16       We might simply read through the place names of the border of the inheritances. However we can trace the border on a map by locating the major cities. Secondly would we be so casual abut the location of these place if we really believed that we were promised that land?

16:10 The sad picture of the Canaanites dwelling amongst the men of Ephraim actually is a characteristic of the time of the Judges – Judg 1:29

16:4      Joseph was one of the sons of Jacob but we take it for granted that both Ephraim and Manasseh are treated as separate tribes. So Benjamin, in the case of inheritance, is treated as the firstborn.

V.4 Manasseh was the firstborn son of Joseph, but Jacob blessed Ephraim ahead of Manasseh (Gen 48:14-20).  Indeed the nation of Israel is called by the epithet Ephraim.  However, in territorial allotment, Manasseh’s territory (east and west) was far greater than that of Ephraim.  It was approximately four times larger.

The Canaanites at Gezer (v10) were still around even at the time of Solomon. And even then, when the kingdom of Israel was at its height, Solomon engaged Pharaoh to come and destroy Gezer for him (1Kin 9:16). This Pharaoh did as a dowry for his daughter, Solomon's wife.

There is something fundementally wrong with what went on here, and yet these things are hidden in just a few verses. We have to read between the lines and gather information from here and there. The verse in 1Kin 9:16 is just an aside... or is it?

God had said fundementally, black and white, that he wanted the Canaanites destroyed (Deut 7:1-3). In v10 we see that this wasn't done. He also said fundementally, black and white, that Israel were not to go back to Egypt in any way: specifically Kings were not to go there for horses (Deut 17:15-17). So we know that what went on here was a big deal to God. Israel and Solomon were diverging in a major way from God's wishes. In fact, all these disobeyed laws coincide and come to a head at Gezer. Solomon's marriage, paid for by Pharaoh's invasion of Gezer, was a diplomatic union between Egypt and Israel in order that horses and chariots might be bought from Egypt and sold at a profit by Solomon (1Kin 10:28-29). This we know because Gezer became a storage city for these goods (1Kin 9:17-19).

The price that Israel paid for ignoring God's little commandments was anhihilation, since this union with Egypt started off the idolatrous path Solomon took, which ultimately degenerated to national rejection of the true God. How often do we ignore a seemingly small part of God's will, thinking it doesn't matter? Israel didn't think a few Canaanites mattered.

9:7 Throne of David
16:5 Tabernacle of David
22:22 Key of the house of David
37:35 Defend for David's sake
38:5 The God of David thy father
55:3 The sure mercies of David

God worked in Isaiah's day because of what he said to David.

Vs.15-25  Shebna was head of Hezekiah's household.  However, he had used his position for self-aggrandizement at the expense of his master.  Yahweh was not pleased with him, pronounced a (future) punishment upon him, and replaced him with Eliakim.  The change had taken place by the time Rabshakeh came to threaten Jerusalem (Isa 36:3). 

Likewise, Judas sought to enhance himself at the expense of his master and was replaced.  Peter comments on this from the Psalms (Acts 1:20).  We too have a responsibility to be true to the master otherwise our place will be taken away. 

22:23 The idea of there being a ‘nail’ is picked up by Ezra after the return from Babylon – Ezra 9:8

V.6 We read in Ezra 4:9 that Elam was a province of Persia. During the time of Sennacherib, Elam was subject to Assyria (2Kin 18:10) and assisted Assyria in battles. They were well known for their skill with the bow (Isa 13:18, Jer 49:35). It has been suggested that only the Ethiopians had greater skill with the bow.

22:25 The ‘nail’ in it’s ultimate fulfilment was to be Jesus – however in the short term the ‘nail’ lacked the strength to continually obey God’s word and so was removed.

22:15-16 it might have been thought that when the Assyrians were moving down the land of Israel building a sepulchre in the land might have been taken as an indication of Shebna’s faith – believing that despite the Assyrian invasion he would die in the land of Israel rather than be taken captive. However the response of the prophet indicates that Shebna’s motives were not at all honourable.

Vs.1-14 These verses are a prophecy against Jerusalem.

