Heb 12:11-13 | KingComments | STEP | . The writer encourages the Hebrews that they should not give up too easily. For all opposition, resistance and affliction they were enduring, they had an example in the Lord Jesus. By looking at Him they will be able to persevere. But they also have forgotten something, namely a certain exhortation. That was because they had become dull of hearing ( ). The point is, that there was external pressure and that they had become forgetful. They had forgotten something that was written in the Scripture and what was meant for them. In the quoted text Solomon is addressing his son, but here it is said that the exhortation is addressed to them, the Hebrew believers. This is an important starting point if you read the Scripture. Then you are to consider that the voice of God addresses you. Because the Hebrews had forgotten that, they dealt wrongly with the difficulties that they endured on their path of faith. Here you learn that when you have to endure trials, because of being faithful, God uses those trials to discipline you. With discipline you may easily think that it happens because there is something wrong and that you should be punished or disciplined for that. That may be the case sometimes, but is not necessarily always so. Here discipline is not corrective but preventative, to prevent deviation. Discipline is also educative here with the purpose that the believer will more and more look like God. He wants you to partake of His holiness ( ). With the Lord Jesus this discipline was not necessary. He always perfectly partook of the holiness of God, because He Himself was the holy God. Just like you’re fixing your eyes on the Lord Jesus on the path of faith, in that way your eyes are fixed on the Father if it concerns discipline. He doesn’t use a whip to discipline you, but the pruning knife ( ). He disciplines us (see Job in the book of Job), but He does that as a loving Father. It gives a lot of rest if you consider that what happens to you, is not caused by people, but that it comes from the hand of a loving Father. That is also what the writer wants to tell the Hebrews. He wants them to realize that they are addressed as “sons”. In chapter 2 they are also addressed like that, as sons who are on the way to the glory ( ). Discipline or education is the proof of sonship. Now, you may respond in two ways to discipline of your heavenly Father. Solomon said that in his wisdom to his son ( ). On the one hand you may ignore the discipline of the Lord. That means that you act as if the difficulties and trials do not bother you. You remain indifferently and stoically under it. They have no special meaning for you. You may also consider them as situations that can happen to anyone. In itself, it surely is; but you are not anyone. You are someone with whom God deals with as a son. God is interested in you and educates you. Therefore He has His purpose with the things that happen to you. And that’s why you certainly cannot ignore that. On the other hand you do not need to take them that heavily that it presses you totally down. It is not that God uses discipline to pour out His full wrath over you. You may experience it like that, but that is surely not true. No, you may know that God acts out of love. . Discipline is a proof of His love and is certainly not meant to discourage you. When discipline serves as punishment, then that means that God wants to convince you of something that is wrong, so that you may remove the wrong things out of your life. That is not necessarily something that you do wrong, but something that can cause you to do that. After all, some Hebrews were in danger to leave the path of faith. As it is said, discipline doesn’t always mean that one should be punished for something. If you see discipline like that, whether it concerns you or others, you will draw the wrong conclusion. The outward, physical circumstances are not always the result of the condition of the soul. The friends of Job drew that wrong conclusion. They saw what happened to Job and were convinced that he had committed a great sin. But God punished them because of their remarks on this. With Gaius you see how discipline happens regarding the body, while the soul prospers ( ). That discipline can hurt, is indicated by the word “scourges”. Hereby you may think of the thorn in the flesh Paul had ( ). That thorn was painful in the exertion of his ministry. It made him despicable – and this he endured for the sake of the Lord –, but that thorn also kept his flesh in control. This is how God deals with “every son whom He receives”. In the word ‘receive’ joy is sounding through. The word means ‘acknowledge with joy’. A real son is someone in whom his father is well pleased (cf. ). In this way the Father desires to have us as sons, according to the good pleasure of His will ( ). We are sons. God has given us this place on the basis of the work of His Son. He also desires that we live up to this in practice. To achieve this He disciplines us, for discipline serves to remove things that are not pleasing to Him out of our lives, so that we may be more pleasing to Him. . Therefore, in all discipline you should see the loving interference of God, Who deals with you as with a son. Be sure that this happens to every son. Sometimes it is quite visible, but even if certain believers visibly prosper, they surely partake of discipline, although it is not seen at first glance. “All”, those are all believers, are partakers of it. Every son is disciplined by his father. God also dealt with Israel, His firstborn son, like that ( ; ; ). If the Hebrews are not partakers of discipline, they should have to worry about that instead of worrying about the discipline they were experiencing at that moment. If they were not partakers, it would mean that God was not interested in them and that He would have dealt with them as illegitimates. Illegitimates are not real sons. Therefore, if they would have missed discipline, it would mean that they were Christians in name or fake sons. Now they were really disciplined, it was proof that God had received them as sons. . With the word “furthermore” the writer adds a comparison between God and an earthly father. In this comparison it becomes clear that God is so much more than an earthly father. Our fathers after the flesh, “earthly fathers”, also corrected us. That belongs to the education. Because of their correction we respected them. How much more do we have respect to our heavenly, spiritual, Father. That Father is the origin of every spiritual life ( ; ). Just like you as a child had to, or perhaps still have to, subject to the disciplining hand of your earthly father, in that way you should also subject yourself to the discipline of God. If you subject yourself to that, you will “live”! The point is not that you should learn to deal with the difficulties of life, but how you can enjoy the true life. Only then you really live the way God has purposed. . Now, your earthly father is fallible, but God is not. God never makes mistakes. The correction of your earthly father is also limited to “a short time”, which are the days of your youth, while God corrects you through your whole life. Ultimately His discipline is never meaningless, but is always for your benefit, for your improvement and advantage. His ultimate purpose with His discipline is that you “may share His holiness”. Your spiritual well-being depends on that. This involves more than just being sanctified, or set apart, in terms of your position ( ). It implies that you separate yourself from evil, just as God is separate from it and that you learn to be totally dedicated to God in everything. He doesn’t demand holiness here, but He works that. Discipline is His means for that. That enables you to have full joy in God. . The first response to discipline is not joy. If discipline were to give joy, it would miss its effect. All positive aspects of discipline that the writer has demonstrated in the previous verses do not change the fact that discipline itself is not something that makes you happy. It is not pleasant. If that would be the case, it would not mean discipline. On the contrary, the unpleasing thing about it should teach us to change our walk in such a way that we don’t have to be disciplined anymore. Therefore the discipline is meant for “the moment”. When discipline has achieved its goal, then there is a reason to be joyful. Then it is profitable. By discipline you are “trained”, which means that you are taught how to deal with it. By training you learn how to control something. If you are willing to accept discipline in that way, if you can handle it like that, then it will bring you closer to God. The result is that you will enjoy more of the peace and you will grow in bringing righteousness into practice. The “peaceful fruit of righteousness” will soon be reality to Israel in the millennial kingdom of peace, after they have gone through the sufferings of the great tribulation. God wants to work that fruit now already through His education in your life ( ). Now read Hebrews 12:5-11 again. Reflection: What chastening do you recognize in your life as God’s dealings with you to enable you to partake of His holiness?

