There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong. 11-12 By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. 28-29 Do you see what we’ve got? Fields like that are burned, not harvested. The Word of God is our only hope. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. It is greatly debated among commentators whether this is to be understood of Christ, the eternal Word, or of the gospel. Hebrews 4:12 “soul and spirit” used here to emphasize the whole person, not two separate entities as in other passages. Only the high priest entered the smaller, inside tent, and then only once a year, offering a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people’s accumulated sins. 3-7 God made that vow, even though he’d finished his part before the foundation of the world. 23-25 Earlier there were a lot of priests, for they died and had to be replaced. Hebrews 1-6 New American Standard Bible (NASB) God’s Final Word in His Son. Read verse in The Message Bible Hebrews 4:12 12–13 God means what he says. Remember that God said, Exasperated, I vowed,    “They’ll never get where they’re going,    never be able to sit down and rest.”. 31 By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God. Saved by Raymond Terry Callaway. 8-10 Or look at it this way: We pay our tithes to priests who die, but Abraham paid tithes to a priest who, the Scripture says, “lives.” Ultimately you could even say that since Levi descended from Abraham, who paid tithes to Melchizedek, when we pay tithes to the priestly tribe of Levi they end up with Melchizedek. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace. There is no way of understanding this in terms of the old Levitical priesthood, which is why there is nothing in Jesus’ family tree connecting him with that priestly line. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. That’s why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins. hebrews 4 12 msg. 4 By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. He is a true shepherd of his flock. 12-13 God means what he says. But instead of removing awareness of sin, when those animal sacrifices were repeated over and over they actually heightened awareness and guilt. 17-19 By faith, Abraham, at the time of testing, offered Isaac back to God. “None of the properties,” says Calmet, “mentioned here can be denied to the Son of God, the eternal Word. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. Heads up! This was called “the Holy Place.” Then a curtain was stretched, and behind it a smaller, inside tent set up. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. Hebrews 4:12 New American Standard Bible (NASB) 12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to [ a]judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. What is the word of God, or the word of the Lord, or similar phrases? For the word of God is alive and active. What he says goes. 22-25 So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Once sins are taken care of for good, there’s no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them. His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered. But we’re not quitters who lose out. We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you!” In another place God declares, “You’re a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.”. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. Coincidence I think not." Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God’s “Well done!” But if it produces weeds and thistles, it’s more likely to get cussed out. As low as $30/day. They didn’t keep their part of the bargain. "God knows what's in your heart and thoughts." Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. “Melchizedek” means “King of Righteousness.” “Salem” means “Peace.” So, he is also “King of Peace.” Melchizedek towers out of the past—without record of family ties, no account of beginning or end. Priests descended from Levi are commanded by law to collect tithes from the people, even though they are all more or less equals, priests and people, having a common father in Abraham. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn’t do them a bit of good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith. 1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 [] in these last days has spoken to us [] in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the [] world. This is the word of God. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. The law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. when I led them by the hand out of Egypt. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Hebrews 4:12-13 The Message (MSG) 12-13 God means what he says. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples’. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. The Message (MSG) Bible Book List. Play! God means what he says. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. For Christ didn’t enter the earthly version of the Holy Place; he entered the Place Itself, and offered himself to God as the sacrifice for our sins. 23-26 That accounts for the prominence of blood and death in all these secondary practices that point to the realities of heaven. In the mighty name of Jesus! 11-18 Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. In order to enter into that rest they must claim the promises of God which are found in His Word. How did they do it? 11-14 If the priesthood of Levi and Aaron, which provided the framework for the giving of the law, could really make people perfect, there wouldn’t have been need for a new priesthood like that of Melchizedek. Published by permission. The days are coming    when I’ll set up a new plan    for dealing with Israel and Judah.I’ll throw out the old plan    I set up with their ancestors    when I led them by the hand out of Egypt.They didn’t keep their part of the bargain,    so I looked away and let it go.This new plan I’m making with Israel    isn’t going to be written on paper,    isn’t going to be chiseled in stone;This time I’m writing out the plan in them,    carving it on the lining of their hearts.I’ll be their God,    they’ll be my people.They won’t go to school to learn about me,    or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons.They’ll all get to know me firsthand,    the little and the big, the small and the great.They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven,    with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean. Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. This is the GOOD NEWS. 24-28 By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. 8 1-2 In essence, we have just such a high priest: authoritative right alongside God, conducting worship in the one true sanctuary built by God. That is what is meant by this prophecy, put in the mouth of Christ: You don’t want sacrifices and offerings year after year;    you’ve prepared a body for me for a sacrifice.It’s not fragrance and smoke from the altar    that whet your appetite.So I said, “I’m here to do it your way, O God,    the way it’s described in your Book.”