Hebrews – It Is Finished

Wise home builders — Rebecca

I have to confess that I didn’t always think Rebecca was a very wise home builder. I thought she was a bit manipulative “deceiving” Isaac. And for favoring one child over the other. But a few years ago as I was working on my Proverbs 31 Bible study and looking at all of these different women, I began to see Rebecca differently. I believe I began to see her through Abba’s eyes… and I hope you do too.

Rebecca had been barren for 20 years. And now, her pregnancy was not an easy one. The Bible says the babies struggled within her. The Hebrew word for struggled means to crush or oppress. It sounds like a violent word. I’ve had 4 babies and they all moved around a lot while I was pregnant and occasionally kicked really hard. But it wasn’t a violent moving around. I can’t even imagine what that must’ve felt like. She wanted to know why this was happening to her….

So Rebecca inquired of the Lord (Genesis 25:22). This is the first time that a woman is mentioned as “inquiring of the Lord.” That tells us a lot about Rebecca’s relationship with God. Something didn’t seem right to her about this pregnancy. God had blessed her with a baby after 20 years and it didn’t seem “normal” to have sorrow or trouble with it (Proverbs 10:22)….. there was a violent warring going on in her womb. She obviously had a personal relationship with God and wanted to hear what He had to say on the matter.

In Genesis 25:22-28 tells us that Rebecca inquired of the Lord and He answered her with his plan for the Jews – she had 2 nations at war in her womb. He said they would be divided from birth…. two nations, two kingdoms. The Hebrew word for nations is goyim, which means both Jewish and Gentile nations. The Jewish nation of Israel will be from Jacob, and the Gentile nation will be from Esau (later the nation of Edom). One people will be stronger than the other because Israel will be stronger than Edom. And the older will serve the younger (Second Samuel 8:12-14) because Edom would be enslaved to Israel.

Romans 9:10-13 emphasizes the importance of God’s word to Rebekah. Before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s purpose in election might stand, not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” The LORD’s choice of Jacob, the younger, to inherit His covenant promise was made before the boys were even born. This showed that the choice did not depend on what either did. This was not about birth order but rather Divine election. Jacob’s destiny was to produce the lineage that the Deliverer would come…. to be an heir of the Promise (Hebrews 11:9).

After she had given birth, it says Isaac loved Esau and Rebecca loved Jacob. This is more than just parental favoritism over children. Rebecca understood the importance of God’s word to her. She chose what God had already chosen. In order to understand this, we have to look at the natures of the two sons.

Esau

Genesis 25:27 gives two descriptions of Esau…..

cunning or skillful hunter
a man of the field.

He was a skillful hunter. This isn’t referring to him as a rugged hunter. A manly man. An outdoorsman like Daniel Boone. It isn’t a positive characteristic. Another man earlier in Genesis is described as a skillful hunter… Nimrod. Josephus said of Nimrod that he “excited them (the people) to such an affront and contempt of God.” The meaning of Nimrod’s name is “rebel” or “let us revolt.” He had contempt for the plans of God and he hunted men, enslaving them in his rebellion. Esau was a man of the field who knew entrapment. “Knew how to trap” in the Hebrew implies that he used superficial righteousness to trap with his mouth/words. Basically, he may have talked the talk but he didn’t walk the walk! He was a man of the flesh who knew how to deceive. He was a man ruled by his carnal nature… by his senses.

Esau was a man of the field who knew entrapment. “Knew how to trap” in the Hebrew implies that he used superficial righteousness to trap with his mouth or his words. Basically, he may have talked the talk but he didn’t walk the walk! He was a man of the flesh who knew how to deceive. He was a man ruled by his carnal nature… by his senses.

He sold his birthright for a bowl of stew! Genesis is not the only place we are told that. It’s mentioned in Hebrews 12:16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. In this verse he is described as godless and immoral…. a fornicator and profane. Fornicator would refer to idol worship. He had married foreign, idolatrous Hittite wives. Profane refers to people unfit to access (to know) God because they approach Him apart from faith. Esau didn’t know God. He gave away his birthright… the verb literally means “to give it away.” In Genesis 27:34 the fact that he is so upset over Jacob having the Blessing indicates that he had an understanding of how powerful The Blessing was and yet still gave it away… he had an understanding of its power but not a care for it. It meant nothing to him.

