COVENANTS AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES
55
We remember the majestic interposition of the Lord in the book of Job, when He broke through all the
arguments of the three comforters, and even of Elihu, and answered Job out of the whirlwind.
`Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth?
When I made the cloud the garment thereof ....
Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed' (Job 38:4-11).
He Who challenged Job, and Who is seen as the Creator in Psalm 104 and Psalm 102, is He Who, when the
fulness of time had come, humbled Himself and took upon Him the form of a servant. He Who created man is the
One Who redeemed him. `They shall perish; but Thou remainest' We know from 2 Peter 3:10, from Revelation
20:11 and from Isaiah 34:4 that `The host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a
scroll', but the purpose for the introduction of this catastrophic event in Hebrews was not for its own sake, but to
further the real object of the epistle. Paul knew, for he had been a Pharisee and a zealous upholder of the traditions
of the fathers, that what he was about to say concerning the law, the priesthood, the sacrifices, and the covenants,
would come as a great shock to his readers. Here he prepares them by looking further than the confines of Israel.
Even creation itself is to `wax old', yet the believer need have no fear while it is true concerning the Son of God that
`He remaineth'. This is the `end' of the conversation of those whose faith they were enjoined to follow:
`Jesus Christ the SAME yesterday, and to day, and for ever' (Heb. 13:8).
Angels are set aside, Moses is superseded, Joshua only gave a typical rest, Aaron needed an atonement for his
own sins, priests died and had to have successors, the covenant made at Sinai had been broken, and a New Covenant
had been brought in:
`In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready
to vanish away' (Heb. 8:13).
The words `wax old', `made ... old' and `decayeth' are all translations of the same Greek word palaioo. To this
relationship between the law of Moses, the old Covenant and the New, Paul devotes chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians.
There, the old Covenant `had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done
away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious' (2 Cor. 3:10,11). Diameno, the word translated
`remainest' in Hebrews 1:11, means `to remain right through' as in 2 Peter 3:4 `all things continue as they were'.
The believing Hebrew, with the unchanging Christ before him, could read Psalm 46 afresh with growing
appreciation. Psalm 45:6 is already quoted in Hebrews 1; Psalm 46 might well continue:
`God is our refuge and strength ... therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and though the
mountains be carried into the midst of the sea'.
`We', they can say, `receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God
acceptably with reverence and godly fear' (Heb. 12:28). After this reference to creation and its dissolution, the
apostle returns to his comparison between the angels and the Son of God.
`But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy
footstool?' (Heb. 1:13).
Christ made the worlds and upholds all things by the word of His power, yet He was crucified in weakness. He
Who was the Express Image of the substance of God, was made a little lower than the angels. He Who thus came so
low on our account was raised from the dead, declared to be the Son of God with power, and so made much higher
than the angels. He is the Son, and angels are called upon to worship Him. He is addressed as God and as Lord; all
things may pass away, whether the physical world, or the old covenant, but while it is written `Thou remainest' we
may boldly say:
`The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me' (Heb. 13:6).
He, the Beloved Son of God, cried out from the cross for our sakes `My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken
Me?', but He has promised: