Conspicuous Before The Throne

The first two chapters of Hebrews reveal the better gospel brought by Jesus, the Son, in contrast with the message of angels. Although the ministry of angels is wonderful, "are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb.1:14) They are not actual partakers of salvation, so consequently, though they can point the way of redemption, they can't lead anyone into it.

The first part of chapter three draws attention to the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus, "for whom are all things, and by whom are all things." (1:10) It contrasts his greater faithfulness as the son with the faithfulness of Moses, who was a servant.

"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

"For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;

"But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." (Heb.3:1-6)

Notice these verses are addressed to "holy brethren." This is not just a reference to the writer's Christian brethren, but the context from the eleventh verse of chapter one makes it clear that the text is addressed to the spiritual brethren of Christ Jesus - those who are sanctified by him and partakers of the same heavenly calling first demonstrated through him.

If we have been sanctified by him, and thus made partakers of the heavenly calling, we are to carefully consider Jesus, who is both the founder and mediator of our confession. This means we're to make an effort to meditate on all that he is and everything he has provided for us. The original thought of the verse calls for us to honor him the same way the Father honors him.

The Father honored Jesus because he was absolutely faithful to the appointment and commission he had received. Although the Jews considered Moses as the most faithful of men, Jesus is shown to be even more faithful. Moses received a good testimony of his faithfulness as a servant in the Lord's house, but Jesus was faithful as a son and the lord over the house.

A servant doesn't know what his master's real purpose is, but a son understands what is in the mind of his father. (See Jn.15:15) Jesus not only understood his Father's purpose, he dramatically revealed that purpose for all to see.

The text says the builder of a house is more honorable than the house itself. As the holy brethren of the Lord, we can be an integral part of his house, if we continue in our confidence toward him. This means we must follow on in the same purpose first demonstrated through the life of Jesus.

The next few verses are parenthetically inserted to contrast the faithfulness of Jesus with the unfaithfulness of Israel, as well as to challenge us to be faithful to our heavenly calling.

"Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, 'To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.

"'Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, 'They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.' So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)'"(Heb.3:7-11)

To find out how Israel tempted the Lord, we need to look briefly at the record of their wilderness wanderings. Numbers 14 records some of the murmuring and complaining that provoked the Lord and caused him to conclude he would not allow them to enter the Promised Land. In spite of having seen his miraculous deliverance when he brought them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, they tempted him ten times by not hearkening to his voice. (vs.22. For the ten times Israel provoked the Lord, see Ex.14:11-12; 15:23-24; 16:2; 16:20,27; 17:1-3; 32:1-35; Num.11:1; 11:4; 14:2)

Exodus 17:7 gives the primary manner in which Israel tempted the Lord: "And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, 'Is the LORD among us, or not?'" In complete disregard of God's daily provision and mighty deliverance, every time they encountered something out of the ordinary, they questioned whether he was with them or not!

Psalms 78 outlines some of the marvelous things the Lord did for Israel in the wilderness. I'll cite only a few examples of how he provided for them: "He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through;" "In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire;" "He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths;" "He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers;" "He smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed;" "And... [He] rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven;" "He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea;"

But in spite of all God had done for them, "they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works." (See also INSIGHT, Vol.8 No.1 "The Paralysis of Unbelief")

Can you see why the Lord was provoked with them and finally determined "that they shall not enter into my [his] rest"?

The last section of Hebrews 3 and the first part of chapter 4 admonish us to be faithful to our heavenly calling as Jesus was faithful to his. Reflecting on the previous verses, verses 12 and 13 continue: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."

Unbelief is a paralysis that not only provokes the Lord, it also causes hardness of heart in the unbeliever. No one is ever born with a hardened heart: Hardness of heart is an acquired condition. The heart hardens when the irritation of sin in our life is not dealt with through genuine repentance. Just as the body builds layers of skin to protect itself against the points of irritation, thus producing a callous for protection, so a heart hardens to protect itself against the aggravation of unconfessed sin.