‏ Hebrews 12:11-13

God Deals With Sons

Heb 12:5. The writer encourages the Hebrews that they should not give up too easily. For all opposition, resistance and affliction they were enduring, they had an example in the Lord Jesus. By looking at Him they will be able to persevere. But they also have forgotten something, namely a certain exhortation. That was because they had become dull of hearing (Heb 5:11-12).

The point is, that there was external pressure and that they had become forgetful. They had forgotten something that was written in the Scripture and what was meant for them. In the quoted text Solomon is addressing his son, but here it is said that the exhortation is addressed to them, the Hebrew believers. This is an important starting point if you read the Scripture. Then you are to consider that the voice of God addresses you. Because the Hebrews had forgotten that, they dealt wrongly with the difficulties that they endured on their path of faith.

Here you learn that when you have to endure trials, because of being faithful, God uses those trials to discipline you. With discipline you may easily think that it happens because there is something wrong and that you should be punished or disciplined for that. That may be the case sometimes, but is not necessarily always so. Here discipline is not corrective but preventative, to prevent deviation. Discipline is also educative here with the purpose that the believer will more and more look like God. He wants you to partake of His holiness (Heb 12:10). With the Lord Jesus this discipline was not necessary. He always perfectly partook of the holiness of God, because He Himself was the holy God.

