Joints and Marrow
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
I thought for many years that the phrase “joints and marrow” in this verse was very strange. I guess this is a testimony to the artificial division of the Old Testament from the New by Bible teachers. It refers to the sword of the priest cutting up the sacrifice.
The division begins in Genesis 1. God divides three times to make three empty spaces. God divides Adam to construct Eve.
At the beginning of the year, Passover involves division, both of the sacrificial yearling (lamb or goat) and of the Hebrews from the Egyptians. Matching this chiastically is the division between the two goats at Atonement, towards the end of the year. One goes to heaven, the other goes to hell.
How does this apply to the Christian?
Fighting sin and resting in Christ are two sides of the same coin. We are commanded to do both. The Lord said He had given the Land and its enemies into Joshua’s hand, but there were still battles to fight. It’s the fighting that brings maturity. Even Christ had to fight sin to become mature (perfect).
All the way through the Bible, God gives a man a mission, tests him, and then assesses him (judgment). This judgment is always a “Day of Covering” where one goat goes to heaven and the other goes to hell. The disciples stay with Jesus but Judas is sent to destruction.
So each of us will be finally divided in two under the Covenant curse. The bad goes east to destruction and the redeemed ascends to God clothed in glorious flames, covered by the blood of our High Priest that was presented first.
But the division begins now - as we are divided like a sacrifice, to joints and marrow - by God’s word. Bad you is already dying, and you are to mortify him all the more. Despair over your sin is a work of the Spirit. But so is the sure hope of final redemption. In Hebrew, Avenger and Redeemer are the same word.
Like Christ, we are all “torn in two” under the Covenant. And the final tearing is a door. The context of Hebrews 4:12 is rest.
