Further Exhortations

In this section, the author further exhorts his readers to persevere and to avoid sinning. In Heb 12:12-13, based on what he has written previously, he exhorts them in somewhat poetic terms to bear up under their sufferings. It has been suggested that, in so doing, he is alluding to Isa 35:3, where the prophet admonishes his hearers to be courageous in light of the coming redemption (see also Sir 25:23).

 

Heb 12:12a	Isa 35:3
Straighten up the weak hands and the feeble knees (tas pareimenas cheiras kai ta paralelumena gonata anorthôsate).	Strengthen, you weak hands and feeble knees (ischusate, cheires aneimenai kai gonata paralelumena).

Following this, in Heb 12:13, the author instructs his readers metaphorically to "make straight paths for your feet," which is probably an allusion to Prov 4:26. The purpose of making straight paths is "in order that lameness may not become dislocation, but rather be healed." His point is the readers must take responsibility for themselves and ensure that they are and remain spiritually strong, so that none would be ruined but recover from his or her temporary wavering in faith, expressed as lameness. In Heb 12:14, the author gives an isolated admonition: to pursue peace with all men by which he means to ensure that one has peaceful relations with all people as far as it is possible. He then says that the readers should pursue sanctification (hagiasmos). The noun "sanctification" is a cognate of the verb "to sanctify" (hagiazô), which the author has used to denote what Christ does for the one who accepts God's gift of forgiveness, i.e., cleanse that person from guilt (see Heb 2:11; 10:10, 14, 29; 13:12). The use of the noun "sanctification" in the clause "to pursue sanctification," however, refers not to the state of being cleansed from guilt (through Christ), but to practical holiness, which, as already indicated, is the goal of divine discipline (Heb 12:10) (hagiotêtos). He adds that without this practical holiness no one will see the Lord, by which he means obtain eschatological salvation (see Matt 5:8). Again, according to the author, holiness and salvation are inseparable. Unlike Paul, however, he does not explain why this connection is necessary.

    The author admonishes his readers in Heb 12:15a that they ought to ensure that no one fails to obtain the grace of God (mê tis husterôn apo tês charitos tou theou). Again, it is clear that the author sees the life of faith as a process wherein one must constantly rely upon the grace of God for sanctification; grace (charis) is probably best defined in relation to one who receives the grace: it is that power or ability which is given from God that enables one to pursue and obtain sanctification. The author referred to grace earlier in Heb 4:16, where it has the similar meaning (see also Heb 13:9, 25). He adds in Heb 12:15b that his readers should ensure that no root of bitterness takes root in them and causes them trouble. He means by root of bitterness any sin that enters the life of anyone in the community that brings destructive consequences. The phrase "root of bitterness" originates in Deut 29:17, where it is used to describe how an individual can destroy the community by turning to idolatry. The author differs from the LXX in having the verb enochlê ("cause trouble") rather than the adverbial phrase en cholê ("in anger"). In some LXX witnesses, the phrase en cholê became by metathesis the related verb enochlê. In such cases, the final noun pikria ("bitterness"), now no longer the object of the preposition en ("in"), is attracted to noun "root," becoming a genitive of quality: "bitter root." This was probably true of the author's version of the LXX. The influence of Deut 29:17 is found in 1 Macc 1:10, where Antiochus Epiphanes is called a  "sinful root" (riza hamartolos) because of his interference in Jewish religious life, which led to much turmoil and suffering. Similarly, in 1QH-a 12.14, the psalmist warns against hypocrites, who are described as having a root that produces poison and wormwood in their intentions. In Heb 12:16-17, the author further exhorts his readers that none become sexually immoral or, like Esau, an immoral and blasphemous person (bebêlos), who gave away his birthright for a single meal. He is drawing upon a haggadah (narrative material not found in the Old Testament) on the story of Esau's giving his birthright in exchange for a meal in which Esau is blamed for having such a disrespectful attitude towards his birthright, rather than Jacob who deceived him (Gen 25:27-34). Esau was understood as a morally negative character in second-Temple interpretation and therefore deserving of losing his birthright (Jub. 24:5-6 and Philo, Virt. 208; Leg. All. 3.139-40). The author assumes this same perspective. The result of Esau's rejection of his birthright was irreversible, since Esau "found no opportunity for repentance"; the author expects the readers to apply this to their own situation: apostasy has irreversible consequences also (see Heb 6:4-6).
 

Question for Discussion

How is it possible to fail to obtain the grace of God (Heb 12:15)?

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