From the command to assemble and to do so even more as we see the day approaching, God gave another warning about the careless attitude of so many. He has clearly shown the important and the superiority of Jesus Christ. He is the Great High Priest. There is no other Saviour. He provided the only way for anyone to be forgiven and saved and that is through His shed blood.
In verse 26 God directed the writer to give a similar thought to that which we have already looked at in chapter 6:4-6. Under Old Testament law, there was no sacrifice that could be offered for the person who sinned wilfully. Achan chose to sin against a clear command of God. There was no sacrifice he could have brought to cover for his wilful sin. He needed to be taken outside the camp and stoned to death along with his family. They were all willingly involved in this sin. Earlier in the history of the nation, there was no sacrifice that Aaron and Miriam could bring for complaining against God’s order. Miriam was struck with leprosy and she needed to remain outside the camp for 7 days before she could come back in as a restored but greatly humbled person. Aaron was also hit hard with this judgment of God. The entire nation was brought to a standstill for 7 days as they awaited Miriam restoration.
God reminded the readers that if we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there is no more sacrifice for sins. If you know the truth of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death, shedding of blood, burial, resurrection and ascension, and yet you reject His offer of salvation, there is no other sacrifice that can be made on your behalf. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all the typology that the Old Testament saints trusted in. You cannot go back to the blood of bulls and goats. Israel today is still looking to go back to that. The antichrist will give them the opportunity to do that, but it will not help them.
The Bible is clear that man knows far more about eternity than many want to let on. Romans 1 tells us that no one will have an excuse for rejecting the reality of God and when man acknowledges that reality, He gives that person further light.
There is no hope for those who reject God’s provision for the forgiveness of sins. That provision is through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is important for those who are saved to testify to that fact. It is also important for the lost person to respond humbly and obediently to the truth.
In verse 27 we are reminded that all there is for the rebel is the fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation. There is nothing else but hell and the lake of fire to look forward to. The adversaries will be devoured by that fire. That devouring will not annihilate them. It will consume and eat that person. The lake of fire is a place of torment and gnashing of teeth and wailing. The people who end up there will be consumed with this as they agonize in pain for all eternity. God does not want anyone to end up in that dreadful place. He warns against a careless and rebellious attitude toward such a serious matter.
As we see in verse 28, those who sinned willfully under Moses’ law, which was given by God and spoken by Moses, that person died without mercy. There needed to be two or three witnesses but there was no other escape for the person so condemned. No mercy could be shown to that person. Korah and his family died for their rebellion. There was no sacrifice they could bring to atone for their sin. God opened the ground and swallowed them up alive. The people did not like what God did, but they were not going to stop Him. They needed to learn from that and they needed to repent, but they refused to do so. An entire generation except for two people perished in the wilderness.
In verse 29 we are reminded of the worse action of rejecting Jesus’ sacrifice for sin. To reject His sacrifice is to trod Him under foot. If you are reading this and not saved, you might not think you are being that violent, but this is what God says about you. If you think you can invent your own way of salvation, you are wrong.
God’s salvation is through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without accepting that sacrifice, there is no hope for you. Don’t settle for the lies of the New Evangelical crowd. Don’t settle for the lies of men like Joseph Prince or Kenneth Copeland or the multitude of other false teachers out there.
In verse 30 we are reminded that vengeance belongs to God. This is a fact. God directed the writer to quote from Deuteronomy 32:35-36 here. The original readers of this letter would have been familiar with these verses. They had heard the priests and prophets teach on these things before. God is the just judge. It is foolish to complain that God is unjust. You will never change God’s mind. You will suffer the consequences of rejecting Him, but you will never change Him. He does not need to change.
We live in a time when many people do not understand true justice. The secular garbage that most of us were raised on in the public school system, has polluted our minds. We need to understand that God is love and that love requires justice.
In verse 31 we are reminded that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If you reject God’s gift of salvation, you cannot resist His judgment. You will fall into His hand. You will not be able to run away. When He pronounces your doom, there is nowhere to run and hide. The solution is to humble yourself and bow before Him now and then learn how to walk with Him faithfully and obediently.
I understand there are many smooth talkers out there. They are quite eloquent in their deception. What they say sounds so good to the untrained ear. Those that are saved have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. He will help them to see the deception and reject it. Those who are lost have the Holy Spirit on the outside. He is seeking to show you your need to be saved. If you reject that work, you have no way of protecting yourself from deception. You are willfully ignorant and you are being played like a fiddle by the devil. He is having a good time pulling you this way and that way, but never letting you rest. You will find alcohol and other drugs to dull your senses for a time, but nothing will give you peace in your heart because you have rejected the truth.
Choose God’s way today. Let Him lead you and you will be forever grateful to Him for His grace and mercy.
Today is the Lord’s Day. It is the right day to be in the house of the Lord, where you can learn of the true God. In these summer months there are many distractions that have been set up to keep people away from the truth. There are fairs and other distractions that will appeal to the flesh. Those things are costly and yet unable to satisfy your soul. Trust in the Lord and be blessed today.
Pastor Bartel