2022-Q1-L2

2022-Q1-L2: The Message of Hebrews

Read for This Week’s Study: Hebrews 1:5-14, Luke 1:30-33, Psalm 132:1-5, Hebrews 2:14-16, Hebrews 5:1-4, 1 Peter 2:9, Hebrews 8:8-12.

Memory Text: “This is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1, NKJV).

Hebrews 1 (text and commentary):

Hebrews 1:5: For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?

Ibid. Psalm 2:2 (NCB), "The kings of the earth rise up, and the princes conspire together against the Lord and against his Anointed One:"

Ibid. Psalm 2:7 (ESV): I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

Ibid. 1 Chronicles 17:13-14 (ESV) [Yahweh's covenant with David]: I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, 14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.

Hebrews 1:6: And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him."

Ibid. Deuteronomy 32:43 [Septuagint, Song of Moses]: Rejoice, O heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him. Rejoice, O nations, with his people, and let all the angels of God be strengthened in him, for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

Hebrews 1:7: In speaking of the angels he [the Psalmist] says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.”

Ibid. The "he" is the Psalmist of Psalm 104.

Ibid. Psalm 104:4 (NKJV): Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.

Hebrews 1:8-9: But of the Son ~~he says~~[not in the original], “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

Ibid. Psalm 45:1: ...I address my verses to the king..."

Ibid. "he says" is missing in the Greek text.

Ibid. "Your throne, O God" is better translated "Your throne is God forever and ever."

Ibid. Quotes Psalm 45:6-7. The throne is God's throne in Psalm 45.

Ibid. Original Greek: ho thronos sou ho theos eis ton aiona tou ainos

Ibid. Interlinear: the throne of you the God to the age of the age

B. F. Wescott (a Trinitarian and most well-known for the Wescott-Hort Greek New Testament) put the translation, “God is thy throne” as primary in his commentary, The Epistle to the Hebrews: The Greek Text with Notes and Essays (Macmillan and Co., 1889). He did not think that the vocative “O God” (or “O god”) was the best choice given the scope of Scripture. Wescott wrote: “It is scarcely possible that elohim in the original [Hebrew text of Ps. 45:6] can be addressed to the king. The presumption therefore is against the belief that ho theos [God] is a vocative in the LXX [Septuagint]. Thus on the whole it seems best to adopt in the first clause the rendering: God is Thy throne (or, Thy throne is God), that is, ‘Thy kingdom is founded upon God, the immovable Rock…The phrase ‘God is Thy throne’ is not indeed found elsewhere, but it is in no way more strange than Ps. lxxi.3, [Lord] be Thou to me a rock of habitation…Thou art my rock and my fortress” (italics his; Wescott uses the unpointed Hebrew font and the Greek font in his commentary).

Hebrews 1:10-12 (ESV): And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, And the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 like a robe you will roll them up, Like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, And your years will have no end.”

Hebrews 1:10-12 (NET): And,“You founded the earth in the beginning, Lord, and the heavens are the works of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you continue. And they will all grow old like a garment, 12 and like a robe you will fold them up and like a garment they will be changed, but you are the same and your years will never run out.”

Ibid. Quotes Psalm 102:25-27. The entire Psalm is referring to Yahweh. It is Yahweh who created the earth and the heavens, etc.

NET commentary: In its original setting Ps 102:25-27 refers to the work of God in creation, but here in Hebrews 1:10-12 the writer employs it in reference to Christ, the Lord, making a strong argument for the essential deity of the Son.

Ibid. Commentators suggest that although the original quotation of verse 10 in Ps 102 is referring to Yahweh, the author of Hebrews intends it to refer to Jesus Christ. Also, that the "creation" mentioned in Hebrews is the new creation after the millenium. See Hebrews 2:5, "...subjected the world to come..."

Hebrews 1:13-14 (NET): But to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve those[ah] who will inherit salvation?

Ibid. Quotes Psalm 110:1.

Hebrews 2 (text and commentary)

Hebrews 2:5 (NET): For he did not put the world to come, about which we are speaking, under the control of angels.

Hebrews 2:6-8 (NET): Instead someone testified somewhere: “What is man that you think of him [Greek, remember him] or the son of man that you care for him? 7 You made him lower than the angels for a little while. You crowned him with glory and honor. 8 You put all things under his control.” For when he put all things under his control, he left nothing outside of his control. At present we do not yet see all things under his control,

Ibid. Quotes Psalm 8:4-6.

Ibid. "all things under his control" is repeated three times in verse 8.

Hebrews 2:16 (NET): For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants.

Notes

Interview with the Author (Dr. Felix Cortez). Duration 28:30. The author in chapter 1 is describing the enthronement ceremony of the Son. According to God's covenant with David, the Davidic son(s) was going to be adopted by God as God's own son. Therefore, God was pledging to protect him, give him his inheritance, and to be with him. Thus, in Hebrews 1 it is referring to the Son as the true King of Israel in the royal lineage of David. "Hosanna to the Son of David" (Matthew 21:9, 15). There is also a reference to the scepter (vs 8) and anointment (vs 9). Angels are providing obeisance to him, recognizing him as a king. "The heavens will pass away" (vs 11). "His years will never end" (vs 12). "Sit at my right hand" (vs 13).

Ibid. This coronation occurred when Jesus ascended to heaven after the resurrection, in fulfillment of the promises made to David in the Davidic Covenant.

Ibid. Jesus, being faithful to God in all the requirements of the Law with respect to the covenant(s) God made with Israel, he was able to receive all the blessings that came along with fulfilling them. And, further, Jesus is now able to share in these blessings and promises with those who believe in and follow him—those who are his children, his brothers and his people. Thus, Jesus becomes the mediator or "channel" through whom the blessings flow to us. If Jesus had not come, we would not have had a channel by which God could bless us.

Ibid. Israel in asking for a king (1 Samuel 8:19-20), wanted a champion, someone who could lead them and conquer their enemies. So, they got Saul. However, they did not understand that God was their champion. When Jesus came, he was the true champion who could overcome Satan. One who had the power over death. Hebrews 2:14-15. Jesus came in front of the enemy and conquered. By defeating Satan, Jesus liberates his people. Isaiah 59:15-20. Verse 16, "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him."

Ibid. Jesus as our high priest. Priests were mediators between God and man. Priests knew what God wanted. Priests knew about holiness and righteous and justice and mercy. Priests were also teachers and experts in the Law of God. Priests were also judges. Priests were to bless the people in the name of the LORD (see Numbers 6). Hebrews 13:15. Offer "sacrifice of praise to God." Romans 12:1. We are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice.

Ibid. New covenant is the central truth in the Book of Hebrews. The covenant was a "relationship" between God and His people. The promises of God are now bigger and better than the promises made to Israel. We are inheriting a heavenly promised land. We are inheriting a heavenly city, who's builder and maker is God. We are inheriting a better life, and eternal life. Hebrews 8:12. I will remember their sins no more.