V.12 It seems that the Canaanites could not be dislodged, at one point, because they were stronger than Manasseh.  However, the Israelites did become stronger but then subjected the Canaanites to tribute (v.13).  If they could subject the Canaanites, they could have completely destroyed them.  However, they chose not to completely destroy the enemy but to employ them.  Perhaps this is the same rationale that Saul would later use for not completely destroying the Amalekites (1Sam 15:9-23). 

V.14-18 In Joshua's answer to the two tribes, we see the great wisdom that had been granted him. Knowing their character, he treated them accordingly, and sarcastically turned all their arguments against themselves. Thus he rebuked their unbelief and cowardice.

17:13   And so the children of Manasseh did the same as Joshua had done to the inhabitants of Gibeon – but those in the land should have been killed. So we see compromise, possibly based upon  a poor precedent. We need to be aware that the wrong decision we might make, unless resolved, might be used later to justify other wrong actions.

17:14 In complaining about being given ‘but one lot’ Joseph is actually complaining about God’s generosity. The land was not his to have, it was a gift from God – so he should have been happy to accept what God offered. How about ourselves?

17:16   In focussing on the ‘chariots of iron’ the men of Benjamin show their lack of faith in God as well as giving us an insight into the military status of the inhabitants of the land. So whilst they were disparate city kingdoms there were still well armed.

17:4 Notice that disputes were dealt with Joshua and Eleazar. It was God’s land and His representative – Eleazar – worked with his military leader, Joshua

Vs.3,4 The daughters of Zelophehad were counted as the sons of Israel. The grammar in the Hebrew text  agrees to this (see my note for Num 36, April 17).

Vs.1,2 Tyre and Sidon were two Phoenician cities situated in present-day Lebanon.  Originally Sidon was the more important city, but later Tyre assumed that pre-eminent position. Tyre became a very rich and sophisticated city because of wealth derived from trading.  It became the epitome of pride, operating confidently under its own power.  Thus, Yahweh determined to bring down the pride of Tyre as a lesson for all (v.9).  This tearing down of Tyre began with the Babylonians and was completed by the Greeks.

The Phoenicians were sea-going traders who originally hailed from Chittim (Kittim), which according to Josephus, and generally recognized, is Cyprus. 

V.1 Tyre was a great trading center and many nations made much wealth by selling their merchandise to her.  Tarshish was one of them.  The Easton Commentary says the word Tarshish is a Sanscrit or Aryan word meaning the sea coast.  Thus, the ships of Tarshish were identified with large sea-going vessels.

Some suggest that Tarshish is in Spain. Yet, others contend that it has been identified with Britain because the commodities listed in Eze 27:12 were those that came from the British Isles.  Also, v.6 hints at Britain being the location. The link between Tyre and Tarshish was so great that Tarshish is called the daughter of Tyre.  This daughter of Tyre (Britain) will bring gifts to the Lord Jesus when He is installed as king in Jerusalem (Psa 45:12).

23:15  Again Isaiah makes a specific time related prophecy – Tyre will be desolate 70 years.

23:5  The mention of both Egypt and Tyre together – two strong powers that might have been thought of as powers who might have helped against the Babylonians highlights that salvation does not come from men – no matter how powerful their kingdoms. It comes from God as Hezekiah experienced in one night.

23:15  The city of Tyre was overthrown and cast into the sea and remained desolate for 70 years before being rebuilt on an island off the coast where it remained a city until the Greeks destroyed it, again in fulfilment of Bible prophecy.

V.1 Tyre was first attacked by Nebuchadnezzar about 120 years after this prophecy was given.  But, the complete destruction of Tyre came at the hand of Alexander the Great in 312 BC, over 350 years after this prophecy was given.  For the full description of Alexander’s conquest, read Ezekiel’s prophecy in Chapters 26 and 27.

Phoenician merchant vessels were generally known as ships of Tarshish.  They brought wares from many parts of the world to Tyre which had become an internationally renowned city of commerce.  Tyre was known for its wealth and beauty. As it served the world Tyre became self-serving.  It was the epitome of pride, a quality that Yahweh detests.  

Tyre had to be destroyed as Yahweh is compelled to oppose the proud (James 4:6). The warning from the demise of Tyre is that anyone who exhibits pride, great or small, will be destroyed by Yahweh.

23:14 In this chapter the prophet is speaking of the judgements upon Tyre but speak of the ‘ships of Tarshish’ so we have good Scriptural evidence for associating Tyre with Tarshish.

Ch.3 - The priesthood of Jesus is the major theme of Hebrews. Consider these occasions where Jesus is spoken of as a priest. Hebrews 2:17 3:1 4:14,15 5:5,6,10 6:20 7:15,17,20,21,26 8:1,3 8:4 9:11 10:21

Ch.4 - The refusal of Israel to enter the land the first time is the basis to the discussion of the 'rest' in this chapter. The word 'rest' [4:9] differs from all the other occurrences and carries the sense 'keeping of sabbaths' which catches the Day of Atonement language which is another theme which runs through the letter to the Hebrews.