This is Esau. He had no ethics or faith, no scruples or reverence. He had no regard for the good, the truthful, the divine. He was totally worldly, totally secular, totally profane. He married foreign women who worshipped other gods and they were a source of grief to his parents… in Hebrew, it says they were bitterness to his parent’s spirits. Even later he added to those wives one of Ishmael’s daughters. He had no love for God or the things of God.

Jacob

I think Jacob has gotten a bad rap over the years. He’s often described as deceitful, a schemer, and stealing the Blessing from Esau. But how does Holy Spirit describe Jacob in Genesis? After all, His opinion is the only one that matters. Genesis 25:27 says he was a plain man who dwelt in tents.

The Hebrew word translated as mild or plain is “tam” meaning complete, pious, perfect, undefiled, and upright. “Tam” is one of the most common words the Bible uses to refer to being wholeheartedly devoted to walking with God. This word is the opposite of our English word “hypocrite.” He was a man wholeheartedly for God….. sincere in his love for God. This is the Holy Spirit’s basic assessment of Jacob’s character.

He was a man of integrity who dwelled in tents! The writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 11:9) says their choice to dwell in tents was an act of faith! He, like Abraham and Isaac, chooses to focus on the Promise of God. So from this we know he was a man of faith. Another character trait of Jacob’s that we see is in chapter 27 when he is pretending to be Esau. He is kind and gentle. In verse 19 he asks Isaac to please sit up and eat compared to verse 31 when Esau speaks to his dad he just tells him to sit up and eat.

His name has been defined as “deceiver” but actually, it means heel. Because as they came out of the womb, Jacob grabbed Esau’s heel. It doesn’t strike me as a negative word. Remeber they were struggling (crush or oppress) together in the womb. It sounds like Jacob was Esau’s determined pursuer…. the one who would overtake and dispossess him. Hosea 12:3 mentions it and calls it strength. Rebecca named him according to his destiny….. according to the prophetic promise she had from God.

Rebecca’s intervention

Rebecca like Eve and Sarah held onto God’s Word. She guarded and protected what God had told her.

Rebekah is often blamed for the partiality or favoritism she manifested for Jacob. I don’t believe that’s true. She believed God. She loved Jacob because Jacob was the Lord’s preference. … Rom 9:13 God says Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated…. speaking of two opposing nations. An opportunity presented itself and she took it. In Genesis 27 it says Isaac was going to bless Esau his firstborn as soon as he came back from hunting. She heard this and then responded in faith.

I’m not sure why Isaac was going to bless Esau with the Blessing. Esau had already married two Hittite wives and made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca. Didn’t Isaac realize that with idolatrous wives it would be difficult to produce the lineage of the Promised Deliver? That because of idolatry Esau wouldn’t be able to walk in the Blessing that Isaac was giving to him? All I can determine is that Esau was very cunning and very deceptive and had Isaac completely bewitched. But regardless of why Isaac was ready to bless Esau, Rebecca was aligned with God’s choice. Holding onto and acting on the promise God had given her.

Rebecca sided with God’s preference. She recognized Jacob as the chosen son… just like Isaac had been the chosen son. Holding onto and acting on the promise God had given her. Faith requires action. And Rebecca acted on her faith. When God blessed her with pregnancy and it wasn’t going so smoothly, she sought God to find out why. This showed great faith and strength of spirit. There is no reason not to think that when it seemed like Esau would receive the Blessing that God had promised Jacob that she again sought the Lord in prayer. That may have given her the confidence she needed to pursue His promise.

She was a woman who had the faith to ask for guidance and who had the faith to follow it; because of her faith, she was able to be a great co-laborer with God and influence the whole course of history. She was protecting a lineage. She continued to protect it by sending Jacob away when Esau plotted to murder him. And also by sending him to find a godly wife instead of an idolatrous Canaanite wife. Rebekah was a wise home builder risking deception to follow God’s promise, and His plan unfolded exactly as He had told her.

Are you watching over the words God has spoken to you? Protecting His promises over your family at all costs…. even if your actions and character are misunderstood? Are you co-laboring with Him to see His plans unfold exactly as He has told you?

