For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10:30,31
It’s one thing to anticipate something good. Like those Heinz commercials that remind us about the anticipation[1] of that thick ketchup that looks and tastes so good. All students and teacher look forward to the end of school while parents look forward to it restarting.
Anticipation is never a surprise. There’s always time before something arrives that opens anticipation to come in. Sometime that time is filled with excitement. I was just about jumping out of my skin when I walked to the front of the church to wait for Mary Ann to walk up on the arm of her dad.
But there are times that anticipation can be filled with anxiety. The hours and days between when a test was taken and when the results are known can be some of the longest hours of our life. Or the time between saying goodbye and hello when someone’s headed into surgery can be filled with anxiety and fear.
I always wondered about how the prodigal son felt when he was headed back to his father. We know that he had come to his senses and was ready to admit all he’d done. That he wasn’t worthy to be called his son. That he was ready to be treated like a slave[2].
And while he was still a long way away, his dad sees him and starts running towards his son. The father was full of compassion, but the son didn’t know that. He just knows what he’s done to his father. I’m certain that when they parted company that the dad was disappointed and hurt. And that’s the last memory of his father. That’s what’s been gnawing away at in his head for a long time. What’s been working in his conscience since that day he left home.
Silence is a powerful thing when it comes to anticipation. We don’t know what’s going on. We don’t have any new information since the last time update. There’s no new information that brings us up to date with new events. New information.
Have you ever had that long, lonely, anxious walk towards someone and you weren’t certain what the message was going to be? Was it going to be good news or bad news? Was it going to be a hug or a slap in the face? Was it going to be acceptance or rejection?
But that’s not the case here. The writer has been warning the Hebrews that turning away from Jesus and back to the old ways has really bad consequences. They’ve seen and just tasted the goodness and forgiveness of God through Jesus death on the cross for them.
And that’s who this warning is speaking to. God’s vengeance will be hard and heavy on people who’ve seen his mercy and grace in Jesus, but then turn away. They completely understand that Jesus paid for all their sins once-and-for-all on the cross. But their response is to go back and keep trying to pay for their sins all by themselves.
You see, God’s vengeance is only and always well deserved. It’s been earned. We’re the ones who’ve moved. We’re the ones who’ve walked away. We’re the ones who have turned out backs on God. He never moves or changes. He’s not the one who turns away from us[3].
This is why the writer does the great and loving thing of warning his dear Hebrew friends. He screws up his courage and tells them the tough news that the most dreadful thing anyone can do is to turn our back on God.
Why? Because when we turn our back on God, we’re turning away from the one who loves us enough to die for us. To restore us. To remake us. He’s paid the price and is ready to make the deposit, but we have to be willing to accept it. But we’re too proud to just accept it. To bring nothing to the table. We want to earn it. We want to be in control.
This is where anxious anticipation comes in. When we see God our great and good Heavenly Father coming towards us, we’ll wonder if he’s coming to lower the boom on us. To avenge himself. To repay the evil we’ve done to him and others with evil. This is exactly what we’d expect if we’re taking responsibility for all our sins. If we keep trying to over more and more sacrifices.
Instead, God runs to us with forgiveness and open arms when we humbly ask for his forgiveness in the through Jesus. His payment is the once-and-for-all cure for our anxious anticipation. His job is to do all the paying[4] and our job is to all the receiving. His job is to take our sins on himself[5] and our job is respond through his newness of life[6]. It’s time to give up our anxious anticipation and receive full and free forgiveness.
Noodling Questions
What turns up your anticipation? Your wanting something?
Why is letting God take care of the people
Because God runs to us, how can we best respond?
[2] Luke 15:17-19
[3] James 1:17
[4] Ephesians 1:7
[5] 1 Peter 2:24
[6] Romans 6:4
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