The writer
of Hebrews is pleading with the Jewish Church, “we must cling tightly to the
hope that lives within us”, but is always giving us the message of hope we can
stand firm “knowing that God always keeps His promises”.
Another way to put this sentiment in perspective
is “Faithful is the One who sent us this message of hope”. Our God is always faithful to His Word to
fulfill what He has promised, no matter what our circumstances He brings hope
and love to bear when we need it most.
The writer
goes on to say “Discover creative ways to encourage others”, we are given so many opportunities during our day to speak encouraging words to those around
us to demonstrate the hope that resides within us that they take notice of our
words.
A kind word in a stressful moment can derail anger from taking hold, just
as a joyful heart can help to overcome negative attitudes of others. It all depends
upon our choice if we choose to project our attitude of hope in our hearts to others.
“Motivate
them to acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love”, when
we do things for others and serve them we are demonstrating the love of Christ who faithfully
gave His life for us without holding back anything.
Another way to look at this verse is “Let
us look on one another with the excitement of love,” when we allow the of
love Jesus to flow through us there is excitement that builds within us knowing
that serving is an expression of Him through us.
“This is
not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the
habit of doing,” what is being implied here in the Greek language is “Now
is not the time to pull away when people are extremely discouraged” we must
recognize that we have the hope of the world, not just a good idea. People are
dying without a Savior and we are given an opportunity to give them hope and a future for we have the cure for discouragement.
Some thoughts about the time of history this text was written, the writer
of Hebrews is stating that the danger facing the Jewish Christians was that,
perhaps during the crisis brought on by the Roman-Jewish war of A.D. 66-70,
they were tempted to slip back into their former Jewish practice and belief system by abandoning their faith in Christ altogether. The author is urging them forward into a fuller grasp of Christian truth which
would leave them unashamed to abandon their old Jewish practices and ideas.
The threat, or
perhaps even the actuality, of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in A.D.
70 could then be thought of as providing a situation which gave rise to a
crisis of loyalty for those who had been previously accustomed to look upon the Jewish temple as
a focus for their own worship.
It is
also noteworthy that the period close to that of the Roman-Jewish war was one
in which the Christian church suffered some of the fiercest persecutions, particularly
in Rome in the time of Nero (A.D. 64). Obviously, this would have compelled
deep and serious thought on the part of Jewish Christians, which could well
account for the fear of a “relapse” from faith mentioned in this letter to the
Hebrews.
There have
been some scholars who have put forward the notion that the author of Hebrews may have actually been Priscilla (Acts 18:2).
Back to the text “In fact,
we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each
other onward as we anticipate that day dawning.” The writer sees the need
to come together more frequently to express “encouragement” and to “urge
each other onward” because the time is short and the day of the Lord is dawning or is upon us.
There is
expediency in the words and an awareness that things are happening around the
people being written to. There is
persecution and death around them on every side but they are told to remain
strong and urge each other forward.
Even though
we do not have this kind of persecution at our doorsteps, these words for us
are just as real as they were for the Jewish Christians of that day, we must
not forsake meeting together to encourage each other to hold on to the faith we
have learned and experienced with each other which is a good word for us today or any day.
The book of Hebrews is a prime example of encouragement in extreme situations which is what makes it so
profound and yet so relevant.
Be Blessed;
Stephen
Barnett
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