Heb 13:2 | KingComments | STEP | This concluding chapter contains a number of exhortations for the Christian life. They fit in the sphere of the whole letter, for that is indeed about the path of the Christian on earth. The main theme of this chapter is love. It immediately starts with love of the brethren, which is followed by love for strangers, for prisoners and in marriage. Although the word ‘love’ is not mentioned often, you can taste that it is about love, like the love for the Lord Jesus and for God and for the leaders in the midst of believers and for all saints. If you remember that in chapter 11 it is about faith , in chapter 12 it is about hope and in this chapter it is about love , then you see in these concluding chapters great riches for the life of the Christian. . At the end of the previous chapter your focus is on an everlasting ‘unshakable kingdom’ ( ). That’s something to look forward to. But there is another thing that remains forever unshakable and that is “love of the brethren”. That is what the writer starts his exhortations with here. The reason why he exhorts to love the brethren, may be because of the disappearing of this love. The company of believers to whom he was writing, was constantly living under pressure. Each of them felt the pressure personally. That can ultimately be that burdensome that one may feel to be left alone. In such a case you no longer feel a connection with your fellow believers. In that case it is important not to accuse your brothers of unwillingness to help you. They might be facing hardships just like you. Just continue to love your brothers and sisters in that case. If they cannot give you what you would love to have, then perhaps you may give them what they need. . The next form of love is “hospitality”. ‘Hospitality’ literally means ‘love for strangers’. Brotherly love is love that is inwardly focused, while love for strangers is love that is outwardly focused, both to believers and unbelievers. That exhortation is also needed because in time of tribulation or distress the inclination is present to withdraw. You have enough troubles yourself. Why then should you be interested in the worries of others and even of strangers? This could be the reason for you to withdraw. But that is not right. Have you ever felt to be a stranger, helpless and looking for someone who cares about you? Anyway, God has cared about you in Christ. Because of that you are obligated to show love to strangers, people you don’t know. You can do that by offering them a meal, a bed or another form of help. In this way you possibly even entertain angels. That’s what Abraham ( ) and even Lot ( ) experienced. And what about the two who went to Emmaus? Of course the Lord Jesus is not an angel, but to them He at first was certainly a stranger Whom they urged to abide with them. Without knowing that they took the Lord Jesus into their house ( ). And is it not the Lord Who says that if you welcome anyone who belongs to Him, He acknowledges that as though you have welcomed Him ( )? Hospitality is an attitude, a spiritual mind that more often adorns women than men. It should make no difference whom we welcome. In the world people often want to welcome others for their own benefit. It may deliver you some regard if you welcome someone in your home who has a high status or a person of influence. But our love should be expressed to people whom we do not know and who are in need of help. That applies in a general sense and certainly also to those who went out for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus ( ). We can also apply that to strangers who enter the church. How do we welcome them? Do we talk with them or do we look hazily at them? Do we want them to feel accepted and at home or does their presence make us feel uncomfortable? . Again a different form of love is that for prisoners. Of course it is about those who are imprisoned for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus. You may show your love to them by paying them a visit. Thus Onesiphorus went in search of Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome. He made efforts to find Paul ( ; cf. ). Such an opportunity is not reserved for everyone. What all believers surely are able to do is what is said here: remember them. That doesn’t mean that you just occasionally pray from them, but that you try to empathize with their situation. Paul also asks the Colossians to remember his imprisonment ( ). In remembering those who are ill-treated you go a step further. You not only remember the circumstances, but also the suffering of pain. Really empathizing with another person’s situation and pain is often difficult. You have to apply yourself to that, make an effort. It’s about practicing what is true for the body of Christ, namely, that if one member suffers, all members suffer with it ( ). Now we live in a time of individualism, whereby everyone lives for oneself. This should not be the case among believers. How is your confidence in your brothers and sisters? Do you allow them to get to know you? Are you open for others from the connection you have with them? Maybe your problem is not so much in this sense, but it is more the multitude of activities. Because of that you are not able to take a closer look at what others are enduring. Or you are not able to consider others, because you think that you also need some recreation. Still the task is to remember others. We receive on a regular basis reports from believers who are imprisoned and/or are ill-treated. Take notice of these reports and try to imagine what they are going through and pray for them. An application I would want to make, is with the view to those who are captured in a certain way of thinking. In this way they cannot come to true freedom in Christ. If you encounter such people you should try to sympathize with them and stand beside them to help them to get out of it together. . After the brotherly love and the hospitable home, the writer points out the importance of marriage. He wants marriage to be held “in honor among all”. It goes without saying there is no brotherly love and neither a hospitable home if marriage is a farce. Marriage to be held in honor means that there is faithfulness to the institution and the practice of it. Therefore the writer focuses on the sexual intercourse. Marriage should be held in honor by both married and unmarried people. To the married people this means that the bed, in other words: the sexual intercourse, should only be shared with the man or woman a person is married to. To the unmarried people this means that there should be no sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse before marriage is fornication; sexual intercourse by married people outside their marriage is adultery. Both are an abomination in the sight of God. In the world marriage has been degraded to a form of living together. The order for you is to keep marriage in its original purpose and to give it substance. You are not to adjust God’s standard to that of the world. To be able to keep God’s standard, you are to continually give it the right place in your thinking and in your heart. If you feel the inclination rise not to take it too seriously, you must judge that. Let yourself be reminded to remain clean in this and also remind others continually of it. Holding on to this institution of God brings blessing; abandoning it brings curse. Fornication and adultery often begin secretly, hidden from others. But God sees it and no one who commits it escapes from His judgment. . Then a warning follows to beware of another form of love that is not of God and that is “the love of money”. Sexual covetousness often goes together with financial covetousness ( ; ). The love of money is a root of all evil ( ). The love of money is present if you want more than the Lord gives you. That is for example the case if you participate in strikes for more wages. The order is that you are “content” with the things you have. Isn’t it often the case that you want to have the Lord Jesus together with some earthly securities, like a certain bank account balance and a well paid job? Do you really trust in the Lord alone? You are heartily invited by the writer to do so. Therefore he reminds you of the promise of the Lord that He will never desert you, nor ever forsake you. . Yet that promise only becomes reality if you say: “The Lord is my Helper.” God is saying something about the love of money and you may say, proclaim, that the Lord is your Helper. Do you dare to say that loudly to the people around you? You don’t have to seek for nice words. You can, just like it is said here, confidently testify with words that come from the Word, words that God puts in your mouth. If you are attacked you may say what is written in God’s Word. Still, you may often not dare to do that, because you’re afraid to be punished for your bold confession. But still it remains true. If people say: ‘Where is that God, why does He allow this in your life?’, then you can still say confidently: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” Now read Hebrews 13:1-6 again. Reflection: Which forms of love (both positive and negative) appear in this section? What do they mean to you?

