Day 320

Ezekiel 33:1–34:31; Hebrews 13:1-25; Psalm 115:1-18; Proverbs 27:21-22

TODAY WE CONCLUDED the power-packed vision of the gospel known as the book of Hebrews. In doing so, we were counseled to remember those who had brought the Good News to us in the first place and to imitate their faith. Obviously, this is still necessary today, and we need no less reminding. Our spiritual heritage is a fundamental piece of our journey with God and should be imitated and honored.

We were also told to watch out for strange teachings. Rather than renouncing specifics, the writer of Hebrews discerned this from an entirely Hebrew perspective. Yes, there were strange teachings. But the true gospel was the one in which all the prophecies were fulfilled. This was accomplished through one person: Jesus. In a particularly Hebrew-centric parallel, we read,

Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore.

For Hebrew believers who were suffering persecution, this parallel would have been deeply meaningful, as it still should be for us. Our relationship with God may not be understood by everyone around us. We may suffer ridicule or mischaracterization.

As we finish today, let’s remember the great journey we’ve taken in Hebrews. We learned that God has done a new thing in the world through Jesus. He has instituted a new covenant —one in which we are permitted to personally enter the Holy of Holies. Because of this new covenant, we may personally collaborate with and enjoy a relationship with God —a relationship that is built through faith and hope in what we cannot see.

Faith has always been and will always be the means by which we experience life with God —and faith is a spiritual muscle that has to be strengthened. Therefore, we must lose whatever is slowing us down and run the race of life with endurance.

Part of that endurance is persevering through marginalization and persecution. We must not slink back into the woodwork of society. We must boldly live into the reality that we are part of a new family of God, in which Jesus was the firstborn.

As we meditate on the core truths found in Hebrews, we see through the eyes of faith into our ultimate destiny, which makes the closing benediction all the more meaningful:

Now may the God of peace —who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood —may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

WORSHIP:

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.