SUMMARY
God’s word continues to speak warning and encouragement to new generations.
ANALYSIS
These well-known verses of Hebrews come at the end of a longer passage in which the readers are urged not to repeat the mistakes of the generation of Israel that wandered in the wilderness. Their unfaithfulness resulted in the word from God, “They shall not enter my rest” (PsalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. 95:11), and in fact, that word came true. The generation of those who left Egypt did not enter the Promised Land but died in the wilderness. This is a cautionary tale, as it is used in Hebrews. “Don’t be like them,” is the message.
The author concludes this story and its moral with a statement about the word of God. “Word of God” here means (1) the words God gave to MosesProphet who led Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land and received the law at Sinai. to speak to the people in the wilderness, (2) the words of the Psalm that recounted that wilderness history generations later, and (3) the words that the author of Hebrews has written to his readers interpreting these previous occasions of God’s word as speaking the truth about them.
God’s word is historical but also alive in the present and future. This is good news: the story of salvationSalvation can mean saved from something (deliverance) or for something (redemption). Paul preached that salvation comes through the death of Christ on the cross which redeemed sinners from death and for a grace-filled life. is not told in the past tense; its words are addressed to succeeding generations, including ours. But before the timeliness and power of the Word is good news, it is fearsome news in this way: a word from God such as, “They shall not enter my rest,” is not merely a scrap of historical writing. It is a warning to the present generation, and it is an appeal to them to choose a different adventure from that which the wilderness generation chose.
