Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Hebrews 9

A BETTER system, a BETTER covenant, a BETTER tabernacle, a BETTER priest, a BETTER Holy of Holies and a BETTER sacrifice.


(1) That first covenant between God and Israel *had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth.


*had: Notice that had is in the PAST tense - because the new covenant has replaced the first covenant!


(2) There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a *lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place.


Exodus 40:22,24,26: Next Moses placed the table in the Tabernacle, along the north side of the Holy Place, just outside the inner curtain...He set the lampstand in the Tabernacle across from the table on the south side of the Holy Place...He also placed the gold incense altar in the Tabernacle, in the Holy Place in front of the inner curtain.


*lampstand: The menorah. There was 1 in the tabernacle, 10 in Solomon's temple and 1 in Herod's temple.

1 Kings 7:49: the lampstands of solid gold, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place; the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—all of gold;


   The Lampstand symbolizes Christ, the Light of World. Exodus 23:31-36 describes the piece. It was essentially one central shaft, with three branches on either side turned out and upward. The stem and the branches were ornamented every so often with gold that was formed into the shape of the calyx and corolla of the almond flower. On top of the central shaft and the six branches were the lamps. Aaron would light the lamps in the evening and extinguish them in the morning. It symbolizes the perfection (7 lamps) with which God's Old Testament people must shine forth before Him as enabled by the oil of the Holy Spirit causing its light to shine in the darkness of this world.



   On the north side of the holy place, the table of showbread balanced the golden candlestick on the south side, and itself was typical of momentous truth in the new covenant. Twelve loaves of bread were kept fresh on the table and were arranged in two rows



(3) Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the *Most Holy Place.


*Most Holy Place: The "Holy of Holies". A perfect cube. This is where the Shekinah cloud rested upon the mercy seat.


Exodus 26:31-33: “For the inside of the Tabernacle, make a special curtain of finely woven linen. Decorate it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. Hang this curtain on gold hooks attached to four posts of acacia wood. Overlay the posts with gold, and set them in four silver bases. Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.


Matthew 27:51: At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,


   The three colors of the curtain or veil (Exodus 26:31ff), blue above, scarlet beneath, and purple between, formed by the perfect blending of the other colors, suggest the doctrine of the Trinity, and particularly the person of Christ whose heavenly nature (the blue) was perfectly blended with his earthly nature (the scarlet) to form the perfect co-mingling of the two (the purple) in his person as the unique God-man. The spiritual and heavenly nature of the things typified by the veil is typified by the embroidered cherubim upon it.


2 Corinthians 3:14-16: But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away..


   The curtain or veil was a symbol of the chief function of the law of Moses which was actually one of concealment, specifically, the concealment of the ministrations of the high priest on the day of atonement, and is therefore typical of the office of the Jewish high priest, and in its being rent, a symbol of the removal of that office. No earthly high priest is now needed; there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5-6). The veil was symbolical of the separation between God and man, to keep men away from God and to emphasize the unbridgeable gulf that separated them.


(4) In that room were a *gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant.


*gold incense altar: Leviticus 16:12-13 he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before the Lord. Then he will take two handfuls of fragrant powdered incense and will carry the burner and the incense behind the inner curtain. There in the Lord’s presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. If he follows these instructions, he will not die.


   Each day, the priest would burn the incense on the golden altar that stood in the Holy Place near the curtain. But, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the ritual was different. Once a year, on this day, the high priest would take the golden censer and fill it with live coals from the great brazen altar of sacrifice that stood in the outer court. Then, he would carry the censer with its glowing coals into the Holy Place. As he passed the barrier of the veil and went into the Holy of Holies, the high priest would throw incense onto the burning coals in the golden censer in his hand. Clouds of incense would rise, filling the Holy of Holies, symbolic of the prayers of Christ Himself and the prayers of the Hebrews. The incense is a picture in the Book of Revelation of the prayers of God’s people going up.


(5) Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the *Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.


*Ark’s cover: Exodus 25:17: “Then make the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It must be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.


   Long before New Testament times, the Chaldeans had sacked Jerusalem and carried away the ark of the covenant which they never returned; and Josephus related that there was nothing whatever behind the curtain within the Holy of Holies. Thus there was sound logic in appealing to the tabernacle, rather than to the current temple, to bear the weight of analogy so important to the theme of the book of Hebrews. There, in the location of that mercy-seat, was revealed the key fact of all God's dealings with man - that by God's eternal will, his mercy stands enthroned even above his law.



  • Leviticus 16:2: The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.

  • Numbers 7:89: Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The Lord spoke to him from there.

  • 2 Kings 19:15: And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth.


(6) When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties.


