No entry (Exodus 40)

The final chapter

Then the LORD said to Moses: “Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month.”

Exodus 40:1

The last chapter of Exodus marks an end but also a new beginning.

The Tabernacle of God has been completed; a new year has begun. It has been a whole year since God rescued the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Since then, they have been gathered to Mount Sinai, where God spoke to them from the mountain, giving them his Ten Commandments, together with instructions on how to live as his people and how to worship him as their God. At the heart of these instructions for true worship was the building of “the tabernacle; the Tent of Meeting” (verse 1).

“See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain,” God said to Moses (Exodus 25:40). These building instructions had exacting standards. Moses was to ensure that every detail was observed by the various artisans, builders and construction workers involved in the project. Here in Chapter 40, the individual components of the Tabernacle - the dwelling place of God - were finally completed. Still, there remained one important task. These different components of the Tabernacle - the tent curtains, the fittings and furnishings - had to be assembled. Like pieces of Lego (or perhaps even, like the cartoon robot, Voltron), Moses had to assemble the individual pieces, in the right order, bringing them together as the Tent of Meeting.

Moses is held solely responsible. He is charged by God to ensure that everything goes according to plan. While Chapters 36 to 39 repeatedly describe how the whole community was involved in the construction project, (“They made this”; “They made that”), here God addresses Moses directly in the first half of the chapter, after which we read, “Moses set up the tabernacle” (verse 18), “he spread the tent” (verse 19), “Moses placed the table”(verse 22), and so on.

God has given the Israelites access to himself through the Tabernacle; but it has come through Moses. God has spoken to his people his word; but that word has come through Moses. And now, one year after the event of their salvation and rescue from slavery; God will continue to lead them to the Promised Land. But he will continue to do so through this one man - this one middle-man or mediator, as the bible calls him - Moses.

Order of worship

Place the ark of the Testimony in it and shield the ark with the curtain. Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

Exodus 40:3-5

At the center of worship at the Tabernacle was the ark of the Testimony. The ark was essentially a box overlayed with gold, containing the two tablets of Testimony (verse 20) - the Ten Commandments. The ark symbolised God’s throne, God’s presence and God’s word. But verse 3 tells us that access to God was restricted: a curtain was placed to “shield the ark”, effectively dividing up the Tent of Meeting into two sections - the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The ark was behind the curtain, in the Most Holy Place. This section of the Tabernacle was accessibly only to one man, the High Priest; even so, only once a year when he would enter God’s presence to present sacrifices on behalf of all the people of God.

As for the rest of the priests, they ministered before the curtain. Here, God tells Moses to place the table, the lampstand and the gold altar of incense. For the priests, serving God meant ensuring the table was always set out (with the utensils and the bread of the presence - verse 23), the lampstand was continuously burning throughout the night and that incense was perpetually offered on the golden altar before God.

But verse 5 reminds us that access even to this ministry was also restricted. “Put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle”. Only priests chosen by God, descended from the line of Aaron, descended from Levi, would be suitable to serve God in his tabernacle; would have access to God in the Tent of Meeting.

Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting; place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it. Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.

Exodus 40:6-8

The altar of burnt offering was a big barbeque pit that was placed in front of the tent. This was where sacrifices of bulls and goats were offered and burnt either in thanksgiving for God’s provision, or atonement for God’s forgiveness. The basin served as a wash area. Priests were to wash themselves before entering the Tent of Meeting, especially after serving at the altar of burnt offering, as their hands and feet would have been stained with the blood of the sacrifices.

All round the courtyard was to be a linen fence (Exodus 27:18), but God draws Moses’ attention just to the front entrance of the courtyard in verse 8, where another curtain was to be placed. Like the curtain before the ark, as was the curtain at the entrance to the tent, so here the curtain at the entrance of the court was a reminder to all who drew near: they were approaching a Holy God. Only members of the covenant community, would be allowed into this area. Only the Israelite people of God could worship the LORD in his tabernacle.

Set apart

“Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.

“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come.”

Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.

Exodus 40:9-15

Everything had to be anointed, or sprinkled, with oil. The tent, the furniture; even the people serving in the tent, had to have themselves sprinkled with the anointing oil. The reason was holiness  - “and it will be holy” (verses 9 and 10), which simply means to set aside, or to set apart, for a special purpose. That is also what the word “consecrate” means (verses 9, 10, 11 and 12). It means that the tent and its furniture, the appliances and the crockery, the cooks, servants and attendants have been brought together and set aside for one special purpose; and one special purpose alone: for God.

It is also what the word “Christ” means. Jesus Christ is Jesus, the anointed one. It is a way of saying that God has chosen him for a special purpose. Christ can mean God’s chosen King, as the kings in the Old Testament were anointed - sprinkled with oil, to symbolise blessing. But as we see here in Exodus 40, anointing is also carried out on God’s chosen servant or priest. For Aaron and his sons, “their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come”. The bible calls Jesus our true High Priest. Unlike Aaron and his sons, Jesus was sinless. Greater than Aaron, Jesus offered the sacrifice of himself once for all, to bring us into God’s holy presence.

Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.

