Itzak’s wife Hannah
fumbled with the package. It was quite
heavy, but pliable. The messenger left
very quickly after leaving the package, refusing to stay for any kind of
refreshment. He seemed nervous and
looked over his shoulder many times, anxious to leave. Hannah did not understand his nervousness
until she opened the package and saw the note.
The handwriting was unmistakable. It was from Itzak’s mother. Hannah trembled as she unfolded the
note. Her mother-in-law had ceased all
communications with them since they had converted to Christianity. Hannah and her mother-in-law had had a
reasonably good relationship prior to that.
But when Itzak declared their conversion and baptism by the church
leaders, the woman’s face had gone pale and she trembled with what Hannah
thought was rage. She never knew if it
might have been fear, because his enraged father had thrown them out of the
house and told them to never return. Hannah
had hoped it was only fear in Itzak’s mother, but until the moment of holding
the note in her hand it was not clear what her mother-in-law’s emotions had
truly been.
Hannah read a
very heart-felt note. “My dear Itzak and
Hannah, I felt compelled to send you this gift.
From the time you have left our home I have not stopped praying to
Gabriel that he would bring you back to us.
Your angels weep over you and long for you to return to the truth faith
as well. I have made something for you
and hope that it will lead you back to where you belong. I miss you and your children terribly. With love and many prayers and deep and
abiding hope, Your Mother.” Hannah unwrapped the package slowly. A beautiful deep maroon cloth was rolled loosely
around a decorative pole about the length of her arm. Hannah carefully unrolled
the fabric on the table. The afternoon
sun pierced through the window and was caught by golden thread and ribbon. Hannah covered her mouth in a gasp of surprise
and awe. A golden angel was woven with
wonderful artistry into the cloth. Its
wings touched the top of the rod and its flowing robes touched the bottom. Itzak’s mother was an artist of the first
order and her weavings, tapestries and handwork went at a very high price. This must have been one of her finest achievements.
And there it lay on their humble table, shining and beautiful.
Hannah
remembered praying to the angels throughout her life. But since they had believed in Jesus Christ,
those prayers had seemed unnecessary.
Their hearts and lives and been so filled with joy and many prayers to
Jesus had been answered, even in their sorrow at losing brothers and sisters in
the persecutions. The church leaders had
carefully and gently instructed them that praying to angels was neither
necessary nor appropriate. And they had
dutifully followed this direction. Faith
in Jesus Christ had been sufficient . . . until this moment. Hannah looked around their humble home. It was simple, dark and bleak—so different
than the beautiful home they used to live in before they were baptized. But they had lost nearly everything by
selling it off to survive while Itzak worked as a day laborer and looked for
steady work. They had everything they needed,
but it was not much. Her fingers gently traced the ribbon and thread
image. It was so beautiful she felt she
must hang it up immediately just to see what it looked like on the wall. After it was hung she stepped back near the
door to look at it in all of its glory.
Indeed, this was the finest thing she had ever seen come from her
mother-in-law’s hand.
Almost
instinctively she ran to the image and fell on her knees. With one hang pressed against the image she
cried out, “Oh, Gabriel! Gabriel! Help us!
We are so poor and I worry so much about Itzak . . .”
“Hannah, what
are you doing?!” Itzak’s thin frame
stood in the doorway.
“Oh, Itzak!” She got up and ran to him, throwing her arms
around him. “Look what your mother sent
to us and she has been praying to Gabriel this whole time!”
Itzak looked
stunned and stared at the hanging on the wall.
Seeing his mother’s artwork brought back so many memories and the deep
aching in his heart to see his family again pressed against his chest. “It is very beautiful,” he mumbled. “Were you praying to Gabriel?” he asked
softly.
“Yes, and what
could it hurt? Don’t we need more help?”
“Indeed we do,”
he said softly as he kissed his wife on the top of the head. “I have lost my work again.”
Hannah had not
noticed through her tears that Itzak’s face was bloody and bruised. She rushed to get the water basin, pulled him
to a chair and began to clean his face.
“I told them I
was a Christian. That’s all I said. And they turned on me as if I were a
criminal.” He could not take his eyes
off of the wall hanging. “They did not
even give me my day’s wages.”
Hannah was
silent. She turned to look at the angel
on the wall. “Why don’t we pray together
right now, Itzak. Surely Gabriel and
Jesus will help us again.”
Itzak rose
slowly, taking his wife’s hand. They
moved quietly over in front of the angel and knelt down. Neither of them spoke for some time. Then they looked at each other. Hannah spoke first. “This does not seem right. It just does not seem right.”