   The use of the present tense in this verse shows that the services being performed by the priests were still going on which would mean that Herod's temple was still standing and certainly dating Hebrews prior to 70 A.D. Here is a partial list of services performed by the priests in the holy place:



  1. They lighted the lamps each evening and trimmed them every morning. (Exodus 27:21; 30:8).

  2. Each sabbath day they renewed the loaves on the table of showbread (Leviticus 24:5).

  3. They burned twice daily the incense on the golden altar, this coinciding with the morning and evening sacrifices, and with the trimming and lighting of the lamps (30:7,8; Luke 1:10).


Leviticus 16:1-34: The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, who died after they entered the Lord’s presence and burned the wrong kind of fire before him. The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover. “When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He must put on his linen tunic and the linen undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself in water before he puts them on. Aaron must take from the community of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord. Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the Lord. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the Lord. “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord. After he has slaughtered the bull as a sin offering, he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before the Lord. Then he will take two handfuls of fragrant powdered incense and will carry the burner and the incense behind the inner curtain. There in the Lord’s presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. If he follows these instructions, he will not die. Then he must take some of the blood of the bull, dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it on the east side of the atonement cover. He must sprinkle blood seven times with his finger in front of the atonement cover. “Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. Through this process, he will purify[ the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites. No one else is allowed inside the Tabernacle when Aaron enters it for the purification ceremony in the Most Holy Place. No one may enter until he comes out again after purifying himself, his family, and all the congregation of Israel, making them right with the Lord. “Then Aaron will come out to purify the altar that stands before the Lord. He will do this by taking some of the blood from the bull and the goat and putting it on each of the horns of the altar. Then he must sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times over the altar. In this way, he will cleanse it from Israel’s defilement and make it holy. “When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land. “When Aaron goes back into the Tabernacle, he must take off the linen garments he was wearing when he entered the Most Holy Place, and he must leave the garments there. Then he must bathe himself with water in a sacred place, put on his regular garments, and go out to sacrifice a burnt offering for himself and a burnt offering for the people. Through this process, he will purify himself and the people, making them right with the Lord. He must then burn all the fat of the sin offering on the altar. “The man chosen to drive the scapegoat into the wilderness of Azazel must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Then he may return to the camp. “The bull and the goat presented as sin offerings, whose blood Aaron takes into the Most Holy Place for the purification ceremony, will be carried outside the camp. The animals’ hides, internal organs, and dung are all to be burned. The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water before returning to the camp. “On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the Lord’s presence from all your sins. It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you. In future generations, the purification ceremony will be performed by the priest who has been anointed and ordained to serve as high priest in place of his ancestor Aaron. He will put on the holy linen garments and purify the Most Holy Place, the Tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and the entire congregation. This is a permanent law for you, to purify the people of Israel from their sins, making them right with the Lord once each year.” Moses followed all these instructions exactly as the Lord had commanded him.


(7) But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered *blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.


(8) By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.


Hebrews 10:19-20: And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.

Ephesians 3:12: Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.


   The great significance of all that elaborate ceremony and its supporting services is simply this: the way into the Holy Place had not been revealed as long as the tabernacle services continued. The use of "tabernacle" here does not exclude the temple, as observed above, although it was still standing when Hebrews was written.


   The purpose of these instructions was to show dramatically the darkness of the Jewish institution. The people, even though they were God's chosen people, could not enter even the sanctuary, to say nothing of the most holy place where God's presence was symbolized. Only a relatively few priests could enter, and even they were excluded from entering within the veil, where only one of them, the high priest alone, might enter under the most limited circumstances, and upon only one day in the year. And even when the high priest entered, the mercy seat was first covered with smoke of incense, showing that, even after all the ritual, God would not really look upon the high priest, except as through the smoke that screened his unworthiness from the Lord. Let it be remembered that the Holy of Holies was a type of heaven, eternal redemption, and fellowship with God, and it will appear how far short of redemption were those types and shadows of it in the old institution. This cannot mean that the ancient worthy patriarchs were not saved; it is freely conceded that they were saved; but the HOW of such a salvation could not be known as long as the old system stood. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. (Hebrews 10:20).


(9) This is an illustration pointing to *the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.


*the present time: Shows that the temple and its sacrificial system still stood, making Hebrews written well before 70 AD.


(10) For that old system deals only with *food and drink and various **cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.


*food and drink: Colossians 2:20-22; You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.


**cleansing ceremonies: Greek baptismos.


   People who are still trying to bring the old covenant into practice today have not taken into consideration the end of verse 10. The old covenant was not to be put into practice forever. It was only to be used 'until' God brought in 'a better system.' When did God open the curtain? The instant our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. At that point in time, the old covenant became obsolete.


