Hebrews Chapter Four, Man-Made Righteousness

 

Hebrews 4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. [9] There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. [10] For he who has entered His rest has himself ceased from his works as God did from His.

 

There seems to me a companion passage to what we are currently reading found in Romans. Recall that the author is addressing his Jewish audience, former Judaists familiar with the the Torah and sacrifice, who would be especially interested in and versed with the many illustrations the writer is currently employing. These historical events and Scriptural references would, from the perspective of authority, mean very little to the Gentile worshipers entering into the Christian church since the nations outside of Israel were not partakers of its commonwealth, Ephesians 2:12.

We read in Romans: “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes,” Romans 10:2-4. Ignorance made them complicit in their vain efforts to substitute divinely given righteousness with man-made righteousness. Paul writes that the Jews of his day were zealous, but lacked proper knowledge. Had they proper knowledge they would have recognized that Jesus was the “end” or fulfillment of the law of God’s righteousness. In lieu of failing to recognize the righteousness God offers to provide us in Christ, the Jews manufacture righteousness by means of rigid obedience to the Law. They believe that the Law will make them righteous.

 

It is no different than so many in today’s churchianity that whole-heartedly believe works will commend them to God. Baptism commends them to God. Church attendance, or the Eucharist, or speaking in tongues, abstaining from foods during Lent, giving to the poor, et al., prove to be man’s substitute for God’s righteousness. We misunderstand the essential requirement to receive God’s righteousness is by the gift of His grace and not by the sweat of our brow, as it were. Human righteousness is as filthy rags before God, or like the sewn leaves of our first parents, trying to hide our shame rather than permitting God to clothe us with something of His own choosing. We don’t consult God. If we deign to hear, we refuse to listen when He tells us that Jesus Christ is our righteousness, and our own efforts are worse than futile: they are blasphemous.

 

Again in Romans, the Jews’ collective ignorance prevented them from perceiving the righteous standard God declared for being justified from sin. In that ignorance they went about establishing their own standard for righteousness instead. In every religion (including the corrupted Christian church) the sum of the standard erected is always, “Be a good enough person.” Whatever laws, rules and regulations one’s espoused religion throws at you, (or in an atheist’s case, one’s conscience dictates) follow those and you have demonstrated that you are good enough to be accepted. Whether that implies acceptance from one’s deity, religion, peers, self, etc., differs from practitioner to practitioner, but the result is the same. It salves one’s conscience, which we then assume is God’s tacit acceptance that we have cleared the hurdles He set for us. In establishing a rival righteousness, the Jews refused to submit to the revelation of the righteousness God demands we possess. And this righteousness is found only in His Son. More than that, however, Paul is clear in his explanation that this righteousness is only actually effective in those who believe this to be true.

 

We are directed to consider Joshua, Moses’ successor by God’s own appointment when the time finally came to begin the conquest of Canaan. The writer is trying to elevate his audience beyond the fleshly and worldly to the reality back of what was happening. Joshua did indeed lead Israel into Canaan, and the armies of Israel dispossessed the confederacy of nations dwelling there since before the time of Abraham. From Dan to Beersheba, the Jews gained a foothold in the Promised Land. But even a glossing of Joshua and Judges reveals a lack of willingness to evict the Canaanites from the land, and so Israel, contrary to God’s express command to drive them out, suffered them to remain. Genuine obedience comes from the heart of faith, and this cannot be collectively owned by a nation, Israel or otherwise. Every man and woman of the Jews (and in the church) must believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. When Israel began to wane in their fervor to obey the Lord’s command, God permitted the Canaanite residue to dwell in their midst as a test of fidelity. This test was promptly and sorely failed as Israel sank into apostasy and subjugation time and again during the era of the Judges, see Judges 3:5-8. 111 years total during the era of the Judges were spent serving other nations rather than ruling them. It was a steep price to pay for establishing their own righteousness and rejecting God’s provision.