So far, this little journey to understand what is going on in Hebrews 10 has turned into an expedition that is in its seventh week. Seems like we have been talking about this forever. In fact, it’s hard to remember why we are here, or where we are going. Wait. What was the question?
Oh, yeah. We are talking about the “pleasure of God’s soul” in Hebrews 10:38-39 –
“But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
In the middle of all that is the phrase that prompted this little expedition – “. . . and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him . . .”. The pleasure of God’s soul is somehow linked to our choices. Very unsettling. How do we “shrink back”? As I read on, it seems that the destruction of my soul is at stake. How can that be? I thought we were saved “by grace, through faith”. What about eternal security? How does all this fit with the little message we have become so accustomed to – some version of “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” This doesn’t sound very wonderful. Sounds like we could really foul things up if we are not careful.
So, are we saying that we have to do more than believe that Jesus is the Christ to be saved? No, we are not. We are saying that Christ is not Jesus’ last name. It was a title that meant “The Anointed One” and, by the time Jesus showed up, it had become a designation for the One Who Will Come in fulfillment of all the hope that God holds out throughout the entire Old Testament. And those promises involve a lot more than you not going to hell when you die.
So, we went back to the beginning, to listen to The Story again, looking for how the promise of The One Who Will Come grows as The Story moves through the lives of key characters – Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David.
Beginning in Genesis, we followed The Story through the historical books of our Old Testament, all the way up into 2 Samuel, and David’s life. His reign ends in 971 BC, and from this point on, the picture of this One Who Will Come will be filled out, not through God’s promises to key individuals, but in the messages of the Prophets.
David is followed by Solomon, who rules 40 years, until 931 BC. Following his reign, civil war results in a Divided Kingdom, which will last until the Exile, which finally begins in 586 BC. It is during the period beginning with the Divided Kingdom, and running through the Exile that the Prophets enter The Story. Here are the dates, sometimes very approximate, for each of them.
- Isaiah – 739-681 BC
- Jeremiah – 627-582 BC
- Ezekiel – 593-571 BC
- Daniel – 605-536 BC
- Hosea – ca. 760-715 BC
- Joel – as early as 872 BC to as late as ca. 500 BC
- Amos – 760 BC
- Obadiah – as early as 850 BC to as late as shortly after 586 BC
- Jonah – probably ca. 780 BC
- Micah – sometime between 750 and 700 BC
- Nahum – between 663 and 612 BC
- Habakkuk – sometime between 609 and 598 BC
- Zephaniah – between 640 and 612 BC
- Haggai – 520 BC
- Zechariah – 520-518 BC (chapters 9-14 may be as late as mid-400’s BC)
- Malachi – perhaps 432-431 BC
The primary role of the Prophets is to deliver God’s messages to the nation of Israel. These messages typically center around two common themes.
- Israel’s Unfaithfulness – Israel has not kept the terms of her covenant with God (Mosaic Covenant – The Law), and, as a result will experience judgment, resulting in desolation and destruction.
- Israel’s Future Restoration – In spite of her unfaithfulness, God promises a future time, after judgment, in which Israel will be restored and experience unprecedented fruitfulness and blessing.
In connection with these two themes, the picture of this One Who Will Come develops more fully. Related to the theme of Israel’s unfaithfulness and associated guilt we find the description of The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53). Remember that this description is probably written at least 700 years before Jesus’ death.
Verses 3-6
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
Verses 10-11
But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Regarding the theme of Israel’s Future Restoration, we learn that this will take place during the reign of The One Who Will Come, as He sits on David’s throne. Consider the description of His reign from Isaiah 9 –
- He will come as light, to those in darkness (v. 2).
- He will bring national growth, prosperity, and gladness to Israel (v. 3).
- Against overwhelming odds, He will deliver Israel from those who oppress them (v. 4).
- Battle gear will be used for fuel, indicating the end of war (v. 5).
- The cause of this will be the birth of a child, God-embodied, on whom the government will rest (v.6).
- His rule in perfect peace, righteousness, and justice will never be overthrown or diminished (v. 7).
Isaiah 11 expresses a similar vision, speaking of the One “from the stem of Jesse”, a reference to David’s Promised Descendant –
- The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him (v. 2).
- He will judge in perfect knowledge, in perfect righteousness, bringing justice to those afflicted by the wicked (v. 3-5).
- He will bring such complete knowledge of the Lord that pain and destruction will be done away with among all creatures (vv. 6-9).
- Israel will be pre-eminent among all nations, and all the dispersed Jews will return to Israel (vv. 10-16).
When we add these details to what we had already learned about the One Who Will Come, we get the following picture of Him –
- He will crush the Enemy who challenged God’s Kingdom on earth.
- He will bring, not only relief from the curse, but, in it’s place blessing to all nations.
- He will bring such complete knowledge of the Lord that pain and destruction will be done away with among all creatures. The lamb and lion will lay down together.
- He will be a descendant of Abraham and David, ruling sovereignly over a regathered Kingdom of Israel that will not be overthrown. All Israel’s oppressors will be finally and completely defeated.
- His government will establish perfect peace, justice and righteousness in all the earth.
- He will suffer for the atonement and healing of the many.
This is the description of the Christ that we will take with us to the New Testament. Not just someone who died so you don’t have to go to hell, but someone who is going to do all of this.
Now look at the list again, and answer this – If you could choose between living in the Kingdom described here, or the world described in tomorrow’s morning paper, which would you choose?
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