Why Jesus is a better high priest


(11) So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that *have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.


*have come: Some manuscripts read that are about to come.


   The Jewish high priest first offered the bullock OUTSIDE the sanctuary; the Lord also offered himself outside the city, or camp of Israel. The Jewish high priest then passed through the sanctuary and offered the blood within the veil. Christ also conformed to this pattern, with the additional fact that he was both the victim and the one offering the victim. Christ then passed through the sanctuary and into heaven itself (corresponding to that which is within the veil) and there offered his own blood.


(12) With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.


   Refers to the Day of Atonement rituals described in Leviticus 16. Two points of superiority in the high priesthood of Christ are stressed here, these being: (1) that by a more perfect medium, his own blood contrasted with blood of animals, and (2) that in a more exalted place of the offering, in heaven itself, Christ offered his own blood, not repeatedly, but once for all. The first of these superiorities the author elaborates in the next two verses, and the second beginning at Hebrews 9:25.


(13) Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a *young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity.


*young cow: The Red Heifer in Numbers 19.

October, 2002 - The Temple Institute: Unfortunately, the Red Heifer born in Israel during April of this year has become disqualified. Without the ashes of a perfect red heifer, Jewish people could not be purified, and enabled to rebuild their Temple. If this heifer turns out to be an acceptable sacrifice it will awaken the desire of many Israelis and Jews worldwide to rebuild the Temple and prepare the way for the Messiah. "A heifer is a young female bovine (cow) prior to the time that she has produced her first calf. God has specified a 'red heifer' for the purification of the Israelites whenever they were 'unclean'. The ashes of the red heifer are required by the Torah to cleanse the Levitical priesthood for Temple work. As of May, 2006, Irvin Baxter Jr. of End Times Ministries reports that the Jews have a red heifer, born 3½ years ago in Jerusalem (among the cattle born in and imported from Mississippi). If it does not get disqualified like the previous red heifer candidates reported over the past years (such as "Melody"), it could mean that one more obstacle to the construction of the Third Temple is gone. Interestingly, Numbers 19 does require a clean man who has never been unclean himself. To prepare for this they have raised young people sequestered from any possible contact that would make them ritually impure. This includes keeping them on rock floored dwellings to make sure no one is buried below. The red heifer provided a means for the congregation of Israel to purify themselves for presentation to God. It is this strong connection which drives the Ultra Orthodox Jews of today to prepare and purify themselves for the coming priesthood and temple services. Just as the red heifer was sacrificed "outside the camp," in contrast to all other sacrifices that took place in the Tabernacle or Temple, Jesus was sacrificed outside the city of Jerusalem.


A. The red heifer (Numbers 19:2):



  • Must be without blemish.


  • Must be without defect.

  • Must never have worn a yoke.


B. The sacrifice (Numbers 19:3-7):



  • Must be performed outside the camp

  • The blood must be sprinkled seven times in front of the tabernacle.

  • The ENTIRE heifer must be burned before the priest.

  • Cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet are added to the fire.

  • The priest washes his clothes and bathes.


C. The Water of Purification (Numbers 19:9):



  • Prepared by a man who is clean.


  • He gathers the ashes.

  • (Implied) He adds water to the ashes (19:17).

  • He stores it outside the camp in a clean place.

  • The water is for the congregation of Israel.

  • He washes his clothes and bathes.


(14) Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from *sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.


*sinful deeds: Greek dead works.


   Some Christians like to say, 'See, we are not saved by our works, and anyone who says works have to do with salvation is legalistic.' It is true that we are not saved by our works, but what is to happen when we are truly saved? Are we supposed to just sit around waiting for the Lord to return? No! The writer says the reason that Christ died for our sins, and gave us salvation is so we may 'worship (serve) the living God.' If you claim to have believed in the person and work of Jesus Christ but are not and worshiping and serving Him, you are either not a believer, or you are living in rebellion to His purpose in your life. Ephesians 2:8-10: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.



(15) That is why he is the one who *mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.


*mediates:

Galatians 3:19-20: Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.

Hebrews 12:24: You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

1 Timothy 2:5: For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.


(16) Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.


   The Greek words for will and covenant are the same in this passage and underscore the legal nature of the relationship. And as we know, the most recent version of such a document is given precedence over prior ones in determining the intentions of its author. The new one makes the old one obsolete.


Or Now when someone makes a covenant, it is necessary to ratify it with the death of a sacrifice.


(17) The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.


(18) That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal.


(19) For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and *goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool.


*goats omitted by some manuscripts.


(20) Then he said, “This blood *confirms the covenant God has made with you.”


*confirms: We confirm or ratify our agreements with our signature. God confirms His agreements with blood!


Exodus 24:8: Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.”


