What Old Testament passages connect with the themes in Hebrews 2:15? Hebrews 2:15 in Focus “and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Key Old Testament Streams Behind the Verse • An ancient promise that the serpent’s power would be broken – Genesis 3:15 – “He will crush your head…” – The first hint that death’s author (the serpent) will be defeated. • The sentence that placed every human under death’s shadow – Genesis 2:17; 3:19 – “You will surely die… for dust you are, and to dust you will return.” – Explains why fear of death dominates fallen humanity. • A pattern of liberation from bondage and from the destroyer – Exodus 12:12-13 – Blood of the Passover lamb shields from the “destroyer.” – Exodus 13:3; 14:13 – God brings out slaves with a mighty hand, mirroring Christ’s later rescue from the slavery of fear. • Songs that cry for rescue from the power of the grave – Psalm 23:4 – “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” – Psalm 49:15 – “But God will redeem my life from Sheol.” – Psalm 68:20 – “Our God is a God of deliverance; the Lord GOD is our escape from death.” – Psalm 107:14 – “He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains.” • Prophetic visions of death’s defeat and captive release – Isaiah 25:7-8 – “He will swallow up death forever.” – Isaiah 42:6-7; 61:1 – The Servant “to bring prisoners out of the dungeon… to proclaim liberty to the captives.” – Hosea 13:14 – “I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues?” – These passages anticipate the Messiah breaking both the power and the fear of death. • Hints of bodily resurrection that dissolve lifelong dread – Job 19:25-26 – “I know that my Redeemer lives… yet in my flesh I will see God.” – Daniel 12:2 – “Many who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.” – Ezekiel 37:12-14 – Promise to open graves and bring Israel up. Putting the Threads Together 1. Genesis explains why death entered and why people fear it. 2. Exodus supplies the picture of a redeemer-God who shatters slavery and shields from the destroyer. 3. The Psalms voice the heart’s longing to be delivered from the grave. 4. The Prophets declare that God Himself will swallow up death and open prison doors. 5. Hebrews 2:15 gathers every strand: the Seed crushes the serpent, the Passover Lamb dies, the Captives walk free, and the fear that has chained humanity since Eden is broken forever. |
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