Finding Peace By Andrew McChesney It was the worst day of Yean’s life. The witch doctor approached him in their village in southern Laos and announced that he was going to die. “And there is no one who can help you,” the witch doctor said, solemnly. Yean was scared. People in his village believed that … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: It is very significant that Paul in Hebrews used the Sabbath rest, and not Sunday, as a symbol of the salvation through grace that God offers us. The use of Sabbath rest in this way implies that Sabbath was cherished and observed by believers. From the second century A.D. forward, however, we find … Continue reading –>
Compare Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:12-15, and Hebrews 4:8-11. What differences do you find regarding the meaning of the Sabbath rest? As we have already seen, these texts in Exodus and Deuteronomy invite us to look to the past. They exhort us to rest on Sabbath in order to celebrate God’s accomplishments at Creation and at Redemption. Hebrews 4:9-11, however, … Continue reading –>
Read Hebrews 3:11 and Hebrews 4:1, Hebrews 4:3, Hebrews 4:5, Hebrews 4:10. How does God characterize the rest He invites us to enter? Both the Sabbath commandment in Exodus 20:8-11 and Moses’ restatement of it in Deuteronomy 5:12-15 invite us to remember what God has done for us. As we have seen, what God wrote on tablets of stone point us to the finishing of … Continue reading –>
Read Hebrews 4:4-8. What is the meaning of entering rest “today” in connection with keeping the Sabbath? The unbelief of the desert generation prevented them from entering into the rest God promised. But God kept urging His people to enter this rest and not to harden their hearts. Paul repeats several times that God’s promise “remains” (Hebrews … Continue reading –>
Read Hebrews 3:12-19. Why was Israel unable to enter into the promised rest? The sad story is that those who were delivered from Egypt were unable to enter into the rest that God had promised them. When Israel arrived at Kadesh Barnea, at the border of the Promised Land, they lacked the faith that they needed. … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 15:13-21. What did God promise Abraham? When God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, His purpose was to bring Israel to the land of Canaan, where they would be able to serve and obey Him freely (Exodus 8:1; Psalm 105:43-45), including enjoying the Sabbath rest that Pharaoh had prohibited (Exodus 5:5). The land of Canaan was the … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon, Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 15:13–21; Hebrews 3:12–19; Hebrews 4:6–11; Hebrews 4:1, Hebrews 4:3, Hebrews 4:5, Hebrews 4:10; Deuteronomy 5:12–15; Hebrews 4:8-11. Memory Text: “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9, NKJV). Hebrews 1 and 2 focused on the enthronement of Jesus as the ruler and liberator of God’s people. Hebrews 3 and 4 introduce Jesus as the … Continue reading –>
Jesus, Miracle Doctor By Andrew McChesney Sengphet was a highly regarded medical doctor at the largest hospital in one of the provinces of Laos. But he was powerless to cure his son’s disease. His adult son came down with the mysterious illness while working in Bangkok, Thailand. The young man was treated by Bangkok physicians … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Hebrews 2:13 contains the words of Jesus to His Father talking about His brethren: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me” (Hebrews 2:13, NKJV). Patrick Gray suggests that Jesus is described here as the guardian of His brothers. The Roman system of tutela impuberum determined that at their father’s death, “A tutor, often … Continue reading –>