Exodus 40:16

But the focus here in Chapter 40 is not on Aaron, but on Moses. And the text draws our attention back to him and the task that was entrusted to Moses.

Getting the job done

So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the LORD commanded him. He took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD commanded him.

Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain and set out the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. He placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the curtain and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD commanded him. Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the LORD commanded him.

He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses. Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.

Exodus 40:17-33

The text is repetitious, and I know, I know, we’ve seen it all before, not only in the first half of Chapter 40, but twice over between Chapters 25 and 39. Yet it is worth noticing that something very important is going on in this passage. It looks as if Moses did all the work single-handedly. Not only did he set up the complex network of cross-beams, spread over the multiple layers of curtains and material that formed the tent of meeting, arrange the furniture inside as well as the huge altar and basin outside, but Moses also set out the bread on the table, lit the lamps, burned incense and offered the sacrifices. In other words, he did everything! Single-handedly!

Or rather, I think the text is saying that Moses was responsible for everything. He made sure every detail got done, exactly as God instructed. Again and again, at the end of each task, we find the phrase, “as the LORD commanded him” (verses 16, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 29 and 31). Moses was not simply hard-working. He was obedient and faithful to God’s word.

“And so Moses finished the work” (verse 33). Ahh, job done! Time to crack open a can of coke - None of the yucky diet stuff for you Moses - you deserve the real thing!

Of course, this sense of achievement; this imagery of a masterpiece completed just as it was intended to be, ought to bring our minds back to God’s approval over his own work of creation at the beginning of time; when the heavens and the earth were completed, and God finished the work he had been doing and proclaimed, “It was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Thus God rested. He worked six days and blessed the seventh, making it holy, the bible tells us. Yet this is where the similarity ends. Moses finishes the work and yet he does not rest. Or rather, he is prevented from entering God’s rest.

The greater tabernacle

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Exodus 40:34-35

Many years ago I bought a big cushy arm chair from the local charity shop and had it sent over. The delivery guys arrived early in the morning and dropped it off at the front door. Then it dawned on me: The door wasn’t big enough.

Out came the cushions. The castors beneath the chair were pulled off. I even dismantled the front door. After two hours of squeezing and maneuvering up the stairs to my first floor flat, I encountered another problem I hadn’t anticipated. The arm chair wouldn’t fit in the living room either. I called the delivery guys but they said it would be another few days before they could come back. I eventually got it into the bedroom and there it stayed. That chair was not going anywhere!

Moses has built a tent for God. God moves in, but now Moses can’t. It’s not because there wasn’t enough space. The cloud was symbolic of God’s glory (notice how the two words “glory” and “cloud” are used interchangeably in these verses). It was God’s presence. It was display of his holiness. It was measure of God’s goodness.

And even Moses, the man of God, who had obeyed the word of God, the builder of a dwelling place for God - which now God visibly descends upon and inhabits, and fills with his glory and holiness - is prevented from entering the tabernacle. Moses isn’t holy enough. Moses isn’t good enough.

Even Moses cannot enter the presence of God.

Then, what was the point of building the Tabernacle? The book of Hebrews tells us.

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:11-12

The earthly tabernacle pointed forward to “the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made.” The true tabernacle, say the author to the Hebrews, is “not a part of this creation”. The bible is talking about heaven. It is talking about the actual living presence of Almighty God ruling from his eternal throne in heaven.

And the point is this: Christ entered this greater and more perfect tabernacle. Through his sacrifice on the cross - “by his own blood” (verse 12) - Jesus has opened the way to heaven - into the very presence of God.

Jesus did what Moses could never do. He entered the Most Holy Place where the fullness of God’s glory dwells. But even more than that, Jesus, unlike Moses, brings us with him to stand before his Father’s presence.

The presence of God

In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.

Exodus 40:36-38

For the next forty years, the Israelites would wander the desert guided by the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. It was God’s divine Sat-Nav. The cloud was always within sight. When it moved, the moved. When it stayed, they set up camp. There was never any doubt - God was with them. All the had to do was look. Look to the tabernacle. There was God’s glory in the cloud. Even at night you could see the fire.

What about you? How would you recognise God’s guiding presence in your life?

Wouldn’t it be amazing to have such a clear visible reminder of God’s power and presence? Something we could just point to - like the tabernacle - and say “There”. There’s God’s presence. That’s where I’m headed. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Yet at the same time, wasn’t the cloud a reminder of God’s distance? He is over there - in the cloud. He is inside there - in the tabernacle. We have to stay behind the curtain. The priests can’t go beyond the inner curtain. And when God does come down in all his glory to fill the tabernacle, he is so holy that even Moses can’t physically get in.

For the Israelites, God was so near and yet so far away. But in Jesus, we get full access. We come straight into the presence of the Father. No curtains. No priests. Direct access to God’s full and unrestricted glory.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:19-22

I just want you to look at the verse 19. “Since we have confidence,” it says. Confidence to do what? To enter the Most Holy Place. That’s behind the curtain, when no-one’s supposed to go. That’s backstage where the rock stars hang out after the show; where they employ short-tempered bouncers to throw you out if they catch you sneaking in. The Most Holy Place was the Most Restricted Place in Israel!