‏ Hebrews 13:2

Love and Confidence

This concluding chapter contains a number of exhortations for the Christian life. They fit in the sphere of the whole letter, for that is indeed about the path of the Christian on earth. The main theme of this chapter is love. It immediately starts with love of the brethren, which is followed by love for strangers, for prisoners and in marriage.

Although the word ‘love’ is not mentioned often, you can taste that it is about love, like the love for the Lord Jesus and for God and for the leaders in the midst of believers and for all saints. If you remember that in chapter 11 it is about faith, in chapter 12 it is about hope and in this chapter it is about love, then you see in these concluding chapters great riches for the life of the Christian.

Heb 13:1. At the end of the previous chapter your focus is on an everlasting ‘unshakable kingdom’ (Heb 12:28). That’s something to look forward to. But there is another thing that remains forever unshakable and that is “love of the brethren”. That is what the writer starts his exhortations with here. The reason why he exhorts to love the brethren, may be because of the disappearing of this love.

The company of believers to whom he was writing, was constantly living under pressure. Each of them felt the pressure personally. That can ultimately be that burdensome that one may feel to be left alone. In such a case you no longer feel a connection with your fellow believers. In that case it is important not to accuse your brothers of unwillingness to help you. They might be facing hardships just like you. Just continue to love your brothers and sisters in that case. If they cannot give you what you would love to have, then perhaps you may give them what they need.

Heb 13:2. The next form of love is “hospitality”. ‘Hospitality’ literally means ‘love for strangers’. Brotherly love is love that is inwardly focused, while love for strangers is love that is outwardly focused, both to believers and unbelievers. That exhortation is also needed because in time of tribulation or distress the inclination is present to withdraw. You have enough troubles yourself. Why then should you be interested in the worries of others and even of strangers? This could be the reason for you to withdraw. But that is not right.

Have you ever felt to be a stranger, helpless and looking for someone who cares about you? Anyway, God has cared about you in Christ. Because of that you are obligated to show love to strangers, people you don’t know. You can do that by offering them a meal, a bed or another form of help.

In this way you possibly even entertain angels. That’s what Abraham (Gen 18:1-8) and even Lot (Gen 19:1-3) experienced. And what about the two who went to Emmaus? Of course the Lord Jesus is not an angel, but to them He at first was certainly a stranger Whom they urged to abide with them. Without knowing that they took the Lord Jesus into their house (Lk 24:29-31). And is it not the Lord Who says that if you welcome anyone who belongs to Him, He acknowledges that as though you have welcomed Him (Mt 25:35 ; 40)? Hospitality is an attitude, a spiritual mind that more often adorns women than men.

