Since chapters 3 and 4 were both lengthy with a significant amount of information, I thought it was best to do separate chapter summaries instead of in the concluding verses of the chapter. Plus, chapters 3 and 4 hold the second warning so it is somewhat natural to include these both. So today, we will provide an overview of what we saw in these two chapters as well as some concluding thoughts and applications.
Chapter 3 Overview:
Let’s start with a question that will guide our discussion. How do we put first things first in our lives? We give top attention to God’s work. We seek to follow the will of Jesus in all we do. We focus on Jesus and those tasks which we must do in obedience to Christ Jesus. Also, we neglect those things which do not fit in with His will.
Chapter 3 of Hebrews contrasts the attention which we must give to Jesus with that attention which some had offered to Moses. The writer of Hebrews proclaimed, “Jesus is superior to Moses.” Why was Jesus superior to Moses? The writer gave us several reasons, but let’s boil it down to a few.
First, Jesus was superior to Moses because Jesus served as a Son over God’s house while Moses was a servant in God’s house (Heb. 3:5–6). It is more important for us to follow the King who has authority over God’s people than to follow a servant who operates among God’s people. It is more important to follow Jesus than to listen to Moses or any other competitor for our loyalty. One thing to think about with this is what are we pursuing? What is vying for our attention? What seems to rule in our hearts? Is it God or something else? What are we seeking to bring us satisfaction? What are the desires of our heart telling us? Are we desiring money or God? Title or God? Attention/fame or God and His glory? If it seems like we are seeking to be satisfied in anything other than God, then let us re-focus our hearts on God. Let us live in the grace and mercy of God instead of trying to live in works trying to work our way closer to God.
Second, because Jesus was and is so prominent in God’s plan, neglecting Jesus was more serious than neglecting Moses (3:7–19). Those Israelites who wandered for forty years in the wilderness of Sinai had rejected God’s commands (Num. 14:20–38). The same fate was possible for the readers of Hebrews. They were encouraged not to be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (we see this again in chapter four with the reminder to not harden our hearts). Unbelief had prevented the wilderness generation from entering God’s rest for them. The same thing could happen to these people.
It is important for us to put Jesus first. He is more important than having fun, getting a promotion, making lots of money, or completing any other personal goal. Nothing can compare with the joy of having Him one day say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21).
It is easy to lose perspective in doing life’s work. We can get involved in doing good things instead of the very best things. We can maintain a routine just because we like following routines. We can let second-rate goals consume most of our energy (cue the classic business lesson of the big rocks and small rocks). We can put our own comfort and security ahead of a mission for the sake of Christ. We can let the business of living, doing the necessary chores of life, and making a reputation for ourselves become our goals. We must put first things first and make our chief business that of following Jesus, His glory, and doing His will.
Ask yourself, “What does Jesus really want me to do?” Then follow up with the answer to this question: How can I focus on those things which are God’s will for me?
Responding to the answer of these questions will involve prayer, reflection, and an openness to God’s will. Putting them into practice will cause a new arrangement of your schedules, a change in your daily priorities, and the addition and subtraction of some items from your schedule.
It is eternally important to put Jesus first. Do anything necessary to make that your goal.
Chapter 3 Principles and Applications:
PRINCIPLES
- Jesus was faithful to follow every task which the Father delegated to Him.
- Jesus deserves more honor and attention than any other competitor for our attention.
- Jesus’ commandments and promises in Scripture provide direction for victorious living.
- Jesus provides His blessings only if we endure in our obedience, faithful to the end.
APPLICATIONS
- Honor and focus on Jesus over all competitors for your commitment.
- Be careful not to substitute your own opinions for following the will of God.
- Encourage one another and avoid the deceitfulness of sin.
- Understand the consequences of hardening your hearts and falling into unbelief. Hold God’s Word in the highest regard in your life. Let it have authority in your life.
- Do not live in unbelief or you will miss God’s rest.
Chapter 4 Overview:
At times in our lives, we have needed to run to a store that was open 24 hours. Most of the times, it has been due to a crisis or a health need like when our kids have run high fevers and we did not have appropriate medicine for them. Or maybe when we are traveling and needed a few supplies during the night that we didn’t have on hand. I don’t use them that often, but am always thankful for them when I need them.
In a similar way, God is always open. He never closes and never runs out of the necessities. His supply chain is perfect as He is infinite in all His abilities. No matter what our needs are, He always has the ability to supply them out of His abundance. His throne of grace is always available to lead us to experience His rest. His mercy and grace and love is available all around the clock. He is always open to listening to us and is always there for us. Our friends may be sleeping when we are struggling, but God is there and listens and comforts. At the end of chapter 4, we saw that we can come boldly and with confidence to God’s throne of grace, so that we can receive mercy and grace in our time of need. So come to God with boldness, courage, and confidence, an awareness of His majesty, and a willingness to claim His mercy and grace to reach His rest. Jesus can provide in ways others cannot.
You and I learn to rely on others experience for our news, weather, sports analysis, and finances among many others. We also learn to rely on experience for guidance and strength in living the Christian life. The writer of Hebrews wanted us to know that Jesus was approachable. He was able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Jesus understood us and our issues, without condoning our easily-disturbed tempers, wavering commitment, fear of the future, and self-centeredness. When we come to Jesus with confession of our need and pleas for strength, we have the assurance that He identifies with us and understands our sorrows and griefs.