But the bible says we just walk right in. Confident. Because of Jesus.

Do you have this? Do you know this? Every time you come to God in prayer in Jesus’ name- you are entering his presence; God hears every word. Each time we gather to hear the bible read, we come into the presence of the Father; God speaks to us. When we praise him, our worship is acceptable to him because of Jesus’ full and final sacrifice. We are covered with his righteousness, such that when God looks at us - he sees his beloved Son. Do you know this?

In Jesus, we have full access to God. In joy. In worship. With full confidence.

Furniture for God (Exodus 25)

Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.

Exodus 25:8

Chapter 25 begins a new and significant section in the book of Exodus. God gives instructions for the construction of a place of worship, called the Tabernacle. Now “tabernacle” is not a word we commonly use in English, so don’t worry if you have never heard of that word before. It is just a fancy word for tent. God says to Moses, “Build me a tent.”

Of course, we need to remember that at the time, all the other Israelites were also living in tents. They were on a long journey through the desert, setting up camp one day, and moving on elsewhere the next. The modern equivalent would be the caravan. It isn’t fancy. It wasn’t permanent. Because if you look closely at verse 8, God does not say, Build me this sanctuary so that I can live in it. He says build it for me “and I will dwell among them.” God did not want a dwelling to live in. He wanted to live with his people. In a tent.

Yet as soon as God says that, he doesn’t give the instructions for the tent. That happens in the next chapter. Instead, here in Chapter 25, God outlines the instruction for assembling the furniture.

The ark

“Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold moulding around it. Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you.

Exodus 25:10-16

The ark was a box. It was 1.1 meters long and 68 centimeters wide and high (according my NIV bible footnotes), so about the size of your average coffee table. (In the past I would have made a passing reference to Indiana Jones and movie “Raiders the Lost Ark”; except teenagers today have only ever seen the latest one which featured aliens and that kid from Transformers. Yikes!)

Anyways, it was a big box all covered in gold, with rings round the side that you could slot in poles in order to carry it. The ark stored the tablets of the law - referring to the Ten Commandments. There were two of them, not because there were five on one and five on the other. The tablets represented two copies of one agreement made between God and his people. Israel would obey God’s law. God would bless and protect his people.

Now, the important bit about the ark, was not the ark itself, but the cover that was on top of the ark, called the atonement cover.

“Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you.

Exodus 25:17-21

Cherubim are angels. Think of them like commando angels. Their first appearance is in the beginning of the bible. In Genesis 3:24, they are the guardians at the entrance of Eden holding a lightsaber; “a flaming sword flashing back and forth,” it reads. Their job is to protect and to stand guard.

Moses is instructed to make two of these angelic cherubim out of pure gold, facing each other, with their wings “overshadowing the cover”. They are standing watch and their wings signify that they are protecting something very important; or rather, someone very important. As it turns out, the cherubim are guardians of God.

There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

Exodus 25:22

The atonement cover symbolised God’s throne room surrounded by angels. The tent was a picture of the whole created order, and the inner section of the tent where the ark was kept, called the Most Holy Place, was a picture of heaven itself.

The reason why the ark is so important in the construction of this place of worship, was because it reminded the Israelites that God had opened the way to heaven. Man could now come into the presence of a holy God.

The question is how?

The answer lies in the word “atonement”. Once a year, the high priest would sprinkle the atonement cover with blood of a sacrificial animal. He did this to atone for the sins of the whole nation of Israel. Atonement is the act by which God’s anger over our sin is paid for through the death and sacrifice of another. In this case, it was the death of an animal. Its sacrifice was a substitute for the punishment of the people of Israel.

Now the fascinating thing is, the word that appears here in Exodus 25 as “atonement cover” (some translations have “mercy seat”), also occurs in the New Testament to describe Jesus. The greek word hilasmos/hilasterion, appears in passages like 1 John 2:2 where Jesus Christ is called the “atoning sacrifice”. On the cross, Jesus became the substitute for us, taking our punishment for sin on our behalf.

In fact, the book of Hebrews goes of to draw a direct connection between these events in  Old Testament and Jesus in the New; between the blood sprinkled on the ark; and Jesus entering heaven itself to appear before God, through his sacrifice on the cross.

It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.

Hebrews 9:23-24

God says the atonement cover was where he would meet with them. It was God’s throne. At the same time, it was God’s sacrifice. In the same way, the cross symbolises both the sacrifice and the supremacy of Jesus. His death opens the way for us to enter confidently into God’s presence.

The table

“Make a table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold moulding around it. Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold moulding on the rim. Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them. And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings. Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.

Exodus 25:24-30

The instructions for the table come with detailed descriptions for the manufacture of plates and crockery for this table. In short, this is a dining area. It is extravagant - everything is made of gold. It is portable - there are the familiar fixtures of rings and poles to help with transporting the table. Yet the meal consists of one main dish. Bread.

Specifically, it is called the “bread of the presence”; as the table is placed just outside the Most Holy Place, in the presence of God. Leviticus 24 gives us a few more details. There are twelve loaves of bread, arranged in two rows of six, placed on the table as part of the offerings of the Israelites; twelve loaves for twelve tribes. The bread should also reminds us of manna. God fed the Israelites with bread from heaven, providing for their every day needs and feeding their hunger.

