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had said. The epistle as it continues leads away from the ministry of angels, the mediatorship of Moses, the
captaincy of Joshua, the priesthood of Aaron, and the blood of bulls and goats, and focuses all its light upon the
Lord Jesus, Who sums up and outshines them all. He has now spoken from heaven. He is there at the right hand of
God. There He ever liveth. There He sits `henceforth expecting'.
There are `much mores' of mercy, but Hebrews 10:26-31 and 12:25 contain `much mores' of warning and
judgment.
CHAPTER 13
THE TYPICAL SET ASIDE FOR THE REALITY IN CHRIST.
Outside the Camp (Heb. 12:25 to 13:12)
The epistle now draws to its conclusion. Much that these Hebrews had prized and valued as permanent had been
shattered and was passing away. This element is introduced in the opening chapter. Speaking of the creation, the
works of the Lord's hands, it says: `They shall perish; but Thou remainest' (Heb. 1:10,11). This finds its echo in
Hebrews 12: 27: `The removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things that are
not shaken may remain'.
All through the epistle there is the exchange of the passing for the permanent. The law concerning the Aaronic
priesthood is disannulled and gives place to Christ, the Priest after the power of an endless life (Heb. 7:16-18). The
Tabernacle made with hands gives place to the true Tabernacle not made with hands, which the Lord pitched and not
man (Heb. 8:1,2; 9:24). The old Covenant is not found faultless, and is ready to vanish away, giving place to the
New Covenant of which the Lord is the Mediator (Heb. 8:7-13; 10:16). The sacrifices and offerings of the old
system pass away in the presence of that one Sacrifice offered once for all (Heb. 10:1-14). The Hebrews were to
learn that the Mosaic law was transient, and that the kingdom that remains and which cannot be moved is found
alone under the sway of the true King-Priest of the order of Melchisedec, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Flowing from the contemplation of these solemn issues comes a series of practical exhortations. The first is:
`Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear; for our God is a
consuming fire' (Heb. 12:28,29). The words: `for our God is a consuming fire' are taken from Deuteronomy 4:24,
and come in a context of deepest solemnity. Chapter 4 opens with a warning concerning adding to or diminishing
from the Word of God, and then refers to the evil of Baal-Peor. What took place there is described in Numbers 25.
The close relationship between idolatry and immoral practices will explain the sudden reference to marriage etc., in
chapter 13 of Hebrews. In Deuteronomy 4:11,12 also is the reference to the mountain that burned with fire and `the
voice of the words'.
The Hebrews would be warned that the service of God was not something within the authority of man to arrange.
God Himself had set aside the visible, external and typical; let them therefore remember that acceptable worship
would now be concerned with the heavenly, the true and antitypical. The word `acceptably' is euarestos. It occurs
as follows in Chapter 13.
`With such sacrifices God is well pleased' (Heb. 13:16).
`Working in you that which is well-pleasing' (Heb. 13:21).
These references look back to the example of Enoch, and to the divine comment: `Without faith it is impossible
to please Him'.
In close and startling proximity to the need for acceptable service and the fact that God is a consuming fire come
the words:
`Let brotherly love continue (remain)' (Heb. 13:1).
`Be not forgetful to entertain strangers' (Heb. 13:2).
`Remember them that are in bonds' (Heb. 13:3).
`Marriage is honourable in all' (Heb. 13:4).