Hebrews Chapter One, Virtue And Vice

 

Hebrews 1:13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? [14] Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

 

Hebrews’ author continues to explore the Old Testament as he contrasts the nature and position of angels with that of the Son. It is painfully clear at this point that the race of angels with their respective titles (powers, principalities, thrones, etc.)  are not qualitatively the same as the Son. To continue impressing this point, the writer quotes Psalm 110:1. The whole of this Psalm (entitled “The Psalm of the King-Priest in my NKJV) details God foreswearing to Christ about His eternal priesthood, and how the Son would sit at the right hand of the Father until His (the Son’s) enemies were made His footstool. Verse 2 exclaims, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies!”

Hebrews Chapter One, Unfailing

 

The 2^nd law of thermodynamics, the law of increasing entropy, relates that energy goes on from a highly useful to an increasingly useless state in a closed system. The universe is running down. The very idea that this law exists is a testimony that there was a beginning in which all matter or energy functioned at full capacity, so to speak. Then degradation began. The law of increasing entropy is a corollary to the law of sin and death. Eventually this sin-cursed earth will be done away with, Revelation 20:11. “They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment.” This is the crux of verse 11: “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal,” 2 Corinthians 4:18. Joshua and David understood this principle, as should we as Christians. Our kingdom is not of this place; we are sojourners or pilgrims, pitching tents in a land we’re passing through. Like Israel wandering the wilderness while God provides for them, we wait to be housed in our eternal dwelling, made by God.

Hebrews Chapter One, The Witness Of Nature

 

Hebrews 1:10 And: You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. [11] They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; [12] Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and Your years will not fail.

 

To preface this quote from the Old Testament we begin at verse 8, where we read, “But to the Son He says…” The second passage quoted as the author continues to build upon the message of who God the Son is comes from Psalm 102:25-27. This deific attribution describes the Son of God. Moving from His reign as King, taken from Psalm 45, we now find the mantle of Creator placed on His shoulders. Christ, described as Lord, laid the earth’s foundations and made the heavens; they are the work of His hands. We read in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Later, God reminded Moses and the Israelites, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day,” Exodus 20:11.

Hebrews Chapter One, A Scepter Of Righteousness

 

Note that the scepter is a scepter of righteousness. While Oxford simply defines “righteousness” as “morally right or justifiable,” the Hebrew word, which has a male and female form, are, “tsedeq (male) and tsedaqah (female).” Though this word apparently holds a little notoriety for the proper application of its translation and resultant definition, it seems to be a two-fold term that holds both a relational and legal aspect. A relationship in which parties faithfully uphold expectations is considered righteous by strict definition. The word can also denote righteousness in the form of justice in conformity with the reigning authority: be it God, His word, or a representative king. Since God is the source of justice He is innately and perfectly righteous. Being a triune God in perfect harmony between the persons, God is the fountainhead and definer of righteousness from both the relational and legal aspects. Whether referring to its relational or its judicial definitions, both aspects possess a moral quality, and it is by this moral quality that righteousness is defined.