Most likely however, the table was not simply a place for offering but a means of fellowship. In verse 30, God says there must always be bread on this table. It must never be empty. God is extending an open invitation to Israel to dine with him in fellowship. Additionally, this meal points forward to heaven itself, as heaven  is repeatedly pictured in the bible as a banquet with abundant food laid out for its guests. We find this referred to in many of Jesus’ parables (Matthew 8:22 and 22:2 for example).

Also when Jesus had his last meal with his disciples, he points to the bread - not the lamb, but the bread - as a sign of his body (which is why it is possible for vegetarians to take communion. Just a joke!). So even today, as part of the Lord’s supper - the bread that we share symbolises both the body of Jesus sacrificed on the cross (1 Corinthians 11:24); but also the church as the one body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17).

The lampstand

“Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

“Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories.

Exodus 25:31-39

The final piece of furniture is the lampstand and most of the description is given to its features and form. It has branches and cups shaped like flowers, with buds and blossoms. It is pretty obvious what it is supposed to look like: a tree.

Bible experts say this represents the tree of life in the garden of Eden. I really like that one, considering the elements of creation we have seen so far in Exodus. In Revelation Chapter 1, the lampstand is symbolic of the church, and that is another strong possibility.

To be honest, I am not sure about this one. I think in part it reflects both - pointing backwards to the creation account in Genesis, and forward to the new creation in Revelation. The tree of life is a reminder that the promise of eternal life still stands under the gracious plan of God’s salvation.

Follow the instructions

Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

Exodus 25:9

See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.

Exodus 25:40

Why was God so particular about the instructions for the furniture? He tells Moses, twice, make them exactly like this. Exactly like what? Like this pattern.

God is saying that the ark, the table and the lampstand are copies. They have to be made exactly according to these instructions because they point to something else. Something more significant. Something more permanent. They point to Jesus.

They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

Hebrews 8:5-6

These are just copies of the real thing. They are exact copies, but in the way a laser printout of a five pound note is a copy of the original. It might look similar, but only the real deal has any real value.

The reality is Jesus. The tabernacle was a copy that prepared the way for the Israelites to recognise Jesus as the true presence of God. In fact, John writes of Jesus, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling - (literally, he tabernacled) -  among us.” In Jesus, God became flesh and lived with man.

I just can't stop loving you (Hebrews 13)

Keep on loving each other as brothers.
Hebrews 13:1

When Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, stands up and gives a presentation – when he gives his spiel – everyone is expecting something revolutionary – something that will change the world. Yet, every Apple fan knows, Steve saves the best for last.

That is when he says, “Oh... and one more thing!”

He did this with the iPod Touch. One more thing. The MacBook Air. Everyone knows that when Steve Jobs says, “one more thing,” he is talking about the main thing. The big thing.

Hebrews 13 is not like that “one more thing”.

It is the last chapter of this long letter. But Hebrews 13 is more like your mum nagging you on the phone, “One more thing: remember to eat your vegetables!” And you go, “I know, mummy. I’m a big boy!”

So you’ll find a lot of things in Hebrews 13 that you already know. They are not new. We’ve met them before the in the previous twelve chapters.

But like your mum, the author is reminding us of the things we know – that we need to know – but we often forget.

Verse 1: Keep on loving
Verse 2: Do not forget
Verse 3: Remember

It’s not cool. It’s not new. But it is very, very important.

I just can’t stop loving you

Keep on loving each other as brothers.
Hebrews 13:1

I like the latest NIV update which says to love your “brothers and sisters”, because the word is philadelphia (phileo = love; adelphos = brother). It is brotherly love and sisterly love. Yet he is saying more than just to love your brother and sister in Christ, which is good. Rather, he is reminding us to keep on loving your brother and sister in Christ.

In fact, you could translate verse 1, “The loving must go on”. The lovin’ must keep burnin’. Or as Celine Dion put it, “My heart must go on and on”.

Keep on loving one another. Jia you (Add oil!). Keep on doing this.

Do not forget to entertain strangers
Hebrews 13:2

But don’t just love your brothers. Also love the stranger. Philoxenia which means “loving the stranger” (phileo = love; xenos = stranger; which is by the way where we get Xena: Warrior Princess!), is a reminder not to limit our love. Love your brother, but also love the stranger.

You do this by entertaining them (definitely not by screening Xena: Warrior Princess) – by welcoming them into your lives. The example he gives is Father Abraham in Genesis 18 who “entertained angels without knowing it”. We read in Genesis how Abraham was chilling out in his tent watching Top Gear re-runs, when he saw three travellers nearby. He quickly urged them to come in, got his wife Sarah to put the kettle on and serve up the Jammie Dodgers; and ordered his servant to prepare the most expensive dish on the menu – roast duck! That is: Abraham didn’t spare any expense. He didn’t hesitate. He welcomed the strangers into his home, showed them hospitality and these strangers turned out to be angels; in fact one of them was God himself. And there in his tent, God gave Abraham the promise of a son. Because of Abraham’s generosity, God blessed Abraham abundantly!

