Young People’s Blog

“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12).

In Israel in the Old Testament the worship of God was connected first with the tabernacle, and then later with the temple that Solomon built. Perhaps you have never thought of it before, but neither in the tabernacle nor in the temple was there any chair on which the priests could sit down. Whatever they did there, whether offering incense to the Lord, replacing the shewbread on the table, lighting the candlestick, or even going into the “holy of holies” once a year, they were always standing up. Why was this?

It was because the work of putting away sin was never finished. The animal sacrifices were a picture of the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross, but they had to be repeated time after time. But when the Lord Jesus had suffered for sin in the three hours of darkness, He could cry out triumphantly, “It is finished!” Now that His work is done, the Lord Jesus can sit down at God’s right hand. The work is complete, and nothing more can be added to it.

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

It is a very serious thought that after death there will be judgment. Some people today would like to believe that after death, there is nothing. They would like to believe that men and women die like animals, and that they do not live forever. But the Word of God tells us clearly that we are made for eternity, and not just for time. We will live forever in one of two places — either heaven or hell.

In our verse for today, we are reminded of the judgment that follows death, for some of the Jewish people at that time had identified themselves with Christianity just as an outward thing, without a real relationship with the Lord Jesus. They were not truly saved, and needed to be reminded of how serious the judgment would be. Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior?

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).

It is a wonderful thing to know someone who loves and cares for us, and who will never change in his attitude towards us. I well remember about 20 years ago, I needed a computer expert to help me whenever I had problems with my computer. He was a young man, just starting his business, and he was very knowledgeable and helpful. Although I did not need to call him very often, he was glad to have my business. But then his business grew, as he got more customers. Eventually he did not want to bother with my business, as he had small businesses and even larger companies who used his services. I had only one computer, while these other companies had many computers. So he just stopped answering the phone when I called, and never returned calls if I left messages.

I was rather disappointed, as I had to find someone else to help me with my computer problems. But the Lord Jesus is always the same. He never gets tired of hearing from us, and His love never changes. He always has time for us!

“By faith he [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27).

As we mentioned two days ago, Moses had many advantages in this world as he grew up, for he was the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Yet when the time came for him to be used of the Lord, he willingly forsook Egypt, and did not fear the anger of the king. You may remember that Moses had seen an Egyptian abusing an Israelite, and when he thought no one was looking, he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. But others found out about it, and eventually Pharaoh found out too. Pharaoh was very angry and would have killed Moses, but Moses left Egypt, and went to live for forty years in the “backside of the desert.” (If you do not know this story, you can read it in Exodus 2.)

During those forty years he learned important lessons as he spent his time keeping sheep. But as our verse says, “he endured,” for by faith his eye was on the Lord, even though he could not actually see Him. We too can forsake this world, and can endure, for by faith we can see the Lord who is directing us.

“I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47).

Perhaps you have heard people ask the question, If God is all-powerful, why does He not stop all the suffering in this world? Why does He allow bad people to do wrong things, and very often things that are harmful to others?

I believe we find the answer in this verse. God sent His Son into this world to save it, not to judge it. And if the Lord Jesus were to judge this world, He would have to judge everyone, not just certain very bad people. All of us are sinners, and God would have to judge all of us. But now God is calling everyone to come to Him and be saved, through faith in the Lord Jesus.

There is a time coming when the Lord Jesus will judge this world, and all who do not know Him as Savior will come under His judgment. But today is the day of His grace, and God is showing Himself to this world as a Savior God.

“By faith Moses…refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:24-25).

The Lord allowed Moses to grow up in an unusually good position in this world. He was born into a family of slaves in Egypt, but then adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He had every advantage, was well educated, and might possibly have become the next king of Egypt. But Moses knew that all this was temporary. There is pleasure in sin, but it does not last. He knew that to suffer with the people of God would bring God’s approval, and would bring blessing to him and to others for all eternity.

You and I have a choice to make, like Moses. We too can decide to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, and many in this world are making this choice. But it will not last, and will never satisfy our hearts. Only Christ can fill your heart and mine. How much better it is to follow Him, even if it means some suffering and reproach down here. It will mean pleasing the Lord, and a reward that will last for all eternity!

“By faith Abraham, when he was called…went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8).

Faith is a wonderful thing, for it believes God, and takes Him at His word, trusting that He will do what He has said He will do. Abraham lived in a place called Ur, and there he worshiped idols. But God called him, and told him to go out, intending to take him to the land of Canaan. Abraham believed God, and went out, although he was not even sure where he was going. But he trusted God, and He did not fail him. In natural things, we like to know exactly how the whole journey will go, but God wanted Abraham to be dependent on Him, and to look to Him for every step. God did not show him the whole way, but led him day by day.

So it ought to be with us. God will always show us the next step in our Christian pathway, and if He has not shown us anything for the moment, we should wait for Him. When it is time for us to make a move, if we are really wanting to do His will, He will make it very clear to us.

“The fear of man bringeth a snare [a trap]: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).

It is very common for people to do things in this world because of the fear of man. This may mean that we are afraid of being physically hurt, but it may also mean that we are afraid of public opinion. We all want to be accepted and respected in this world, and this may lead us to be “conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). When we are afraid of what people in this world may think, we may do wrong things, or neglect doing the right thing.

Here in our verse today we are told to put our trust in the Lord. This means that we do the right thing before the Lord, and then trust Him to look after us. Of course, we may suffer consequences for doing the right thing, as the Lord Jesus did. But it is worth it, for then we have a sense in our soul that we have pleased the Lord. His joy in our hearts is worth the disapproval of this world! Public opinion should not be what dictates our conduct!

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings” (Philippians 2:14).

As I mentioned in our meditation yesterday, the Lord Jesus learned obedience when He became a man, and came into this world. He did His Father’s will in every way, no matter what the cost was.

You and I may do what we are asked to do, but perhaps with murmurings and disputings (arguing about it). If we are given a distasteful job to do, we might say, “Oh, do I have to? Can’t someone else do it?” We can think of a number of reasons why we should not have to do this job. Or perhaps we agree to do the job, but complain and murmur about it. Murmuring in this verse means complaining in a quiet way, and perhaps not saying anything very loudly, but loud enough that the person who gave us the job to do knows very well that we are not happy to be doing this.

If there is something that we are given to do, we are to do it without complaining and arguing. This gives joy to the person who gave us the job, and gives joy to the Lord as well!

“Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

We might think that as God, the Lord Jesus did not need to learn anything. Yet when He became a man, He experienced something He had never experienced before; He learned what it was to be obedient to His Father’s will. He became the perfect dependent Man, and He had never done this before. We speak reverently; this was an entirely new thing for Him to go through.

Also, there was a heavy cost involved, and the Lord Jesus learned what that obedience would cost. It meant going all the way to Calvary’s cross, and dying for you and me. When you and I obey our parents or a schoolteacher, we might occasionally have to do something that we really do not want to do. But the Lord Jesus was “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).