The author pauses his discussion on Jesus’ superiority over the angels and gives his readers their first warning. (Here, we also see the first instance of toggling between exposition and exhortation).
The logic of the first warning is a bit twisty at first glance, but some background will clarify the author’s reasoning. The law that God gave Moses in the Old Testament is oftentimes referred to as the Mosaic Law, or the old covenant. In a sense, this law was delivered to Moses by angels, the messengers of God. The law of Christ, on the other hand, which is called the new covenant, was proclaimed by Jesus himself. Thus, the author argues that if it was important for God’s people to obey the law spoken by angels, how much more should we listen to the word of salvation declared by Christ? If Christ is better than the angels, the punishment for disobeying his message will be more severe than it was for the folks who disobeyed their message. And even a casual reading of the Old Testament reveals the severity of God’s justice and holiness. So be warned and pay attention to what you’ve heard!
*For further reading in the Bible: Hebrews 2:1 – 2:4
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