“THE MESSAGE FROM ANGELS.” Hebrews 2:2 In Stephen’s message in Acts 7, he said God's law was given to Moses, with angels involved in delivering that binding message to the children of Israel through His servant. When the law was broken—either intentionally or unintentionally—and when it was ignored or deliberately disobeyed, the consequences were just and unavoidable. This message was reliably the law given.
They helped deliver the law. [Deu. 33:2; Acts 7:53; Gal.3:19]. Angels were present and active when the law was given.
God’s word is steadfast—what He says will happen. Faith in Christ is the focus of the Gospel message. Many people today believe their opinion about a matter is just as important as anyone else's, including God’s word. This sense of equality and sometimes superiority makes it easy to treat God and His written word the same way. “If it suits me, I’ll do it. If it doesn’t, then I’ll do it my way.” People even get upset if God doesn’t do things the way they think He should. Their own ideas, or those of some other “authority figure,” are favored over what God says and expects from them.
Disregarding, neglecting, or refusing to believe God's Word is a soul-damning sin. God communicated with Israel through angels to show them they could not ignore His word without facing the consequences. Every time they broke God’s law or disobeyed what they had been taught, just punishment followed.
Although this message of severe judgment for sin and disobedience was repeatedly given to the Israelites through the prophets, most of them only showed half-hearted repentance that didn’t last or wasn’t genuine from the start. The Hebrews reading this epistle would have been among those who later saw its fulfillment when Jerusalem was destroyed.
It is entirely appropriate for those who preach the Gospel of the grace of God today to use this text of scripture to warn sinners. If they neglect God’s great salvation, they will personally face the consequences that are sure to follow. The eternal issues are the same for people of every culture, tongue, and nation.
The warnings of breaking the law came through angels, who are created beings. How much more important it is when the Lord speaks, and people reject or neglect His word. God will always back up His word with justice, and ultimately, righteousness will prevail.
Truth "spoken by angels" is a reference to the law that was given to Moses. The "great salvation" taught in chapter one deserves our careful attention and commitment. If we truly listen to it, we will hear with understanding and obey it enthusiastically from our hearts. Salvation is frequently mentioned in Hebrews as the "heirs of salvation," and it is referred to as "so great salvation." It is "eternal salvation," and there are things that accompany salvation." "Salvation to the uttermost" is our experience now as we wait for the Lord to "appear the second time without sin unto salvation." The messages angels gave in the law were reliable, but now the Gospel message is the fulfillment of the law, which is to be received by faith in Christ, who is the object of our "great salvation."
It is possible to hear the Gospel and not take action as a result. To neglect it means to let it drift away, often gradually, because people want to wait until later to address its message and the claims of the Gospel. We must believe the Gospel and act upon it, rather than being like a boat adrift from its moorings. There are real dangers associated with doing that. There are pressures from other people to conform to their way of religious activity, and that is a serious drift away from the truth of God. Business life and the social pressures of the world may not seem serious at first, but the result is "no escape" from the consequences of that subtle sin. It is not a trivial matter to "neglect so great salvation."