Contextual Study of the Letter to Hebrews

Theme that The New is far superior to the Old

The major thread woven throughout this letter is the idea that the New Covenant is far better than the Old Sinai Covenant. We will notice that with reference to the New Covenant, the word ‘better’ appears 13 times (once per chapter), the phrase more excellent, 4 times and the word perfect, 12 times. The Greek word for ‘better’, is best understood as that which is stronger, or of higher character. The writer of Hebrews is stressing the fact that the New Covenant is STRONGER or OF A HIGHER CHARACTER than the first one. The New Covenant makes PERFECT, that which the first cannot, and the things pertaining to the New are MORE EXCELLENT.

It is because the New is better than the Old, that it is pure folly to seek to return to the Old. It would be like a young boy who dreams of owning a Porche one day. So to remind him of his dream, he carries a magazine ad for Porche with him until one day he is able to buy one. But he then decides to walk away from the real thing, and go back to a picture from a magazine. He walked away from the substance, and returned to the shadow.

Even the Apostle Peter addresses this issue of some turning their backs on the revelation they had received concerning God’s salvation in Christ. In his second letter, he spends the whole of chapter two warning his readers of the false teachers who will try to gain a foothold in their lives. As a warning to those who follow these false teachers, these “wells without water,” he says,

20. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

To turn away after having, “escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” is equal to a dog returning to its own vomit again.

When looking at the internal evidence, it is apparent that the recipients are Jews who professed a faith in the Messiah Jesus or were those who had “tasted” the goodness of God through the gospel message. The language used could be understood to apply to either group. In verse 4 of chapter 6, he speaks of those who have ‘been enlightened ’. This enlightenment, according to its verbal construction, is a once-for-all time enlightenment. They had been enlightened to the point of having tasted the heavenly gift, and being made partakers of the Holy Spirit. Not only this, but they have tasted the good word of God, even the powers of the age to come.

We must ask the question, what is the problem with these Jewish believers? If we go to chapters 3 & 4 of Hebrews, we will find a strong clue. In these chapters, the writer uses the children of Israel in the wilderness as an example of warning to these believers.

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. [Heb. 3:8-9]
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. [Heb. 3:12]

The context of this warning is found in Numbers, where the Israelites were commanded to go in and possess the land. They had come in their travels to Kadesh-barnea. It was here that they sent in a reconnaissance team of 12 men, to spy out the land. They returned with their report, that the land was indeed good, flowing with milk and honey. To this they all agreed. But 10 of them also reported GIANTS in the land. The other two, Joshua and Caleb, also saw the giants. All 12 saw and experienced the same things, but only two had a good report based on faith. Their report was, ‘We can take it, because we have a Powerful and Awesome God’. But the multitude of Israel, did not believe their report, but believed the evil report of the ten. So they said, ‘We cannot do this, we are like grasshoppers in the sight of these giants’.

Even though they experienced the mighty power of God in the wilderness, delivering them from Egypt through the Red Sea, making His presence known in the Cloud of Presence during the day and the Pillar of Fire at night. He fed them with manna from heaven and they drank water from a rock. And when they craved meat, the Lord brought them quail. He did all He could do to sustain them in a circumstance, where without Him, they would have all perished. Even though they all experienced these mighty miracles of God, when it came time to trust Him to bring them into their land, they could not do it.

And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, and the whole congregation said unto them, “Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Eygpt? AND THEY SAID ONE TO ANOTHER, LET US MAKE US A CAPTAIN AND LET US RETURN INTO EGYPT.” [Num. 14:1-4]

In spite of Moses’ pleading with them, they would not listen. At this point, God is ready to destroy them on the spot, but Moses intercedes for them, and God chooses another course of action.

Then God says to Moses,

Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it. [Num. 14:22-23]

Then in Num. 14:28-45, the Lord tells them that due to their lack of faith in Him, they shall not see the land that He swore to give them. Instead, they would wander for 40 years and die in this wilderness, while their children, whom they said would be a prey, would enter in. Only Joshua and Caleb, who brought a good report, would be allowed to enter in of the original twelve.

Upon hearing this pronouncement of the Lord, the Israelites suddenly found the courage to go up and possess the land (vs.40). Moses told them, ‘don’t go up, for the Lord is not with you ’. But they would not listen and presumed to go up anyway. In their minds, they were being obedient to the Lord’s command, but it was no longer faith, but presumption. They went up to fight, and were sorely defeated. Because of unbelief, they had failed to attain to the purpose of God. God’s purpose for them was not to live wasted lives in the wilderness, but to live in the fulfillment of His promises to their fathers.

