“But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city” (Heb. 11:16).
“For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb. 13:14).
The writer of Hebrews is seeking to lift the Jewish believers’ view from those earthly things that they had in Judaism. They gloried in the earthly city Jerusalem, where God had placed His name. But the Apostle seeks to lift them from anything they might look at on this earth (even the city of Jerusalem) to heaven where, as believers, all their blessings exist. As seen in Deuteronomy 28:2-13, God promised earthly, temporal blessings to Israel if they were obedient to Him. But in the present dispensation (the “day of grace”), believers’ blessings are spiritual and heavenly and are contrasted with those material blessings promised to Israel.
What is the thought of the city? It is a place where man has concentrated all the business, education, entertainment, sports, cultural arts and sciences and everything else that he has produced. It is all concentrated in the “city.” You don’t find that kind of thing in the “country” you must go to the city. There you find the place where at night the lights are glittering, bright and inviting. And contained there in man’s city is something for everyone.
God has prepared for us (believers) a city. It too is concentrated with “things” but these things are all the blessings, the glories and the joys that He has for us. However, it is a city that is out of this world—a heavenly city. Abraham was promised this earthly land, but he went through it as a stranger and a pilgrim. By faith he looked for something far better than this earthly scene could give. “He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
So we get heavenly blessings all through Hebrews—a heavenly calling (ch. 3:1), a heavenly gift (ch. 6:4), heavenly things (ch. 9:23), heavenly substance (ch. 10:34), heavenly country (ch. 11:13-16), heavenly Jerusalem (ch. 12:22), heavenly message (ch. 12:25), and the heavenly city (ch. 13:14). We belong to a heavenly city. It’s not a specific place. It refers to the general character of Christianity as contrasted with Judaism. And all the concentrated blessings, which God has spoken of, are found there in that heavenly city.
All too often believers, by our own actions, teach our children that there are some parts of man’s city which are all right to dwell in. Believers have put a value on some of those elements which are contained in man’s city. When this happens it tells our children, “That’s OK that’s all right. I’ve put my stamp of approval on that thing and so it’s all right for you too.” Well, we can see what’s happened because of our unfaithfulness and because, in so many ways, we have promoted the city that man has built. Let each of us search our hearts and see what we are sowing, by promoting that which is contained in man’s city. What kind of magazines do we read what kinds of activities interest us? All this projects a message to our children that’s all right, that’s acceptable. I’m not pointing fingers. We know we have all failed in these things. Let’s ask ourselves: “Why has Johnny or Susie turned out like that?” Maybe by looking in the mirror we’ll get the answer. \
C. Hendricks