Hebrews Interactive Online Bible Study
Hebrews Thirteen
~ a walk through Hebrews ~
~ for the edification of the bride of Christ and centering on Him in these last days ~
Welcome:
Welcome to the online Hebrews Bible study. We welcome anyone who wishes to engage with us during these thirteen days and even go through and/or post after the study has ended. Want to learn more about this study, be sure to check out the Hebrews Bible Study Page here for more info.
*Thank you so much to everyone for participating in this online study/application through Hebrews. We are going to leave this online for sometime so that anyone may participate at any time. Please be sure to read the final thoughts below and watch the video from Shane and Shane.
Guest Commentary:
Today’s guest commentary comes from brother John Paton – Andhra Pradesh, India
facebook / www.divinehopeministries.webs.com
Psalm 118:6 – ” The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;what can man do to me”.
After Thoughts:
The below are from brothers Sebastian Ombima and Bill Wilson.
by brother Sebastian Ombima – Kenya, Africa
Hebrews Highway to Heaven
Flow of Thought through the New Testament Book of Hebrews
by brother Bill Wilson – Oklahoma, USA
Intro: This book is a somewhat delicate but definitely deliberate attempt to communicate to Jews, who have started to follow Jesus but are being tempted to turn back to the laws of the Levites, truths which will be very difficult for them to accept in view of their background and upbringing. Of the 12 references to the New Covenant in the whole Bible, half of them are in the book of Hebrews.
Ch. 1 Jesus is fully God who has spoken to us.
Ch. 2:1-4 Therefore we must earnestly heed what He and His apostles taught!
Ch. 2:5-18 Jesus is fully man, completed through suffering, our compassionate new High Priest…forever!
Ch. 3:1-6 Therefore, as SON, builder, faithful Apostle and High Priest OVER His house, He is greater than Moses, who was only a faithful SERVANT IN his house.
Ch. 3:7-4:13 Therefore, we must enter God’s rest 24-7, as long as it is called “Today” just as God rested from “all His works” from “the foundation of the world”.
Chs. 4:14-end of 6. Let us hold fast our confession of Jesus as our great High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek”, or else suffer severe consequences.
Ch. 7:1-10 The greatness of Melchizedek, who “…made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually”, superior over the Levitical priests of the Law.
Ch. 7:11 – 8:6 The “main point” of the book: The Levitical priesthood had to be changed and the old law had to be annulled, so that Jesus (descended from Judah), according to the order of Melchizedek could establish a forever, new and “better covenant”, and be our sure Hope to whom we can draw near.
Ch. 8:7-13 Since the law was faulty, God established a “new covenant…not like the covenant I made with their fathers”, and so “…He has made the first obsolete.”
Ch. 9 Therefore, the first covenant’s earthly tabernacle blood sacrifices which only temporarily “cleansed the flesh”, was only “symbolic” “until the time of reformation”. But now, our forever High Priest, Jesus, has replaced the earthly by the heavenly tabernacle in which He cleanses once for all by His own perfect blood the conscience of all who come to Him. Thus He is “Mediator of the New Covenant … that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
Ch. 10:1-14 So, the one sacrifice of the blood of the Son of God accomplished way more than the blood of a gazillion bulls and goats, viz., the eternal sanctification of all who would come into His New Covenant.
Ch. 10:15-39 Therefore, what good are the temple sacrifices and worship since we are completely sanctified forever by the blood of Jesus? Let us assemble together then to encourage one another and also remember that the consequences are severe for drawing back from living by faith in Jesus alone.
Ch. 11 Faith defined and illustrated by many before Christ who lived by faith, but without mention of the Law of Moses, for all these “…did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”
Ch. 12:1-27 Therefore, with these examples of faith, but especially since Jesus endured the cross, for the joy set before Him, let us also endure and accept any of God’s discipline, for we “…have come to … the heavenly Jerusalem, … to the general assembly and church of the firstborn… to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling…. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks.”
Ch.12:28 – 13:19 Therefore, live out this new covenant by loving brothers in Christ, entertaining strangers, supporting the persecuted, being faithful in marriage, avoiding covetousness by trusting God’s presence is always with me; faithfully follow the teachings of faithful followers of Jesus, and thus watch out for false teachers, especially remembering “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.” I.e., for these Jewish believers, don’t get caught up in following the law as part of following Jesus. Go to Jesus outside the camp of the law, continually offering up sacrifices of praise to God through Him, and doing good wherever we can. And submissively be obedient to the leaders of the church to give them joy in their leadership duties. Pray for them!
Ch. 13:20 – end: Benediction, praise report concerning Timothy, and final greetings.
“Though You Slay Me” – Shane and Shane (with John Piper)
I was struck by the writer of Hebrews’ final words. Though he has spent much of the book declaring that Jesus is better than angels, Moses, High Priest, author of a better covenant, etc. he spends much of his last words on how we behave in this new covenant and under the influence of the true Messiah. Some of these behaviors are after ‘let’ or ‘remember’: brotherly love, entertaining of strangers, remembering those who are in prison, having a pure marriage, being without covetousness, remembering those who mentored us in the faith, praising God, praying for others. Correct theology is no substitute for righteous conduct.
Verses 5&6 are also interesting. It is said that the words ‘content with such things as you have’ here is more than just being ‘satisfied’. It also has the meaning of dependence on the Holy Spirit to the extent that we are independent of whatever outward circumstances might want to trouble us. Kenneth Wuest says, “Paul was self-sufficient because he was Christ dependent.”
Finally, vs. 6 in the original apparently has the literal meaning, emphasized by several negatives, “For He Himself has said, and the statement is on record, I will not, I will not cease to sustain and uphold you, I will not, I will not, I will not let you down….”
What a powerful promise this is!
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