. However, they also make sense on their own, and verse 12 is widely quoted by itself. He valued suffering in the Messiah’s camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. Cancel. your own Pins on Pinterest Share Tweet Read Hebrews 4:12 in another translation. Acting in faith, he was as ready to return the promised son, his only son, as he had been to receive him—and this after he had already been told, “Your descendants shall come from Isaac.” Abraham figured that if God wanted to, he could raise the dead. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears. What he says goes. Abortion will not create a wonderful future for me. It won’t be long now, he’s on the way;    he’ll show up most any minute.But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;    if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy. God himself is at rest. Under this system, the gifts and sacrifices can’t really get to the heart of the matter, can’t assuage the conscience of the people, but are limited to matters of ritual and behavior. The result? Would you prefer an irresponsible God? 6-13 But Jesus’ priestly work far surpasses what these other priests do, since he’s working from a far better plan. Hier sollte eine Beschreibung angezeigt werden, diese Seite lässt dies jedoch nicht zu. Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. This was the Holy Spirit’s way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can’t just walk in on God. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion. These are his promises and warnings and they are sharp enough to penetrate to the deepest part of our hearts and our core. Spong Vs Spong Part 4 Contributed by I. G. Spong on Jun 29, 2020 | 258 views. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Hebrews 4:12. | MP3 | RSS: Text-Featuring a sermon is a less expensive way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands on the right bar with optional newsletter inclusion. 3-5 The assigned task of a high priest is to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and it’s no different with the priesthood of Jesus. Hebrews 4:12. NIV and The Message Side-by-Side Bible: Two Bible Versions Together for Study and Comparison, The Message Deluxe Gift Bible, Sunlight/Grass Leather-Look, The Message: New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs--Personal-Size Edition, The Message Bible--soft leather-look, sky blue, The Message Large-Print Devotional Bible--soft leather-look, brown, The Message Deluxe Gift Bible, Brown/Saddle Tan Leather-Look. If the first plan—the old covenant—had worked out, a second wouldn’t have been needed. By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king’s blind rage. When Bibles no longer say what the original manuscript says, they are no longer holy. And then he attested its validity with the words, “This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God.” He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. The statement in Hebrews 4:7, Hebrews 4:8, is to be regarded as an "interruption" in stating the conclusion, or as the suggestion of a new thought or a new argument bearing on the subject, which he sets down even while stating the conclusion from his argument. 10 1-10 The old plan was only a hint of the good things in the new plan. By an act of faith, he kept the Passover Feast and sprinkled Passover blood on each house so that the destroyer of the firstborn wouldn’t touch them. 11-14 I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you’ve picked up this bad habit of not listening. If they had, the worshipers would have gone merrily on their way, no longer dragged down by their sins. They saw the child’s beauty, and they braved the king’s decree. He chose a hard life with God’s people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. The good news of God's promises and the warnings of his judgment are sharp enough and living enough and active enough to penetrate to the bottom of my heart and show me that the lies of sin are indeed lies. 5-6 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. This is no light matter. He’s done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice. First 30-days on us! They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven. No more dragging your feet! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them. 7-10 While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. 5 1-3 Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it’s like from his own experience. . Hebrews 4:12-16 falls into two parts. If he were limited to earth, he wouldn’t even be a priest. His family was saved. 19-21 So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,    but don’t be crushed by it either.It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;    the child he embraces, he also corrects. Since that old “law plan” wasn’t complete in itself, it couldn’t complete those who followed it. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. These priests provide only a hint of what goes on in the true sanctuary of heaven, which Moses caught a glimpse of as he was about to set up the tent-shrine. 3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see. 4 1-3 For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God’s goal for us, we need to be careful that we’re not disqualified. It was not a long, imposing weapon. What he says goes. Help each other out. It was then that God said, “Be careful to do it exactly as you saw it on the Mountain.”. It’s not fragrance and smoke from the altar. 4-7 You realize just how great Melchizedek is when you see that Father Abraham gave him a tenth of the captured treasure. Hebrews 4:12 MSG. He is the Mediator of this covenant. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God. As a result, Noah became intimate with God. I’ll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins. We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way. 22 By an act of faith, Joseph, while dying, prophesied the exodus of Israel, and made arrangements for his own burial. 2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word [] they heard did not profit them, because [] it was not united by faith in those who heard. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. Hebrews 4:12 For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the joints and arrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. He’s called to it by God, as Aaron was. He always keeps his word. David E. Thompson. Hebrews 4:12-16 falls into two parts. 4-6 No one elects himself to this honored position. You were sure of yourselves then. This was called “the Holy of Holies.” In it were placed the gold incense altar and the gold-covered ark of the covenant containing the gold urn of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, the covenant tablets, and the angel-wing-shadowed mercy seat. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. Don’t drag your feet. 3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; 2 [] He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. Proud member Many contemporary Bibles have added, deleted and changed the original words so much so that it is a disgrace to those who treasure God's word. 23-26 that accounts for the people of God, is used so much as a glimpse God! 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