Hebrews 2:1-4 The Drift

Itzak was so grateful for the work.  It was hard labor, but it had put food on his family’s table for some time.  The man who hired him, Alexander, was a metal worker and needed someone to stoke the fires and keep the forges hot and ready.  He had learned quickly and was fascinated by the process of bending and molding the orange and yellow metal made pliable by the intense heat.  Alexander and his apprentices produced some of the finest work he had ever seen—everything from beautiful gates to bits for horses and even some occasional jewelry.  They avoided the jewelry making, though, because it was not to their liking.   They left that work for others.

One day Alexander heard Itzak humming a tune.  He laughed a bit and then cocked his head to the side as he watched Itzak stoking the fire.  “I used to know that tune.  What is it again?”  He stepped toward Itzak, pointing to another area of the fire that needed some help. 

“Oh, that’s a song I learned in—in—,” Itzak paused a moment counting the potential cost of letting someone else know that he was a Christian.

“Come on now, Itzak.  I know the song. I used to sing is quite a lot.”  Itzak’s eyes lit up, eager to know if Alexander was a Christian.  “Don’t get your hopes up, Itzak.  I gave that up long ago.”  Alexander laughed a little bit more and with just a hint of mockery.

Itzak gave Alexander a puzzled look.  Alexander leaned a bit closer.  “Look, son, it doesn’t matter to me what you believe as long you keep those fires hot.  I used to be like you, so I understand.”

Itzak turned from the fires fully toward Alexander.  “Why did you leave the Way?”

“Oh, so that’s what they call it now, eh?  The Way.  Very interesting.”  Alexander picked up a poker and began to stir the fire alongside Itzak.  “I remember it all at first.  It was exciting and I felt quite free.  Jesus seemed to be the answer to all of my problems.”  He paused, giving Itzak a chance to inquire further.  But Itzak was cautious.  Alexander did not care, so he continued.  “But after a while business started picking up—especially when they needed more nails and prison bars.  I couldn’t keep up with all the work, so I stopped going to services. It was nice making more money than I had before.  And then I met my wife, she’s a Samaritan.”  Alexander smiled when Itzak winced at that word.  He jabbed Itzak in the ribs and chuckled.  “I figured that might get a rise out of you.  Anyway, she really opened my eyes to the fact that there are many ways to serve God.  We have a very calm and peaceful home now.  I let her have her silly, little idols and I pray to God, and sometimes to Jesus, every day.  A happy wife is a good thing.  I don’t need to go to services and besides our lives are so full it’s hard to keep up with everything.” 

The two stoked the fire for some time together in silence.  Itzak wasn’t sure, but he thought he sensed some regret in Alexander’s voice.  Alexander’s name was called from the front of the building.  He turned and waved someone back toward the forges.  “Look Itzak, it’s that man I was telling the others about this morning.  We’ve got a good thing going here and I think we’ll land some great business in making idols next.  I might even be able to take you on as an apprentice if this goes through.”  Alexander tossed the poker on the side and patted Itzak on the shoulder as he turned toward his opportunity.

There are many temptations in the Christian walk.  One of the most accessible is the temptation to let things slide.  In Hebrews 2 we see the deep concern that the writer has for Christians living in a pervasively pagan environment as well as living near those who may come to try to convince them to return to Judaism.  It seems that one of their greatest temptations was to let their belief slip through their fingers.

Read Hebrews 2:1-4.

We have already seen how the writer has worked very hard to establish Christ’s divine power and authority.  Jesus Christ’s position is always more powerful and always above that of the angels. Now the writer takes a more parental and instructional role and issues the first of several stark warnings found in the book of Hebrews.  And the writer is very sure to make it plain that this temptation is not something that has already been mastered.  A very inclusive “we” starts this admonition and that should bring us some comfort as well.  We are not alone in this struggle.

This admonition also moves to a clear declaration that it is possible to drift away from salvation.  This is the kind of message that may alarm new Christians and should definitely be heard by seasoned Christians.  The writer to the Hebrews is intent upon this warning and sets up multiple reasons why being aware of the possibility of drifting away, letting go or sloughing off is imperative for all Christians to understand.

The first movement is that the angels not only witnessed and helped deliver God’s Word and the Law to the ancient Hebrews (Deuteronomy 33:2), but they were also servants of God that were employed at times to carry out judgment on the violators of that Law. In Matthew 13:47-52 Jesus is quoted as saying that the “angels come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace . . .”  That’s what Jesus said!  So, the writer affirms that if those who were disobedient back then were served God’s justice, why would the present-day people be free from this same kind of judgment both in the present day and at the final judgment?  This passage in Hebrews is not designed for our comfort.  It is designed to be a warning!

The second movement of this warning is the affirmation that Jesus is indeed the same Law Giver as in the Old Testament and that, in his coming and giving the New Covenant, he also has given a way of salvation that is even more powerful than the temporary provisions of sacrifices found in the Law.  By his coming to us and announcing salvation (see Luke 19:9) and then providing the final and perfect sacrifice his salvation is better and best.    

A third movement is the affirmation that the testimony of the first witnesses—the disciples later called the Apostles—is valid testimony.  The readers of this letter would be several spiritual generations away from Matthew, Mark, Peter and John.  These first disciples actually heard Jesus’ voice, they listened directly to his stories and they participated immediately with him in many of his miracles.  We have eye-witness accounts that are trustworthy and accredited.  Historical revisions cannot wipe away that fact. And those first believers testified to the next generation of Christians and so on and so on and so on.  What if we were to ignore their testimony?  What if we were to drift away because we gave in to the temptation that maybe those people did not exist, or that they were beguiled by an influential teacher or that someone just made this Jesus up?!

A final and profound movement in this warning is that God himself testified—spoke out loud—by means of confirming and affirming signs, wonders and miracles of this Salvation that is superior to any other purported salvation.  It is through unusual, powerful, unearthly events that God himself speaks.  Many were delivered of demons.  Five thousand men men and more were fed one afternoon from a boy’s lunch.  Countless people were healed and delivered.  Ultimately the Resurrection was the triumphant miracle. And the Holy Spirit gave gifts to new Christians starting in Jerusalem and pouring out all over Gentiles everywhere.  God’s voice thundered through these and who are we to defy God?!

These warnings, so stark and strong, also serve as great comfort. For if we heed them, we continue to be saved!  We must, must, must pay more careful attention and never let our minds and our hearts drift from such an amazing salvation.

Itzak sat in the service trembling with joy.  He heard the words of the writer to the Hebrews as they were read again. He knew that he had made the right choice.  He bowed his head deep in prayer that Alexander would return to the Way. He also prayed that he and his family would never drift from the marvelous presence of Jesus Christ—their great Savior, Redeemer and Friend.

Copyright M.R. Hyde 2013