The
writer of Hebrews declared, “It is a fearful thing to
fall into the hands of the living God”,
and as he continued to share about people who “willingly
sin” after having “knowledge
of the truth” in
chapter ten and verse thirty-two of Hebrews the writer exhorts
his readers to “call to remembrance the former days”
where we read:
But call
to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were illuminated,
you
endured a great fight of afflictions;
The
verse begins, “But
call to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were
illuminated,...”. The
writer began with the word, “but”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated “call
to remembrance”
which means “be reminded of, admonished by and call to mind” “the
former days”
or “the prior, previous and aforementioned time period”,
“in which”
which means “in that” “after you
were illuminated” or
“given to light, shined upon, enlightened and rendered evident”.
The writer exhorted his readers to “remember” the “early days”
when they first came to know Jesus as their Savior.
The
verse continues, “...you endured a great fight of
afflictions;”. The writer
added the words, “you endured” or
“took patiently, tarried behind and suffered” “a
great flight” which means “a
large contest, combat, striving, struggle and hard trial”
“of afflictions” or
“sufferings, misfortunes, calamities and evil influence and
emotion”. The people who knew Jesus as Savior “struggled” with
many “misfortunes and calamities”.
When
we meditate upon these words in Hebrews, we see the writer's
exhortation for his readers to be reminded of the time when they
“suffered great afflictions” for their “enlightenment”
of Jesus Christ and His “sacrifice” for their sins.
Sometimes people believe there will be no “suffering” when they
accept Jesus Christ as their “Savior and Lord”, however, this is
not the case. Many times those who believe in Jesus have
“afflictions” like everyone else, and as the writer of
Hebrews calls their attention toward their “former days” of
“suffering” we should keep in mind that it is much better to go
through the difficulties in life with Jesus than without Him.
Next
time the writer shares how his readers were considered a
“gazingstock both by
reproaches and afflictions”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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