Hebrews

4:12-13

Preliminary Arguments, 2:10-6:20

2. God's Promised Rest, 3:7-4:13

iii] The Word of God

Argument

These two verses serve as a warning, reminding the audience to give heed to the powerful and penetrating Word of God that has just been revealed to them from Scripture. The people of Israel, during their wilderness wanderings, had failed to heed God's word. That generation did not persevere in faith, and so did not enter God's promised rest. Be warned, God's word ignored becomes a sword of judgment.

 
Issues

i] Context: See 3:7-19.

 

ii] Background: A general introduction; See 1:1-4.

 

iii] Structure: The Word of God

The nature of God's word for rebels, v12-13:

Living;

Active;

Penetrating;

Exposing, v13.

 

iv] Interpretation:

These two verses pick up on the quotation from Psalm 95:7-11 recorded in 3:7-11. The Rhetor expounds Psalm from 3:12 through to 4:11, with the two verses before us serving as a concluding warning. The exposition of the Psalm comes in two parts: First, negative - the faithless will never enter the rest that God provides, 3:12-19; Second, positive - the faithful will enter the rest that God supplies, 4:1-11. In the concluding warning in v12-13, we see the word of God personified as a divine warrior acting on behalf of the all-seeing judge of the universe. "It serves as an unsettling reminder about the power of the divine word and about human accountability before God", Koester.

 

v] Homiletics: The Word of God

[Billy McMahan] Billy McMahon, the Prime Minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972, said that if he was having difficulty getting to sleep he would read the Bible. Now, I'm not sure that's a good advertisement for the Bible, but at the time, he did think he was making a really positive statement - He's a Bible man! He was known for the odd FIM from time to time (Foot-In-Mouth).

Hebrews reminds us that the people of Israel, in the wilderness of Sinai, heard the voice of God. They had a living and powerful word from God. That word was actualised in fire, cloud, water from the rock, manna...... and at Mount Sinai in signs, wonders and even the voice of God himself. Yet, they "hardened their hearts", they nurtured a "sinful unbelieving heart" and so did not persevere in faith. "The message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith." The living word of God had the power to take them into his promised "rest", into a land flowing with milk and honey, "yet, they couldn't enter because of their unbelief."

Today, we are reminded in Hebrews, "see to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God." "Make every effort to enter that rest"; persevere in faith. As Paul writes, "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us", 1Cor.10:11. Do we take the warning to heart? If we don't heed the warning then we are in trouble, for although God's word has the power to carry us into his "rest", it also has the power to condemn us.

So, "let us hold firmly to the faith we profess", 4:14-16.

 
Text - 4:12

God's powerful word is not to be toyed with, v12-13. The word that was proclaimed to the rebels in the wilderness is the same word that is proclaimed to us today, a word not to be toyed with. The Rhetor goes on to describe the nature of God's word.

a) It is living, Act.7:38, 1Pet.1:23. It is a personified word from God, a personal communication possessing the substance of the Divine. So, the word of God is unlike human communication which contains mere words, but is without substance.

gar "for" - for. A marker of logical development, introducing an explanation as to why a believer should resist an "unbelieving heart" and press on towards God's promised rest, namely because God's word is like a sword of judgment when it comes to unbelief. For gar see 1:5

tou qeou (oV) gen. "of God" - [the word] of god. The genitive is adjectival, probably possessive, but possibly verbal, objective, "the message concerning God", or better, subjective, "the message declared by God" / source, origin, "the message from God." The gospel may be intended, although a more specific sense is likely, namely the command, "do not harden your hearts", so Lane. The church fathers thought that this was a reference to Jesus, but this is unlikely. The phrase is only used once in Hebrews.

zwn (zaw) pres. part. "is living" - is living. Emphatic. The participle is adjectival, serving as a predicate adjective asserting a truth about the subject, "the word", so "the word is living". Possibly in the sense of "relevant", or "life-giving", or probably in a personified sense, "alive", Barclay.

 

b) It is active, Isa.55:11. The word of God is a communication which fulfils the purpose for which it is uttered.

energhV adj. "active" - [and] active. Predicate adjective. In the sense of "effective, powerful", Ellingworth. "The word has the power to effect its own utterance", Allen, so Lane.

