#DailyDevotion Jesus Is Better Than Angels
Heb. 1 7He says of the angels: He makes His angels winds and His servants fiery flames. But to the Son He says: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and You rule Your kingdom with a scepter of righteousness. 9You have loved right and hated wrong. That is why God, Your God, has put You above Your companions anointing you with the oil of joy.
We continue on the theme of Jesus is better than the angels. When he is writing this, I’m fairly confident that in his day people had a fascination with angels. They may have invoked them and looked to them for certain help. This fascination has its fad to this day. It seems like every generation goes through this fad. Yet, the Bible does not call us to look to them for help. It is an example for us to turn to the LORD for help. We ask Him to send His holy angels to help us. Here we see that His angels are winds/spirits and are fiery flames being His servants. They are subject to Him. Which is why we go directly to Him. If we need them, He sends them, often without our request. We see in the Gospel, after Jesus was tempted they ministered to Him and in the Garden, at the beginning of His passion, they ministered to Him. We belonging to Him, are ministered to by them often unawares.
Now then he takes a sharp turn and speaks of the Son again quoting Psalm 45. John Kleinig, in his commentary on Hebrews notes the author does five remarkable things: First, twice he addresses the Son as “God.” Second, since the Son is “God,” God Himself declares that the Son’s throne is forever and ever. Third, God equips the Son with “the scepter of equity.” Fourth, God acknowledges that the Son does His will, for, like God. Finally, the Son has been “anointed..with the oil that produces gladness,” which equips him with God’s own Spirit to accomplish this.
This section of Psalm 45 is addressing God and addresses the King as God. This tells us the nature of the King, Korah’s descendants are singing about. They are not talking about a mere earthly king. They recognize the LORD is King of Israel. It has been revealed to them this King would be the seed of David also. The LORD would become man and reign among us. When the LORD promised David, his seed (singular) would sit on his throne forever, He was not obviously speaking of Solomon or any of the kings to the Babylonian captivity. He was speaking of the one who would be of the seed of the woman, she being one of His descendants. Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father and reigned forever.
Jesus reigns with the scepter of equity and righteousness. He disciplines us as we need. When He returns and judges the peoples of the world, He will not punish those who reject Him any more or any less than their sins deserve. The worst punishments are in store for those who heard the good news but rejected Him anyway. When Jesus came and walked among us, He did the Father’s will, even going to the cross to suffer death for all of us.
The Father poured out, without measure, the Holy Spirit upon Jesus at His baptism. This same Spirit He pours out upon us in our baptism. He daily and richly pours out the Spirit upon us as we hear His word and receive His Sacraments. The Spirit fills us with gladness as it gives us knowledge and certainty that we belong to the Father and He calls us His sons for Christ’s sake.
Heavenly Father, continually give us Your Spirit so we may praise Jesus as Your Son, our Savior and have gladness in Him. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.