Love your brother. Love the stranger. But thirdly, love those who are suffering.

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners,
and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Hebrews 13:3

Now when he says “as if” - as if you were in prison; as if you were suffering – he doesn’t mean Use your imagination. “Oh, what a poor thing! Let me pray for you.” Nope, he is reminding the Hebrew Christians of Chapter 10 verse 32 onwards.

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
Hebrews 10:32-34

These Christians didn’t have to go to the local prison to start a ministry to hardened criminals. They already knew brothers who had been thrown into prison – Timothy for example, in verse 23. He is saying, “you can’t have forgotten Timothy already, have you?” And they didn’t have to search the Internet for news of persecuted Christians around the world – though this is not in itself a bad thing – their own brothers and sisters were suffering and being mistreated.

He is saying: there are people in your midst who need help and comfort and love. They are in pain, don’t thing they aren’t there. They are in your church. Don’t let them fall through the cracks.

Yet at the same time, Hebrews 10 recalls “earlier days” when there were times of great suffering. Which implies that now, things are more stable. It’s not as bad as it used to be. Yet Chapter 12 speaks of those who are presently in prison, who are presently persecuted. In which case, he is saying: don’t take this time of peace for granted. Do pray for the people in Japan. Give you money and send help to those in need. Help rebuild the church in Haiti. Your present comfort is not an excuse to forget their present suffering.

Love your brother. Love the stranger. Love those who are suffering.

Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Hebrews 11:4

What is interesting here is the author is talking about marriage, but he isn’t talking just to married people. Elsewhere in Ephesians 5, Colossians 3 or 1 Peter 3, the bible will speak about marriage to the husbands and wives – Husbands love your wives; Wives submit to your husbands.

But here the author is speaking to everyone. Marriage should be honoured by all. The marriage bed should be kept pure for – and notice the reason why he says this – God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

Now, it makes sense when talking about marriage that God will judge those who break up a marriage – the adulterers. But why does the author include the sexually immoral?

I think that here the bible is teaching us that the way we deal with sexual immorality and sexual temptation in the church is by teaching marriage. It is by teaching God’s high view of marriage. When you teach marriage, you teach God’s design for men and women. When you teach marriage you teach men and women to value their purity – by valuing the marriage commitment and promise. The purpose of sex is for marriage.

Which means if you are dating as a Christian couple, do sign up for the marriage preparation course in your church. It doesn’t mean you are getting married tomorrow. It does mean you don’t want to ignore the topic of marriage. Also if this sounds scary to you – especially the guys – it maybe isn’t entirely a bad fear to have. It means you are taking your relationship seriously by taking God seriously. If your church doesn’t have such a course, then get a book – a very good one is “God, Sex and Marriage” by The Good Book Company. Or download sermons on 1 Corinthians 7 where the bible speaks to both married couple as well as singles – Eden Baptist just ran series on this last year. I highly recommend them.

Marriage should be honoured by all.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5

The author rounds off this section on love by warning us not to love. Do not love money. We had philadelphia - loving your brothers, philoxenia – loving the stranger; and here we have philarguria – loving money.

Notice he also says something practical. He isn’t saying, don’t make money or don’t have money. Neither does just say Don’t love money. But he says Keep your lives – literally your conduct or character (NASB) – free from the love of money.

You can tell from a person’s conduct whether he loves money. It is something you can see from the way he behaves. It is obvious from the way he spends his money.

So while it isn’t a sin to buy an iPad 2 – if you camp outside the Apple store all night in the rain to get your iPad 2 – if your brother says, “Whoa, cool! Let me have a go,” and you say, “No! It’s mine!” clutching it close to your chest; I am going to snatch that silly toy from you, pick my nose and play Angry Birds on it all day!

No. That’s not what I’m going to do (probably). Instead, I am going to remind you that you have something more precious and more permanent. You have God. Verse 5:

Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.

You are not alone

At this point, it is worth reminding ourselves how Chapter 12 ended. If you read the previous chapter, you will know that Chapter 12 ended on a rather serious note.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews 12:28

You are worshipping a holy and awesome God. Chapter 12 reminds us of the Israelites in Exodus 19 approaching God at Mount Sinai “burning with fire” (Hebrews 12:18). It was such a terrifying sight that even Moses said, “I am trembling with fear” (Hebrews 12:21).

However, the author stresses this is not the mountain we as Christians have come to – burning with fire and covered in smoke. Rather we come to Zion, the city of the living God. When you gather as the church, you join the heavenly gathering of angels in praise of God. Zion is the mountain of joy!

Having said that: God is still the same majestic awesome God, the judge of all men (Hebrews 12:22-23). The difference is we approach this same holy God through Jesus Christ, the mediator – or middleman – who makes us holy through his blood. But we still approach God “with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire.” (Verse 28)

What flows in Chapter 13 therefore is the worship of this awesome God. What does it mean to serve him acceptably, with reverence and with awe? It means love. Love your brother and the stranger. Identify with the suffering. Hold marriage in high regard. Keep your lives free from the love of money.

But the motivation for your love is the love of God. It is his presence amidst your worship. He will never leave you. God will never abandon you.

