15Look after each other so that none of you fails1 to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting2 many. 16Make sure that no one is immoral3 or godless4 like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.
Hebrews 12:12-17
The four words at the centre of the warnings are:-
1 [ὑστερέω – hustereō] – Failing to receive the grace of God – defecting, coming up short, missing the mark, opting out.
2 [μιαίνω – miainō] – Becoming defiled, corrupted, tainted, stained.
3 [πόρνος – pornos] – Becoming immoral, impure, based, debauched, having prostituted yourself.
4 [βέβηλος – bebēlos] – Becoming profane, irreligious, unholy, or treating holy matters with contempt or disdain.
Hustereō has the idea of some one who just gives up and quits, i.e. someone who becomes a defector, who ceases to follow Christ and who likely as not in this case goes back to the synagogue once more to embrace Judaism.
Miainō describes someone who has succumbed to the Roman world around them and has become tainted or stained with the lifestyle of the world. They have become captivated with the worldly things and no longer trying to live a Christian life in the midst of Rome and all that was available to them.
Pornos I am sure you can probably glean the meaning for yourself but you maybe wrong. Pornos, as the word suggests, has the idea of living an impure, debauched lifestyle focused on sexuality. But there is another possibility with this word. There is debate among the experts as to whether this word is being used in the literal sense or whether the author was using it figuratively. If the latter, then it is likely to mean forsaking Christ and following other gods or idols in the Roman world. Or the word could even have been used as a very strong condemnation of going back to the Judaism. Many times in the Old Testament God talks of the Israelites prostituting themselves with other gods.
Bebēlos describes someone who is profane and no longer religious or a follower of a religion. But rather someone who is unholy or treats holy things or practices with contempt, regarding the holy as common place and not worth a second thought.
I gave you all the above detail in the previous Gem but I thought it prudent to lay it before you again. If you want more detail then turn to Gem 1056 – Did Esau Repent? and the two Gems either side of it. When I wrote those Gems I had a major discussion with my Greek Professor, Basil Brown, and my BCNZ Principal, David Stewart, on my take on Esau and the Prodigal Son story. Both ended up congratulating me on the summation of the role of Esau and more. Part of the discussion with David Stewart is captured in those three Gems I have given you the link to above. Hint: The link to the Gems either side you will find at the bottom of Gem 1056. Now while gemming Hebrews I believe it is clear that Esau is the epitome of a bebēlos. [I was not familiar with the term before Gemming Hebrews.] But now I can no longer discuss it with David Stewart nor Prof Basil Brown as both have since gone to be with the LORD.
Esau does not fit the description of any of the first three terms. I disagree with rabbis who try to prove he was a pornos or either of the first two terms. But I do believe as I have claimed in the title of this Gem that he was a perfect example of bebēlos.
I also like what Arnold Fruchtenbaum has written in his commentary on this passage5, in which he sees a series of downward steps:-
- The failure to appropriate grace.
- Having a negative reaction to discipline (grumbling).
- Contempt for duty and privilege.
Doesn’t that capture the essence of Esau’s downward spiral? I believe the author of Hebrews has opened this section with a general comment about ‘those who harbour bitterness’ in verse 15, to which he adds more in the three terms he uses. Then we come to the either / or example of Esau. Is Esau an example of both pornos and bebēlos? No, I don’t think so! I think it is not pornos and bebēlos but rather three general categories and then the writer makes the statement “or bebēlos like Esau“. He has linked back to his earlier reference to those who harbour a seed of bitterness and immediately thinks of Esau as being the classic example. From that point you can track the unfolding scriptural references to Esau’s downward descent into a bitterness he could not shake which I have given you in Gem 1056. Oh yes, he said the right words when standing in front of Jacob and having his family around. But over time, the poison in Esau’s heart surfaced. Where did the Edomites get their animosity toward Israel? I believe it came from the bitterness in the heart of their patriarch.
I was struck by Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s connection of the second downward step to “grumbling”. The author of Hebrews had been warning the Jewish Christians concerning the danger of grumbling in this letter prior to this point. All of these elements are connected. Be careful when you have a negative reaction to any discipline that God may bring into your life. The writer of Hebrews has made it clear to us already that grumbling about what God may be doing in your life is a recipe for disaster. You may well find yourself in a position similar to Esau; wanting to repent and seeking the gift of repentance with tears but failing to appropriate it.
It is absolutely clear that Esau went down the track of a bebēlos, depising the spiritual and rejecting that which he had turned his back on. It makes no sense to sell your birthright for a bowl of soup or broth. But that is what a bebēlos will do; trampling on the holy, considering it to be of no worth. Then later they may well come to a turning point and decide maybe they were wrong. But when dealing with that scale of rejection, there is no repentance. We don’t hold the key to when we might repent, God does! Be careful.
5 The Messianic Jewish Epistles – Expositions from a Messianic Jewish Perspective, Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum p 177-178
Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, faith looks up.
Ian
Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.
Max Lucado
When the Christian faith becomes defined by who we are and what we do and not by who Christ is and what He did for us, we miss the gospel – and we, ironically, become more disobedient.
Tertullian
He Who Ceases To Remain Faithful Proves He Never Truely Was.
Robb Thompson
If being hurt by the church causes you to lose faith in God then your faith was in people not God.
Ian