David expressed it well when he asked God in prayer: “What is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you consider him?” (Psalm 144:3). He went on to say that man’s life is but a vapor, like a shadow that vanishes away (verse-4), so why should God take such a great interest in mankind? He speaks to us, demands correct behavior and punishes us, when we become too violent or when we drift too far from him. He doesn’t act this way toward other life forms. Rather, his word claims they praise him, always doing what he has intended them to do. Only mankind is in rebellion, and yet God takes an interest in us. Why?
The author of Hebrews begins to address this question by telling us that God has spoken to mankind in various ways and at different times in the past (Hebrews 1:1). Specifically, the Lord had spoken to the fathers, that is, to those men who had led Israel throughout her history and handed down to each generation what the Jews embraced as true, and that included Torah and what is written in the Writings and the Prophets.[1]
God spoke to the fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and through Moses who gave Israel the Law. The Lord also spoke to men who recorded the histories of his people. He had others write poetry and words of wisdom (Psalms and Proverbs). Still, through others, known as prophets, he warned his people of their rebellion and the consequences that would arise, if they didn’t repent. At the end of the day, however, the word of the Lord had gone unheeded. His people continued on the path of rebellion, persecuting and even killing those sent to them to correct their behavior (Matthew 23:29-32, 37).
The very fact that its author mentions God had spoken to the fathers (Hebrews 1:1) should tell us that the epistle had to have been written to Jews in Jewish lands. The Jews of the Diaspora were mingled with gentiles who believed, so the epistle could hardly have been written to those Jews, because gentiles aren’t even mentioned by its author. Why would he write an epistle to only part of a church? Therefore, his mention of the fathers must point to the Jews in Judea and Galilee and especially Jerusalem.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is meant to be an apologetic work, which attempts to prove the greatness of Jesus, the Messiah, and especially the greatness of Jesus, the High Priest. Notice how the author begins his argument in Hebrews 1:2. He commences by mentioning that God had most recently spoken to us (the Jews) through his Son. But, what does he mean by referring to Jesus as God’s Son? Is he trying to show that Jesus is God? Although the implication that Jesus is an eternal Being, and therefore God, occurs throughout this epistle, I don’t believe the author of Hebrews means to proclaim this doctrine by saying Jesus is the Son of God. Rather he is pointing to Jesus, the Messiah. The fact that the Epistle to the Hebrews is an apologetic work tends to support the idea that the great falling away (2Thessalonians 2:3) had begun to occur, or that it seemed to be an imminent threat. Jesus had predicted in his Olivet Prophecy that, because iniquity would abound, the love of many would grow cold (Matthew 24:12). This shows that persecution of believers would be on the rise and some, perhaps most,[2] would fall away.
With this is mind it would behoove the author to begin his apologetic on common ground, which he does by saying God had spoken in these last days by his Son (Hebrews 1:2). In other words, in these last days God had spoken to his people through his Messiah. Psalm 2, which is a Messianic Psalm, was sung at the coronation of most of the kings of Judah. In it the Lord declares: “You are my Son! This day have I begotten you” (Psalm 2:7). The time: “this day” Paul interprets as the day of Jesus’ resurrection (Romans 1:3-4). So, every Jewish believer, who had not yet apostatized, would have been able to agree with the author on this point, and in doing so, the author takes them on an apologetic journey, which would be very difficult for any Jew to deny that Jesus is the Messiah.
_______________________________________________
[1] The Old Testament is divided either into two or three divisions. The Torah or the Law always stands by itself, the first five books of the Bible. All the other books are classified as the Prophets, or they are subdivided into the Writings, which include the histories (Joshua through Esther) and the books of wisdom (Psalms through Song of Solomon), and the Prophets, which include what is called the major (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel) and minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi).
[2] Some scholars conclude that the majority of believers would apostatize (see: BBE, ERV; GW; Moffat; NASB; Weymouth; Williams). Many other versions translate the verse to say “the many” which could be understood as the majority, and the article is in some Greek manuscripts.
Smoodock's Blog 