And verse 6 goes on to address the initial fearful prospect of serving such an awesome God that we saw back in Chapter 12. Verse 6 reads:

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Hebrews 13:6

This awesome fearful God is your helper! He stands with you and equips you with everything good for doing his will. He leaves his Spirit in you. So instead of fear, your response ought to be confidence – So we say with confidence (verse 6).

In Christ, we can approach God with confidence and not fear. In Chapter 4, he is our high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses. Therefore:

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

In Chapter 10, Jesus opens the way into the very presence of God through his sacrificial death.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus.
Hebrews 10:19

Losing my religion

The right context of Chapter 13 is therefore, worship – acceptable worship before a holy and awesome God – or another way of putting it, true worship. Because most of us go to contemporary church services on Sundays where we call the first bit of the meeting worship – with the worship leader standing up front, leading the worship team in “Blessed Be Your Name” and calling everyone to offer up their lives as a fragrant offering – our understanding of worship is coloured by music, atmosphere, participation, culture, raised hands and Don Moen (whom I love, by the way – God is good!).

For the readers of Hebrews 13, mention the word “worship” and their thoughts would have gone straight to the temple, the priest and the sacrifice.

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
Hebrews 13:9-10

The ceremonial food, altar, tabernacle are all references to their Old Testament Jewish religion. For these Hebrew Christians, this was their religion. They grew up going to temple. They celebrated the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and remembered the Exodus. The learned the purpose of the sacrifice given once year, how only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place once year, and once a year the blood would be sprinkled to cleanse the sins of the people. This was their heritage. This was their religion. This was worship.

Verse 9 says these are strange.

Not because they are new. Not because they weren’t familiar. Because Jesus Christ has come as the perfect sacrifice. He is the temple – the meeting place between God and man. He is the High Priest who sits at the right hand of God. He enters the true tabernacle – Heaven itself – making true peace through his blood.

Or another way of putting it is this: Jesus Christ came to offer the only true worship acceptable to God.

Notice that religion is said to be of “no value” (verse 9). The ceremonial foods – referring not simply to the meal, but the system of offering and consuming these holy feasts (literally it says: the food in which you walk) – have no effect. These religious ceremonies do not good. They have “no value”. Religion is empty.

Seriously still, empty religion disqualifies you from true worship. We have an altar – the cross of Jesus Christ – where those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat (verse 10). Religion, though empty, is harmful when it draws you away from Jesus.

Now what does this have to do with us? We’re not Jewish. We didn’t grow up going to temple and offering sacrifices.

And yet the question is: What is true worship? How do you worship God acceptably? Do you have to go a special place – Henry Martyn Hall or New Word Alive? It is serving on the committee in your fellowship, playing in the music team, or raising your hands when you sing?

What we see in the next couple of verses is this: True worship is not something you do; true worship is first and foremost what Jesus did on the cross. He paid the price for our sin.

The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.
Hebrews 13:11-12

We need to understand that what hinders us from coming to God is not simply his holiness and loftiness. It is our sin. Our sinfulness means we can only ever enter into God’s judgement, not his presence nor his service. We cannot worship God with sinful hearts and sinful hands.

The picture of sin in these verses is rejection. That’s why the bodies are burned outside the camp (verse 11). This is a reference again to the Exodus, the account of God rescuing his people from slavery in Egypt, leading them through the Red Sea, then into the desert to finally worship him on Mount Sinai. And there the Israelites set up camp – they lived in tents. However, as soon as they get there the Israelites commit idolatry in the famous incident involving the golden calf. What happens next is Moses takes the Tent of Meeting and pitches it outside the camp (Exodus 33:7), a sign of the people’s rejection of God and also God’s rejection of the people. Why? Because of their sin.

Sin means rejecting God. And God’s judgement over sin is his rejection of sinful human beings.

So when Jesus came, he was rejected, he was despised, “he suffered outside the city gate” (Verse 12). What he did was take our punishment for sin. On the cross, Jesus was rejected by his people and he was forsaken by God – He cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) The suffering he bore was not simply from the nails driven through his hands and feet. It was the judgement of God over the rejection of sinful man.

Friends, this is the picture the bible gives us for worship. It is what is acceptable before God; it is what makes us acceptable before God. Jesus suffered to make us “holy through his own blood”. His death makes us holy.

True worship is offered by Jesus Christ on the cross. But the next verses show us how we can offer up true worship. It is through Jesus Christ.

Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Hebrews 13:13-14

What does he mean when the author calls us to “go to him outside the camp”? You could make all kinds of connections with this verse. Maybe he is calling us to leave our present circumstances, go out of our comfort zones and serve Jesus. Perhaps he is saying: leave the old religious sacrificial system that is ineffective and incomplete. I think that’s certainly possible and compelling.

I think the simplest answer is: We must identify with Christ. The author calls us as Christians to follow in Jesus’ footsteps “bearing the disgrace he bore” (verse 13). It means there really isn’t such a thing as a popular Christian. Not if you really stand with Jesus. Not if people really knew what Jesus stands for. To be a Christian is to confess that we are sinners (the Book of Common Prayer has ”miserable sinners”). To be a Christian is to confess Jesus who died a shameful death for our sins. It isn’t something that appeals to pride. The cross is foolish to the wise. Jesus looks weak to the powerful.