   First, the law was read, then it was received by acclamation by the people, and then it was ratified by the sprinkling of the blood. The people promised to do their part; God promised to do His. The covenant went into force, and Moses declared to the people that the blood was an essential part of the covenant.


(21) And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship.


(22) In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.


   The offerings had to be made with the right spirit and motive for them to count! After the high Priest played his part in murdering Jesus, did his sacrifices for himself mean anything? No, because he was righteous in his own sight and was guilty of rebelling against God. A religious ceremony alone does not cleanse anyone of sin. See what David says of his own deliberate sin in Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you. You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit— with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.


(23) That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.


Romans 3:25: For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,


Ephesians 1:7: He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.


Leviticus 17:11: for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.


(24) For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.


(25) And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal.


(26) If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, *once for all time, he has appeared at the **end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.


*once: Leviticus 16:34: This is a permanent law for you, to purify the people of Israel from their sins, making them right with the Lord once each year.” ...


**end of the age: Greek: *end of the ages


   The Roman church says its eucharist is a sacrifice given daily around the world. But, God says the one and only sacrifice has been made ONCE. The glory of Christ's sacrifice as set forth here consists of the complete, final, and irrevocable nature of the offering. It was not a repeated thing as were the offerings and sacrifices under Judaism but was a "once for all" accomplishment. As pointed out earlier, this eliminates any notion that the church should have something to offer or sacrifice, in such a thing as the mass, for example; for the one and only efficacious sacrifice has already been offered in heaven, where alone it could do any good and by the only one capable of doing it, Jesus the Lord.


(27) And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,


(28) so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will *come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.


*come again: This is the second coming just like the High Priest coming out of the sanctuary to bless the people.


   Once again, we come to a man-invented break in the scripture. We'll study Hebrews 10 next, but here it is the first part of it:


Hebrews 10:1-22:

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’” First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he says, I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water


   Having suffered and died and having been raised from the dead, Christ took His own blood and went into the most holy place in heaven. This thing He did in fulfillment of that part of the ritual of the Day of Atonement, which was performed by the high priest who having made the sacrifice took the blood into the sanctuary in order to make atonement for the nation. The worshippers stood without, anxiously looking forward to his reappearance. There was joy indeed among them when they saw him, for they knew that the atonement was acceptable. Having this ritual in mind Paul said that Christ had gone into the most holy place to make atonement for Israel. But He has not reappeared yet and will not until the remnant of Israel reaches the point that it is willing to accept Him and call for Him to return from heaven. When Israel is thus evangelized and is convicted of her need of the atonement of King Messiah, she will plead for Him to return; and when she does, He will appear a second time "apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation." The ritualism of the Day of Atonement so far as Israel is concerned has never been completely fulfilled.


**************************


Blood Transfusion


   In his book Written in Blood, Robert Coleman tells the story of a little boy
whose sister needed a blood transfusion. The doctor explained that she had the
same disease the boy had recovered from two years earlier. Her only chance for
recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease.
Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.


   “Would you give your blood to Mary?” the doctor asked.


   Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said,
“Sure, for my sister.”


   Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room—Mary, pale
and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met,
Johnny grinned.


   As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny’s smile faded.
He watched the blood flow through the tube.


   With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence.
“Doctor, when do I die?’


   Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why his lip had
trembled when he’d agreed to donate his blood. He’s thought giving
his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. In that brief moment, he’d
made his great decision.


   Johnny, fortunately, didn’t have to die to save his sister. Each of us,
however, has a condition more serious than Mary’s, and it required Jesus
to give not just His blood but His life.


Thomas Lindberg


Written in Blood, by Robert Coleman


***********************************



Bibliography/Works Cited:


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Sunday, May 11, 2008

Hebrews 8

A New and Better Covenant


   In Hebrews chapter 8, the writer continues to expand on the picture of Melchizedek established in Chapters 5 to 7. The covenant established with Moses and Israel, is merely a shadow or illustration of the coming covenant, which is eternal, and administered by Christ.


(1) Here is the *main point: We have a High Priest who **sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven.


*main point: The whole purpose of the book of Hebrews is to help the Hebrew Christians and seekers understand Jesus is supreme.


**sat down:



  • Psalm 110:1: The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”

  • Mark 14:60-62: Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I Am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.

  • Mark 16:19: When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

  • Hebrews 12:2: We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

  • Acts 2:33: Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

  • Acts 5:30-31: The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.

  • Romans 8:34: Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

  • Hebrews 10:11-13: Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet.

  • Ephesians 1:20-22: that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

  • 1 Peter 3:22: Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.



   The tabernacle and the temple of the Old Covenant had no place for the priests to sit down, because their work was never finished. The work of Jesus is finished - He is seated in heaven!



