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The Four: A Survey of the Gospels
Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom
From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John
Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
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 resurrection, as in Acts 13.
Day 2: Firmament. Hebrews 1:5b quotes from 2 Samuel 7, where the Davidic king is set up as the son of Yahweh, the “firmament” between the heavenly king and the earthly people.
Day 3: Separation of waters and earth, plants. Hebrews 1:6 exhorts the angels to worship the Son, drawing from Psalm 97. No obvious connection.
Day 4: Lights as rulers in the sky. Hebrews 1:7 quotes from Psalm 104 about the angels as flames of fire. Perhaps an angel/star connection?
Day 5: Birds and things teeming in the seas. Hebrews 1:8-9 quotes from Psalm 45 describing the authority of the Son and his anointing with the “oil of gladness.” In the tabernacle texts, the oil of anointing is linked with Day 4, since the anointed priest becomes a “light-bearer” in the firmament of the tabernacle. The Day 5 section of Exodus (30:34-38) is the recipe for the incense.
Day 6: Man and land animals. Hebrews 1:10-12 describes the imperishable stability of the Son, the Lord Yahweh. Creation changes its garments, but not the Son. One might tease out a vague reference to Adam, but it would be vague.
Day 7: Sabbath. Hebrews 1:13 fits – the Son’s enthronement in rest after purification for sins (inclusio back to the session of v. 3).
Some of these fit, particularly Day 7. Most don’t, at least not in obvious ways. Still, the numerological hint is suggestive. The Son’s superiority is spoken in seven words of the Lord; He personifies the new creation.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, December 1, 2008 at 3:19 pm
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