A Little Lower Than The Angels...
Reflection: In Hebrews, the writer (there is not clear consensus on who the author was) reflects on Psalm 8 where it says, “Who is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him.” The writer posits that though human beings are a little lower than angels in the sense that we are made of flesh and blood, through the Son of Man (Jesus) everything will be subject to them. Importantly it says, “Though at the present time it is not clear that everything is subject to them.”
The concept is that Jesus has brought in God’s kingdom when He came to earth and made it available to us as his followers, yet it is not fully consummated. When Jesus rose from the dead He ascended to the right hand of the Father and will come again to judge the living and the dead; and we will inherit it with him as God’s children. The main issue though is that we have to believe in this by faith, because we cannot see what we will inherit or understand the full implication of that.
The writer says, “Be careful not to drift away from the message that God’s Son, Jesus brought and fulfilled and brought us salvation.” Salvation means to “buy back” or to “redeem”, as we have been sold in slavery to sin through Adam. But through Jesus we have been bought back and purchased with his precious and innocent blood, so that we might become the children of God and part of His Holy family.
Now this all sounds very theological, but it is very key to understanding who we are now, and what we will be inheriting when Jesus returns. And if we drift away from this message our lives will not be focused on the very thing which we will be inheriting when Jesus returns, whether this be in our lifetime or not. And it really doesn’t matter when Jesus returns, because as I like to say (and I am sure I am not the first to say it) our end will either be when we die and/or if Jesus returns whatever happens sooner. Since we are not in charge of that either way, we need to be careful not to drift away from who we are in Christ (covenant identity), and what we are called to do as God’s representatives (kingdom).
I will just confess it is so easy for me to get caught up in the petty things of life! We get caught in little things that get us in a tizzy, which distracts us from the more important things we were set on this earth to do. That is why we need to confess that we have done the things we shouldn’t have done, and also not done the good things we should have done in the first place. We get those two mixed up quite often and easily, at least I know I do! And often we are so focused on getting our own needs taken care of, we are completely oblivious to what God is trying to accomplish.
For me it is good to be reminded of what Jesus has done, where He is now, and what will happen when He returns! As a son of God, I have been called to be about His business (the family business) as I wait for my eternal inheritance with all God’s sons and daughters, who have been saved by grace through faith. We live in the in between time, where God wants to use us to further His purposes for those still left on this planet who have yet to come to Him by grace through faith. There are those we rub shoulders with every day who don’t God’s salvation for them, God loves them too, and puts them into our lives for us to show how God loves.
Yes you are made just a little lower than the angels, and God cares for you! God has given you salvation, bought you back, and one day you will rule with Jesus in heaven with all the saints in light! It is easy to drift away from this message, so hopefully these words by the Holy Spirit will remind you and me of their great importance!
Psalm 106:32-39
32 By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words came from Moses’ lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the LORD had commanded them,
35 but they mingled with the nations
and adopted their customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to false gods.
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was desecrated by their blood.
39 They defiled themselves by what they did;
Jeremiah 45,46
A Message to Baruch
45 When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3 You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ 4 But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. 5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”
A Message About Egypt
46 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:
2 Concerning Egypt:
This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
3 “Prepare your shields, both large and small,
and march out for battle!
4 Harness the horses,
mount the steeds!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 What do I see?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are defeated.
They flee in haste
without looking back,
and there is terror on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee
nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates
they stumble and fall.
7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their people.’
9 Charge, you horses!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
March on, you warriors—men of Cush and Put who carry shields,
men of Lydia who draw the bow.
10 But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour till it is satisfied,
till it has quenched its thirst with blood.
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice
in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,
Virgin Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
there is no healing for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
both will fall down together.”
13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:
14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes:
‘Take your positions and get ready,
for the sword devours those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.
16 They will stumble repeatedly;
they will fall over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
to our own people and our native lands,
away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17 There they will exclaim,
‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;
he has missed his opportunity.’
18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,
whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains,
like Carmel by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,
you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis will be laid waste
and lie in ruins without inhabitant.
20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
but a gadfly is coming
against her from the north.
21 The mercenaries in her ranks
are like fattened calves.
They too will turn and flee together,
they will not stand their ground,
for the day of disaster is coming upon them,
the time for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
like men who cut down trees.
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
“dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,
they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
given into the hands of the people of the north.”
25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh. 26 I will give them into the hands of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the Lord.
27 “Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
for I am with you,” declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.
Hebrews 1:10-2:8
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
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 You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”
13 To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”?
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Warning to Pay Attention
2 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Jesus Made Fully Human
5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified:
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
a son of man that you care for him?
7 You made them a little lower than the angels;
you crowned them with glory and honor
8 and put everything under their feet.”
