October 24th, 2021

This Sunday is our fourth week in the Epistle to the Hebrews [7:23-28], and we will be taking a two-week break after this to look at the last book of the Bible, Revelation. The so-called ‘First Readings’ for the next two Sundays, Reformation Sunday and All Saints’ Day (observed), are from the Book of Revelation, somewhat literally known as the ‘Apocalypse of John’.

In our look at the Epistle of James, a distinction was made between the third-person command—a less stringent command—and the second-person command—a more direct thing. And it may be helpful to keep in mind that distinction here as well. And I hope I do not complicate matters even further for you by pointing out that there is also what could be called a ‘first-person command’. This one is usually called the ‘hortatory’, and it is basically translated as ‘let us….’

When any points are made, the conclusion of that important point (important enough to say the words out loud or, even worse, to take the time to write them down) is made with the word ‘therefore’. Since points are made frequently, and there are certainly different levels of importance regarding various points, we will be looking at the Greek word ‘OUN’ and the various verbs that are connected with that word. That Greek word means ‘therefore’. (In a way, this fits with the ‘command’ that you may have heard, that when there is a ‘therefore’ in the text, you should always ask what it is there for.)

The special verse that was the focus of last week’s study was Hebrews 4:4, and this is a somewhat-literal translation of that verse:

For he has said somewhere concerning the seventh thus: And God rested in the day, the seventh, from all the works of him.

Here are the possible locations of all the times the important word ‘therefore’ is within the rest of the book, and the verbs near them are also given (and, again, the following are somewhat-literal translations):

4:6a     Therefore, since it remains to enter into [rest]….

4:11a   Therefore, let us be eager to enter into that rest….

4:14     Therefore, having a great high priest, having gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold the confession.

4:16a   Therefore, let us come toward with confidence to the throne of the grace….

7:11a   Therefore, if perfection was through the Levitical priestly office….

8:4a     Therefore, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest….

9:1       Therefore, the first [covenant] had both the ordinances of service and the worldly holy place.

9:23     Therefore, [there was] necessity, on the one hand, the examples of the things in the heavens by these to be cleansed, themselves, on the other hand, the heavenly things by better sacrifices than these.

10:19ff Therefore, brothers, having confidence into the entering of the holies by the blood of Jesus, which he dedicated for us a way, fresh and living through the veil, this is the flesh of him, and a great priest over the household of God, let us come toward with a true heart … let us hold fast … let us consider….

10:35   Therefore, do not throw away the confidence of you….

13:15   Therefore, through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise through all to God….
You may wish to look at these various verses in more detail and in other translations. You may also wish to look at the word ‘therefore’ in the first chapters of this work. It may be there, up to three times, at 2:14, 4:1, and 4:3.

It should be noted that the last appearance of these three, at 4:3, is only in some manuscripts. It would be difficult to lay out the details of this situation with only a few words, but the structure—with or without a ‘therefore’—leads the reader and listener to look for the next conclusion. And this, in a way, comes at the interesting verse of 4:4. And it is also interesting that with the very last occurrence of the entire list above, at 13:15, the word ‘therefore’ is in only a few manuscripts here as well. It seems that the important things, the definite conclusions, are near the middle of the work.

Possibly starting at 4:3, there is an emphasis on a conclusive entering, a movement. It progresses toward a Jesus who, ‘having gone through the heavens’, enables us to, at 4:16, ‘come toward with confidence’ to the throne of grace. This idea of confidence gets picked up in 10:19 and also 10:35. And the idea of entering is brought up again in 10:19. And here again, our entering is connected to Jesus.

The predominant use of the word ‘therefore’ is connected to the less important commands, ‘let us….’ It is also interesting that there is only one prohibition mentioned above, one time that there is a prohibition connected to the ‘therefore’, at 10:35. That makes this verse somewhat significant.

Our final time in this interesting epistle will be after a two-week break, and that week will have the Epistle Reading of Hebrews 10:11-25, and that will be the closest that we get in the three-year series to this unique verse of Hebrews 10:35. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence.