Paul wanted first century Jews to listen to the voice of God. That is, he wanted them to allow their hearts to be open to the word of God as recorded in the Scriptures. Trusting the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob over the pagan gods of Egypt and the world was important for ancient Israel to enter the rest of God, typified by the Promised Land. Therefore, trusting Jesus was equally important for first century Jews, if they wished to escape judgment and receive their reward. Moreover, encouraging one another throughout the present season of persecution, as Paul advised them to do, was also important, because it helped each persecuted soul see there were folks who were for them and not against them. In so doing it would have been easier for each one to see the comfort of Jesus working in and through his people (Hebrews 3:12-13; cf. Numbers 14:20:23, 29; 1Corinthians 11:29-32).
Paul’s advise was to be followed as long as long as the season of persecution, or as long as it was called today (Hebrews 3:13). For ancient Israel the trial period lasted forty years (Hebrews 3:9), and for the first century Jews Jesus said his people would be persecuted for the sake of the Gospel for one generation (Matthew 23:32-36). This doesn’t mean that believers in Jesus would be persecuted only during that period of time, but it does mean that period of time was important to seal the covenant of God. This was the Day of Salvation (2Corinthians 6:2), when the Father gave his Son for a Covenant for the people in order to establish the promise of the restoration of Israel[1] (Isaiah 49:8; 51:16; Ezekiel 16:8).
At this point Paul referred to the sin principle (cp Romans 7:11) manifesting itself in the sin of unbelief in Jesus as the Messiah (Hebrews 3:13), and it was the sin principle (unbelief) that brought judgment upon the Jewish nation of the first century AD (2Thessalonians 2:10-12). Being made partakers of Christ (Hebrews 3:14) refers to believers putting on the new man (cp. Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:23-24; Colossians 3:10). In other words, the elect have been made partners with Christ in the work of God through preaching the Gospel.[2]
Consider for a moment what believers were to hold fast to in the first century AD, and what Paul meant by the “beginning (G746) of our confidence” (G5287). First of all, although the beginning (G746) can refer to a specific time, it may also refer to the person who is the legitimate leader. For example, this same Greek word is often translated principality, that is, the head of state, to which we are required to be in subjection (Titus 3:1). Jesus, however, stands as the Authority over all principalities, so he would be the supreme Principality (G746) of our faith. Therefore, believers are partners with Christ only as long as they “hold fast to” or trust him as their Savior and Messiah—their supreme Principality.
This same Greek word may also point to the very beginning of our faith with respect to time, namely, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). So, whether we understand this Greek word to point to Christ as the believer’s Principality,or whether we believe it to point to the believer’s first confession of faith in Christ (Matthew 16:16), as long as believers “hold fast” to this truth, which is their confidence or the substance (G5287) of their faith (cf. Hebrews 11:1) to the very end, they would truly be partakers of Christ—i.e. branches of the Vine (John 15:5), or of the Olive Root (Romans 11:16).
Therefore, the Jews of the first century AD needed to continue to hold on to their trust that Jesus is the Messiah (Hebrews 3:15), and not surrender to the prevailing teaching that claimed: if Jesus is the Messiah, then he must do what is required of a savior—and that according to the worldview of Judaism (cf. John 12:34).
For us today, it means that we shouldn’t harden our hearts against the word of God that claims Jesus and not man is our Savior. We must not put our trust in men, no matter how greatly they may have been used of God, such as Martin Luther or any modern evangelist or leader of the state. Such men deserve honor that is due them, but none of them were or are used by God to write Scripture, i.e. to write down the word of God for people to believe. The New Covenant writers are the **only** men we must always believe, because their writings pertain to Christ and the Gospel. Other men may be usually correct, but they are never always correct. Therefore, as the hymn declares, we must not place our “trust in the sweetest frame but wholly trust in Jesus’ name.”[3]
The Lord was not angry with everyone who came out of Egypt under Moses, only with those who provoked him (Hebrews 3:16-17), and the evidence of this was that Joshua and Caleb and the children of the rebellious nation were permitted to enter the Promised Land. The rest of that generation died in the wilderness (Numbers 14:30-31). Only those who had no faith, who would not trust the Lord, were unable to inherit the promises (Hebrews 3:18)
Therefore, Paul concluded that the only reason that generation of ancient Israel was unable to enter the Promised Land was their lack of faith in the God of Abraham (Hebrews 3:19). This means, that the only reason, that the Jewish nation was destroyed in the first century AD with its Temple, was because those Jews, as a nation (the majority; cp. Matthew 24:10-12), abandoned their Messiah, refused his leadership and embraced the pagan religious belief that they should be able to control the gods they presumed to serve in the flesh.[4]
[1] See my earlier studies: Christ Is the Land and The Spiritual Restoration of Israel.
[2] See my previous study: Partakers of the Heavenly Calling.
[3] Quoted from On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, by Edward Mote.
[4] See my earlier studies: Is The Lord Among Us or Not? and Monotheism v/s Polytheism.
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