It should make no difference whom we welcome. In the world people often want to welcome others for their own benefit. It may deliver you some regard if you welcome someone in your home who has a high status or a person of influence. But our love should be expressed to people whom we do not know and who are in need of help. That applies in a general sense and certainly also to those who went out for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus (3Jn 1:5-8). We can also apply that to strangers who enter the church. How do we welcome them? Do we talk with them or do we look hazily at them? Do we want them to feel accepted and at home or does their presence make us feel uncomfortable?

Heb 13:3. Again a different form of love is that for prisoners. Of course it is about those who are imprisoned for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus. You may show your love to them by paying them a visit. Thus Onesiphorus went in search of Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome. He made efforts to find Paul (2Tim 1:16; cf. Phil 1:7). Such an opportunity is not reserved for everyone. What all believers surely are able to do is what is said here: remember them. That doesn’t mean that you just occasionally pray from them, but that you try to empathize with their situation. Paul also asks the Colossians to remember his imprisonment (Col 4:18).

In remembering those who are ill-treated you go a step further. You not only remember the circumstances, but also the suffering of pain. Really empathizing with another person’s situation and pain is often difficult. You have to apply yourself to that, make an effort. It’s about practicing what is true for the body of Christ, namely, that if one member suffers, all members suffer with it (1Cor 12:26). Now we live in a time of individualism, whereby everyone lives for oneself. This should not be the case among believers. How is your confidence in your brothers and sisters? Do you allow them to get to know you? Are you open for others from the connection you have with them?

Maybe your problem is not so much in this sense, but it is more the multitude of activities. Because of that you are not able to take a closer look at what others are enduring. Or you are not able to consider others, because you think that you also need some recreation. Still the task is to remember others. We receive on a regular basis reports from believers who are imprisoned and/or are ill-treated. Take notice of these reports and try to imagine what they are going through and pray for them.

An application I would want to make, is with the view to those who are captured in a certain way of thinking. In this way they cannot come to true freedom in Christ. If you encounter such people you should try to sympathize with them and stand beside them to help them to get out of it together.

Heb 13:4. After the brotherly love and the hospitable home, the writer points out the importance of marriage. He wants marriage to be held “in honor among all”. It goes without saying there is no brotherly love and neither a hospitable home if marriage is a farce. Marriage to be held in honor means that there is faithfulness to the institution and the practice of it.

Therefore the writer focuses on the sexual intercourse. Marriage should be held in honor by both married and unmarried people. To the married people this means that the bed, in other words: the sexual intercourse, should only be shared with the man or woman a person is married to. To the unmarried people this means that there should be no sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse before marriage is fornication; sexual intercourse by married people outside their marriage is adultery. Both are an abomination in the sight of God.

In the world marriage has been degraded to a form of living together. The order for you is to keep marriage in its original purpose and to give it substance. You are not to adjust God’s standard to that of the world. To be able to keep God’s standard, you are to continually give it the right place in your thinking and in your heart. If you feel the inclination rise not to take it too seriously, you must judge that. Let yourself be reminded to remain clean in this and also remind others continually of it. Holding on to this institution of God brings blessing; abandoning it brings curse. Fornication and adultery often begin secretly, hidden from others. But God sees it and no one who commits it escapes from His judgment.

Heb 13:5. Then a warning follows to beware of another form of love that is not of God and that is “the love of money”. Sexual covetousness often goes together with financial covetousness (Eph 5:3; Col 3:5). The love of money is a root of all evil (1Tim 6:10).

The love of money is present if you want more than the Lord gives you. That is for example the case if you participate in strikes for more wages. The order is that you are “content” with the things you have. Isn’t it often the case that you want to have the Lord Jesus together with some earthly securities, like a certain bank account balance and a well paid job? Do you really trust in the Lord alone? You are heartily invited by the writer to do so. Therefore he reminds you of the promise of the Lord that He will never desert you, nor ever forsake you.

Heb 13:6. Yet that promise only becomes reality if you say: “The Lord is my Helper.” God is saying something about the love of money and you may say, proclaim, that the Lord is your Helper. Do you dare to say that loudly to the people around you? You don’t have to seek for nice words. You can, just like it is said here, confidently testify with words that come from the Word, words that God puts in your mouth. If you are attacked you may say what is written in God’s Word.

Still, you may often not dare to do that, because you’re afraid to be punished for your bold confession. But still it remains true. If people say: ‘Where is that God, why does He allow this in your life?’, then you can still say confidently: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”

Now read Hebrews 13:1-6 again.

Reflection: Which forms of love (both positive and negative) appear in this section? What do they mean to you?