Take heed that you not allow such callousness of heart to develop in you. If you allow it to happen, the time will soon come when you won't feel any conviction of sin in the affected areas. Consequently, your senses will be dulled and the Holy Spirit's ability to minister to you will be greatly hindered. This results in you being left in your sin - sin that you no longer acknowledge as sin. Such a heart condition is not only debilitating, it is also deceptive.

"For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;" (vs.14)

Being made partakers of Christ is the New Testament equivalent of entering into the Promised Land in the Old Testament. But just as Israel did not automatically enter into their land after they came out of Egypt, being born again does not spontaneously make us partakers of Christ. If that were true, why would the verse say that we're made partakers of him, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end? We become partakers of Christ when we actually take part of his life, then allow it to be manifested through us.

We only manifest the quality life we're taking part of, i.e., the life we internalize so that it becomes an integral part of our thought and being. If we're not manifesting Christ's life, we should not deceive ourselves by thinking we are partakers of him. As Christians, his life is available, but it must be partaken of by an active faith on our part.

We don't want to deceive ourselves, as Israel did in the wilderness, by thinking that if the Lord brought us out of bondage, then he will certainly bring us into Christ, regardless of our faith or conduct. Nothing is automatic with him, because being a righteous and just God, his "eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jer.32:19)

Even after the Lord told Israel to not harden their heart, "some, when they had heard, did provoke" him. (vs.16) Could we also provoke the Lord to such a degree that he might not allow us to take possession of our inheritance, and thereby receive the full benefits of the life of Christ?

The word, "provoke," used in this verse literally means to exasperate! By definition, exasperate means "to make very angry or impatient; annoy greatly." Israel greatly annoyed God by always questioning in their heart, "Is the Lord among us or not," every time they faced something unusual or challenging in the wilderness.

How many times do you question whether the Lord really cares about you when your prayers aren't answered as quickly or in the way you think they should be? When faced with new challenges or difficulties, do you draw back and look for an easier way, in spite of how many times you've experienced his deliverance and provision in the past?

Nothing annoys God more than sniveling unbelief. Especially after he gave 4000 years of biblical history to show how he feels about it. Such childish behavior is practically a guarantee of being left "on the outside looking in" when his glory fills his house, regardless of the great revelation that is supposedly held, or the marvelous provisions already received.

"But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." (vs.17-19)

Why was Israel's sin such an affront to Jehovah, the covenant God? The answer is found in the meaning of the words, "believed not," in verse 18. The original word means to "to refuse or withhold belief," that is, "not to allow oneself to be persuaded." In blatant disregard of all the Lord had done for them, they simply would not allow themselves to be persuaded of his love and care, or that he could actually bring them into the land he had promised to them.

"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." (Heb.4:1-2)

If God's mighty visitation to Israel that brought them out of Egypt did not persuade them to believe his word, what could have? Obviously more miraculous provisions in the wilderness wouldn't have done so. But before we judge their unbelief too harshly, how can we justify ourselves if we don't mix faith with all the word we've heard? How long will we halt between two opinions and continue to exasperate the Lord with a "poor me and I can't" attitude? And we certainly have much more than natural provisions and the prophetic bones of Joseph to encourage us along the way: We have an empty tomb and a resurrected Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us!

"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Heb.4:14-15)

Consider that powerful and impacting truth! Jesus was tempted with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life just as we are, (1 Jn.2:16) but he didn't yield to any of those enticements. Instead, he remained absolutely faithful to his heavenly calling, and because of it, he can identify with our struggles with the flesh nature and provide a compassionate means of escape.

In light of such glorious truth, we must conclude one thing: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (vs.16)

Let's look carefully at this verse so we can get the full impact of what it has for us. First, we're admonished to come to the throne of grace. A throne symbolizes authority and power, as well as a place commanding reverence and respect.

God's throne might have been a place of strict and unappeasable justice to all who come before it, and he could have administered inescapable banishment and certain death as penalty for sin. But because of his unfathomable love and tender compassion toward his creation, he reigns from a throne of grace, i.e., a place of divine assistance. And because Jesus was touched with every temptation known to man, the Father chose to extend mercy to all who come before him requesting it!

