The Solemn Promise

At devotion, Ipoh Old Town White Coffee Restaurant, Medan Ipoh: reading Hebrews Chapters 3 and 4 TEV.

3:1 and 4:14 appears to be the opening and closing statements of a long discourse on our knowledge of Yeshua, the great high Priest of our faith. 3:1 tells us to think of Yeshua, whom God sent - High Priest of our faith; while 4:14 ends with the injunction to hold firmly to our faith, knowing that we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God.

In between those two verses above is a discourse warning against losing our faith, our "courage and confidence in what we hope for" (3:6), against having "evil and unbelieving hearts" that turn away from the living God (3:12).

This warning is based on the prophecy of Psalm 95: 7 - 11, as the Holy Spirit says (3:7) with particular reference to the word, "Today" - the LXX puts it this way, "If you hear God's voice today . . ."

Through this warning, we are told to help one another everyday as long as this "Today" of Psalm 95: 7 applies to us. In other words, everyday is a "Today" for all believers in Yeshua the Anointed One. (3:13). In this manner, we are to help one another to "hold firmly to the end" the confidence that we had at the beginning (3:14).

After the reminder about "Today" of Psalm 95:7 being everyday of our lives, 3:15ff goes on to dwell on the word "rebelled" (put to test) as found in Psalm 95: 7 - 8.  The following is a comparison of this passage in TEV and the LXX:

TEV	LXX
Listen today to what he says "Don't be stubborn as your ancestors were  at Meribah as they were that day  in the desert at Massah	If you hear God's voice today,  do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were  when they rebelled against God.

The above verses of Psalm 95: 7 - 8 refer to the rebellion at Massah and Meribah, recorded in Exodus 17:1 - 7 and in Numbers 20: 2 - 13 respectively.

Note that the rebellion of the Israelites (3:18) both at Massah as well as at Meribah arose from their unbelieving hearts. This unbelief is the subject of the warning in 3:6 and 3:12. Particularly, 3:19 tells us that they failed to enter the land because they "did not believe".

A closer look at 3:16 - 18 shows that :

• They were all who had heard God's voice,
• They all had been led out of Egypt by Moses,
• With all of their rebellious way, God was angry for 40 years in the desert.
• This culminated in Psalm 95: 7 - 11 (referring to Num. 14: 20 - 23, Deut. 1:34 - 36; 12: 9 - 10) - where God solemnly promised that all of them "will never enter the land where I would have given them rest" !

Recall that 3:7 pointed out the significance of "Today", 3:15 brought to our attention "rebelled", and 3:18 led us to God's "solemn promise".

Now, as we move on to 4:1, we are confronted with the word, "Rest".

to be continued . . .

Is it right to serve in the Armed forces?

Saturday, 13-11-2010

This post is written in response to some views expressed by friends who believe that it is wrong to serve in the armed forces because our Lord had said in Matthew 5:38 - 42,

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Other scriptures were also quoted to support their pacifist views. For example, "He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints” (Revelation 13:10), and of course, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13)

A thought that came immediately to my mind was about two accounts in the New Testament - one in Luke chapter 3 and the other in Acts chapter 10 - about soldiers who turned sought after God and turned to him in repentance.

Luke 3:14 records that when soldiers came to John the Baptist and asked him for advice on their repentance, John did not tell them to leave the army, but had instead told them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."

The words "be content with your wages" rang loudly at me. It is obvious that in calling these soldiers to repentance, John did not tell them to leave their jobs. Instead they were to continue in them - to be content with their wages, and not to extort money from the public with violence.

Furthermore, not a single teaching of John the Baptist was ever repudiated by our Lord as erroneous. As such the words of John to the soldiers in Luke 3:14 can be taken as a clear and authoritative indication that soldiers did not have to leave the army in their endeavour to repent from sin.

A question that one should ponder over at this juncture is:

- - - WHAT exactly was John the Baptist sent for? - - -

Wasn't he sent to call the people of God to repentance in preparation for the Messiah's appearance? Are we to suspect that his instructions to those soldiers that day were faulty or inadequate in some way, that had to be subsequently corrected by the Messiah himself or by the disciples? 

No such correction is recorded in the NT. I find no instance in the NT that indicates any error in the call to repentance made by John the Baptist. He called those soldiers to repent - without telling them to leave the army.

Some people would refer to Acts 18:24 - 26, to point out that a Jew, Apollos of Alexandria who knew only of the Baptism of John, had to be brought aside and taught the way of God more accurately by Aquila and Priscilla - an incident that apparently indicates some error or inadequacy in the teachings of John the Baptist.

This incident, however, has nothing to do with the correctness of John's teaching about repentance. Instead it was because Apollos had not yet heard about Yeshua, the Messiah - he knew only of the baptism of John! Other than that, nothing is said about any errors in Apollos' beliefs or teachings.

On the contrary, knowing only the Baptism of John, and before being brought aside by Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos was already described as one who "spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord" (Acts 18:25) This is testimony that John's teachings about repentance was sound.

Likewise, the apostle Peter (who certainly knew more than just the Baptism of John), when called to speak to the Gentile household of Cornelius in Caesar-ea did not tell Cornelius the Centurion to leave his job as an army officer. In fact we read in in Acts 10 that, while being in active duty, Cornelius was already described as devout, God-fearing, often giving alms and calling on God in his prayers. Furthermore, while Peter was preaching to his household that day, the Holy Spirit fell upon all of them - including Cornelius himself.

This army office, the first Gentile believer in the Messiah, Cornelius the Centurion, did not have to resign from the army to be born again as a child of God.

May peace from God our Father and from our Lord Yeshua the Anointed be with you all.