Chapter One

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The First Two Major Warnings and the First “Lest” Warning Interpreted

In this chapter, we interpret three warnings for you. They are Major Warning #1, Lest Warning #1, and Major Warning #2--in this order. We begin with the Major Warning #1 that concludes with the first of the thirteen Lest Warnings. Then, Lest Warning #1 introduces Major Warning #2. All three warnings are contained in the passage below.

Verse 1 below contains both Major Warning #1 and Lest Warning #1 while verses 2-4 contain Major Warning #2. Yet, all three warnings are interrelated, as the following discussion will readily show. Remember, these interpretations follow the guidelines spelled out in the Introduction. 

Heb 2:1-4

1          Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

2          For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

3          How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

4             God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers     miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? (KJV)

Major Warning #1 Interpreted

Notice that our Author used the pronouns we and us in the passage above. We simply means “any of us Hebrews.” Us simply means “all of us Hebrews.” In some contexts, our Author will remove himself from the we or us groups. Here, however, he doesn’t because he is addressing the nation as a whole.

First, look at the word “ought” in verse one. This translates the Greek word dei. This word is a blockbuster. Our word “ought” doesn’t do it justice. This word means, in everyday English, something like the following: “Given my circumstances, what I do next must be both logical and necessary. In other words, I am in such a compelling set of circumstances that my next move is not left to choice. My next move is dictated by my circumstances. My circumstances are so forceful that, to be logical, I have only these necessary actions open to me. Anything else is insane. What I do next must be logical. What I do next is also necessary if I’m to survive!”

We must illustrate the above. Suppose you wake up in the middle of the night and discover your house is on fire. Obviously you only have seconds to react. What you do next must be logical. You must get out of your burning house. Getting out of your burning house is not only logical, but also necessary for you. It is both logical and necessary if you want to live.

From the above explanation, you can see what the Greek word dei in verse 1 above (translated by our English word “ought”) actually means. Next, we will apply this word to the plight of these Hebrews.

Here is the set of circumstances these Hebrews faced. They had heard the message that Jesus was the final sacrifice for their sins under Moses’ law. This was the most important message that they had ever heard. This importance, therefore, presented them with a logical necessity. Since Jesus was God’s final sacrifice for sin, for them to maintain the Abrahamic blessings of salvation, healing, prosperity and salvation, they must--Greek word dei--personally accept him as their very own sacrifice. This is the logical move dictated and demanded by their circumstances. (To refresh your memory concerning how the sacrifices maintain these four Abrahamic blessings, see the Introduction again.)

Accepting Jesus as God’s final sacrifice for their sins was not only logical, but it was also necessary. It was necessary if they wanted to maintain the salvation, healing, prosperity and family well being they had by birth. Since God no longer accepted the blood of bulls and goats, cows and sheep, they must accept Jesus’ blood or lose it all. Therefore, taking heed to the message that they had heard became very, very necessary for them.

Nevertheless, they were slipping away from this vital message. They were flowing right by it. They were drifting past this vital truth just as driftwood flows with the current and is swept past everything on the shore. They seemed not to care about the life and death importance of this Jesus message. Next, we interpret for you the first of the eleven Lest Warnings in Hebrews.

Lest Warning #1 Interpreted

Remember verse 1 above: “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” (Italics mine.) Remember that “lest” translates the Greek negative particle ma (many times in combination with other Greek words), which (in English) simply means “for fear that.” In other words, if you do (or don’t do) such and such, then certain unpleasant things may (will) happen to you--hence, a “Lest Warning”.

“Let them slip,” in verse I above, translates the Greek word, parareo. This word combines two Greek words. It combines the word para, which means “by the side of.” Our English word “parallel” comes from this word. The second word in the combination is reo (to flow.) The combination, then, means “to flow, slip or drift parallel to” or “to drift by the side of.”

In addition, “slip” is in the active voice, which means the Hebrews, like driftwood, had actually, deliberately, actively drifted past the message that Jesus was the final sacrifice for sin under Moses’ law. The message did not drift past the Hebrews as it indicates in the King James Version. The Hebrews “flowed by” or “drifted past” this great truth they had heard, namely, that Jesus was the final sacrifice for sin under Moses’ law. The Hebrews became as driftwood flowing downstream with the current. They actively, actually drifted past and away from this Jesus message.

Furthermore, “slip” is in the Aorist tense. This tense in Greek views an action as a point. As such, it can describe a finished action. This is how it is used in this verse. In other words, these Hebrews had already finished their drift past the bombshell message that Jesus was the final sacrifice for their sins. They had already drifted by it and away from it. This deliberate drift was already complete. They had gone right by the most important message from God that they had ever heard. They had already drifted past it.

