Hebrews 5:12-14 | What's happening (and who's involved)?
Exhorting Rebuke
These few verses pack a heavy punch. While they may be few in words in comparison to the other sections we have covered, the significance is not lost on them.
The writer of Hebrews addresses his audience. He just began speaking of Melchizedek and mentioning that he wishes to speak further on this topic. There is a problem with the audience though. They have become dull of hearing. Their dullness of hearing makes it hard to explain what the writer wants to share. Addressing this, we get to the section we are covering where an exhorting rebuke is offered.
The people he is speaking to ought to be teachers already! They have been trained and they ought to have had the growth given the time and investment they should have had. But there they are yet again needing to be taught the first principles of the oracles of God. To translate, it is like telling High School graduates that they need to go back to kindergarten to relearn the basics. Despite having had the time of investment, they are failing to remember things like the alphabet. Their learning ought to have them more mature, but the writer here is recognizing that the Hebrew audience needs milk instead of solid food. Milk has its place for the believer, but they ought to move to meat eventually.
It is to this point that the writer furthers the exhorting rebuke. The one who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness. It keeps him as a baby. An important note that should be stated here is that maturity does not take place simply with the passage of time and experience. It takes place with investment over time. If that investment is stuck on milk, that individual will remain as a babe in their faith. They must grow and mature to consume solid food.
Solid food, we are told, is for those who are of full age. The mature receives the meat. Unlike the babe, who is unskilled in the word of righteousness, he who is of full age has their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Just as the word of God divides the thoughts and intents of the heart, the one who is skilled in His word can discern the difference of these things.
The center of all of this is upon the word of God. Yes, this is offered as a rebuke, but it is also an exhortation. There is a call to rise up and learn and mature. It is right to do so. I pray that exploring this passage this week will exhort and rebuke us as well. May we be those who by reason of use have our senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
What observations are you making in this passage?
The writer of Hebrews addresses his audience. He just began speaking of Melchizedek and mentioning that he wishes to speak further on this topic. There is a problem with the audience though. They have become dull of hearing. Their dullness of hearing makes it hard to explain what the writer wants to share. Addressing this, we get to the section we are covering where an exhorting rebuke is offered.
The people he is speaking to ought to be teachers already! They have been trained and they ought to have had the growth given the time and investment they should have had. But there they are yet again needing to be taught the first principles of the oracles of God. To translate, it is like telling High School graduates that they need to go back to kindergarten to relearn the basics. Despite having had the time of investment, they are failing to remember things like the alphabet. Their learning ought to have them more mature, but the writer here is recognizing that the Hebrew audience needs milk instead of solid food. Milk has its place for the believer, but they ought to move to meat eventually.
It is to this point that the writer furthers the exhorting rebuke. The one who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness. It keeps him as a baby. An important note that should be stated here is that maturity does not take place simply with the passage of time and experience. It takes place with investment over time. If that investment is stuck on milk, that individual will remain as a babe in their faith. They must grow and mature to consume solid food.
Solid food, we are told, is for those who are of full age. The mature receives the meat. Unlike the babe, who is unskilled in the word of righteousness, he who is of full age has their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Just as the word of God divides the thoughts and intents of the heart, the one who is skilled in His word can discern the difference of these things.
The center of all of this is upon the word of God. Yes, this is offered as a rebuke, but it is also an exhortation. There is a call to rise up and learn and mature. It is right to do so. I pray that exploring this passage this week will exhort and rebuke us as well. May we be those who by reason of use have our senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
What observations are you making in this passage?
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2026
January
John 14:22-31 | What's the lesson for me today?John 14:22-31 | What am I going to do about it?John 14:22-31 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:1-11John 15:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:1-11 | What's the connection?John 15:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:12-27John 15:12-27 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:12-27 | What's the connection?John 15:12-27 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:12-27 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:12-27 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:12-27 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:1-15John 16:1-15 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:1-15 | What's the connection?John 16:1-15 | What’s a lesson for the original audience?John 16:1-15 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:1-15 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:1-15 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:16-33John 16:16-33 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:16-33 | What's the connection?John 16:16-33 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 16:16-33 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:16-33 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:16-33 | Prayer Prompts
February
Passage of the Week: John 17John 17 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 17 | What's the connection?John 17 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 17 | What's the lesson for me today?John 17 | What am I going to do about it?John 17 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:1-11John 18:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:1-11 | What's the connection?John 18:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:12-40John 18:12-40 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:12-40 | What's the connection?John 18:12-40 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:12-40 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:12-40 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:12-40 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 19John 19 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 19 | What's the connection?John 19 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 19 | What's the lesson for me today?John 19 | What am I going to do about it?John 19 | Prayer Prompts
March
Passage of the Week: John 20John 20 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 20 | What's the connection?John 20 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 20 | What's the lesson for me today?John 20 | What am I going to do about it?John 20 | Prayer PromptsJohn 21 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 21John 21 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 21 | What's the connection?John 21 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 21 | What's the lesson for me today?John 21 | What am I going to do about it?Passage of the Week: Hebrews 1:1-4Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's the connection?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What is a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 1:1-4 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 1:5-14Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's the connection?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 1:5-14 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 2:1-4Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's the connection?
April
Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 2:1-4 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 2:5-9Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's the connection?Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 2:5-9 | What am I going to do about it?
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