“We have a great deal to say about this, and it’s difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand” (Hebrews 5:11 HCSB).
No matter how gifted an educator may be, he or she is often limited by a student’s ability to grasp the subject material. While good teachers will seek to present their lessons in ways that are best suited for their students to understand and apply, it is often true that some pupils are simply disinterested in learning. This helps explain the dilemma faced by the author of Hebrews here in verse eleven.
While the author of Hebrews possessed the God-given ability to communicate these advanced spiritual concepts, there were some members of his audience who seemed indifferent towards them. Lest we think that this response was limited to the recipients of this letter, the Scriptures alert us to a similar attitude in a different setting…
“One day King Joash said to the priests, ‘Collect all the money brought as a sacred offering to the Lord’s Temple, whether it is a regular assessment, a payment of vows, or a voluntary gift. Let the priests take some of that money to pay for whatever repairs are needed at the Temple.’ But by the twenty-third year of Joash’s reign, the priests still had not repaired the Temple.
So King Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, ‘Why haven’t you repaired the Temple? Don’t use any more money for your own needs. From now on, it must all be spent on Temple repairs.’ So the priests agreed not to accept any more money from the people, and they also agreed to let others take responsibility for repairing the Temple” (2 Kings 4-8).
This passage applies to our discussion of Hebrews 5:11 in several ways…
- The Old Testament priests allowed the Lord’s Temple to fall into disrepair, much like the New Testament recipients of this letter permitted spiritual laziness to dull their understanding.
- The Old Testament priests could have performed the necessary Temple repairs just as the New Testament audience for the book of Hebrews could have dedicated themselves to the study of these deeper spiritual truths. Unfortunately, both groups failed in those responsibilities.
- The Old Testament priests and New Testament readers of Hebrews were each rebuked for their respective failures.
Finally, the author of Hebrews will prescribe a course of action for his audience, much like King Joash imposed an edict upon the priests of his era. This reminds us that it is far more preferable to choose the path of spiritual growth, especially considering the potential alternative.