The Scepter Of Uprightness

What this episode covers

Perseverance is the final description applied to those who maintain their faith in Christ to the end of their lives. That faith will not remain in hearts that do not treasure Christ. That is why this sermon-letter opens (and continues) with numerous examples of the superiority of the Son. The author of Hebrews establishes Christ deity, and thus, his ultimate supremacy over all things like few other sections of Scripture (cf. Jn 1; Col 1). Last week we considered how the Son is superior to angels because he has a better name (v.4), a better claim (v.5), and a better fame (v.6). The passage breaks down into two sections. He states the argument that the Son is superior to the angels in v.4 and then he spends the rest of the chapter proving it from Scripture. He expected this small group of Romans Jews to be like the Berean Jews who wanted the Apostle Paul to support his preaching from the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). We talked about the apparent temptation of the original audience to worship angels. We don’t know the extent of their temptation. But, considering how much space the author of Hebrews allots for this particular subject, it could not have been a minor issue. People have directed their worship a lot lower than angelic beings in the past. They could have been worshiping Molech or Baal or some other foreign god. Maybe we think their temptation is less severe because it involves creatures who are close to the throne of God, and their tasks are directly assigned by God. The best book on idolatry that I’ve come across is We Become What We Worship by Greg Beale. He writes, “God has made humans to reflect him, but if they do not commit themselves to him, they will not reflect him but something else in creation. At the core of our beings we are imaging creatures. It is not possible to be neutral on this issue: we either reflect the Creator or something in creation.” In reality, we’re always worshiping something or someone. Anytime the object of our worship is anything less than God, it is an offense to the One who made all things for his glory and our good. Read Hebrews 1:4-14. The Son Provides an Ongoing Contrast (7) That Jesus “inherits” a name that is far superior to the angels (v.4) suggests that his redemptive work was rewarded upon his exaltation. He inherits the name “Son” which hearkens back to the promises given to the Messianic “Son of David”—namely the promise of a throne, a glory, and a kingdom that can never be shaken or diminished (Isa 11:10; Ps 132:7-14). In a series of seven quotes from the Old Testament (five from the psalms) the author of Hebrews makes a strong case for the Son’s supremacy over angels. When you study the Old Testament context of each of these quotes it becomes apparent how they complement one another. Some even suggest that this collection of texts belongs to a thematic compendium that may have been known to the first century audience. The fourth OT quote in v.7 comes from Ps 104:4 which is a psalm about the greatness of God. God’s glory is depicted as riding upon a chariot of clouds being powered by the wind (Ps 104:3). The wind is equated with God’s angels in the sense that they operate according to God’s will. This is reflected in the four living creatures who surround the throne (Ezek 1; Rev 4:6-11). It might also be the case that the concluding verses of the previous psalm are blending into this psalm. The phrase “Bless the Lord, O my soul” occurs five times in Scripture—all of them are found in Psalm 103 and Psalm 104. So they do seem to form a unit. And the concluding verses of Psalm 103:20-21 are particularly relevant to the purpose set forth in Hebrews 1:4-14. Psalm 103:20–21 ESV Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! Essentially, one of the means by which God accomplishes his sovereign purposes is through angels. “In o

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