The writer now backs up his claims with various Old Testament quotes, mostly from the Psalms. Psalms plays a big part in Hebrews. There are some who warn against basing theology on experience, and there is obvious merit in these warnings, but at the same time we need to realise that a lot of New Testament theology is based upon Psalms, some of the most “experiential” material in the Old Testament.
The first quote is from Psalm 2:7. Verse 2 of that Psalm talks of the Lord’s anointed. In the original context this would refer to the king, but a common pattern in Old Testament prophecy is that it has an immediate application (ie to the temporal situation in Israel) and a greater application (ie pointing forward to the Messiah). There was partial fulfilment of things in King David, Solomon’s building of the temple, the return from Babylon etc, but the Jews were very well aware that these could not be the final fulfilment (David died, Solomon’s temple was destroyed, the return from Babylon did not usher in a new kingdom), there must be something greater in view.
“Today I have become your father” does not mean that there was a time when God was not the Father of the Son. The emphasis of the writer is on the relationship between God and the Messiah, God and the Messiah are Father and Son, and he backs this up with further quotes from 2 Sam 7:14 and 1 hron 17:13. 2 Sam 7 goes on to say “when he does wrong ..” Now Jesus never did wrong, and later in Hebrews this is stated explicitly, so we need to realise how the writer is using the OT. He is focusing on the one point, the relationship. This is in contrast to that between God and angels, where sonship is never spoken of. Interestingly, we are also spoken of as sons, and we are “greater” than angels in that respect.
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