V.1 Jerusalem was in that valley as the city was surrounded by mountains (Psa 125:2; Jer 21:13). Houses had flat roofs in the Ancient Near East. They made great observation posts, in this case to look to see if the enemy had yet advanced on the city.

V.6 Elam, in the region of the Tigris, later became a province of the Persian Empire.  At this time it was under the control of Assyria.  The Elamites were famous for their expertise with the bow (Jer 49:35).  

Kir is an area occupied by present-day southern Russia and Georgia. Tilgath-peleser carried the Syrians there after he had defeated Damascus (Amos 1:5). They uncovered the shield – made ready for war as part of the infantry.

Vs.20-25 Eliakim was a type of Christ.  Yahweh replaced Shebna (defunct Judaism) with a righteous ruler (Jesus). Compare v.22 with Isa 9:6.

22:13 Paul, by inspiration, likes those who deny the resurrection to those in Israel that Isaiah speaks of – see 1Cor 15:32

Chapter 1 - This chapter emphasises the supremacy of Jesus after his resurrection. He is 'the express image' of God [1:3]. He is 'better than' angels [1:4]. This 'betterness' is emphasised first because the Apostle is writing to an audience who are tending to revert to the Law of Moses. The whole of the letter to the Hebrews is designed to counter this tendency.

Chapter 2 - This chapter focuses on the humanity of Jesus 'lower than the angels' [2:6-7] in order to explain the sacrifice of Jesus. Again this becomes a theme in Hebrews which shows that Jesus sacrifice is 'better than' all the animal sacrifices.

ch 1 - That Jesus is presented as a priest after the order of Melchisedec is so obvious in Hebrews. 1:3 'Majesty on high' - quoting Genesis 14:18 provides our first quotation in Hebrews linking the risen Christ with Melchisedec.

ch 2

The multiple quotations from Isaiah 8 show how the rebelliousness of Ahaz is typical of the rebelliousness of Israel in the first century - they ran the risk of missing the 'sign' and thus rejecting the salvation available through the risen Jesus.

1:8-9 The quotation from Psalm 45:6-8 here, in a chapter which speaks of the resurrected Jesus, shows us that Psalm 45 is a Psalm about the resurrection.

ch 2 - The multiple use of Psalm 8 in this chapter - see the list of quotations on the Bible Study papers Site - gives us an insight into the way in which the Holy Spirit expounds Scripture.

 1:5 In linking Psa 2:7 'thou art ... thee' and 2Sam 7:14 'I will be ... a son' we are given New Testament authority to see Psalm 2 as speaking of Solomon as the promise to David also speaks of Solomon.

2:9 That Jesus was lower than the angels 'for the suffering of death' provides the simple reason for the humanity of Jesus. Any exposition of the nature of Jesus which minimises his humanity - 'like unto his brethren' (Heb 2:17) mars the Bible explanation of the sacrificial work of Jesus.

1:2 Understanding the humanity of Christ is necessary to make meaning of the atonement.  Those who proclaim that this verse proves the pre-existence of Christ (in a triune Godhead) miss the mark. 

The phrase which they cling to is: by whom also he made the worlds. Worlds conveys ages and not physical entities (the NIV unfortunately translates worlds as universe).  Therefore, Jesus was present (via promise initially) through all ages, beginning with Gen 3:15  He was made heir of all things by appointment from His Father (1:2). Therefore, He could not have been physically present from the beginning.

Trinitarians overlook subsequent verses which clearly state that Jesus was a man (2:7,9,17). These negate their understanding of His nature and sacrifice which makes their worship of non-effect.  

It is not clear who wrote Hebrews.  Many suggestions have been made, including Paul.  However, the style of writing, in part, is not Paul's which raises a caution that he might not be the writer.  The Old Testament quotations were taken from the Septuagint.  This suggests that the target audience resided outside the land of Israel.  Some have surmised that the epistle was addressed to those in Rome: those being Jews rather than Gentiles (hence the title of the letter).  The date of writing is probably the mid-60's AD.   