Just like you’re fixing your eyes on the Lord Jesus on the path of faith, in that way your eyes are fixed on the Father if it concerns discipline. He doesn’t use a whip to discipline you, but the pruning knife (Jn 15:1-2). He disciplines us (see Job in the book of Job), but He does that as a loving Father. It gives a lot of rest if you consider that what happens to you, is not caused by people, but that it comes from the hand of a loving Father. That is also what the writer wants to tell the Hebrews. He wants them to realize that they are addressed as “sons”. In chapter 2 they are also addressed like that, as sons who are on the way to the glory (Heb 2:10). Discipline or education is the proof of sonship.

Now, you may respond in two ways to discipline of your heavenly Father. Solomon said that in his wisdom to his son (Pro 3:11). On the one hand you may ignore the discipline of the Lord. That means that you act as if the difficulties and trials do not bother you. You remain indifferently and stoically under it. They have no special meaning for you. You may also consider them as situations that can happen to anyone. In itself, it surely is; but you are not anyone. You are someone with whom God deals with as a son. God is interested in you and educates you. Therefore He has His purpose with the things that happen to you. And that’s why you certainly cannot ignore that.

On the other hand you do not need to take them that heavily that it presses you totally down. It is not that God uses discipline to pour out His full wrath over you. You may experience it like that, but that is surely not true. No, you may know that God acts out of love.

Heb 12:6. Discipline is a proof of His love and is certainly not meant to discourage you. When discipline serves as punishment, then that means that God wants to convince you of something that is wrong, so that you may remove the wrong things out of your life. That is not necessarily something that you do wrong, but something that can cause you to do that. After all, some Hebrews were in danger to leave the path of faith.

As it is said, discipline doesn’t always mean that one should be punished for something. If you see discipline like that, whether it concerns you or others, you will draw the wrong conclusion. The outward, physical circumstances are not always the result of the condition of the soul. The friends of Job drew that wrong conclusion. They saw what happened to Job and were convinced that he had committed a great sin. But God punished them because of their remarks on this. With Gaius you see how discipline happens regarding the body, while the soul prospers (3Jn 1:2).

That discipline can hurt, is indicated by the word “scourges”. Hereby you may think of the thorn in the flesh Paul had (2Cor 12:7). That thorn was painful in the exertion of his ministry. It made him despicable – and this he endured for the sake of the Lord –, but that thorn also kept his flesh in control. This is how God deals with “every son whom He receives”. In the word ‘receive’ joy is sounding through. The word means ‘acknowledge with joy’.

A real son is someone in whom his father is well pleased (cf. Mt 3:17). In this way the Father desires to have us as sons, according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph 1:5). We are sons. God has given us this place on the basis of the work of His Son. He also desires that we live up to this in practice. To achieve this He disciplines us, for discipline serves to remove things that are not pleasing to Him out of our lives, so that we may be more pleasing to Him.

Heb 12:7-8. Therefore, in all discipline you should see the loving interference of God, Who deals with you as with a son. Be sure that this happens to every son. Sometimes it is quite visible, but even if certain believers visibly prosper, they surely partake of discipline, although it is not seen at first glance. “All”, those are all believers, are partakers of it. Every son is disciplined by his father. God also dealt with Israel, His firstborn son, like that (Exo 4:22; Hos 11:1; Deu 7:8 ; Deu 8:5).

If the Hebrews are not partakers of discipline, they should have to worry about that instead of worrying about the discipline they were experiencing at that moment. If they were not partakers, it would mean that God was not interested in them and that He would have dealt with them as illegitimates. Illegitimates are not real sons. Therefore, if they would have missed discipline, it would mean that they were Christians in name or fake sons. Now they were really disciplined, it was proof that God had received them as sons.

Heb 12:9. With the word “furthermore” the writer adds a comparison between God and an earthly father. In this comparison it becomes clear that God is so much more than an earthly father. Our fathers after the flesh, “earthly fathers”, also corrected us. That belongs to the education. Because of their correction we respected them. How much more do we have respect to our heavenly, spiritual, Father. That Father is the origin of every spiritual life (Num 16:22 ; Num 27:16; Ecc 12:7).

Just like you as a child had to, or perhaps still have to, subject to the disciplining hand of your earthly father, in that way you should also subject yourself to the discipline of God. If you subject yourself to that, you will “live”! The point is not that you should learn to deal with the difficulties of life, but how you can enjoy the true life. Only then you really live the way God has purposed.