Itzak
nodded. Her pulled her to her feet. “Do you remember what the letter said?”
“You mean the
letter to the Hebrews at meeting? Yes, I
remember.”
“I think I
believe, Hannah, that we should just pray to Jesus from now on.”
Hannah was
silent for a moment. “Me, too. I didn’t feel right bowing down to that
either, Itzak. Something told me that it
wasn’t necessary.”
Without any
further conversation, Itzak moved to the wall, took down the hanging and rolled
it back onto the rod. “Come, my dear.” He led his wife outside to the fire pit. A few coals were still warm and smoky from
the morning’s baking. Itzak bent down
and blew into the coals until they burned orange and yellow and then he placed
his mother’s handiwork on top of them.
Very quickly the ribbon caught fire and soon the hanging was
ablaze. Hannah wept as she watched as some
of the finest work of Itzak’s mother’s hand went up in smoke.
Itzak prayed
aloud, “Blessed are you, O Lord, maker of the heavens and the earth. We thank you Jesus for sending the angels to
help us. Please accept this sacrifice
this day as our testimony that you send your angels to guard and guide us, but
that we worship you alone.”
Hannah clung to
her husband confident that they had done the right thing.
The
writer of the Hebrews had some very real concern for the Christians reading
this letter. Of primary importance was
their understanding and faith in the Incarnate Christ—both God and Man. Already in verses 1-3 the writer established
the Christian fact that Jesus Christ is one with God and the exact representation. Even in his time on earth, and primarily during
in the Resurrection and Ascension, Jesus Christ is the only one who is simultaneously
God and Man, who has redeemed us by his loving sacrifice on the cross and who
has overcome death and now sits in heaven because his work is completed.
But
there were other ideas that were pervading the Christian community that posed
great threat. There were many
theological errors and influences not only from Pharisees and Sadducees but
also from secular philosophies that would bend and twist true Christian
doctrine. For many years there had been
a growing belief among some Jews—primarily those of the Diaspora[1]
that prayers to angels could be combined with magical practices.[2]
The Apostle Paul was equally concerned
about this when he wrote to the Colossians.
Do not let anyone who delights in
false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also
goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle
notions by their unspiritual mind. (Colossians 2:18) So also the writer to the Hebrews was deeply
concerned that the person of Jesus Christ would be diminished in his position
as the third part of the Godhead to that of just another angel. The writer was
intent upon making sure that these New Testament Christians understood that
angels indeed are part of God’s creation, not equal to Jesus nor to be worshiped,
and that Jesus Christ alone was worthy of worship.
Read
Hebrews 1:4-14.
Here
we see a substantial amount of Scriptures from the Old Testament employed to
establish the heavenly hierarchy. Each
one of these Scriptures would have been very familiar to the Jewish Christians
who heard this letter read. And each of
these Scriptures is used to describe the ultimate and absolute position and
authority of Jesus Christ. Christians
were to avoid any attribution of that kind of power and authority to anyone or
anything other than Jesus. At the same
time, angels were affirmed as part of God’s Kingdom, demonstrated throughout
the Old Testament, and servants sent by him to help humanity!
Read
the following Scriptures in total this week to be familiar with the context of
each of the quotes used in Hebrews.
- Psalm
2
- 2
Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17
- Psalm
104
- Psalm
45
- Psalm
110
The
first verse that is quoted cannot easily be found in our modern editions of the
Bible. This is because it is only found in
the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (285-247 B.C.). This tells us that the first readers of this
letter to the Hebrews would have some context in the Greek-speaking Jewish
community and for them this verse was Scripture.
What
we see in these verses are profound statements about who Jesus Christ is. He is superior to angels. He is equal to the Father. He is worshiped by angels. He has the power and authority to make angels
as strong as wind and fire. Even the
elements—heaven and earth—will fade, but his person, rule and power will never
fade. Nor does his nature and will
change.
Yes,
angels exist! Indeed they are our
helpers! But they are sent by God
through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to serve us, not for us to serve or
worship them. They are his beautiful and powerful creatures able to go where
even wind and fire go, but only at the bidding of Jesus Christ.
We
must be careful, as the writer to the Hebrews admonishes, in our day to not be
pulled aside, distracted, caught up in worship of anything but Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Copyright M.R. Hyde 2013
[1]
The Diaspora was the Jews who had been exiled after the Assyrian and Babylonian
conquests of Palestine. This term is
frequently used for any military or political displacement of Jews from Israel.
Read 2 Kings for an understanding of the first dispersion.
[2] The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New
Testament, Keener, Craig, Inter Varsity Press, Downer’s Grove, Illinois,
1993, p. 577.
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