But to us he is our Saviour, Lord and King. And that confession is the basis of our worship, according to the next few verses.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Hebrews 13:15-16

This is our offering and this is our sacrifice – our confession of his name. The angel tells Joseph, “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). But to confess his name is to call him my Saviour. He died for my sins. This is how we praise God – for sending his Son to die for us. This is how we worship God – by giving glory and praise to Jesus Christ as our Lord.

The bit in our Sunday services where a little bag is passed down the aisle, and people put money into it – that is not the offering. We are always continually offering to God by living for Christ, and more importantly, by speaking for Christ. It is the fruit of lips that confess his name.

It doesn’t mean singing isn’t worship. It doesn’t mean you cannot worship just as well in your office as you do in church. In fact, what this means is that worship is 24/7. What makes worship true worship is the cross. Jesus paid for this through his blood. I am doing my homework for Jesus Christ. I am working at my desk in service to God.

Notice the next verse, “And do not forget to do good and share with others”. Verse 16 is recalling the good we are called to do right at the beginning of the chapter – by loving one another, loving the stranger, showing compassion to the suffering, holding marriage in the highest regard and keeping our lives from the love of money. But what he is doing here is putting all that good work, which are pleasing sacrifices before God, under the umbrella of the true worship of Christ. We do these good works in the name of Christ. We love because first he loved us.

This is rather important. You can help the poor – I urge you to do so. You can be loving and sacrificial – and that would be a wonderful thing. By all means, use your talents to serve the church. But what makes our efforts acceptable is not our sincerity, goodness or effort. Only Jesus Christ offers true worship through the cross.

It is very possible to do a great amount of good and shrink from confessing Christ. As we have seen, identifying with Christ is disgraceful. The only popular Christians are dead Christians. The world will accept your goodness; it will reject your God. You will always be tempted to keep the two separate, but in doing so you deny the rightful place of Jesus as Lord and the worth of his sacrifice.

Jesus Christ is the true worshipper. He offers the only acceptable worship before God. And we join him in worshipping the true God by identifying with Jesus at the cross and confessing Jesus to be our Lord. True worship is not something we do, but what God has done in sending his Son to die for our sins on the cross.

Stand by me

Finally, this passage gets us to think about our leaders in the church. First he reminds us of our past leaders.

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Hebrews 13:7

It is interesting that the word he uses for leaders here in verse 7 (and later in verses 17 and 24) is not elder or deacon or pastor. Instead, hegoumenoi is used in Acts 14 to refer to Barsabbas and Silas, leaders chosen by the elders – meaning they themselves may not have been elders. Which means the author may have in mind a broad definition of the Christian leader to include your bible study leader and your Sunday school teacher. These are leaders who “spoke the word of God to you”; meaning they told you about Jesus. They taught you the bible. They preached the gospel to you. These are the people, he says, whose lives you ought to consider and whose faith you should imitate – these leaders who led you to Christ!

That is the broad definition of the leaders. Yet, verse 7 may actually be referring to a specific group of individuals. For one, they may be past as in dead. The word “remember” is in the past tense, and the author calls us to consider the “outcome” of their lives – the end result of their lives.

Furthermore, these leaders are likely to be the very first ones who preached the gospel to these Christians and planted the church. We find them mentioned back in Hebrews 2:

This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.
Hebrews 2:3

These Christians were second-generation Christians. They weren’t first-hand eye-witnesses of Jesus when he was on earth. They didn’t see him perform miracles of healing the sick, or hear him preach the Sermon on the Mount. They weren’t there when Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples in the upper room.

But these leaders were. They were among “those who heard him” (Hebrews 2:3).

And friends, I hope you realise, we too, are second-generation Christians. We never met Jesus in the flesh. But we heard the gospel through the bible. These pages and these words spoke the truth of God sending his Son in the form of a man who walked the earth, lived a perfect life, preached the coming Kingdom of God, and died on the cross to take our sins and fulfil all the requirements of the Law. “Those who heard him” – people like Paul, Peter, James and John – are now long dead. But they recorded their testimony for us today through the gospels and New Testament letters. In doing so, they confirmed to us this salvation, first announced by our Lord Jesus.

Which is why it is so important to read the next verse 8 in this context:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

This one verse has been taught to mean all kinds of things. You find it in greeting cards, bumper stickers and huge posters outside churches. We say that his love is the same – yesterday, today and forever. His character is the same. Does that mean he has the same haircut? Will we all be eating broiled fish when he returns in glory – since Jesus ate broiled fish after the resurrection?

Linked with the previous verse 7, this powerful statement is meant to be an assurance of the reliability of the bible’s witness to Jesus. Remember, the first century eye-witness who confirmed the salvation announced by the Lord, are long gone. You weren’t there to witness the crucifixion or the resurrection. But the Jesus that you read about in the New Testament; the Jesus that you meet in these pages is the same Jesus they knew. And he is the same Jesus who will return in the second coming in glory. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. This is a statement of assurance for your faith based on the bible. You are not missing out. You can trust in the reliability, truthfulness and fullness of the bible.

