9. “But of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; and the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Hebrews 1:8,9, RV)
It is important to keep in mind the purpose of the apostle in this opening chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. In the past God had spoken through prophets; now He has spoken through His Son, whom He has exalted to sit at His right hand. The Son is greater than the angels; they are servants of God, but the Son is God’s “firstborn”, the appointed King of the age to come. A prophecy in Psalm 89 is helpful here:
“I will make him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” (verse 27, RV)
This kingdom of the Son is referred to in the Hebrews quotation above. Notice the testimony to the character of the Son: he had “loved righteousness and hated iniquity”. This was why God had exalted him.
That the term “God” (elohim) can be addressed to the Son, the reader should refer to the observations upon the varied usages of elohim, set out in point (1) above. If the word could be used of the judges of Israel and of the angels, there is nothing surprising in its application to the Son.
What, however, is very significant is the way the apostle’s quotation goes on: because the Son has loved righteousness and hated iniquity, “therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee …” So Jesus may be called God in scriptural language, but there is an even greater One who is his God, no less than “God the Father” (Philippians 2:11).
10. “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment … but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” (Hebrews 1:10-12)
This quotation comes from Psalm 102, which should be read as a whole to see its context. The psalmist laments his sufferings, but finds comfort that “Thou, O Lord, shalt endure for ever … Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion … So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory” (verses 12-15). So we have again the thought of the dominion of God over the nations, “when the peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord” (verse 22).
The psalmist then speaks of his afflictions as a faithful servant of God, but finds comfort in the thought that God is the Eternal Creator of all things:
“I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands.” (verses 24,25)
The psalmist’s general thought is clear: there is to come a new age when all the kings of the earth shall glorify God’s name and when “the children of (God’s) servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee” (verse 28).
In the Hebrews passage the apostle has taken the general thought of the everlasting nature and supremacy of God over the earth and the nations, and applied it to the kingdom of the Son, God’s “firstborn ... ruler of the kings of the earth”. When God created the world, says Paul in Colossians, He did it with the Son in view: see point (4) and point (5) above. It is through the Son that the new heavens and earth of righteous rule will be established. Since the Son is now immortal, his rule will last for ever. His “years will not fail”.
This passage illustrates the urgent need to understand particular scripture in harmony with the teaching of the whole. The whole theme of Hebrews chapter 1 is the superiority of the Son, the Heir of all things, over the angels, God’s servants. The section in verses 10-12 must therefore be understood in this sense. What God did in the creation of the heavens and the earth, the Son will do under God, “when he shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him … then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matthew 25:31).
CONCLUSION
In a few pages we have been considering the greatest work ever carried out on earth: the purpose of the God of heaven through His only Son to redeem from a human race swayed by sin and destined to death, those men and women who desire to become “a people for His name”. The main features of that purpose are clearly set out in the Bible. God foresaw from the beginning the need for a Redeemer, no less than His only begotten Son.
“Christ the Wisdom of God ...”
That Son had to be fully a member of the human race, in order to be, not their substitute, but their total representative. Putting aside his natural desires, he chose to do the will of his Father. Thus sin was conquered in its own domain, human nature, and Jesus died as the vital atonement, “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world”. Ever since, believing men and women have found in him forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God.
The marvel is that this great work is still going on. We are far away in space and in time from the days of Jesus and the scenes of his witness. Yet in the great mercy of God we can still know and understand what he and his apostles had to say to those who were willing to listen. But only in the pages of the Bible, and nowhere else. These precious pages demand our earnest and sincere attention in reverence and humility, for where else shall we go? Like Jesus of old, they have “the words of eternal life”.