Heb 2:1 "...so that we do not drift away..  Drifting is very subtle, & if there is no anchor, the boat will drift far away, perhaps even on to rocks - what is our anchor? Heb 6:19  Are we securely attached to the anchor? - we can't wait until the advent of a storm to check. We may feel that life is going well & we feel secure, and then suddenly a storm hits us, & the waves & wind are threatening us. Drifting also implies aimlessness - we need to make sure we have a focus & actively work in Gods service. Is He the one at the wheel of our lives, directing us in the way we should go?

1When comparing Hebrews 1 and Hebrews 2 we see that Hebrews 1 stresses the exalted status of the risen Jesus whilst chapter 2 focuses on the reason why Jesus had to be ‘lower than the angels’. Many that would teach 1that Jesus existed in heaven before his birth use Hebrews 1 to support their view. Once the change in his status after the resurrection is understood this chapter is clearly seen to contradict such a view as it talks about the risen Christ.

God Who spoke to the prophets, has now, in these last days, spoken to us through Jesus. This Jesus Christ is God’s only Son. He is the express image of His person (Heb 1:3). That last phrase means that Christ is the imprint or mark left by God. The impression left by the die or tool. Christ shows us the Father.

1:2      These ‘last days’ are the end of the Mosaic order of things. It is, therefore, a hint to the fact that the words of Jesus in the Olivet Prophecy – Matt 24, Luke 21– are about to be fulfilled.

1:10 The quotation from Psa 102:12‘Thou Lord ... hast laid the foundations of the earth’ is not a reference to God creating the earth, nor is it speaking or Jesus being present at the creation of the world. Rather the beginning’ is the beginning of the new creation – the church – which Jesus commenced with his resurrection from the dead.

The Greek preposition 'dia' can only mean 'for' when followed by a noun or pronoun in the Accusative Case. In verse 2 it is followee by the pronoun in the Genitive Case. So it cannot mean 'for whom'.

aionas in the NT usually means 'eternity', not the 'worlds' of the AV.

Therefore I would suggest the translation should be ' Through whom he also made eternity'. He did indeed provide Mankind with the hope of eternity.

Heb 2:14 First Principles>The Devil
1. This verse tells us two things about the devil.
    1. Jesus destroyed the devil through his death. Heb 9:26 gives "devil" as equivalent to "sin".
    2. The devil has the power of death. Rom 5:12 and Rom 6:23 tell us that "devil" is equivlent to "sin". A further comparison is given in this table:
 

Rom 8:3	Heb 2:14
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,	Forasmuch then as the children are partakers od flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;
and for sin,	that through death
condemned	he might destroy
sin in the flesh.	him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

    also see 1John 3:8.
2. The devil is not a supernatural person - go to John 6:70
3. The source of the temptation - go to James 1:14
4. Uses of Diabolos in Scripture - see below
5. Uses of Satan in Scripture - The Hebrew word is adversary - no evil significance.
    1. Translated in Scripture -go to 1Sam 29:4
    2. Used in Scripture - go to 1Chron 21:1
6. The devil, satan and ourselves. The greatest adversary we have to face is ourselves Rom 6:12, James 4:7. We must resist sin.
First Principles> For other First Principle topics go to Acts 8:12.

Heb 1	Jesus better than the angels. (Heb 1:4)
Heb 3	Jesus better than Moses. (Heb 3:1-6)
Heb 4	For if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. (Heb 4:8)
Heb 5ff	Jesus a priest after the order of Melchisedek and therefore better than the priests under the Aaronic priesthood.
Heb 1:1	Comparison of prophets and son.

2:14  Probably the most powerful Scripture that shows that the ‘devil’ is the fleshly desire in our hearts rather than a supernatural being is this verse. All that Jesus ‘destroyed’ was the desire to sin.

In 1:4 we read that Jesus inherited the family name of God. But he was not born with it, as is shown in 1:3-4 with the words "become, obtained, inheritance". All these are a process. The promise of the same relationship being available to us, is made in 1:14 "inherit salvation". Chapter 2 emphasises this by confirming that sonship with Jesus is available (2:10-11) again presented as a process: "are being sanctified".

So the lesson here is that, just as Jesus was born capable of sin and had to be made perfect through a process, so do we. And it is this process we have to be careful not to reject when the going gets tough (see 2:3, 12:15-16). Remember Jesus is there to help (2:16-18).