This is not to imply that God is soft on sin. He certainly is not. He hates sin because it separates mankind from his holiness. But his mercies are new every morning and his incomprehensible grace is sufficient for all who come before him seeing their need and asking for it!

According to Webster's 1828 Dictionary, mercy is "that benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant."

Thank God for his everlasting mercy and amazing grace! Without it, no one could ever qualify to stand before the holiness of his eternal throne.

We're invited to "come boldly" to the throne of grace. This implies the Lord will receive us when we approach him. Of course the only reason to approach the throne is because we expect to find him there, and that we'll get a response to our petition. For as Hebrews 11:6 states: "he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

If we don't approach him in faith, fully expecting to be granted an audience and having our petitions heard, why bother coming before him? Hebrews 7:25 tells us that because of Jesus' priesthood, "he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." If this doesn't give us an incentive to diligently and habitually seek him, I don't know what will.

The key to how we're to come before the Lord is in the word, "boldly." According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon, a partial definition of the word so translated is rendered: "Freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech; openly, frankly, that is, without concealment; without ambiguity or circumlocution; free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance; the deportment by which one becomes conspicuous or secures publicity."

By understanding this definition of "boldly," we see that we're to bring our petitions before the throne of grace in a specific and articulate manner, and make ourselves conspicuous to the Lord when we do it! This doesn't mean we're to approach him in an arrogant, prideful manner, but neither does it mean that we're to come before him in some timid, mealy-mouthed, "poor me" attitude.

Being conspicuous simply means to be obvious enough to draw attention to oneself. We make ourselves conspicuous to the Lord by our regular approach to him, confidently beseeching him for what he loves to dispense - mercy. Scripture reveals the Lord loves a broken and contrite heart, and that "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer." (Psa.102:17) From this we can conclude that one of the best and most effective ways to make ourselves obvious before him is by the sound of our weeping and genuine contrition of heart.

On what basis can we approach the throne of grace and truly expect our petition to be heard? Because we have a mediator. And "it was necessary for Jesus to be like us, his brothers, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God, a Priest who would be both merciful to us and faithful to God in dealing with the sins of the people.

"For since he himself has now been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us." (Heb.2:17-18 TLB)

Our prideful flesh and the enemy of our soul would like for us to hide from the Lord when we've fallen short of our heavenly calling, but that is exactly opposite of what we need do. We need to habitually come before the throne of grace with a boldness of faith that expects to be heard and receive mercy. Such boldness isn't based on us deserving or earning it, but on the immutability of the word and provision of God himself.

And because it is impossible for God to lie, we "have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." (Heb.6:18-20)

From the beginning of chapter five through verse 18 of chapter ten, the book of Hebrews contrasts the priesthood of Jesus with the Levitical order of the Old Testament. Many convincing examples are given which irrevocably establish Christ's priesthood as being above and beyond anything God had established under the law of Moses. I'll mention two which are pertinent.

After briefly mentioning the wilderness tabernacle, chapter nine addresses some of the sacrificial offerings required under the law. We're told those ordinances were imposed until God brought forth the reformation in Christ, however, they could not cleanse man's conscience. The obvious reason for their inability to cleanse the conscience was that ordinances could only deal with externals, i.e., outward deeds. However, Jesus came to deal with the sin nature, which is the real root of man's problem.

The writer then makes his strongest point for the better priesthood of Jesus, saying he did not go into the heavenly tabernacle "by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." (vs.12)

The text doesn't say Jesus went in with his own blood, but by it. "With" would indicate he took something with him to give him access to the Father, but "by" declares he entered the presence of God for us on the merit of his own life's blood. The argument is that if the blood of goats and calves (going in "with" their blood) could open the way for the Levitical priesthood to enter the holiest part of the temporary tabernacle, "how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (vs.14)

Jesus "offered" himself - he was not sacrificed. Every offering under the law was a sacrifice because the substitute could not offer itself. But Jesus offered himself, and contrary to anything that had ever been offered to God before, his offering was so perfect that death couldn't hold him. Consequently, his offering was gloriously validated three days later by his resurrection! The only conclusion one can draw from this marvelous truth is that Jesus' offering was so perfect it would never need to be repeated, as did the continual sacrifices under the law.

