Hebrews 10:30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
Yesterday we learned from Paul that we should not care about other’s judgement towards us, that all that mattered was God and His view of us. Today we look at Hebrews where the author is speaking to an audience who are facing persecution and considering abandoning their Christian faith to return to the older ways of Judaism. In this verse we find hope for anyone facing persecution or oppression from others.
The text quoted from the Torah, the Old Testament, anchoring the warning it gave as well as the hope, on the Scriptures that these doubting, fearful, persecuted Christians were deeply familiar with. The text was quoted from Deuteronomy 32:35-36. Through it, the author reminded believers that God is the ultimate Judge, the only Judge that matters, the only Judge qualified to pass any judgement on people – which included those who turned their back on His Son and the New Covenant that had been made between God and mankind. It warned them that He would judge those who abandoned the New Covenant, who turned away, turned their back and walked away, and there would be severe, eternal consequences for their actions.
Through this passage, there were two separate take-aways that one could glean. This first take-away was that God’s grace was not to be abused or taken for granted and doing so would result in them facing righteous judgement from Him for apostasy. The second take-away was comfort and hope for those facing persecution. God WILL avenge those who are being mistreated, oppressed, or persecuted. To a church facing persecution in the early first century, this offered hope for vindication.
God is a holy and just Judge, One who loves us and wants to give us good things. He has good plans for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us (Jeremiah 29:11). Trust that He will vindicate you if you are being mistreated or persecuted. He will see that justice is done and He will judge those who seem to be getting away with things now.
And for those who are doubting their faith, those who are thinking of walking away from it all… Hold fast. Stand strong. Keep seeking Him. Cry out to Him and ask Him for help. Turn TO Him not away from Him and trust that He is all that you need today and every day. Don’t abandon your faith without understanding that there are eternal consequences for doing so.
Prayer: Lord, You alone are the rightful, Holy God that will judge the nations. Help us to stand strong in our faith and turn to You instead of running away. Amen
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