In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.In the past God had communicated with humanity in a variety of ways, but now God has spoken through his Son, who is "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being."
After this declaration, Hebrews then goes on a tour, showing how Jesus is far superior to, in order, angels, Moses, the High Priest, and the Levitical sacrifices of "bulls and goats." These examples represent the "various ways" God spoke to humanity in the past, and with each one the author of Hebrews describes how Jesus is far superior. Jesus is superior to the angels. Jesus is superior to Moses. Jesus is superior to the High Priest. And the blood of Jesus is superior to the blood of bulls and goats.
The inclusion of the angels in this list might seem odd. It's clear when we look at Moses, the Levitical priesthood and the Levitical sacrifices that each are intermediaries, something that stood between God and humanity. Moses stood between God and Israel. The High Priest stood between God and Israel. And the the blood of bulls and goats stood between God and Israel.
But in what way did angels stand between God and Israel? And why does the discussion of angels come first in the book of Hebrews?
The answer is that, during the Second Temple period, it was believed that Moses received the Law on Sinai not from God directly but through an angelic mediator. This belief comes from Deuteronomy 33.2, which speaks about God appearing on Sinai accompanied by a host of holy companions, translated by the Septuagint as a host of angels:
And he said, The Lord has come from Sinai,Outside of Hebrews, the notion that the Law was given to Moses by an angel is found in the New Testament in two places, Acts 7 and Galatians 3:
and has appeared from Seir to us,
and has shone forth from Mount Paran,
with the ten thousands of Kadesh;
on His right hand were His angels with Him.
Acts 7.37-38With this understanding in hand, we can see now how the angels fit into the argument of Hebrews and why the order goes as it does: Angels, Moses, High Priest, sacrifices.
“This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us."
Galatians 3.19b
The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator.
An angel was the intermediary between God and Moses in the giving of the Law.
Moses then becomes the intermediary by bringing the Law to Israel.
The Law then establishes the High Priest to be the intermediary for the people in the tabernacle rituals.
And in the tabernacle rituals the sacrifices of bulls and goats stood between God and Israel.
The flow here is quite logical, from the top of Mount Sinai all the way down to the sacrifices in the tabernacle.
