Hebrews Chapter Two, Drifting

 

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

 

The writer arrests our attention with the adverb, therefore. Because of these things, he says, give the more earnest heed to what we have been taught. The typical date given for Hebrews having been written seems to hover around 68 A.D., two years before the destruction of the temple at the hands of the Roman general Titus. Angels, while playing a large role in the Old Testament, could become an inappropriate object of fascination, as is demonstrated in the Book of Enoch, an Apocryphal text, typically excluded from Protestant Bibles. More than this, however, one must consider the advent of Gnostic teaching and its emphasis on angels, including ones Gnostics term aeons.

Gnostic teachings of secret knowledge (gnosis) are often intertwined with angels, the host of heaven. Since Angelology can quickly convert into demonology it is a wise soul that abstains from pursuing into this reckless pursuit of seeking truth from the angels when there is a living God, Colossians 2:18. The Jewish Christians being addressed are beseeched not to “drift away” but to “give the more earnest heed” to the teaching explained in chapter one. Hebrews 1:14 summarized the faculty of angels, informing us that they minister to the saints. Hebrews 1:7 states that while the angels are created BY God, they are created FOR ministry. God’s redemption plan involves the angelic order. But trying too hard to peer into the unseen world is unwise, and the writer cautions us against it.

 

Chapter one sufficiently demonstrated the supremacy of Christ over the angelic race, revealing Him as God incarnate, Maker of the angels and the Coming King. Now it is our lot to give the more earnest heed to these things. If what is written is true, then our duty is to believe it, and order our lives accordingly. Christ is the Creator. He is the Word, and by the word of His power brought forth an orderly universe for the epic of this human drama to be enacted on. Our part is to find the will of God for our life and stand in its center. Obedience, the product of love and faith, is what He desires from us. The gospel of our salvation, when heard and believed, brings with it eternal life. To those who hear and believe it, we are to be shod for the preparation of its declaration to others. This is the “things we have heard” that the author mentions. How do we know this? The next several verses, which we will treat as a unit, testify that the gospel is the object of his conversation here.

 

Before we enter into that, however, we are warned about drifting away. The Greek word for “drift away,” or “let slip, KJV” is, “pararrhueo.” Para means “by” and rheo means “to flow.” The word then means, “to glide by, flow, or carelessly pass or miss.” This particular word is used this once in the New Testament. The NKJV, NIV, NASB, and HCSB all agree with the newer rendering of “drift away,” connoting the idea of being adrift and missing where you were meant to dock. The message preached (which we will address in verses 2 through 4) is meant to lead one to Christ; it was the sole purpose of the apostles of the Lord, as well as Jesus Himself. Our focus is meant to be on Him, not on angels. The author of Hebrews, concerned that the leaven of idolatry might take root in his audience, begins in this book a systemic and excellent defense of Christ’s supremacy over all.

 

Our Lord’s sufficiency begins to be revealed when compared to the angelic order; His excellence is superior in the way that the message relayed is greater than the messenger that ran it. While the messenger that ran the letter may be honored for adhering to duty faithfully, the contents of the message convey the will and authority of the One that employs the runner. In this instance the employer and message are one: Christ IS the message of the gospel, and through faith in Him we have everlasting life and forgiveness of sin. The writer urges his readership not to drift away from this central, singular, all-important truth. Instead, we are to focus even more readily on it. The Christian should be eager to learn from his Master, to follow in His steps, to hear His words, to mimic His actions, like a child shadowing his beloved parent.