~ Robin

Which Law did God write on our hearts?

“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” ~ Hebrews 10:16

In a Bible study, I recently started attending it seemed like you had only 2 options…. antinomian (against the Law – basically hyper-grace) or a mix of law and grace (saved by grace but relying on the Law to keep us holy – specifically 10 commandments). I guess if those are my two options, then I must be antinomian. Though personally, I prefer the term “IN CHRIST” because in Christ we are no longer under the Law (Galatians 3:24). I am definitely against the idea of following the Old Covenant Mosaic Law as a moral compass. I tackled that issue in yesterday’s blog post 10 Commandments.

law hearts 1

I do know quite a few people who believe that the law God has written on our new hearts as believers is the Old Covenant Law, making it easier to walk out. Why would God write the Mosaic Law on our hearts? All that the Law did was arouse sinful passions (Romans 7:5). Also, Romans 7:4 says that we died to the Law through Christ and we are now married to Him. So, if it’s not the Mosaic Law on our hearts. Which law did He write? According to Hebrews 10:16 He wrote laws (plural) on our hearts and our minds. I’ve found 4 different laws mentioned in the New Testament.

The Law of Love

Under the Mosaic Law, love was commanded in order to receive the blessings of long life, many children and for life to go well for you. Failure to obey this command of love would obviously result in not attaining those things. Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” This is impossible to fulfill in ourselves! No one can love God with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We try… we give it our best shot… but that is an impossibility in and of ourselves. But of course that was the purpose of the Old Covenant laws… they were meant to point us to Christ. To awaken in us the revelation that we in our selves… in our flesh… we cannot walk out or obey these laws… we need a Savior.

Under the new covenant of grace, Love is given to you. Out of Christ’s measureless love, we are now able to love others. It’s out of the overflow of His Love in us. It’s not something we have to work up in ourselves towards others or even towards God. Romans 5:5 tells us God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. God abundantly poured His love into our hearts by giving us the Holy Spirit, … the Spirit of Grace. Jesus said, “As I have loved you” – it’s out of His love that is in us that we are able to love. Do you see the difference between the old and new? Under the old, you loved others because you feared punishment…. you feared not receiving His blessings, His promises. But under the new, you love because the Lover lives in you and His nature is Love. He can’t be anything else. It’s not just an adjective that describes Him, it is who He is (1 Jn 4:8)

The law of the Spirit of life

The Old Covenant was a written code no one could keep (except Jesus) and the New Covenant is Christ Himself living in you. Paul told us in Romans 7:24 that trying to keep the Old Law makes you frustrated and miserable… “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Notice he didn’t say what will rescue me but rather Who… Who will rescue me? And the answer was….Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 7:24-25a). The old law is a what but the new law is a Who. The old law ministers condemnation and death (2 Cor 3:7-9), but the new law of the Spirit gives life (Rom 8:2). The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor 3:6) So Who gives life… Who rescued from the frustration of trying to keep the Law? The Spirit of Christ within you.

The perfect law of liberty

James wrote that “the perfect law gives freedom” (James 1:25). In contrast, Romans 7:6 tells us that the law of Moses binds. What is the perfect law that gives freedom?

It’s Jesus, the living Word who set us free. The perfect law of liberty describes what Jesus has done (perfectly fulfilled or completed the law) and the fruit He will bear in our lives (liberty) if we trust him.

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:25)

Look into the mirror of Moses’ law and you will be miserable, for it exposes all your faults… your weaknesses in serving God in the flesh. It is like putting a veil over your eyes and you are unable to see that Jesus fulfilled it all not just for you… but as you! Looking into the perfect law, which is Jesus, blesses you because it reveals his righteousness.

But it also says “Don’t just listen but do what it (the perfect law of liberty) says” (James 1:22). In other words, allow the Spirit of Christ to convince you that in Him you are righteous and holy. Don’t walk away from the perfect law and forget who you are in Christ. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Look intently with an unveiled face and be transformed into his likeness.

Law of faith

Romans 3:27 says Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. God is a faith God. Without faith, it’s impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), so our relationship with the Lord is dependent on it. Faith is what brings the things God has provided for us from the spiritual realm into the physical realm (Heb. 11:1). Our faith is the victory that enables us to overcome the world (1 John 5:4). Everything the Lord does for us is accessed through faith.