The second validation of Christ's perfect offering was that "this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Heb.10:12-14)

One piece of furniture conspicuously absent from the wilderness tabernacle was a place for the officiating priests to sit down. Its absence indicated the priests could never "rest" from their work because their service was never "finished." But when Jesus was ushered into heaven and seated at the right hand of God, his conciliatory mission was forever finished. Consequently, the promise God made that he'd write his laws in the heart of man, and remember their sins and iniquities no more, was initiated and available to all.

Having now irrevocably established that the better priesthood of Christ provided the way for man to forever be cleansed from his sin, the writer closed that section of Hebrews, saying, "Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin" [i.e., no further offering needed]. (Heb.10:18)

In light of his triumphant argument regarding Christ's better priesthood, the writer plunges ahead, challenging us to enter into God's presence on that basis.

"Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus, By this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain [veil of the Holy of Holies], that is, Through His flesh;

"And since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God, Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith, [that is, by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness,] having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and with our bodies cleansed with pure water.

"So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess, and our acknowledgment of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word." (Heb. 10:19-23 Amplified)

The new and living way Jesus opened into the presence of God is waiting for you to enter. Don't exasperate him by holding back and not boldly approaching the throne of grace in your time of need - and that should be a daily exercise! Don't allow anything to silence your confession and appropriation of the wonderful provision the Lord made for you.

Ephesians 3:11-12 add another clarifying dimension that should provide even more confidence to approach the throne of grace boldly. After speaking of the unsearchable riches found in Christ, Paul said those great mysteries are now made known by the church for all men to see. The timing, he said, is "according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him."

There are several key words in verse 12. The first, "boldness," is the same word used in Hebrews 4:16, meaning to make ourselves conspicuous. The next word is "access," used only three times in the New Testament. According to Vines Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, it means, "leading or bringing into the presence of; It denotes access, with which is associated the thought of freedom to enter through the assistance or favor of another." The third key word is "confidence," which has a compounded meaning of "confident assurance based on an inward persuasion."

Together, these three words provide a beautiful picture of how we're to approach the Father: When we're genuinely persuaded in heart that we can have an audience with him because of the favor and assistance of Christ's priesthood, we'll make ourselves conspicuous before his throne of grace!

This proposes a question that begs to be answered. If Israel refused to be persuaded by God's miraculous provision in the wilderness, stubbornly challenging the trustworthiness of his word, what will it take to persuade you that he cares for you and longs to extend grace in your time of need?

There is no further provision coming from the Lord. Christ's propitiating offering was perfect and complete, and his priesthood is eternal. God's mercies are new every morning. "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer." (Psa. 102:17) There is nothing to hinder us from boldly coming before him - except unconfessed sin - and we even need to come to him to confess and be cleansed from that!

Are you a stranger in the courts of mercy? When you approach heaven's door, are you well known to the porter, or are you still asked for identification?

How long has it been since you made yourself conspicuous before the God of all the earth? Do you approach him daily, asking for the grace you need, or do you hesitate because you've been smitten with debilitating disbelief disguised as some pietistic apathy or smug self-satisfaction?

Has the enemy so distorted your view of your loving Heavenly Father that you've lost sight of his love for you? Has he convinced you that you need to perfect yourself before you dare come before the Lord? Or has he dissuaded you from calling on God by having you think he won't answer anyway?

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." (1 Jn.5:14-15 NIV)

Scripture gives many examples of people who dared make themselves conspicuous to get their petitions heard. Space only allows me to cite a few.