   In the ancient world, when a king wished to honor someone, he offered them a seat at his right hand. That seat was the highest seat, the greatest honor, and the supreme glory the king could confer on anyone. What does it mean to say that our Lord is now seated at the Father's right hand? First, it means he has a permanent place in heaven. When he returned in triumph, he was given a permanent place next to the Father's throne. Our Lord didn't have to search for a seat in heaven. When he arrived, there was a seat with his name on it (so to speak). That seat at the Father's right hand is his forever.


   His work of redemption is now complete. While he was on the earth, he spoke often of "the work" of the Father (John 4:34; 9:4; 17:4). His work came to a climax when he hung on the cross, bearing the sins of the world. The Bible says that when he died, he became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). When he died, God poured out his wrath on Jesus even though Jesus was perfect and pure and wholly innocent. But as the sinless substitute, he took the punishment I should have received so that I might go free. Just before he died, Christ shouted out, "It is finished" (John 19:30), which literally means "paid in full." The work was done; the debt was paid. I can never be charged with the guilt of my sins because Jesus paid it all. The ascension signifies that the Father has accepted the work of his Son. Since God has accepted Christ, nothing more can be added to what he did when he died on the cross and rose from the dead. Hebrews 10:11 reminds us that there were no chairs in the tabernacle because the priests were not allowed to sit down. They stood to perform their work because their work was never done. Every day the priest would kill another animal—signifying that the price of sin had not yet been paid. But when Christ returned to heaven, he sat down because he had offered himself as the one sacrifice for sin forever. Thank God, Jesus is seated in heaven.


   He is now in the place of supreme and highest honor in the universe. God has exalted him and given him a name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9-11). At the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will one day confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Consider what this means:



  • The victim has become the victor.

  • The crown of thorns has been replaced by the crown of eternal glory.

  • The spear has been replaced with the scepter of regal authority.



Pritchard, Ray - Keep Believing Ministries, Tupelo, MS. "A Friend in High Places" [Online]
Available

http://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/2004-04-25-A-Friend-in-High-Places--He-Ascended-into-Heaven-and-Sits-at-the-Right-Hand-of-God-the-Father-Almighty/



(2) There he ministers in the *heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.


*heavenly Tabernacle: A literal reading of Revelation indicates the existence of a Heavenly Temple, which the Earthly is merely a shadow of. (Revelation 14:15,17, 15;5,6,8, 16:1,17).

Revelation 11:19: Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.

Revelation 21:22: I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.


(3) And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too.


Ephesians 5:2: ...He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.


(4) If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already *are priests who offer the gifts required by the law.


*are priests: The present tense shows that this was written before 70 A.D.


(5) They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a *shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”


*shadow:



  • Exodus 25:40; 26:30: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain ... “Set up this Tabernacle according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.

  • Hebrews 9:10: For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

  • Hebrews 9:23-24: That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals. For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf

  • Hebrews 10:1: The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.

  • Colossians 2:16-17: So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.


   The Mosaic Law was only a 'shadow' of reality. It was a sketchy reflection of the true salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ. The word the writer uses is skea. This is what was meant by the warning given to Moses. God wanted him to make the tabernacle like reality, but it was only a shadow skea of what would be. The Levitical law only gave an outline of what Christ would bring. But the Jews wanted to hang on to the outline and reject the reality.


(6) But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far SUPERIOR to the old priesthood, for he is the one who *mediates for us a far BETTER covenant with God, based on BETTER promises.


*mediates: Mediator is the Greek word mesites, which means “one who stands in the middle between two people and brings them together.” Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant, because he “brought the two parties together.” Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant, a better covenant, bringing us to God the Father.



  • Hebrews 9:15: That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

  • Hebrews 12:24: You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

  • Galatians 3:19-20: Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.


(7) If *the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.


*the first covenant means the whole religious system of the Jews, the Decalogue, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the tabernacle ritual, the temple services (as later developed), the statutes, and the judgments, and the commandments, and embracing the entire ceremonial and moral constitution of Judaism:



  • Exodus 19:5: Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.

  • Exodus 34:27-28: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”
    Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.

  • Deuteronomy 4:13: He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.


   How could it have been at fault, seeing God himself had given it? Its fault lay in the temporary character of it (Galatians 3:19) and never being intended as a permanent solution of man's spiritual problems. Just as a contractor first builds a scaffold around a building to be erected, removing the scaffolding when the building is completed; just so, God erected the law as a scaffold which, from the first, was designed to be removed as soon as "the seed" which is Christ should appear.


   Read the book of Leviticus some time. It outlines the system of sacrifices and rules to live by according to the old covenant. If you take into account everything that is there it sets up an impossible standard that no one can hope to match. This only shows our needs for Christ and the new covenant.


