Into the Hands of the Living God
28 Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who has said,
Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,
and again,
The Lord will judge his people.
31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:28-31)
Yesterday, we were introduced to this section, in which the author gives a warning of being in God’s judgment. Closing this small section, the author references in verse 28 the old Mosaic Law, in which rejecting the Law and violating God’s covenant would lead to execution. We see this in Deuteronomy 17:2-6, but for brevity, I’ll highlight verse 2-3 and 6:
2 “If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the Lord your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violating his covenant 3 and has gone to serve other gods by bowing in worship to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky—which I have forbidden…6 The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness.
Now, if that was the punishment for the rejection of the old covenant, the author asks the question then, “how much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” To reject Christ, His work on the cross, and the revelation of the truth shared by the Holy Spirit would lead to the individual to experience a fate far worse than death: eternal separation from God and His divine wrath. For God fulfills His purposes and His perfect justice, as quoted from Deuteronomy 32:35-36,
Vengeance and retribution belong to me.
In time their foot will slip,
for their day of disaster is near,
and their doom is coming quickly.”
36 The Lord will indeed vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants
when he sees that their strength is gone
and no one is left—slave or free.
God offers His mercy and will have compassion upon His followers. Yet, His judgment and retribution are swift and will lead to disaster for those who have rejected Him. As the author closes this section with this stern realization and warning, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” The response question is this: What will you choose, God’s mercy or His judgment?
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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