Heb 12:10. Now, your earthly father is fallible, but God is not. God never makes mistakes. The correction of your earthly father is also limited to “a short time”, which are the days of your youth, while God corrects you through your whole life. Ultimately His discipline is never meaningless, but is always for your benefit, for your improvement and advantage. His ultimate purpose with His discipline is that you “may share His holiness”.

Your spiritual well-being depends on that. This involves more than just being sanctified, or set apart, in terms of your position (Heb 10:10). It implies that you separate yourself from evil, just as God is separate from it and that you learn to be totally dedicated to God in everything. He doesn’t demand holiness here, but He works that. Discipline is His means for that. That enables you to have full joy in God.

Heb 12:11. The first response to discipline is not joy. If discipline were to give joy, it would miss its effect. All positive aspects of discipline that the writer has demonstrated in the previous verses do not change the fact that discipline itself is not something that makes you happy. It is not pleasant. If that would be the case, it would not mean discipline. On the contrary, the unpleasing thing about it should teach us to change our walk in such a way that we don’t have to be disciplined anymore. Therefore the discipline is meant for “the moment”. When discipline has achieved its goal, then there is a reason to be joyful. Then it is profitable.

By discipline you are “trained”, which means that you are taught how to deal with it. By training you learn how to control something. If you are willing to accept discipline in that way, if you can handle it like that, then it will bring you closer to God. The result is that you will enjoy more of the peace and you will grow in bringing righteousness into practice.

The “peaceful fruit of righteousness” will soon be reality to Israel in the millennial kingdom of peace, after they have gone through the sufferings of the great tribulation. God wants to work that fruit now already through His education in your life (Jn 15:2 ; 8).

Now read Hebrews 12:5-11 again.

Reflection: What chastening do you recognize in your life as God’s dealings with you to enable you to partake of His holiness?

Pursue Peace and Sanctification

Heb 12:12. The word “therefore” with which this section starts, indicates the connection with the previous part. By this the writer says that you can take courage, because the discipline is for your benefit and it serves a wonderful purpose. Your hands, knees and feet can be strengthened again to continue the path of faith to the wonderful goal (Isa 35:3). Should your hands hang down feebly, discouraged by so much contradiction and resistance, then you know now that God uses the difficulties to put you back to work for Him.

Through physical exercise you get stronger muscles. Through spiritual exercise you get more spiritual resilience. Instead of feeble knees you get strong knees. Strong knees you can bow to pray and stretch to walk.

Heb 12:13. If you have feeble knees your feet cannot make “straight paths”. You will not be able to make firm footsteps on the right course to the goal. It is necessary for your own walk that you establish your way (Pro 4:26).

But your established walk is also necessary for others who are limping. He who is limping cannot have an established walk. Such a person rather stumbles. If you also shuttle hither and thither helplessly, you surely cannot offer the limping one any support. On the contrary, your wavering can have the result that the limping one totally gets paralyzed and powerless. But if you follow the right path you are of support to those who cannot make it through on their own. If there are good examples that follow the right course, then the limping ones will not drop behind further, but they will continue their way with new courage.

There is not only mention of power but also of healing. Only on the path that God has for us, power and (spiritual) health are to be found. We should walk there where He can be with us.

Heb 12:14. In the spiritual race we need one another. On the one hand you should walk individually as if you are the only one who could win the prize (1Cor 9:24). On the other hand you walk together with others who pursue that same prize. They are not competitors whom you should be ahead of all the time, but they are fellow fighters with whom you want to cross the finish line together. Regarding your efforts, you should walk as if you are on your own, but what the goal concerns you should realize that you are on the way together with others. You are dependent on them and they are dependent on you. We need one another. We need to care for one another and for the whole companionship of Christians with whom we are on the way.

If you are aware of that you will see that not everyone is at the same pace and also that not everyone is following the same course. If we lose sight of that, there is a great danger that it will cause distance, which means that it will drive a spiritual wedge between the brothers and sisters. That danger can be eliminated by pursuing “peace with all men” (Psa 34:14). Then the runners will slow down a little bit to encourage those who lag behind and support them in any way it is necessary. In that way the whole will stay together.

