Wednesday 28 October 2026

Psalm 8

Background
Hebrews is one of the books in the Bible which are usually called letters, but that might not be the best description of it. As we shall see, it ends as a letter (although we do not know who signed it) but in places it feels more like a sermon. That is certainly true of today’s passage: this is a piece of rhetoric in which the writer draws on a number of oratorical devices to drive home the point being made and to engage the reader (or, more likely, perhaps, the listener) in the narrative that is unfolding.

The writer has been working through the stories contained in the Hebrew Bible of the great figures of Israel’s history in chronological order: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses’ parents, and Moses. To continue to work at that pace would demand a lot from the audience, so the writer condenses a number of other familiar stories into these few verses. The theme is the same – the great deeds of Israel’s history were accomplished because of the faith of those who worked them. The references are more general, though again it seems that the writer draws on traditions that are not included in the books that we usually include in the Old Testament. For example, the references to torture are apparently from the stories of the Maccabees (2nd century BC).

There are two contrasting parts to the lists of great deeds, both of which are triumphs in the eyes of the writer. There are the things that the heroes of the faith achieved on the one hand and, on the other, there are the ways in which heroes of the faith have had to suffer. Both, to the writer, are signs of faithfulness. In presenting the argument in this way, the writer begins to imply that the readers are part of the company; the procession that began with Abel is brought right up to date.

However, it is not simply that the Christians of the writer’s day take their place in the company of the faithful; those whose faith is in Jesus have the privilege of experiencing what the faithful of the past could only hope to experience. The writer is continuing to unpack the timeframe set out in the first two verses of chapter 1: in these last days, God has spoken to us through the Son (Jesus).

To Ponder:

• The accounts of the suffering of some of God’s people in this passage are horrific. There are Christians in some parts of the world today who risk their liberty or their lives to practise their faith. Do you include them in your prayers?
• If you were making a list of inspirational figures of the past who help us to understand what faith is, whom would you include?
• There is a popular television programme called ‘Traitors’, in which most of the contestants are termed ‘Faithful’. What does that mean in that context?

Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Jonathan Hustler
Jonathan Hustler is a presbyter who currently serves as the Secretary of the Conference.