 

c) It is incisive, penetrating. The word of God is not just sharp, but sharper than the sharpest double-edged sword. It is double-edged in that the word of God can cut either way - in judgement or blessing. So, the Word of God can probe the innermost motives of the real self and bring them out into the open, and then, with the self exposed to the light, prompt repentance and forgiveness, or rebellion and judgment. "He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motive of men's hearts", 1Cor.4:5.

tomwteroV (tomoV) comp. adj. "sharper" - [and] sharper, more cutting. Predicate adjective; a hapax legomenon, once only use in the NT. This, and the following descriptives, serve to illustrate the "penetrating" nature of the word. Penetrating for what purpose? The context implies that the word penetrates to expose sin and condemn it, it judges. Of course, the cutting nature of God's word can also drive a person to repentance.

uJper + acc. "than" - beyond = than [every double-edged sword]. Here as a comparative, identifying the object compared, as NIV.

diiknoumenoV (diikneomai) pres. part. "it penetrates" - [and] penetrating, passing through, going through. Hapax legomenon. Again, the participle is adjectival, serving as a predicate adjective, "the word of God ....... is penetrating". "It strikes through", Phillips.

acri + gen. "even to" - up to / until. Here spatial, extension up to.

merismou (oV) gen. "dividing" - a division = a dividing. Not the act of dividing, but rather the results of the word's penetration. "His word can cut through our spirits and souls", CEV. With "soul and spirit, joints and marrow", it is unlikely that the writer is describing distinctive divisions of the human nature. So, "God's word penetrates our whole being."

yuchV (h) gen. "soul" - of soul [and spirit, and joints and marrow]. Genitive of direct object after the adjective "division".

kritikoV adj. "it judges" - [and is] discerning. Predicate adjective.

enqumhsewn (iV ewV) gen. "the thoughts" - of thoughts [and insights]. Genitive of direct object after the adjective "discerning".

kardiaV (a) "heart" - [of thoughts and insights] of heart. The genitive is adjectival, limiting / modifying the nouns "thoughts and insights", probably possessive, identifying the possession of a derivative characteristic, "the thoughts and insights pertaining to the heart"; "the centre and source of the whole inner life, with its thinking, feeling and willing", Bauer.

 
v13

d) Exposing, v13: The Rhetor concludes by pointing out that the audience might be able to conceal their rebellion from their neighbours, even from themselves, but not from God. Before the living God, all creatures are exposed in his sight. So, in the presence of the living God, our rebellion is exposed and made powerless ("laid bare", as a wrestler grabs an opponent by the neck and renders them powerless). In this exposed state, we need to remember that our final reckoning must be made before God, the one "to whom our account must finally be rendered", and that being the case, we definitely need a merciful High Priest to see us safely through to our Sabbath-rest.

ktisiV (iV ewV) "creation" - a creature [is not]. Nominative subject of the verb to-be. Here "creature"; "no creature has any cover from the sight of God", Phillips.

afanhV adj. "hidden" - hidden, unseen, invisible. Predicate adjective. "Is out of sight", Barclay.

enwpion + gen. "from" - before. Spatial.

autou pro. "God's sight" - him. The antecedent is probably "God", but it may be "the word of God."

de "-" - but/and. Introducing a counterpoint / contrastive; "but all things are naked and exposed ....", ESV.

gumna adj. "uncovered" - [all things are] naked. Predicate adjective. In the sense of "exposed" to critical examination.

tetrachlismena (trachlizw) perf. pas. part. "laid bare" - (the neck) having been exposed, laid bare. The participle is adjectival, serving as a predicate adjective asserting a truth about the subject "all things"; "all things are uncovered / naked.", as NIV; "all things lie open and exposed before the eyes of him", Moffatt. "Everything is stripped and exposed to the eyes of the one to whom we have to render account", Barclay.

toiV ofqalmoiV (oV) dat. "before the eyes" - to the eyes [of him]. The dative is probably local, expressing space; "laid open in God's eyes."

o}n pro "whom" - [towards] whom [the word to us]. Most modern commentators render this relative clause: "whom we must give account"; "whom we must reckon", Ellingworth; "to whom our account must finally be rendered", Attridge. Ancient commentators regarded it as a formula statement, "this account is about whom we speak", but probably much more is intended. The preposition proV, "to, towards", expresses approach to autou, "him", namely God, whose oJ logoV, "word", namely that word which is alive, active, sharp, penetrating, judging, is hJmin "for us" (dative of interest, advantage), so take care.

 

Hebrews Introduction

Exegetical Commentaries

 

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