To put it differently, they are being warned, “to give the more earnest heed,” to what they had heard. This expression, “to give the more earnest heed,” means to give the closest attention possible to the message that Jesus was the final sacrifice for their sins. They were being warned not to slip by this vital message “at any time.” This is another way of saying that they must never slip by and drift away from what they had heard so clearly; Jesus was the Christ, their Messiah, and God’s final sacrifice for their sins.

These were their circumstances. Jesus was their final sacrifice for sin. God would never again accept the blood of bulls, goats, cows, and sheep. It was Jesus’ sacrifice or damnation. There were no other avenues open for them. They had no other choices. They had no other options. No wonder their next move must be logical. It had to be logical because it was absolutely necessary. They had to get out of their burning house, as it were, or perish. They had no other means to maintain the Abrahamic blessings they had by birth. It was Jesus or burn.

·        They must pay closer attention to the Jesus message that they had heard.

·        They must reverse their slipping past and drifting by the message by accepting Him as their final sacrifice.

·        No other choices were open to them.

Major Warning #2 Interpreted

The questions now are, “Why did they not pay the very closest possible attention to such an earth-shattering message that they had plainly heard? Why did they flow past it and by it and drift away from such important information? Why!” This information carried the same importance to them eternally that our burning house illustration carried temporally. Common sense demands that one logically and necessarily flees a burning house. Accepting Jesus is even more important, however, than getting out of a burning house. Why did they not instantly act on the information that God no longer accepted the blood of bulls and goats? Why did they not immediately turn to the blood of Jesus, since God only accepts His blood now?

The answer to these astounding questions lies in the meaning of “neglect” in verse 4. “Neglect” translates ameleo. Ameleo combines two Greek words. The first word is a, the Greek negative. The Greek negative is the same as our English “no,” or “not.”

The second word in this combination is melo, which means, “to care.” The combination, then, means “no care,” “not caring,” or just plain “careless.” In other words, some of these Hebrews just did not care about the Jesus message that they had heard. They did not care whether or not Jesus was their final sacrifice for sin under Moses’ law. They just did not care. Consequently, they actively and completely drifted by and away from this message without “getting out of their burning house,” as it were.

In a nutshell, they “placed no value” upon what they had heard about Jesus. They “made light” of this information. The following scripture demonstrates this for us.

Matt 22:5

5        But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: (KJV) (Italics Mine)

In the preceding verse, “made light of” translates this same Greek word that is translated by “neglect” above. This is exactly how the Hebrews treated the message concerning Jesus’ final sacrifice. They “made light of it.” They placed no value upon it. They actively and completely drifted by it with no thought of alarm. They neglected it because it was of no value to them! They did not understand that they were surrounded by circumstances more compelling than being in a burning house.

Our Author, however, used strong language to tip them off to the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice. He used the words of angels as an illustration of stedfastness. In other words, if what angels said could be depended upon to occur without exception, surely the things God said about Jesus could also be depended upon to occur without exception. Furthermore, if every transgression and disobedience was sure to receive its just reward, what God said about Jesus’ sacrifice was just as sure (Heb. 2:2).

Although Jesus himself began to speak these things, other people heard him say them. Then, those people who heard Him say these things confirmed what they heard Him say to the rest of the Hebrews. This, however, is not all. God himself bore witness to the truth of what they had heard with signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost (verse 4). Here we have a Four Fold Witness:

1.      Jesus said it.

2.      Others heard Him say it.

3.      Those who heard Jesus say it confirmed it to the other Hebrews.

4.      God bore witness to the truth of it by signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost.

Finally, our Author asks a sobering question, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” The way this question is asked requires no answer. A. T. Robertson says this is a Rhetorical Question. In this construction, the answer is built in. To say it differently, the built in answer here is this; they can’t escape! Why can they not escape?

To place no value upon Jesus’ sacrifice makes escape impossible. (Remember that the sacrifices were their escape hatch when they sinned under Moses’ law.)  Escape is impossible for them now, because God no longer accepts the blood of bulls, goat’s cows, and sheep. Now, he only accepts the blood of Jesus Christ. To place no value upon God’s final sacrifice for sin means there is no escape hatch for them. They have lost the healing, prosperity, family well being, and salvation they were born with in the Abrahamic covenant.

In the next chapter, we look at the impact Psalm 95 has upon the Book of Hebrews. This is one of many Old Testament quotes in Hebrews. The way our Author used this Psalm will startle you. He demonstrates parallels between those Hebrews in the wilderness, those in David’s day and those in his own day. These parallels are unsettling. 

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