Who Makes The Angels His Ministers?

And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” Hebrews 1:7

In last week’s installment we looked at Hebrews 1:6 and the writer’s quote of Psalm 97:7 which established Christ Jesus as superior to the angels in heaven based upon His power over death and resulting ascension to the throne in glory. In His righteous judgment of offering Himself on our behalf, He has cast down His adversaries (the rebellious angels) with the guarantee that he will burn them up (Matt. 25:41), delivered those in Christ from the wicked one, and preserved the souls of the faithful. His church (ZION) rejoices in the gladness of His salvation and willingly worships Him along with the remaining faithful in the heavenly realm.

And Let All Worship Him

And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says,” And let all the angels of God worship Him.” Hebrews 1:6

If you ever wanted an understanding of how our Great God was preparing to bring forth the Christ and His church according to type and foreshadows, Hebrews is the book you want to study because of its use and interpretation of Old Testament passages within it.

I Have Kept For Myself

Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed Thy prophets, they have torn down Thine altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Rom. 11:2b-4

Here in Romans chapter eleven, the apostle Paul, describes the spiritual condition of the physical nation of Israel in his time. His quotes come from 1 Kings 19 and events in the life of the prophet Elijah following his title fight with the prophets of Baal about who was the true God in Israel.

Every Man According To His Deeds

“But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds:” Romans 2:5-6 (NASB)

We’ve a few more forays into the book of Romans before we sally forth into other rich New Testament scriptural soil supplemented by Old Testament quotations. Today we consider our text from Romans 2:6 and the apostle Paul’s citation of the inspired psalmist’s utterance as found in Psalm 62:12. Although Paul does not say, ‘as it is written’, in prefacing his citing of the psalmist, it would be very clear from whom he references in light of who he is addressing (the Jews) in this section of his letter.

Accepting And Acting Upon The Things Revealed

But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? At the first Moses says,”I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding will I anger you.”

Romans 10:19 (NAS)

We will prolong our stay in the book of Romans for a while longer yet as we study the Old Testament quotes found in the New Testament. This week, it’s to chapter 10 and Paul’s citation from the song of Moses as found in Deuteronomy 32:21. The full verse reads, “They have made Me jealous with what is not God; they have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation”

That The Lord’s Name Might Be Proclaimed

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.  Romans 9:17-18

Well, it only seems logical that we take a look at the next Old Testament citation by the apostle Paul in the book of Romans that follows on the heels of last week’s text, since this passage too deals with the topic of God’s sovereign will being executed in the light of His foreknowledge and omniscience.

The Sovereign God’s Goodness, Mercy, and Compassion

What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” Romans 9:14-15

The Old Testament passage that the apostle Paul cites in our text is found in Exodus 33:19. It is the LORD’s answer to Moses’ request that he be allowed to see Yahweh’s glory. The LORD said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Ex. 33:19-20)

Laborers Worthy of Their Wages

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” 1 Tim 5:17-18

Paul, moved by the Holy Spirit, twice in the New Testament invokes this Old Testament quote from Deuteronomy 25:4. “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” (NAS) Here in his first letter to Timothy concerning elders, and in 1 Corinthians 9:9 to the Corinthian church concerning himself and his work of evangelist.

Bingeing and Purging

“For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside,God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 (NAS)

The apostle Paul, in dealing swiftly and severely with the grievous sin of immorality between a man and his father’s wife in the body of the Corinthian church, quotes from the book of Deuteronomy as to how this wicked man’s behavior should be handled.

The Earth And All It Contains

“Eat anything that is sold in the meat market, without asking questions for conscience’ sake; for the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains.” 1 Cor. 10:26

The apostle Paul, in addressing the believer’s liberty in Christ to eat according to their conscience, reminds the Corinthians of a principle set forth in his quote of Psalm 24:1. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.” (NAS) Many believe this psalm of David originated with the bringing of the ark into the Tabernacle as recorded in 2 Samuel 6:12-17.  If you read the context following (Ps. 24:3) our chosen verse you will note David’s rhetorical reference to ascending the hill of the LORD and standing in His holy place (Ps. 24:3). Based upon the context, one can see why many hold this position.