Ch. 5 - The contrast between Jesus and the Levitical high priest is wonderful. The Levitical high priest could certainly understand the needs of the offerer as he shared their nature. However because he shared their nature he could not 'save to the uttermost' [7:25]. On the other hand Jesus both understands our needs and can 'save to the uttermost' [7:25].

Whilst Moses was declared to be a 'servant' (Numbers 12:7) Jesus was a 'son' and so of a higher status than the servant in the house.

4:11 So entering 'rest' is hard work! The hard work is living the gospel in all it's aspects. Believing that God will keep His word actually is hard work for most of us most of the time.

5:4 'honour' draws attention to 2 Chronicles 26:18 where Uzziah tried to take upon himself the Melchisedec priesthood and was struck leprous for his presumption.

DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT
It is our daily duty to encourage one another in our life in Christ. The danger of being without encouragement is that we will be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. That means that we will not see sin for what it is after a while and our conscience will not hurt when we sin. It doesn't happen overnight, but day by day the things we do, we hear, we see and experience in the world around us can numb us to the purity of the truth of God. So to counteract the wearing down we get every day from the world, we need that daily encouragement to stay true to the faith we hold so dear. Of course, not only do we need to be given that encouragement ourselves, but others need us to give it to them. It must be a mutual thing that when we all encourage each other we are not just thinking of what we will get out of it, but aiming to share our encouragement.

The time to share some encouragement is Right Now! It doesn't matter what day of the week it is, as long as it is called Today. Today is the day to give our Brothers and Sisters the edge over sin. Leaving it to tomorrow may be too late and yesterday has gone. "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (3 v 13).

MAKE YOUR PRAYERS HEARD
If we want to be sure that God hears our prayers then following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ and the way that he prayed would be a good way to go. We know that his prayers were always heard. They were not always the answers that Jesus would have liked, but they were all heard and answered.

So what was so special about the prayers of Jesus? Hebrews 5 v 7 tells us. "During the days of Jesus life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission."

We too can pray with loud cries and tears just like Jesus did, but it was his "reverent submission" that made the difference. If we are to follow his example, we too need to develop that "reverent submission" to God that Jesus had. That means that even if the answer is not the one we want, we will still abide by the will of God and not our own. It means that we will always submit to God's ways because we know that he knows best and our understanding is so limited. From now on let's pray in power by showing reverent submission to our God and creator.

ch 3 - Notice the recurring use of 'if' in this chapter
3:6, 7, 14, 15
The history of Israel's reaction to God's provision is the basis for the stark reminder of the conditional aspect of God's promises.

ch 4 - And so the 'if' continues
4:3, 5, 7,
Salvation is conditional. It is conditional on our willingness to believe that God will keep His word.

Heb 3:11 The lesson here is that we must not be a wilderness generation, and fall to sin. We must always beware that human nature is deceitful. It is a dreadful warning that is being shown to them in the first century, but we must always realize that the same thing could happen to ourselves to-day.

Heb 5:7. The writer here goes back to the first qualification of the high priest (compassion). He explains the agony Christ suffered on behalf of humanity, and Christ’s ability to understand the needs of all.

3:1 Whilst Hebrews is a closely reasoned exposition of the Law of Moses and it's shortcomings it is not simply a theological argument. 'consider' is a recurring theme (here and (7:4, 10:24, 12:3). Likewise our understanding of the atonement should not just be a technical understanding of the way that the flesh was destroyed in Jesus' death. It is something we should consider in a way which will cause us to change the way we live.

4:9 'rest' 4520 means 'keeping of Sabbaths' an therefore speaks of the day of atonement (Lev 16:31) which is a major sacrifice spoken of throughout the whole of the letter to the Hebrews.

The parallel to the children of Israel's entering (or not entering) the Land to our own experience should be taken seriously. 

Entering the Land for the Israelites was tantamount to entering God's rest. Those of Israel who did not enter the Land, and died in the wilderness, did so because of unbelief (3:19).  This term unbelief means more than an academic non-acceptance of truth: it means an act of unfaithfulness or disobedience.  

The equivalent, for us, is entering God's Kingdom.  And so, if we wish to enter the Kingdom of God, we cannot just assent or give lip-service to the tenets of the Truth.  We must actively obey them and continue to walk in faith.

3:1  ‘Wherefore’ is not the same as ‘therefore’ in Hebrews. It might be loosely translated as ‘in like manner’ showing the relationship between the two elements mentioned on each of its occurrences. Heb 2:17, 3:1, 7:25, 8:3, 9:18, 11:19

4:4  The creation narrative is introduced – Gen 2:3 – to explain God’s plan of salvation which is developed around the concept of their being a rest which Israel had not obtain yet.

