2:16
“Repent therefore!” When rebuked by the Lord we can argue or we can repent. The former option is useless, the latter is the only sensible course to take. Yet we find it so hard. Sin will lead us only to death. Repentance leads us to life. We are told that Jesus is merciful and kind, and indeed He is, if we are humble and contrite. If we are stubborn and stiff necked then we are liable to find another side of Jesus which the Bible is quite happy to speak of, but the church can all too reluctant to speak about.
2:17
The letter closes in the usual manner, beginning with the call to hear. We need to listen all the more closely to God, as Hebrews 2:1 says. The promise here to those who overcome is that they will receive some of the “hidden manna” and be given a “white stone with a new name on it”. The reference to “hidden manna” may be related to the food offered to idols, and is saying that those who remain faithful will receive something far better than that. There are numerous suggestions to what the white stone signifies, none of them particularly compelling. The “new name” is perhaps a little easier to guess its meaning. The “name” represented the character of a person, it represented the entirety of who they were. I.e. it was more than just a label. The believers would be accused and denigrated from all sides, but God would give them a new name, their whole being would change at the resurrection. Today we are denigrated in society, considered to be “on the wrong side of history”. One day the fallaciousness of this will become known.
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