Neither the author nor the audience of this book is specifically named, but the book itself reveals its nature and purpose. The recipients are Jesus-believing Jews who are in danger of falling away from the faith. They are likely in Italy, since the author passes on greetings to them from those who are from Italy—probably their friends who are traveling elsewhere. The goal of the whole book is to show the superiority of the final realities God has revealed in the new covenant to the temporary ones of the first covenant. Its readers are encouraged to respond to the threat of persecution by recommitting to the new reality brought by Jesus.
The book alternates between teachings—reviews of Israel’s history or the temple worship arrangements—and challenges based on these teachings. There are four teaching-challenge pairs:
Jesus and the salvation he brings are greater than the angels and the salvation they announced (the Law of Moses).
Jesus is our “apostle” (someone sent by God on a specific mission), and he brings us into a greater rest and Promised Land than Moses and Joshua brought Israel into.
Jesus is a more effective high priest than the priests appointed by the Law of Moses.
As God’s faithful people have done throughout the ages, we must continue living in light of God’s unseen heavenly realities and stepping out in faith. Through the Messiah we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”?
Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?
6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But of the Son he says, “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.”
10 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.”
13 And 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 for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
REFLECTION:
Chapter at a Glance: The author makes a vital point that we can trust the Old Testament, for God spoke to man through the prophets of old. But we can trust the New Testament even more, for the agent of that revelation was God the Son! God did not merely speak to us through men, He became a man, and spoke to us directly. The author drew on the Old Testament to show that Jesus the Son is superior to angels in His nature and in His mission.
Everything of Christianity hinges on Jesus. The author of Hebrews tells us clearly and unmistakably who Jesus is. Jesus, the Son, is the “heir of all things”, the visible expression (the radiance) of God’s glory, an exact imprint of God’s nature. Jesus, the Son, upholds the universe, while His word alone enables it to exist. Jesus, the Son, having dealt decisively with the problem of sin, sat down at the right hand of God, the place of power and authority.
Spend time meditating on the passage. How incredible it is that Jesus is to be like a mirror to reflect God’s image to the world! Then consider the monumental act of holding everything He is indeed the backbone of human history! Is your knowledge of God different from what is described here?
Ask God for the courage and guidance to help you mirror Jesus to the world, reflecting Him as you go about every day. Consider how you might reflect Jesus today – and do it.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
18 “For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.
22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.
24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
This last passage ends on the hope of Israel’s future which points to the ultimate new heavens and new earth (Rev 21:1-2). It also clarifies the difference between a true servant of the Lord and one of His enemies.
How do you feel about the new heavens and new earth? What about the final destiny of those rebelled against God to the end?
The most important lessons from the book of Isaiah can be summed up in the three reminders that (a) there is a God, (b) he is coming back, and (c) our eternal destiny is determined by our response to Him in this life.
If, by this time, you are still confused or not certain about God’s will and your eternal destiny, speak to a pastor, a group leader or some mature Christians and ask them to pray for you.
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
17 “For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
In this joyful passage God promised a bright future for those who love and trust the Lord. And this new creation comes into being for us through Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:17); our new lives will be holy and godly (2 Pet 3:11-13); and ultimately we will be in the new heaven and earth with God for eternity (Rev 21:1-5).
What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? Which of the New Testament application of this heavenly vision especially strikes you now? Why?
Try to picture your life without any of the causes or results of grief, sin and pain. What would that free you to be? How would this vision of what God will bring about affect the way you deal with the struggles you do face now?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
