Thankfulness and Praise in Hebrews 1:1

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways…” (Hebrews 1:1).

I am thankful God speaks. Who He is and what He demands from His creation (for demanding is His absolute right as Creator) is not left to our imagination or speculation. He reveals Himself and teaches us how to understand all that He has made and done. His speech is a graceful stooping down from the infinite to the finite, from the eternal to this moment. Praise Him, for He speaks.

I am thankful God has preserved a people for Himself through the long ages past. They were just as messed up as we are, Church, but He preserved them and spoke to them and worked through them. To paraphrase Malachi 3:6, He is the One Who does not change. Ever. Because of that the “fathers” were not wiped out (even though they deserved it). And because of that we are not wiped out (even though we deserve it). He is steadfast and faithful, along with being good and gracious. Praise Him Who does not change as the faithful Preserver of His people.

I am thankful that when God spoke through the ages, He used flawed human beings from among His covenant people to give us a providentially arranged and Christ-centered Book without any error or inadequacy. The weird stuff’s there on purpose. So is the challenging stuff. So are the long lists of names and numbers. It all fits together describing His plan to sum up “all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things in the earth” (Ephesians 1:10). I love that plan because it’s far beyond what I can imagine. He “can do all things,” and “no purpose” of His “can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). He has spoken, and it’s perfectly about Christ. Praise Him for pointing us to His Son through the long ages past.

I am thankful for the artful and exquisite tapestry of the Bible, which is narrative, poetry, wisdom, law, and vision. He is the Artist. As if creation wasn’t enough, the magnificence of His Book delights the soul. I’ve spent the year reading Andrew Peterson’s On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness to my children. Finished last night. Tears came to my eyes on the last pages because of the words of a dead father to his eldest son through a letter…what moved me wasn’t words invented by Peterson, but the Scripture those words echoed. The astounding, heart-breaking, soul-healing, mind-training Art of the Absolute. Truth so beautiful and eternal. Praise Him for this.

Snowy mid-November scene on my commute...I never get tired
of seeing His handiwork on my daily drive!