected.
It’s in this context that he says in verse 9
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