Daily Bible Study

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Day 155 Hebrews 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 To which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, and He will be to Me a Son”? 6 When He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” 7 Of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. 9 You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore, God, Your God, anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” 10 And: “You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. 11 They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; 12 like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail.” 13 To which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? If you have ever been in a courtroom, you will hear the argument for the defendant, put forth by the defense attorney before the trial begins. He will give statements of fact about the defendant to the jury for them to consider as they hear the evidence soon to come forward. The author does the same thing for Jesus as though He needed a defense attorney. He showed the facts from Scripture, the Old Testament, and compared them to the present time when He fulfilled Scripture. In doing so he reminded the Hebrews of what they already knew. He told the Hebrews what the roles of the angels were and what the Son, Jesus came to do. He told how God appointed Him with the oil of gladness more than His companions. What is the oil of gladness? Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3 to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” As Christians, you know the oil of Scripture represents the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit settled on Jesus at His baptism when the God proclaimed who He was, and the dove settled on His head. From that moment, the Holy Spirit lead Him with power to preach about God’s kingdom and show the people God had not forgotten or forsaken His people. Jesus proclaimed this same Scripture to the Jews in the synagogue and then sat down in a specific chair to their amazement. Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” 20 Then He closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Angels have distinct roles in the lives of believers. God did not create them for you to worship, but for them to do God’s work among His people. Many Christians give more attention to angels than they do to Jesus, their Savior. In so doing, they take the power belonging to Jesus from Him and give it to angels. You cannot do that. God alone is all powerful. He sends His Holy Spirit to bring people to salvation, giving them the oil of gladness so they can do the work of the ministry. The same oil of gladness He gave to Jesus, His Son, so He could do the work set out for Him: bring people to salvation. Does the oil of gladness rest on you? Does the Holy Spirit work in you to do the work of the ministry? Consider your role in God’s plan of salvation and let the oil of gladness work in your life to fulfill God’s purpose in you. Let’s pray: Father, fill me with the oil of gladness so I can do Your work. Help me to give you praise and honor in everything I do. Let the oil of gladness fill my life and walk with me as Your Holy Spirit works in me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 18 December 2023 by Valerie Routhieaux The image belongs to me.