Enoch made himself conspicuous before the Lord so regularly that he eventually didn't even bother to return to his home! Consequently, he walked so closely with the Lord that he "was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." (Heb.11:5)

Ruth made herself so conspicuous to Boaz on the threshing floor that her presence actually startled him. (Ruth 3:8) Although a Moabitess, she dared ask him for grace to marry and redeem her. Boaz honored her bold request, and God put her into the lineage of Jesus to preserve her life story as an example for all future generations!

Esther was the queen of the most powerful king of that era. After receiving the news that the great king had unknowingly signed a degree which would destroy her people, she was called upon by her uncle, Mordecai, to appeal to the monarch to change it.

Getting an authoritarian Persian king to change his edict was unheard of. And to further complicate matters, she had not been called into his inner court for 30 days. "And," she told Mordecai, "All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live." (Est.4:11)

But being touched with compassion for her people, Esther made a bold decision to go before the king unannounced. She then sent this word to her uncle: "Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish." (vs.16)

The moment the queen stepped into the court of the king, she was the most conspicuous person in the entire Persian kingdom! For a heart-stopping instant her life hung in the balance, but then "the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre." (Est.5:2)

The moment the king extended the scepter to her, Esther's petition was as good as granted. In fact, the king so honored her bold confidence that he offered half his kingdom to her!

One example of someone willing to make themselves conspicuous before the Lord is found in Matthew 15:21-28. Jesus had just departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon when a woman of Canaan approached him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil."

When Jesus didn't respond immediately to the woman's plea for help, his disciples wanted her sent away. The Lord responded that he was only sent to the "house of Israel," and it wasn't appropriate for him "to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs."

(Jesus used the term, "dogs," which was common Jewish slang for Samaritans, to dramatically demonstrate that though his present mission was to Israel, his ear was open to anyone's heart cry, regardless of color, race or creed.)

Undaunted by his discriminating response, the woman petitioned him further, pleading, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

Touched by her boldness and tenacious desire to get help for her daughter, "Jesus answered and said unto her, 'O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.' And her daughter was made whole from that very hour."

Had the woman not been willing to "create a scene" by making herself conspicuous, her petition would likely not have been answered. Not that Jesus wasn't touched with her request, he wanted to teach the people the need for diligence perseverance, in spite of what appeared to be an obvious obstacle.

Scripture records that Jesus was astonished on two occasions. He once marveled at a Roman centurion's faith, saying he had not found so great a degree of faith in Israel. (Mt.8:10; Lu.7:9) He also marveled at the unbelief of his Galilean countrymen when their snide attitude and lack of faith hindered what he could do among them. (Mk.6:6)

Let's ponder those stark contrasts and be instructed by the blatant lessons they teach: The people who should have had faith did not have it, and those who should not have had it, did!

Space doesn't permit me to look into the account of two blind men sitting by the wayside beseeching Jesus for mercy as he passed by. (Mt.20:29-34) Neither can I address the story of the woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years, who in deliberate and undauntable faith pressed through the crowd to touch the hem of the Lord's garment, to then be singled out and commended by him for her faith. (Lu.8:42-48) Likewise, there are many other accounts of needy and hurting people who dared to believe and make themselves conspicuous to have their petitions heard and answered.

Jesus gave a parable in Luke 18:1-8 which illustrates the principle that "men ought always to pray and not faint." To provide a background setting for that truth, he said, "There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man." The Lord then told of a widow in that city who came to the judge repeatedly, appealing to him to avenge her of her adversary.

For some time the judge ignored the woman's pleas for help, but after awhile he said within himself, "Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!" (vs.4-5 NIV)

According to society's standards, the judge and the widow were worlds apart in their social status. He was obviously a self-made man who got into his position by his own means. He operated in an arena where protocol and bribes were the accepted order of the day. His legal position gave him an insulating buffer of power, prestige, and judicial finality that separated him from the plight of the common people.

Contrary to the judge, the widow was in widowhood, likely not by her choice, but because of her circumstances. Although widows were supposed to be cared for under Jewish law, this one apparently had no money for bribes, nor lawyers to plead her case. So in spite of being in violation of judicial protocol, she went directly to the judge with her appeal.

