When Hebrews 13:15 exhorts believers to offer a continuous sacrifice of praise to God, we naturally think of a continuous offering of verbal or sung praise. That is how the verse ends: “the fruit of lips that confess His name.” The sacrifice of praise is verbal, but I suspect that . . . . Continue Reading »
Hebrews 12:22-23: You have come to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel. God called Abraham from a city to a city. The city he left behind had walls, houses, rulers and people, markets and temples, a regular supply of . . . . Continue Reading »
Advent seems to be about the shame of God, but this is nothing new. Long before the incarnation, God risked shame. He chose elderly Abraham and his barren wife – strangers and aliens, without country, without city, without seed – as the unlikely parents of His people. Yahweh became their . . . . Continue Reading »
Hebrews 11:16 is arranged chiastically: A. Now a better they seek, that is, a heavenly B. therefore not ashamed of them (Gr. ouk epaischunetai autous ) C. God (Gr. ho theos ) C’. God (Gr. theos ) B’. to be called of them ( epikaleisthai auton ) A’. For He prepared for them a city. . . . . Continue Reading »
The account of Abraham in Hebrews 11 is divided into four paragraphs, each marked by “by faith” (vv. 8, 9, 11, 17). The account is organized by two overlapping structures. First, there is a parallel cycle: A. Country: Abraham called from Ur, v 8 B. City: Abraham looks for city, vv 9-10 . . . . Continue Reading »
Hebrews 12:7: God deals with you as with sons. One of the privileges of membership in the body of Christ, one of the privileges sealed and effected by baptism, is the privilege of double-fatherhood. Today in baptism, God the Father marks your son as His son; by his baptism, Ezekiel receives an . . . . Continue Reading »
The NASB translates Deuteronomy 32:43, “Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants.” Hebrews 1:6, partially quoting the LXX of the same passage, says “and worship Him all angels of God.” The LXX also includes an exhortation to the . . . . Continue Reading »
Of course Hebrews is written to Hebrews, not to Greeks. But there are suggestive echoes of the proem of the Odyssey in the opening chapters of the letter. The first words of the letter, polymeros kai polytropos , remind me of Homer’s first description of his hero - polymetis , the man of many . . . . Continue Reading »
In his NIV Application commentary on Hebrews, George Guthrie offers this chiastic outline for Hebrews 1:2b-4: A. God appointed Christ as heir B. Through him he created the world C. He is the radiance of God’s glory C’. He bears God’s stamp B’. He governs universe (having . . . . Continue Reading »
The writer to the Hebrews expounds on the superiority of the Son in a series of seven quotations mainly from the Psalms. Seven words certainly piques one’s interest, no? Day 1: Light, and the beginning of creation. Hebrews 1:5a: the Son is begotten “today,” likely the day of . . . . Continue Reading »
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