So you are able to show your connection with your fellow believers by seeking peace with them. But there is one more thing you should pursue and that is “sanctification”. In seeking peace you are focused on others, in pursuing sanctification you are focused on God. It is about your relation to others on the one side, the other thing is about your relation to God. Sanctification indicates an action. It means that you are totally dedicated to God and therefore you separate yourself from everything that is in contrast with God. If you continue to tolerate things in your life that are in contrast with God’s holiness, then they will hinder your sanctification. Sanctification concerns the nature of God (Heb 12:10); sanctification has to do with dedication to the service of God.

Heb 12:15. Interaction with one another is also shown in something else and that is if we carefully see to it “that no one comes short of the grace of God”. ‘To see to’ has some character of the shepherd; it has got to do with overseers who look after the flock (1Pet 5:2). The awareness of God’s grace is essential to keep on going on the path of faith. If someone gets disconnected from that and doesn’t pay attention to grace anymore, then the reverse of pursuing will happen. Such a person will quit and give up the race; he will no longer join the Christian companionship. ‘To come short’ has got to do with to lag behind, missing the connection, that a person ultimately will not reach the finish with the platoon.

The point is that you look around to see if everyone is still partaking of the Christian company by keeping the connection with the grace of God. If someone among the Hebrews would be impressed by the opposition in such a way that he lost sight of God’s grace, then he would come short. He would therefore run the risk to fall back in Judaism. If you or someone else misses the connection with the grace of God, then the danger is great that you return to the world. By speaking with one another about that grace and by pointing one another to that, we encourage each other that the grace of God is most present in the darkest moment.

If someone falls away from the grace of God and pays no attention to it anymore, because he feels to be tossed to and fro by the hardships he can only see, then a root of bitterness will arise (Deu 29:18b). A root has the character of growing. If this root is not radically removed by paying attention again to the grace of God, it will exercise a corruptible influence. Such a root causes troubles and defilement that grab around more and more. Many people will be infected by it. A root of bitterness does not only separate from God, but it also introduces immoral practices.

Heb 12:16. Therefore the next step in this process is immorality or fornication. Corporal fornication is an unacceptable and condemnable sexual unification of a man or a woman outside marriage. God will judge that (Heb 13:4). Spiritual fornication is the connection of the believer with the world in a way that God is set aside (Jam 4:4).

Therefore it is not surprising that after immorality comes “a godless person like Esau”. The profanity of Esau is that he despised the blessings of God concerning the future and preferred a momentary fleshly enjoyment. He was not interested in the future. He wanted to enjoy here and now. Therefore he gave up his birthright and all the additional privileges. The example of Esau was meant to have a terrifying effect on the readers of the letter.

Heb 12:17. The writer reminds the readers of Esau’s end. This example says: He who rejects the blessing regarding the future in favor of a momentary pleasure, will later seek the blessing in vain, no matter the tears there are shed. The Hebrews are warned in that way, so that they will not fall away from the living God. He who falls away from the living God, will once realize which blessings he has given up and will want to put everything back in order. But then it will be too late for ever.

Esau had no remorse. He didn’t want to repent, he wanted the blessing. Each person who draws near to God with repentance, will surely receive forgiveness. However, Esau did not cry because he was remorseful about selling his birthright, but because he had lost the blessings that went together with the birthright. He didn’t cry because he was a sinner, but because he was a loser. Such tears will be found in hell.

Heb 12:18-20. After the serious words about the consequences of falling away from the grace of God, the writer starts to encourage again. To illustrate his encouragement he uses the picture of two mountains. A mountain is a symbol of power. The one is Mount Sinai, which stands for the power of the law and represents the old covenant. The other is Mount Zion, which stands for grace and represents the new covenant.

They did not come to Mount Sinai, as Israel did in former days (Deu 4:11). To that mountain horror, terrifying weather phenomena and death threats were connected. The unbelieving Israel, whom the Hebrews left, was spiritually still there and is still abiding there. But the Hebrews did not need to be afraid of the words of God. They could fearlessly draw near to God to speak with Him. Under the new covenant there is no fear to enter a territory that could cause them to die.

Heb 12:21. Under the old covenant even Moses was impressed by the sight and was full of fear and trembling. The fear of both Moses and the people was prompted by the fact that a righteous God, Who made His holy demands known to the people, would come to them with wrath and judgment, if they trampled on those demands. This indeed happened when the people made the golden calf and worshiped it.

Now read again Hebrews 12:12-21.

Reflection: In what way will you be able to pursue and look after the things mentioned?