The wording of the parable suggests that she cried out to him daily, likely pestering him at his home, when he was in the streets, and possibly even disrupting his convened court. Her persistent importunity could have turned the judge against her, but apparently she had been public enough with her pursuit of vindication that he was eventually obliged to exonerate her.

Jesus didn't commend the unjust judge's actions, but set his reluctant and begrudged response against that of a faithful Father, saying, "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

In contrast to how the unjust judge dealt with the widow, God does not hold his people at arms-length. Being a righteous and loving Father - instead of an unrighteous judge - he invites us to come before him boldly to make our requests known. He also provides a counselor to bring us to the court and an advocate to plead our cause! Furthermore, because he neither "slumbers nor sleeps," our Heavenly Father is available to hear our petition day and night.

The parable closes by posing a question of whether God's people will have a sense of needing his mercy when the Son returns, or will we have become so apathetic that we no longer see our need? Will our life still be motivated with an absolute faith that the Lord will hear and respond to our pleas, or has the persuasive humanism of the world influenced us to the point of self-righteous complacency? Are we convinced that all things work for our own good, or has the Lord's wise withholding of certain answers to our petitions been misinterpreted to mean he is too busy for us and that he really doesn't care?

When was the last time you made yourself conspicuous enough before God's throne of grace to really get his attention?

There is probably no greater deterrent to coming to the throne of grace than a misunderstood sense of unworthiness or guilt. If we're not careful, the adversary will regularly hammer our minds with thoughts that the Lord really doesn't care about us, and that the sin which so easily besets us will keep us out of God's presence.

Although sin does rob us of our peace with the Lord, if we've sinned, we need to rush to him for forgiveness and cleansing! And since no one has yet experienced a complete change of nature, no one is exempt from their need of the Lord's ongoing forgiveness.

Our high priest was exposed to the same temptations we face, so he can have understanding compassion on our weaknesses and is ready "to run in response to our shout or cry" for help. (The literal rendering of "to help in time of need." - Heb.4:16) We're promised that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 Jn.1:9)

If Jesus told Peter he was to forgive a brother's sin, "seventy times seven," (Mt.18:22) don't you think the Lord will forgive you as many times if you come to him and ask for it?

I'm not advocating a nonchalant attitude toward sin and forgiveness. Neither am I saying we should presume on the grace of God without genuineness of heart. However, in light of scripture and the all-encompassing provision of the Lord, there is no excuse for not coming boldly to his throne, regardless of our need at the moment.

"This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him." (1 Jn 3:19-22 NIV)

To please the Lord means we're living by faith, which includes coming before him continually, even when we don't feel like it! It means that though we know we need cleansing, our confident access to him is not based on our own merit nor holiness, but on being accepted by God through the favor and assistance of our mediator, Jesus Christ.

The closing verses of Hebrews ten provide a provocative challenge of two ways we can live in light of all that had been presented. We can live by an active faith, thereby declaring our continued confidence in the Lord's perfect provision, "which hath great recompense of reward." Or we can count the precious provision of Christ as being unworthy of our diligent attention, thereby insulting the Spirit of grace. (See 10:29) Though we would never deliberately insult or grieve the Holy Spirit, every time we hold back from making full use of the Father's provision, that is exactly what we do.

Verse 38 emphatically declares: "My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him."(NAS)

Shrink back from what? From living by faith and maintaining complete confidence in every revealed promise of God.

What promises are we to maintain faith in?

To name a few, promises that the Son's gospel is better than the word of angels, and the builder of God's house has more honor than the house, and that the eternal rest available in Christ is much better than the rest Joshua brought Israel into. Promises that Christ's priesthood is far better than Aaron's ever was, because the covenant based on Jesus' blood is better than Old Testament sacrifices.

We must face reality and forever settle the truth in our heart: We are either shrinking back from actively engaging the provisions of God, and consequently, slipping away from him, or deliberately utilizing his provision to the saving of our soul. The choice is ours and should be quite obvious.

Are you regularly conspicuous before the throne of grace, or are you allowing yourself to be cheated out of your right?