Foundations: The Book of Hebrews
14 Day Devotional
The Book of Hebrews helps us
understand the Deity of Jesus, reveals His everlasting desire to be in
relationship with us, and explains the completeness of our salvation. This book
is not soft on sin, but at the same time is full of hope and grace. As we
progress through the chapters we are shown what it is to be men and women of
great faith. From mighty acts of faith to the difficulties we will face as
believers, Hebrews is a book of teaching and encouragement we all can use.
Hebrews 3:14 (NIV)
“For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God
just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to
Christ.”
READ If your
Bible has introduction to the book of Hebrews, please read it.
INTRODUCTION
This is written to a people group: Hebrews. The Hebrew people
are the same people as the Israelites. They are the Jews. Although typically
they were not normally called Hebrews during the New Testament time period,
this was still used as a way to identify them from the nations around them.
Although there is no church named, and we don’t know
specifically who this letter was written to, we do know a few things. The main
audience was likely a Jewish congregation; a group of believers who all shared
the culture, tradition, and heritage of Jesus. From the arguments and
discussions in the book, it is likely some of them may have been struggling
with whether or not Jesus was really God. There was faith among them, but also
doubt.
In another section of this book we see they had embraced Jesus
as Lord even if they hadn’t fully understood how He had fulfilled the Law. They
had even suffered for their faith and done well. But from the tone of the
letter we can safely assume they had lost their passion. Doubts had arisen, and
they no longer were pursuing holiness or faith. Sin was creeping in, along with
false teaching about sin.
The writer to the Hebrews uses this letter to establish Jesus’
identity so they can once again be fueled with passion and excitement as they
see the Law being fulfilled in Christ. He also uses it to chastise and
challenge their living and beliefs. He warns them with harsh words about the
cost of continuing to go the direction in which they are going. Then he
encourages them to keep on keeping on. He wants them to see the whole picture.
Hebrews is a book that does a remarkable job of revealing to us the holiness
and love of God, teaching us doctrine, giving us practical living advice, as
well as spurring us on to keep on going and never giving up. He shows us the
standard we are to live at, and then raises the bar even higher.
This dynamic book contains more nuggets and treasures in its
words than what we can uncover in these fourteen days. More than that, however,
we are challenged and encouraged to not just skim the surface and learn the
facts, but to listen and really pay attention to the very words of God as He
speaks them to us.
A good summary of the book of Hebrews would be to say it is a
letter explaining the relationship between God and His people from the
beginning to the end, from creation until Jesus’ second coming.
JOURNALING
AND PRAYER
1.
Ask God to open your spiritual eyes and ears so you
can see Him and hear what He wants to say to you as you study through Hebrews.
Ask Him to challenge you and encourage you.
2.
Ask Jesus if you have lost some of your spiritual
fervor, or to reveal to you if you are struggling with doubts. Ask Him to begin
to work in those areas already so that in the next few days as we dig through
His message to us, you will be refreshed, renewed, and ready to follow Him with
unbridled passion.
3.
Thank the Lord for a book with such depth for us to
learn more about Him. Thank Him in advance for all that He’ll say to you and
teach you.
