In Hebrews 1, the writer cites various OT passages in which God speaks to his exalted Son in a way in which he has never spoken to angels.
A number of these passages find partial fulfilments in OT Messianic figures. For instance, consider YHWH’s statement to David about his son, ‘I will be to him a father, and he will be to me a son’. YHWH’s words were fulfilled initially in the person of Solomon and have now been fulfilled supremely in the person of the Messiah—the firstborn from the dead. The same is true of the writer’s citation of Psalm 45, where the exaltation of God’s Messiah is especially pronounced: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever’ (cp. ‘...and at your right hand stands the queen in the gold of Ophir’). The ‘messianic’ blends with the Messiah himself. The foregrounded king of Israel depicts/foreshadows the glory of the king of Heaven.
So what about the other passages quoted in Hebrews 1—in particular those of Deuteronomy 32 and Psalm 102? Has the writer simply taken statements about an undifferentiated OT notion of YHWH and applied them to the Son? Not as far as I can tell. (These passages are supposed to prove rather than simply presuppose a point.) Rather, both passages hint at the existence of multiple ‘persons’ in the heavenly realms by means of subtle shifts in person/name.
In Deuteronomy 32.30, Moses is the speaker. (‘Their rock is not as our Rock...’) Then, in 32.34, a different speaker enters the picture. He refers to himself in the first person (‘Is this not laid up in store with me?’) and to YHWH in the third person. In addition, he refers to himself as divine (‘There is no god beside me’) and yet as heaven’s agent (‘I kill and make live...I lift up my hand to heaven and swear, as I live forever’). And so, in 32.43, when a third figure enters the picture and proclaims with reference to the aforementioned agent, ‘Rejoice with him, O heavens! Bow down to him, all gods!’, YHWH speaks to a heavenly figure who has been commissioned to enact his rule on the earth, namely to the Messiah, just as Hebrews 1 says.
A similar shift in person takes place in Psalm 102. The only divine name to occur in Psalms 101–103, with one exception, is YHWH (which occurs 21 times). The exception is Psalm 102.24, i.e., the verse quoted by the writer to the Hebrews, where the Psalmist calls out to ‘his God (el)’ and refers to him as ‘you who laid the foundation of the earth...you who are the same and whose years have no end’. Evidently, then, the writer to the Hebrews sees Psalm 102’s shift in divine name as significant. Creation was not a unilateral act, but somehow involved a multiplicity of agents (cp. Heb. 1.2)—a mystery which, the writer tells us, makes sense only in light of the Son.
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Brother Bejon, I've encountered some items from you and appreciate the candid, honest, thoughtful, and informed approach you take to the material. I have benefitted from your insights. Thank you, and may God use you abundantly to His glory. From Dale Pace, an octogenarian.