In
sharing about those who “sin willfully after”
they “have received the knowledge of the truth”,
the writer of Hebrews asked “of how much sorer
punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden
under the foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, and unholy thing, and has done
despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
. In chapter ten and verse thirty of Hebrews the writer shares
how God says, “vengeance belongs to me” where we
read:
For we
know him that has said, Vengeance belongs unto me,
I will
recompense, says the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his
people.
The
verse begins, “For we know him that
has said, Vengeance belongs
unto me,...”.
The writer
began with the word, “For”
which means “even as, indeed, seeing then, verily and therefore”
“we know”
or “perceive, notice, discern and discover” “him
that has said”
which means “the one who has spoken, told, commanded and declared”,
“Vengeance” or
“revenge, vindication, retribution and punishment” “belongs”
which means “is held, owned and possessed” “unto
me” which
refers to God. The writer referred to the way the Lord reserves “pay
back and revenge” for Himself.
The
verse goes on to say, “... I will recompense, says the
Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”. The
writer continued with the words, “I will recompense” or
“God will repay, requite, penalize and render”, “says”
which means “speaks, affirms, maintains, exhorts, advises,
commands, directs and intends” “the Lord”
which refers to “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which
he has power of deciding; master and the title give to God the
Messiah” “And again”
or “and anew and renewed with a repetition of the action, further
and moreover”, “The Lord”
which refers to “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which
he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the
Messiah” “shall judge”
or “will separate, put asunder, pick out, choose, select, approve,
esteem, prefer, determine, resolve and decree” “his
people” which refers to “God's
tribe, nation and those of the same stock and language”. God
declared that He would be the one who would “determine, command and
direct” the happenings of His own people.
When
we think through these words in Hebrews, we realize that God declared
that He would take “vengeance” upon those who came against
Him and His people. The writer of Hebrews warned His readers
concerning abandoning “the knowledge of the truth”, and
His reference is to the numerous times the Bible shared concerning
God's revenge upon people. (See Isaiah 63:4; Deuteronomy 32:35;
Isaiah 34:8; Jeremiah 46:10, 50:15, 51:6, 51:11; Nahum 1:2; Acts
28:4; Romans 3:5, 12:19) Once again we are brought to a “Holy fear
and awe” of Almighty God who has reserved “repayment” for
“sins” for Himself, and those who do not know and keep Jesus
Christ as their personal “Savior and Lord” should indeed take
heed and be purified by this warning.
Next
time the writer warns his readers how it is a “fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God”,
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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