These four verses serve as an introduction to the entire letter. In it the author sets out the grand theme of his sermon, i.e., the superiority of the Son through whom God has "in these last days" revealed Himself. This theme becomes the basic principle from which he would, as he proceeds into the letter, exhort his audience (who are under pressure and temptation to leave the faith) to persevere and to fix their eyes upon Jesus.
These four verses form a carefully crafted unit, utilizing a literary device called a chiasmus to convey his points:1
A. The Son compared to the prophets, v1-2a
B. The Son as messianic heir, v2b
C. The Son's creative work, v2c
D. The Son's three-fold mediatorial
relationship to God, v3a-b:
a. The Son as radiance of God's
glory,
b. The Son as exact representation
of his being,
c. The Son as sustainer of all things,
C'. The Son's redemptive work, v3c
B'. The Son as messianic king, v3d
A'. The Son compared to the angels, v4
By making the assertions about the prophets and the angels serve as bookends or the slices of bread of a sandwich around the filling, the seven facts that make the Son superior (vv2b-3) are highlighted. The Son is:
1. The Heir of All things,
2. The Maker of the Universe,
3. The Radiance of God's Glory,
4. The Exact Representation of His Being,
5. The Sustainer of All Things,
6. The Purification for Sins,
7. The Right Hand of God.
Each of these will be explored in greater details in the comments on vv2b-3.
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2014