More importantly, however, is the fact that Jesus overcame sin. He faced the entire gamut of sinful temptation which comes to us. He faced hunger, desire for power, and an appeal to utilize His powers. Each of these temptations (Matt. 4:1–11) provided an opportunity to compromise, but Jesus did not compromise. He faced the loneliness of the cross, the desertion of His disciples, and the opposition of His enemies (Matt. 26:36–46). He determined to follow only the will of God and never compromised His obedience to the Father’s plan.
Jesus is approachable, and Jesus is experienced. He experienced the temptation to sin, and He overcame it. Because we have a Savior like this, we can come to Him for help, encouragement, mercy, and grace. The concluding words of chapter 4 remind us to trust the one with experience: Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need (Heb. 4:16, NASB).
Chapter 4 Principles and Applications:
PRINCIPLES
- God provides His people the rest of His presence.
- Faith in God’s promises through Jesus is necessary to reach God’s rest.
- Diligently keep seeking God. Do not harden your hearts
- Listening to God’s message can help us understand the barriers to God’s work in our lives.
- Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses and failures. He understands.
- God offers His mercy and grace for those who boldly seek it.
APPLICATIONS
- Examine yourself to be certain that you are not disobeying God and His commands.
- Live with a conscious awareness of Jesus’ presence in your life.
- Read God’s message in the Bible to learn His diagnosis of your needs.
- Don’t be timid about coming to God to confess your sin and claim His forgiveness. You are a child of God and His throne of grace and mercy are open and available to you. He is there ready to listen.
- Tell Jesus your areas of weakness and ask Him to lead you to deeper relationship with Him.
- Tell Him your struggles, anxieties, fears, and worries, and enter the rest that comes from God being sovereign. He will give you peace. His grace is sufficient and His grace will walk you through these troubling times.
- We who have experienced God’s mercy and forgiveness should, in turn, show mercy to others.
Some additional thoughts:
Mercy (Greek eleos) – found in 4:16; Rom 15:9; Eph 2:4; Titus 3:5; Jude 21.
The Greek word for mercy denotes an outward demonstration of pity, a sympathy that expresses itself in helping a person in need instead of remaining completely passive. The word eleos is often used in conjunction with the Greek word charis, translated grace (Eph 2:4, 5; 1 Tim 1:2; 1 Pet 1:2, 3). A similar idea is expressed by the Hebrew word chesed, often translated lovingkindness or goodness. It is the “loyal love” that God freely showed the Israelites because of His covenant with them. The ultimate expression of God’s mercy is His voluntary offering of His only Son for our sins, even when we were still His enemies (Eph 2:4, 5). Since Jesus, our Intercessor at the right hand of God (Heb 7:25), has experienced every kind of temptation we endure (4:15), we can approach Him with boldness and confidence, knowing that we will find sympathy and mercy. We who have experienced God’s mercy and forgiveness should, in turn, show mercy to others (James 2:12).
Disobedience (4:6, 11):
The act of disobedience is closely related to disbelief. Disbelief is a self-chosen unfaithfulness. Disbelief in attitude leads to disobedience in action. The disobedience of Hebrews 3:18 led to the disbelief of Hebrews 3:19. One act affected the other. Disbelief leads to disobedience. Disobedience leads to disbelief.
Hebrews 4:6 calls attention to the failure of the wilderness generation to receive God’s promise and to enter His rest. The generation of the Exodus had received the good news of the gospel, but they disobeyed and disbelieved. Their disbelief excluded them from the land of promise.
Hebrews 4:11 warns believers not to be lackadaisical with God’s promise. They must receive His promise in faith and obey it in daily life. Those who wandered in the wilderness rejected God’s promise. The readers of Hebrews must avoid imitating their evil example.
God gives His message readily to us in Scripture. We can choose to obey it, or we can ignore it and live our lives as if God’s words do not matter. We must choose to live our lives with a faithful commitment to Jesus as our Savior. Having chosen to follow Him, we must take up our cross of obedience each day and live in whatever calling He has given us. To do anything less involves both disbelief and disobedience.
The challenge to obey is not merely a challenge limited to the generation who read Hebrews for the first time. It is a call to action for us to continually obey as well.
The Authorship of Scripture (4:7):
Hebrews 3:7 quotes Psalm 95:7b and cites the Holy Spirit as the author. Hebrews 4:7 refers to the same passage and names David as the author. Comparing these two quotations brings out the combination of the divine and human in producing Scripture. Ultimately God, speaking through the Holy Spirit, is the author of all Scripture. The human author was the instrument God used by the inspiration of the Spirit in the human being. Because God is the author, He speaks to us through the content of Scripture.
To write Scripture, God worked through human beings. David may have spoken or written the words, but the authority of God lay behind them. The Hebrew Old Testament did not designate a human author for Psalm 95. The Greek Old Testament cited David as the author.
The important feature of the quote in 4:7, however, is that God still offered a rest to His people. God speaking through the Holy Spirit in David’s writings was showing that the rest promised to those who fell in the wilderness was still available for the readers of Hebrews. This fact was not merely the opinion of the author of Hebrews; it was a statement from the Holy Spirit.