In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen. Deuteronomy 4:9
You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good. Acts 10:38 (NASB)
Christ our Leader, it is easy to forget your examples and your teachings. Help us and guide us so we may remember and strive to do good to others just as you do for the world. In your holy name we pray. Amen
The concept is that Jesus has brought in God’s kingdom when He came to earth and made it available to us as his followers, yet it is not fully consummated. When Jesus rose from the dead He ascended to the right hand of the Father and will come again to judge the living and the dead; and we will inherit it with him as God’s children. The main issue though is that we have to believe in this by faith, because we cannot see what we will inherit or understand the full implication of that.
The writer says, “Be careful not to drift away from the message that God’s Son, Jesus brought and fulfilled and brought us salvation.” Salvation means to “buy back” or to “redeem”, as we have been sold in slavery to sin through Adam. But through Jesus we have been bought back and purchased with his precious and innocent blood, so that we might become the children of God and part of His Holy family.
Now this all sounds very theological, but it is very key to understanding who we are now, and what we will be inheriting when Jesus returns. And if we drift away from this message our lives will not be focused on the very thing which we will be inheriting when Jesus returns, whether this be in our lifetime or not. And it really doesn’t matter when Jesus returns, because as I like to say (and I am sure I am not the first to say it) our end will either be when we die and/or if Jesus returns whatever happens sooner. Since we are not in charge of that either way, we need to be careful not to drift away from who we are in Christ (covenant identity), and what we are called to do as God’s representatives (kingdom).
I will just confess it is so easy for me to get caught up in the petty things of life! We get caught in little things that get us in a tizzy, which distracts us from the more important things we were set on this earth to do. That is why we need to confess that we have done the things we shouldn’t have done, and also not done the good things we should have done in the first place. We get those two mixed up quite often and easily, at least I know I do! And often we are so focused on getting our own needs taken care of, we are completely oblivious to what God is trying to accomplish.
For me it is good to be reminded of what Jesus has done, where He is now, and what will happen when He returns! As a son of God, I have been called to be about His business (the family business) as I wait for my eternal inheritance with all God’s sons and daughters, who have been saved by grace through faith. We live in the in between time, where God wants to use us to further His purposes for those still left on this planet who have yet to come to Him by grace through faith. There are those we rub shoulders with every day who don’t God’s salvation for them, God loves them too, and puts them into our lives for us to show how God loves.
Yes you are made just a little lower than the angels, and God cares for you! God has given you salvation, bought you back, and one day you will rule with Jesus in heaven with all the saints in light! It is easy to drift away from this message, so hopefully these words by the Holy Spirit will remind you and me of their great importance!
Psalm 106:32-39
32 By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words came from Moses’ lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the LORD had commanded them,
35 but they mingled with the nations
and adopted their customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to false gods.
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was desecrated by their blood.
39 They defiled themselves by what they did;
Jeremiah 45,46
A Message to Baruch
45 When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3 You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ 4 But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. 5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”
A Message About Egypt
46 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:
2 Concerning Egypt:
This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
3 “Prepare your shields, both large and small,
and march out for battle!
4 Harness the horses,
mount the steeds!
Take your positions
with helmets on!
Polish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 What do I see?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are defeated.
They flee in haste
without looking back,
and there is terror on every side,”
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee
nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates
they stumble and fall.
7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their people.’
9 Charge, you horses!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
March on, you warriors—men of Cush and Put who carry shields,
men of Lydia who draw the bow.
10 But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour till it is satisfied,
till it has quenched its thirst with blood.
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice
in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,
Virgin Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
there is no healing for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
both will fall down together.”
13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:
14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes:
‘Take your positions and get ready,
for the sword devours those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.
16 They will stumble repeatedly;
they will fall over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
to our own people and our native lands,
away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17 There they will exclaim,
‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;
he has missed his opportunity.’
18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,
whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains,
like Carmel by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,
you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis will be laid waste
and lie in ruins without inhabitant.
20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
but a gadfly is coming
against her from the north.
21 The mercenaries in her ranks
are like fattened calves.
They too will turn and flee together,
they will not stand their ground,
for the day of disaster is coming upon them,
the time for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
like men who cut down trees.
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
“dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,
they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
given into the hands of the people of the north.”
25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh. 26 I will give them into the hands of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the Lord.
27 “Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
for I am with you,” declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.
Hebrews 1:10-2:8
10 He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
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 You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”
13 To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”?
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Warning to Pay Attention
2 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Jesus Made Fully Human
5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified:
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
a son of man that you care for him?
7 You made them a little lower than the angels;
you crowned them with glory and honor
8 and put everything under their feet.”
In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen. Deuteronomy 4:9
You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good. Acts 10:38 (NASB)
Christ our Leader, it is easy to forget your examples and your teachings. Help us and guide us so we may remember and strive to do good to others just as you do for the world. In your holy name we pray. Amen
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