In these four verses, the author took a break
from discussing about Christ’s superiority to bring an exhortation to his
hearers. Having given reasons for the supremacy of Christ Jesus over that of
angels, he was concerned for them to respond positively to that revelation. So
here, he earnestly exhorted them first to pay attention to what was revealed.
Together with that exhortation, he also sounded out a warning for those who
would not take heed.
In verse 1 is the exhortation to avoid the sin
of omission. Why? Taking heed to the message could prevent them from destruction.
It would stop them wandering away from the superior revelation concerning their
salvation. Verses 2 and 3 contain the warning. Here, he made reference to the rabbinic
teaching that angels had attended the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.
Deuteronomy 33:2 reveals that the Lord came from the midst of ten thousand of
His holy ones. This same theme was quoted in two New Testament passages. In
Galatians 3:19, Paul said that the Law was “ordained through angels,” and
Stephen in Acts 7:53 addressing the Jews pointed out to them that they did not
keep the Law “ordained by angels.”
The author’s point is this: even when the
message was given through angels, God had already demanded obedience. And those
who transgressed and were disobedient to the Law had been dealt with severely.
Hence, how could one hope to escape if he or she neglects a more important message
concerning his salvation sent through the Son.
In talking about escaping, the author was calling
on them to avoid the consequence of disregarding the message. The author here
implied that if the message given through angels had proven important, the message
given through the Son would be infinitely more so. Basically, he was
contrasting the message given by angels and the superior revelation concerning
salvation. And he cited several reasons to show why the latter revelation is
more superior:
·
It was first spoken through the Lord.
·
It was affirmed by apostolic witnesses.
·
It was attested by God through signs, wonders and miracles.
·
It was established by the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to
His own will.
The word obedience has
the word “die” right smack in the center. The word die has the letter “I” in
the center. Therefore if obedience is to take place in our lives, the “I” in
the center must die. Let’s just do it.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
No comments:
Post a Comment