And He has given to us His faith…. Galatians 2:20 says “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” We live our lives by His faith. Paul did not say that he lived by faith IN the Son of God but by the faith OF the Son of God. The measure of faith that Paul had was the same measure that Jesus had. It was Jesus’ faith. If there is only one measure of faith (Rom. 12:3), then we also have the faith of Jesus.

We don’t have to wonder if we have enough faith for something… or try to work up our faith. He gives us His faith to live by. How do we access this faith? Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We access God’s faith through His Word. When we hear God’s Word, the Holy Spirit empowers it, and if we receive the truth, God’s supernatural faith enters us.

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that faith is a fruit of the Spirit. Faith becomes a permanent part of our born-again spirits. There is no lack of faith within any true Christian. There is just a lack of knowing and using what God has already given us. Philemon 1:6 says, “hat the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Notice that Paul isn’t praying that Philemon will get something more from the Lord. He was praying that his faith would begin to work as he acknowledged what he already had. The word “acknowledge” means, “to admit, recognize, or report the receipt of.” You can only acknowledge something that you already have. We already have the faith of God, and it will begin to work when we acknowledge this.

Why would we want the Old Covenant Law written on our hearts? It is a ministry of death and condemnation. The New Covenant of grace and it’s laws that are written on our hearts is a ministry of life. The Spirit of Life abides in us and teaches us all things. He transforms us into the image of the Son. The Old Mosaic Law was made obsolete…. Hebrews 8:13 When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. Colossians 2:14 tells us that it was nailed to the Cross. Ephesians 2:15 tells us that in His incarnation, He rendered the entire Jewish system of laws and regulations useless as a measure to justify human life and conduct. Hebrews 8:7 says that if there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant there would’ve been no need for a second covenant to replace it.

We don’t need the Old Covenant Law to show us how to live holy lives. First of all, we have already been made holy — 1 Corinthians 1:30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. In Christ, we are righteous, holy and free from sin! That’s good news! Second of all, Titus 2:11-12 says that grace, not Law is what we need to teach us how to live holy — For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Now that Jesus has come, we no longer need the supervision of the law. So begin today to live a grace-filled life… standing fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, not becoming entangled again with a yoke of bondage to the Law and it’s commandments. (Galatians 5:1).

~ Robin

SaveSave

New Covenant lens….

hebrews

I’ve been studying and teaching from the book of Hebrews for the past 4 months. We are on the last chapter … and I have learned so much. It was not an easy book to study or teach and has stretched me and challenged me outside of my comfort zone. But it is definitely a book that has helped me better understand the benefits of the New Covenant more than anything else I’ve read.

Hebrews is such a fitting name for this epistle. Not because it was written to Jews, but because of what Hebrews means. The word comes from the Hebrew verb ivri meaning “to cross over”

The very first Hebrew was Abraham and there were 2 ways in which he “crossed over”… first, he crossed over from Mesopotamia into Canaan and secondly, he crossed over from the world of idol worship that was familiar to him and his family to a new realm, one in which the One True God was worshipped instead. In both senses, Abraham became forever an “ivri” – a Hebrew, one who crossed over.

That fits this epistle so well — crossing over. These Jews had crossed over from the familiar realm of the Old Covenant to life in the unfamiliar but liberating grace-filled New Covenant. They were under intense persecution and were being pressured into returning to the Old and this letter was to encourage them to remain in Christ. This letter presented to them a contrast of the old and new covenants — and the supremacy of Jesus and the New Covenant… a far better, superior covenant.

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness; ~ Hebrews 13:4-5

Our study of this book was verse by verse, always keeping it in the context of who it was written to and why. When I came to chapter 13, specifically verses 4 and 5, it just seemed so out of context to command them to keep the marriage honorable and the marriage bed undefiled with the warning that God will judge the immoral and those who commit adultery. And then in the next verse, he’s telling them to live free from the love of money and be content with what they have. Sex and money…. were those the two biggest concerns the writer of Hebrews has for these believers?

Of course, we are to live holy, pure, godly lives. Of course, we are to be faithful in our marriages and sex is wrong outside of the marriage relationship. Of course, we are to not be covetous, greedy, or lovers of money. And of course, we are to be content with what God has given us.