(8) But when God found fault with the people, he said:(“The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.


   Some have decided that the church now takes the place of Israel - Replacement Theology. The problem with that theory is that we have not seen the complete fulfillment of the New covenant. The New covenant will not be fulfilled until the arrival of the Millennium.


   Two basic reasons why the old covenant was abolished are: (1) God promised that he would make a new one, which he would not have done if the old one had been faultless. (2) Israel themselves had broken the old covenant by not continuing in it. It would require a volume to recount the extent of Israel's rebellion, stubbornness, idolatry, murder, adultery, and wickedness of every description, and their perpetual unwillingness to honor the covenant God had given them.



  • Luke 22:20: After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

  • 1 Corinthians 11:25: In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it."

  • 2 Corinthians 3:6-13: He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!
    Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away.


(9) This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.


(10) But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel *on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.


*on that day: Greek after those days.



   The thesis of the author of Hebrews in the verses before us is that a second, or new, covenant has superseded and replaced the first, or old, covenant. This was accomplished when Jesus Christ appeared, suffered, died, rose from the dead, ascended on high, and gathered up in himself all that was of any value in the old covenant, making his teachings alone to be the basis of eternal redemption. Whatever moral precepts of the Old Testament were brought over into the New Testament (and there were many of these, such as prohibitions against murder, adultery, theft, covetousness, etc.), those precepts now derive their authority from Christ, not Moses. Just so, those things of the Old Testament that did not find their place in the new institution, such as sabbath keeping, animal sacrifice, burning of incense, etc., are therefore now void of any authority at all and are to be totally rejected.


(11) And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already.


   Has Israel fulfilled this? When will it?


(12) And I will *forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”


*forgive: 1 John 1:9: But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.


Jeremiah 31:31-34: “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”


   The main fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy will occur when the new covenant is made with the house of Israel. After He returns to set up the kingdom of God, Christ will establish the new covenant with all Israel and ultimately all mankind. So Malachi 3:1 calls the returning Christ the "messenger of the covenant." Malachi 3:1: Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.


Ezekiel 11:17-20: I, the Sovereign Lord, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.’ “When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols. And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. Did this happen in 1948? Has it yet happened? When will it happen?


(13) When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.



What was wrong with the old covenant?

   Notice that the fault of the first covenant was with the people, not with the law (and hence not with God who gave the law). They did not continue in it. In fact, the new covenant would be better, not because of a different law, but because of a different place for it to be written - in the hearts of the people. Looking back at what happened, we can see what the Lord was talking about through Jeremiah and Paul.


   Did the people accept the first covenant? Here is the passage: Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.” So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him. And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.” Moses told the Lord what the people had said. (Exodus 19:3-9) So, yes, the people accepted the covenant.


   Moving ahead to just after the ten commandments were spoken, we see how the people were to keep the law. “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”(Exodus 20:20).


   Then Moses read the words of the ceremonial laws of Exodus 20:22 through chapter 23, and the people again pledged, ". . . We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.” (24:7). Wonderful. And what happened next?


   Moses went up the mountain to receive the first tablets of stone on which God inscribed the commandments which He had spoken in chapter 20. As Moses neared the camp on his descent, what did he discover? The people had broken their promises and were dancing around an idol -- a gold image of a calf!



   How had this happened? When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:1). They did not keep the fearful respect for God before their faces. That fear should have led them to realize that they couldn't keep their pledge without His help. As a symbol of the broken covenant, Moses threw down the stone tablets and they shattered! (Exodus 32:19).



   God allowed the people to try to be faithful in their way, with a covenant promise they could not keep in their own strength. Until faced with their terrible sin, they sensed no need of help (although they should have remembered the eagle wings with which God had brought them out of Egypt, Exodus 19:4).



   The new covenant Jeremiah wrote about would be the law established in the minds and hearts of the people, where it should have been all along (Psalm 40:8). But more than being words in a new place, it would be in a relationship with the one who overcame so that they could overcome. ". . . and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:33; Revelation 3:21). We can never do it alone.


-- Wade, Ted. "Fear of God, a Covenant Relationship" [Online]
Available http://www.bibleexplained.com/revelation/r-seg13-14/rev14h-fear-glory.htm#1407b%20old%20&%20new%20covenants




Bibliography/Works Cited:


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Sunday, May 4, 2008

Hebrews 7

Melchizedek Is Greater Than Abraham and Aaron


   Chapter 7 picks up again from Chapter 5 verse 10 and Chapter 6 verse 20::

And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek ... Jesus has already gone in there
for us. He has become our eternal High
Priest in the order of Melchizedek.