Now, back to Hebrews 6. It is in this background that the writer admonishes these believers to continue in their walk of faith in the Messiah. Those Israelites did not enter into the land of promise because of their unbelief (Heb. 3:19). THEY DID NOT FULFILL THEIR PURPOSE IN GOD, BECAUSE THEY DID NOT TRUST AND BELIEVE HIM. This is the point of Hebrews 6, and the essence of the warning of the writer to these believers. There is a danger of not fulfilling your purpose in God, and this is done only due to a lack of trust and faith in Him.

Some of the recipients of the letter seemed to be in danger of returning to trusting in the old rites of the Levitical sacrificial system, which the writer points out were mere shadows of the reality found in Jesus. Just as the ancient Israelites wanted to return to Egypt, some of these believing were tempted to return to the works of the Law. Why would they return to the emptiness of a mere shadow? In a word, persecution. They were likely being persecuted by their fellow-countrymen, who were shadow-worshippers. In Hebrews 10, the writer tells them,

32. But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,
33. sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
34. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
35. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
36. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
37. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38. but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
39. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Here is further evidence that these were believers. In verse 32, the writer refers to the days in which they were illuminated, which is the identical word used in 6:4, enlightened. In ancient religious culture, Light was Salvation. These believers became a public spectacle of scorn, through verbal and physical abuse. They endured joyfully the spoiling of their material goods, and were companions with others in the Body who were enduring the same treatment. They understood that they had a more enduring and better possession in heaven, than they could ever have here. Their Best Life was not in the here and now, but was laid up for them in heaven. In other words, they had begun well, and now the writer exhorts them not to cast away their confidence in Christ, because it will pay off for them. Therefore, they had need of patient endurance, after they have done the will of God, they would receive the promise.

It is evident from the language of the writer, that some of them were on the verge of abandoning the New and returning to the Old. For this reason he warns them that God has no pleasure in them that shrink back. This phrase means, to shrink back or withhold something because of fearfulness or timidity. The word, destroyed, means destruction, waste, or to destroy through waste. The tragic results of this drawing back, is that one would waste their life, or destroy it through wasting it, living in fear and distrust of the promises of God. The ultimate waste for the child of God, is to not live in the realization of God’s plan for their life.

However, the writer says, “ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” The writer says that they are not of the same group who shrink back because of fearfulness or timidity. This tells us that there are those who do so. Who are these that draw back because of fear?

Example of those who shrink back

One example of those who would shrink back from following Jesus is found in John, chapter 6. Jesus proclaimed himself the Bread of Life. His teaching went to such depths, that none of his disciples could understand it. It became revolting to them, to the point that some of them, “went back and walked no more with him.” They turned their backs on Him and walked no more with Him, because they lacked faith IN HIM. These men walked away into perdition, i.e., walked into a wasted life. Jesus then turned to the twelve and asked them if they would go away also. Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life.” The twelve did not understand the words of Jesus, anymore than those who went back. But they had one thing that the others did not, faith in the Person of Jesus the Christ. Notice Peter said, “To WHOM shall we go?” This is why the writer says, we are not of those who draw back..., because we are of those who have faith in Him. Earlier, the writer says,

9. Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.
10. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
11. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,
12. so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Heb.6:9-12)

Even though the writer gives such stern warnings, he says that he is persuaded better things for them, even though he speaks in such a manner. He simply exhorts them not to be ‘slothful’, or dull and sluggish in their responses to God’s word. They are to show diligence in their faith, resulting in a full assurance of hope (confidence) unto the very end. This is what marks the difference between those who draw back and those who do not. It is not that true believers do not struggle, or have their times of wavering. It is that they continue in their faith and confidence in the Lord and his promises, in the face of doubt and struggles. They possess a BELIEVING LOYALTY TO THE PERSON OF JESUS. This is the mark of real believers, continuing even though they may fall. Peter is a good example of this.

So, what does the writer mean when he says, “For it is impossible…”? What is impossible? It is impossible to “restore them again to repentance.” It is impossible to erase all the truth they have heard, and take them back to the point of beginning anew. They are responsible before God for all that they have heard and how they have responded to it.