Heb 7:1-3 Who was Melchizedek? See Gen 14, esp. Heb 7:17-20, Ps 110:4.[1] Where was Salem? See Ps 76:2 and note that Salem is traditionally identified as the location that would later be called Jerusalem. In what ways was Melchizedek a type of Christ? Are we to understand Heb 7:3 literally, or figuratively in the…
Heb 6:9-12 The third warning just given by the author is one of the most blunt and frightful in Scripture. Especially to those who are in danger of falling away in time of testing because they had become “dull of hearing” and lax in their faith, but even to those with the most sincere faith…
Heb 6:4-6 Consider the context of Heb 6:1-3: why is it important that as Christians we “press on to maturity” (Heb 6: 1)? In what way had the recipients of this letter failed to press on to maturity? See 5:12. What danger had befallen them as a result? See Heb 5:11, 2:1, 3:12-13, 4:1,11, 10:36-39. …
Heb 6:1-3 What six things does the author enumerate as “elementary teaching about the Christ”, and how is each foundational? What is listed first and how is it of first importance? Cf. Mat 3:2, 4:17, Acts 2:37-38, 17:30, 20:21, 26:20, Rom 2:4. In what two-fold manner are we to understand what is meant by “dead…
Heb 5:11-14 Why has the author been slow in arriving at this the central part of his message? See Heb 5:11-12 and note “dull” of hearing means sluggish, lazy, slothful. What does this teach us about the danger of sloth in our Christian walk, especially in regard to exercising due diligence to “hear” the word…
Heb 4:14-5:10: What words in Heb 4:14 emphasize the author’s theme throughout this epistle? Cf. Heb 2:1, 3:6,14, 10:23. Having established the better revelation we have as Christians through Jesus the Son of God, and His superiority to the prophets (Heb 1:1), angels (Heb 1:4) and even Moses (Heb 3:3), to what does he now…
Heb 4: 1-11 As we discovered in the previous study, in gathering for worship on the first day of the week Christians were honoring the Lord on the day He rose from the dead and not observing the seventh day sabbath God commanded the Jews to observe in the Ten Commandments. Our question then is…
Heb 4:1-11 What are the 4 “rests” referred to in these verses? See Heb 4:1,6,4,9. What rest is the author concerned that his readers will come short of, and how are the other 3 rests he mentions related to it? See Rom 15:4. What does it mean to “rest”? Note: in Hebrew, the verb “to…
Heb 4:1-11 Consider again the parallel the author makes between the Israelites who followed Moses from their bondage in Egypt and Christians who follow Jesus as their Savior from sin; what was the twofold nature of the “gospel” or “good news” proclaimed to the children of Israel, and how does that correspond to the gospel…
Heb 3:1-6 What is a “heavenly calling”? Is being a partaker of a heavenly calling the same as being a partaker of heaven? Having confessed Jesus who has called us heavenward, what is necessary to partake of heaven itself? See Heb 4:14, 10:23. In light of the temptation to the recipients of this letter to…