(1) This *Melchizedek was king of the city of **Salem and also a priest of ***God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.


Genesis 14:18-20: And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.


*Melchizedek: His name means "king of righteousness", from the Hebrew words melek (king) and sedeq (righteousness). Salem means "peace". So, He is also "king of peace."

Zechariah 6:12-13: Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the Lord. Yes, he will build the Temple of the Lord. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’

 Psalm 110:4: The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”


   There were Jews then (and now) who were claiming that Jesus could not have been a priest since He was from the tribe of Judah, and not of Levi, from which the Aaronic priesthood was derived. They argued that since Jesus had not come from that particular stock, He was excluded from being a priest. The author of Hebrews argued that Melchizedek was a priest of God even though he was not of the Levitical line, nor even a Jew. Not only did the author demonstrate that Melchizedek's lineage was not Levitical, but he went so far as to assert that Melchizedek was superior to the priests of the Levitical line.
In order to support his idea that Jesus' priesthood was according to Melchizedek's order, the author cited Psalm 110:4, a messianic prophecy which predicted that the Messiah would be a priest after the Melchizedek order (Hebrews 5:6; 7:17, 21). Since Jesus' priesthood was of the same order as that of Melchizedek, His lineage need not be Levitical/Aaronic. As was Melchizedek, Jesus' priesthood was superior to that of the Law of Moses. By noting both the existence of a priesthood apart from the Levitical/Aaronic line, and by demonstrating that the Law itself predicted the replacement of the Aaronic order with the Melchizedek order, the author could successfully authenticate Jesus' identity as a priest without having come from the Levitical line, and thereby demonstrate that this change in the order of priesthood necessitated a changing of covenants, which God had intended long before.


   In a document found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Melchizedek is presented as a future figure who will deliver the people. He is described in terms of "El" (God) and "Elohim" (elohim usually means ‘God’ but angels are also sometimes called ‘elohim’ to indicate heavenly status) and Isaiah 61:1-2 is quoted in reference to him. This redemption is also tied in with the Day of Atonement and the year of Jubilee, the year of liberty. Such speculation about Melchizedek seems to have been rife at the time for Philo, the Jewish philosopher in Egypt, also likened Melchizedek to the Logos, the eternal ‘reason’. There was thus a background at the time suggesting the continuing, almost divine, existence of Melchizedek, the priest-king.


**Salem: The Jebusites took possession of Salem and called it Jebus-Salem, later named Jerusalem. Then we read in Joshua 10 about Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, who was defeated by Joshua.


***God Most High: Hebrew El Elyon.


   Uzziah was a powerful king who had ascended to the throne of David at only 16 years of age. But his success brought pride and caused his downfall. Ignoring the warnings of the High Priest and 80 other priests, he attempted to burn incense at the altar in the Temple just outside the Holy of Holies. This angered the Lord who afflicted him with leprosy which tormented him to his dying day. His son Jotham ruled in his place. (2 Chronicles 26:16-21)


(2) Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.”


(3) There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.


   Melchizedek is presented to us without reference to any human qualifications for office. His genealogy is not recorded, required in the case of Aaron's sons. Ordinary priests began their service at thirty and ended at fifty. The high priest succeeded on the day of his predecessor's death. Melchizedek has no such dates recorded. He had neither beginning of days nor end of life. We only know that he lived and thus a type of Jesus Who lives forever. The author presents Melchizedek as superior on the basis of the eternal nature of his priesthood.


   To the Jews, a traceable genealogy was critical for the priesthood. If one could not prove his lineage he was barred from being a priest (Nehemiah 7:64). There is no recorded genealogy of Melchizedek. It was not important because his priesthood was not dependant on it. His lineage did not affect his right to the priesthood. The author went on to say in Hebrews 7:13-17 that the Law foretold of a day in which the Melchizedek priesthood would arise again. Since under the Law of Moses the priesthood had to be of the Aaronic order, this gave evidence that the Law would one day be abolished in favor of a new covenant and consequently a new priesthood. The Law needed to be abolished because it demanded that the priests have their lineage through Aaron, not Melchizedek. After the Law was abolished through Christ's death and the New Covenant was instituted with His blood, Jesus had no need to be in the lineage of Levi to serve as a priest of God. He could be of the stock of Judah and still be a priest under the order of Melchizedek, for there was no genealogical requirement for this order. The two priesthoods were of a different sort and order, serving two different purposes, at different times.


   Ungers Bible Dictionary states "Without father, etc. refers to priestly genealogies. Melchizedek is not found on the register of the only line of legitimate priests ; no record of his name is there; his father's name is not recorded, nor his mother’s; no evidence points to his line of descent from Aaron. It is not affirmed that he had no father, that he was not born at any time, or died on any day; but that these facts were nowhere found on the register of the Levitical priesthood."


