A careful observer of nature realizes, yes, there is a grand design. This universe could no more have come together than could have Webster’s dictionary come together by an explosion of letters. There is One behind it all who “created the world…”and “who upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:2-3) That One is Jesus. There is “a string of pearls” in Scripture, where, in every one of the sixty-six books, you see the beauty of Christ, the repetition of the Gospel, and the order of our God. The beautiful book of Hebrews is all about Jesus. And yet, in truth, the whole Bible is about Jesus.
How I remember the thrill in my heart when I first saw it as a young Christian forty years ago! At that time, I was leading an evangelistic Bible study for women who had husbands doing a residency in Akron, Ohio. No one was publishing Bible study guides, and I simply had a need to give something to the women to help them dig into the Word and do homework. I was focused only on the needs of that little group, not considering that these guides would be published.
These women needed something that would help them mother their children, because their husbands were working all the time and many of their toddlers were out of control. (Those were the days of Dr. Spock who said to reward the good and ignore the bad—and it wasn't working.) I knew how Proverbs had helped me, so I was drawn there. I was so excited to show these women how relevant Proverbs could be to their lives.
But I also wanted the guides to be boldly evangelistic. For most of these women, though they may have been religious, they did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. One day I was meditating on the opening of proverbs and came across the phrase “Let the discerning get guidance — for understanding proverbs and parables” (Proverbs 1:6) and I was quickened. That’s it. The same Wisdom of Proverbs is the Wisdom of Parables. The Gospel is “the pearl of great price.” Jesus is the heart of the Gospel, and both are to be found in the Old Testament book of Proverbs and the New Testament parables. Jesus Christ — the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
In the same way, we see a string of pearls repeatedly in the book of Hebrews. This week you will see it in chapter 1, as we see the author listing pearl upon pearl about Jesus. George Guthrie (in a commentary edited by D. A. Carson, entitled Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament) talks about the use of “hadraz” or the “string of pearls method” in chapter 11 (Hebrews Hall of Fame) and in the opening chapter (verses 5-11).
Other than the book of Revelation, there is probably no New Testament book that has as many quotes and references and allusions to the Old Testament than the book of Hebrews. The “string of pearls” that began in the Old Testament keeps appearing and reappearing in Hebrews. Just as I am strengthened in my faith in the wisdom of God by observing repetition and beauty in nature (sunrises, stars, seasons), I am strengthened in my faith by observing repetition and beauty in Scripture, though written by many authors, over thousands of years, in various places. One Spirit, one string of pearls. If you have a cross-reference Bible, you will see how many references there are to the psalms and to other Old Testament books. Jesus the same — yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
In the Bible, you’ll come across this fascinating verse about angels: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” There is so much packed in this — not only about angels, but about the fact that God knew who would “inherit salvation,” meaning this was a plan for you from before the foundation of the world. God has had His hand on you for a long time, and angels may have been involved. I loved the way Lauren Winner put it in her memoir: girl meets GOD.
So often, I see a string of pearls in the lives of others—His Spirit moving over a person, him or her responding, and then beginning to see His hand. Recently, my friend, Susan responded to His Spirit by deciding to help her parents wash windows—that very day her dad opened up to her about his grief; and then, just a short time later, her dad ended up in ER. I see His hand on both of them, holding them, sustaining them in the difficult circumstances of life. He gave the surgeon wisdom, who had a feeling in his gut exactly where the problem was. And then, in the midst of it all, Susan’s pastor happened to be preaching on Hebrews. Susan wrote:
One thing that kept coming to my mind, especially at first, in the emergency room, was what my pastor had titled this series at church we are doing in Hebrews, “Jesus is Greater Than All” – He is greater than this crisis, than sickness and hospitals and surgeries. Psalm 18 was also of great comfort, how God parts the heavens and comes to rescue.
A string of pearls. I pray you will see not only how MIGHTY Christ is, but how PERSONAL He is, so that you can trust Him to be there when you run away from your idols.