5:6 This is the first of several references to Melchisedec in Hebrews. We have already seen that Jesus is a priest – Heb 3:1 – we now learn he was not a priest after the order of Levi. A crucial point when we understand what Hebrews was written to counter.

Heb 4:3 ..And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world.                              It is interesting to see God's view of time compared to ours:

Jesus/believers chosen before creation Eph 1:4, 1Pet 1:20/ Jesus' sacrifice & the Hope of eternal life promised before beginning of time Titus 1:2, 2Tim 1:9, 1Cor 2:7 / Jesus & his Bride the prototypes for Adam & Eve / Jesus the prototype for high priest                           ---> time/Today (Adam/Eve onwards, from our perspective)          ----> God's Rest (outside time/immortality/eternal/forever)

3:1 ‘Consider’ is a recurring theme in Hebrews (7:4, 12:3) encouraging the Hebrew priest that believed to reflect on the contrast between Jesus and the Levitical priesthood.

3:6-7   Notice the twofold ‘if’. To the Jew in Jerusalem, tending to return to the law of Moses, this is just the point. Salvation through Christ is conditional upon belief in him.

3:1 ‘Let us fear’ is the counter to ‘unbelief’. To the Jew it may well have been that they would see the counterpart as doing ‘works’. Heb 4:2 continues the theme from Hebrews Heb 3:19 to show that ‘faith’ was needed when reading Scripture. That is a belief that God is at work in the affairs of man

The Millenial 7th "day" of rest (or "day" of peace) happens when Christ returns and it will last 1000 years (after this Christ turns it over to his Father). During the millenium Christ will reign with the resurrected saints judged to have eternal life upon his return; in addition to those resurrected, mortal people still alive at that time who survive Armageddon will hear the word and have opportunity for salvation and a responsibility to follow Christ's ways - (see my 2009 comments on March 6th, 2Corinthians 5:10); Heb 4:4-9; 2Pet 3:8; Psa 90:4; Rev 20:4.

Toward the end of the millenium there will be a rebellion against Christ and the saints - Rev 20:7-9.

At the end of the 1000 years all those who died during the millenium will be resurrected and if they overcome and are judged worthy they will join with the already immortal saints (believers previously resurrected upon Christ's return) and not be hurt by the second death, if judged not worthy they will be destroyed in the second death - Rev 20:4-6,11-15; Psa 145:20; Rev 2:11.

When Christ destroys all enemies including death he will turn over the Kingdom to God - 1Cor 15:24-28.

4:12 The word of God refers to Jesus (See Rev 19:13).  It is to Him that we will have to give account at the judgment (4:13).

5:8 Jesus learned obedience by the things which he suffered.  We associate the suffering of Jesus with His death on the cross.  This was the culmination of His life's work and mission, and certainly a focus of great suffering.  However, because He had dedicated His life to the will of His Father, and lived without sin, He must have suffered throughout His life.  There would have been a constant battle between His flesh and the Spirit (Gal 5:17; 4:15). 

The opposition of those to His mission was great.  He was verbally challenged and abused (Matt 21:23; Mark 3:23); He was considered crazy by some (John 10:20); and He also operated with a death warrant hanging over His head (Matt 26:4).  It seems that even his mother and brothers did not understand His mission and did not support Him (initially).  They were needlessly concerned for His welfare and, in effect, unwittingly opposed His mission (Matt 10:36; 12:46-50). Jesus was put under tremendous personal strain as He was purposely tempted while in a weakened state (Matt 4). And so, through all these things, Yahweh perfected His Son through suffering (Heb 2:10). 

True followers of Christ can expect the same experience, as temptations (trials) will surely befall them.  But with faith in Yahweh, they can be overcome (1Cor 10:13).  Remaining faithful and patient will result in the same reward as that of Jesus. Then suffering will be no more (Isa 35:10; James 1:12).   

3:19 ‘Unbelief’ is ‘non faith’ Israel were concerned to justify themselves by works. This was a feature of the Jews in Jesus’ day. The topic of faith is now being introduced into the letter here to highlight that it was lack of faith, not lack of works that cause men to fall short of God’s plan.

DON'T LET GO!

Sharing in Christ is not a matter of doing a good deed, joining a church or attending services week after week. It is a matter of living a dedicated Christian life free from a sinful and rebellious spirit and strong in the grace of God. It is a matter of being sure of our hope no matter what pressures come on us in life, and confident that the Lord is our God, and that he will work in our lives for our best. But more than all the things we have mentioned, living a Christian life is about never giving up.

It was in order to help us hold firmly to our faith to the end that the writer to the Hebrews told us to encourage one another. "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first." (Heb 3:12-14)

So let us take this advice, making sure we live as righteous and obedient children of God, doing all we can to encourage one another, and determined to hold fast to our faith for as long as it takes until Jesus returns.