Hebrews 5:12-14 | What's the connection?

We get an interesting context to the audience that the book of Hebrews is written to. These are not some new believers that are falling to small deceptions and fears of persecution. These are seasoned believers. One of Paul's qualifications for teachers is that they ought not be a novice lest they fall to the same temptation as the devil. The writer of Hebrews is telling them that by this time, these people ought to be teachers. They have been in the faith but are still in need of milk. This is not the only time such a reference is made in the context of believers. Peter exhorts the desire of the pure milk of the word.

Notice the audience that Peter is speaking to. These are not the seasoned, should be ready to be teachers, type. They are newborns in the faith. They are unprepared for the meat of Scripture as they do not have their senses exercised yet to discern those things. They are needing the fundamental principles. They are needing the basics. While the audience of Hebrews may be receiving a rebuke here in this, it is important to note that there is an exhortation for them as well in consuming the milk. While they should be ready for meat, they are not yet. They need the pure milk of the word. If they do not have that, then they cannot grow to meat.

There was a season of my life where milk was all I consumed. It nourished me and caused me to grow. Eventually, I began to move to solid food as I grew up. Now imagine for a second that I didn't move on to solid food. I am a 29 year old man still living on milk. That would be considered a problem. What is unfortunate is we have those who have been Christians for 29 years and still on the pure milk of the word. They ought to have matured, yet they have not. At a certain point, looking to milk alone actually stunts growth. This is why the writer to the Hebrews is rebuking them the way that he is.

We will have opportunity to continue to touch on the lessons found in Hebrews 5:12-14. As we approach those, what connections do you see in this text?