But is that all this verse is saying?

Remember, the book of Hebrews is about the contrast of Old Covenant and New Covenant. The writer has explained theses contrasts to us for the last 12 chapters and has warned us several times throughout this letter to not fall from grace, to not turn away from Christ (apostasy), to steer clear of idolatry and going back to Judaism, and to enter into the rest of the finished work of the cross.

So, with all of that in mind, we don’t want to look at these 2 verses through the lens of the Old Covenant pattern which is…. if I am not faithful in my marriage or if I sleep around — if I mess up! If I sin in this area! If I do those things, then God is going to judge me. The problem with that “Old Covenant” lens is that He already poured out all of His judgment for my sins on Jesus. He is no longer imputing my sins against me.

Isaiah 53:5: The punishment that brought our peace was upon Him
2 Cor 5:21: He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Romans 5:8-9: But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!

This letter was written to believers (believing Jews) not unbelievers/unsaved. Looking at it in that light. You have to ask yourself how does God deal with believers who have committed the sin of adultery? Even if I did do those things after I’m saved, God NEVER calls me an adulterer or a whoremonger. He calls me righteous! He sees me as I am… not by what I do or have done.

So who does God call the adulterer and the whoremonger? Who does He refer to as covetous?

several verses in the other epistles mention sexual immorality as a false teaching — Eph 5:3-7; Jude 1:4; 1 Tim 4:1-5; 2 Peter 2:14; 1 Tim 1:3-10;
Jeremiah 23:10 also talking about false prophets and calls them adulterers.
Sexually immoral in Heb 13:4 is the same Greek word used in Heb 12:16 to describe Esau as a fornicator.. an idolator. — The root word is porne which means an idolatrous community.
Adulterers in Heb 13:4 is “moichos” which figuratively means an apostate
In the Old Testament, whenever Israel went into idolatry, God called it “adultery.”
Idolatry is spiritual adultery
Col 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever is worldly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry
2 Peter 2:3 By covetousness they [the false teachers] will exploit you with deceptive words;

Historically, at the time this was written (and the other epistles), there were false teachers that had infiltrated the churches and were attempting to turn the believers away from the grace of the New Covenant…. away from it’s teachings… away from Jesus alone being enough to make you righteous and holy.

What were some of the strange, false, demonic doctrines that these false teachers were teaching?

There were those who were forbidding marriage, believing celibacy was purity and pleasing to God (1 Tim 4:3)
There were those who were perverting the grace of God into a license for immorality (Jude 1:4)
Of course, there were the Judaizers who were encouraging them to go back to the Law (which is adultery/idolatry – Romans 7:1-4)
All of these false teachers were motivated by greed (covetousness – love of money)

….and be content with such things as ye have:

Be content in the original language is “with the things that are present.” Present = right now. So, what was “present” for these Believing Jews the writer was talking to?

They had put their faith in Jesus alone for salvation.
And because of it, they were suffering intense persecution and the reality of having to flee Jerusalem and everything they had previously known
From all that was familiar… the temple, the priests, the sacrifices.. their family and friends.

Remember they were feeling the pressure to return to Judaism and they were being influenced by false teachers. This is an encouragement to them not to fall back into idolatry (the Law/Old Covenant) but to continue walking free of that because Jesus is enough!

For hasn’t He promised you that “I will never leave you; never will I forsake you”

1 Kings 8:57 — Part of Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple was that the Lord would never leave them nor forsake them. He was declaring that God had kept His promises and not one word had failed which He promised through Moses.

What a fitting thing for the writer of Hebrews to remind the people of…. he’s already told them that the New Covenant is far superior to the Mosaic covenant. Now, he’s encouraging them that if God kept His promises and not one word failed which He promised Moses, they can trust Him to be with them and never leave or forsake them because “Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Heb 8:6).

Then he reminds them that their response because of that… because Jesus is enough…should be “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.” (Heb 13:6)

When you begin reading the Bible through the lens of the New Covenant you begin to see things in Scripture that you never saw before…. and you truly begin to find the Father’s heartbeat. This grace filled New Covenant is liberating!

~Robin