Going back to verse 7 therefore, the call to “consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” is the call to take seriously claims of the bible. It isn’t talking about your founding pastor. He is talking about people like the apostle Paul who said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Who writes in Philippians 2:8, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” It is a call to trust in and live out the demands of the bible for the sake of Christ.

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Hebrews 13:17

Here we meet the present leaders who keep watch over us (literally “go sleepless” – a phrase which means to stay attentive; and is not a licence to post Facebook updates at 3am). The ESV says they are “keeping watch over your souls”. Leadership in a Christian community is a weighty responsibility. They are accountable ultimately not to you, though you may have elected them or pay their salary. They must give account to God. One day God will ask the leaders he has set over his church, “What about him? What about her? Have you loved them? Have you preached Christ? Have you told them the gospel?” Leadership is a weighty responsibility.

And he is basically saying, Don’t make it harder than it needs to be – “so that their work will be a joy, not a burden”. The word is actually “groaning” – so that it won’t be a groaning. “Aiyo! These fellas are such a headache!” Leadership in a church is hard, he has already made that fact crystal clear. His word to us is: Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.

What can you do for your leaders? Love them. Obey them. Submit to them.

But if nothing else, pray for them.

Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honourably in every way. I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
Hebrews 13:18-19

What we have here is the basic qualification for the Christian leader. What makes a good Christian leader? Is it giftedness or experience or character? Verse 18 tells us the most basic yet vitally essential requirement of the Christian leader is that he is Christian.

This ought to be common sense. Yet, I’m surprised how this isn’t always as clear as it ought to be. The Christian leader needs to be Christian.

“We are sure that we have a clear conscience,” the author says, which doesn’t mean he’s trying really, really hard, feels good about himself or has sincere motives. Back in Chapter 8, the author has already written extensively on the “conscience of the worshipper” (Hebrews 9:9); how it can never be cleared through religion or sacrifices. Only “the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse(s) our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). Hebrews 9 is talking about salvation. And what the author is expressing is his confidence in his salvation through Jesus Christ.

Also, he desires to “live honourably in every way”. The word anestrepho is the same one used in verse 7, to describe the “way of live” of the past leaders. Previously he urged us to imitate the lives of these leaders. This present leader is simply doing the same. He is taking seriously the lives of the New Testament witness in proclaiming Christ and living for Christ.

In other words, this present Christian leader is expressing his assurance in Christ and his commitment to Christ. Isn’t this what all Christians ought to do?

The questions we should ask of our leaders are the same questions we ask of all who profess to be Christians. Have you been saved through the death of Jesus on the cross? Are you done with sin? Will you give you life in service to Christ in proclaiming the gospel?

The Christian leader must first and foremost be a Christian.

Finally, we see our true and ultimate leader in verse 20:

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21

Shepherd is where we get the word “pastor”. Jesus is the true Pastor. We are his flock. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). We are led by and cared for by Jesus himself.

Yet these verses also describe Jesus, not simply as our pastor, but as our true worship pastor. God works in us what is pleasing to him, though Jesus Christ. That word pleasing, is the same word we saw in 12:28, rendered “acceptable” – Let us worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, was the call at the end of Chapter 12. Here at the end of Chapter 13, God enables us to do just that. We give God our true worship, through our true worship leader, Jesus Christ. We do this by giving all glory to Jesus Christ. To him be glory for ever and ever.

True worship is offered up to God by Christ, through Christ and to Christ.

Do you remember the time?

Nothing here is new. You know all this, from having read Chapters 1 to 12. But Chapter 13 is here to remind you, Keep on trusting. Keep on keeping on in Jesus Christ!

Cambridge is a place that never changes. The people change. But this place never seems to change.

Many of my friends come back for precisely that reason. They left many years ago, after completing their degrees, but they always come back. To relive the good old days. To go punting down River Cam. To sip tea at Auntie’s Tea Shop.

It is an amazing experience to have studied and lived here in this city. I hope you treasure these years. For me, this is where I heard the gospel. Here in Cambridge I gave my life to Jesus. Many of my friends did the same.

I sometimes ask them, “When did you last meet God? When did you last hear his voice?”

It breaks my heart when I hear some of them say, “Ten years ago. Here in Cambridge. Here in this dusty hall called Henry Martyn Hall.” Ten years ago?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Isn’t he?

The God you heard yesterday still speaks today. He speaks through his gospel. He speaks of his Son.

For some of you, this is your last year in Cambridge. If I see you in ten years time, I pray that we can say of each other, “Look how far he has brought us. God was good then. Jesus is just as good today.” You know, often it doesn’t mean recounting the big bangs and flashy highlights, as much as it is thanking God for signs of his faithfulness and his grace.

Keep on loving. Keep on trusting. Keep on keeping on in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Unashamed

If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 11:15-16

It seems rather odd to think Almighty God
Ashamed
Of you and me –
Who, inching onwards, keep glancing backward,
To where we used to be.

Yet, it’s those who set their sights,
Their hearts delight,
In Heaven, the city above.
God is their God, Of them He is called
Unashamed –
For such are a people he loves.