Jude, Reminders

Jude 5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

Jude elicits a contrast between the false teachers that have crept into the church, and the Jews who perished after being taken out of Egypt. This verse actually has some very interesting things to say about the salvation of God, who it applies to and how it is applied.

First, Jude reminds these believers that they once knew these things; that many in Israel in the days of Moses perished in the wilderness as a consequence for their refusal to enter Canaan and claim it, as described in Numbers chapter 13. Ten spies gave a bad report, causing all of Israel to lose heart and even consider stoning Caleb and Joshua for believing that God would go before them and fight their battles, Numbers 14:6-10. Hebrews chapter 3 relates a truncated version of these historical events, with the writer fixating on the concept that obedience and faithfulness are synonymous, while rebellion and faithlessness are the same as well, Hebrews 3:16-19.

What is the ultimate point here? That God led all of Israel out of Egypt and set them at liberty, as it were, even those who disbelieved and later perished. There is a universality being described. One may liken it this way: Egypt represents sin, and Israel the world. Christ died to sin so that sin’s penalty is effectively dealt with by our Lord Jesus Christ. All people have been paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross for us, 1 John 2:2, 4:10. But not all people believe it; but this is the criterion God the Father put in place for mankind, John 3:18. Our issue with Egypt has been settled, so to speak. Now our issue is with the God who wants to bring us to a better land. Those who enter, do so because they trust in the promises of the God who made them; they believe Him. Those who fail to enter the Promised Land perish because, though they were given the same promises, they did not believe, and their unbelief resulted in disobedience and death. In fact, their disobedience is an expression of unbelief. It is not because one is left in Egypt that one perishes, so to speak; it is because we reject God’s salvation and authority and attempt to reach the Promised Land our own way, which results in us rejecting the offer of freedom in Christ and choosing to perish apart from Him. When disobedient Israel attempted to storm Canaan against God’s express command many died, Numbers 14:40-45. It is of interest to note in Numbers 14:45 that Israel was driven back to Hormah, an ancient city whose name literally translates to, “devoted to destruction.” Such were the Israelites who, due to unbelief, did not obey. While an imperfect comparison, I hope it highlights the point that our Lord’s offer of salvation is to all people for all time, and our acceptance or rejection of this offer is what determines if our eternal destiny is Heaven or the Lake of Fire.

The NT is crystal clear that Jesus paid for the sin of all humanity, and that it is not the issue of sin that will ultimately condemn or justify men; it is our answer to the person of Jesus Christ. Who do we say He is? What has He done on our behalf? And what are we called to do in response to these things? Well, the Bible tells us that Christ is the Son of God, or God the Son incarnated as a Man, representing humanity so He may be the offering for sin mankind needs to keep us from experiencing eternal separation from the Father. What He has done is just that: He was made a sacrifice for sin, the just (Him) for the unjust (all of fallen humanity) to bring us to God, 1 Peter 3:18. How are we to respond? “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life,” John 3:36. “But these (signs) are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name,” John 20:31.

The verse concludes with the grim and unavoidable reality unbelief will visit upon every person who rejects the gospel: they will be destroyed. Destruction does not mean annihilation in this context, as it never does in the tenor of Scripture. It means, by my own explanation, the ruination of original purpose. When a person enters eternity unsaved, their purpose for existing–to worship and fellowship with his Creator forever–is lost, as lost as that individual. Jude likens these men to rebellious, stubborn Israel; whose fate is to perish in their disbelief while mingling with the godly and dispiriting them with their contrary and heretical doctrines as the ten spies did in the congregation of the Jews.