(4) Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle.


(5) Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham


(6) But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.


(7) And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.


(8) The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on.


(9) In addition, we might even say that these Levites—the ones who collect the tithe—paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him.


(10) For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.


   Under the law of Moses, Levi and the priests received tithes from the other tribes. But Israel's priests, centuries before they were born, gave tithes to Melchizedek in the person of Abraham. Therefore, Melchizedek was greater than Aaron and Melchizedek's priesthood was superior to Aaron's priesthood.


(11) So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?


(12) And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it.


   The grand conclusion of his argument is set forth in Hebrews 7:12.


(13) For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests.


(14) What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.


Revelation 5:5: But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”


Jesus Is like Melchizedek


(15) This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared.


(16) Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.


(17) And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”


Psalm 110:4: The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”


(18) Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless.


(19) For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a *better hope, through which we draw near to God.


Galatians 3:24: Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.


*better hope: better hope here; better covenant 7:22; better promises 8:6; better sacrifices 8:23; a better substance 10:34; a better country 11:16; a better resurrection 11:35; a better thing 11:40;. In chapter 1, Christ is shown to be better than angels; in 3, better than Moses; in 4, better than Joshua; in 7, better than Aaron; in 10, better than the law.


(20) This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath,


(21) but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him, “The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever.’”


Psalm 110:4 as in verse 17.


(22) Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.


(23) There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office.


(24) But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.


(25) Therefore he is able, once and forever, to *save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to **intercede with God on their behalf.


*save: Or is able to save completely.


**intercede means He continually represents us before the Father, so that we can draw near through Him, and that He defends us against Satanic accusation and attack.


Romans 8:33-34: Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one - for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.


(26) He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the *highest place of honor in heaven.


*highest place of honor in heaven: Or has been exalted higher than the heavens.


Ephesians 4:10: And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.


(27) Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.


(28) The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.


   Those who would continue to look to the Temple as central in their worship must inevitably look to the levitical priesthood with its symbols. But that is to live in the past and to look to something whose effectiveness has now ceased. But those who would look higher, to what is real, to Heaven itself, who recognize that God’s Messiah has come, must now in the light of what Jesus has done, turn to the superior priesthood ‘after the order of Melchizedek’, the eternal priesthood of which Jesus is now the sole representative. They must look to Him.


   The superiority of the priesthood of Christ is evidenced by his perfect character which required no further sacrifice than that of himself, one time on the cross, while the high priest of the Levitical priesthood had to offer for himself each year, and then for the people. The Scriptures speak of two covenants: a "new covenant" (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 9:13) which necessarily implies an "old covenant". The old one was to pass away (Hebrews 9:13). Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3:6,14 speaks of a "new covenant" and of an "old covenant", and in his allegory in Galatians 4:21-31, speaks of "two covenants" (verse 24). Christ is the "mediator of a new covenant" (Hebrews 9:15; 12:24), which is contrasted with the old covenant of Mt. Sinai (12:18-21). There being a "new" covenant, the previous covenant of necessity is made "old" (8:13). The "new covenant" is better, being enacted upon better promises (7:22; 8:6). The old one was faulty while the new one is faultless (8:7,8; Romans 8:3). The first one could not take away sins in actuality (but only figuratively or typically), while the second one could (10:1-18). For this reason the first covenant is called a "ministration of death" and of "condemnation", while the new covenant is called a "ministration of righteousness", written on the hearts of men (2 Corinthians 3:7,9; Hebrews 10:16). The old was to pass away while the new one was to remain (2 Corinthians 3:11). The Israelite, by reason of fleshly birth, were under the first covenant (Genesis 15:18; 17:7,8), but only those born again (John 3:3-7) are in the new covenant. The old was "done away in Christ" (2 Corinthians 3:14) while the new one is eternal (Hebrews 13:20). The new one, the New Testament, was dedicated by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:15-22). The old covenant was one of bondage while the new is one of freedom (Galatians 5:1). The new one is the "new and living way" (Hebrews 10:20).


   Previous to Moses' time period, sacrifices were offered by the head of the family as with Job. The priest was the father or grandfather- the oldest male in the family line. As the family grew to be a tribe, the head of the tribe came to be the king as well as the priest, so he was the priest/king of their tribe. Later on into the days of Moses, the 12 tribes had grown to be the nation of Israel which God delivered out of their bondage. A priesthood was created from Aaron, out of the tribe of Levi which became the Levitical priesthood order for the sacrificial system. Later, another family was set apart for being the kings, the family of David. The king was then to rule the people and the priest was to mediate between God and man through the sacrificial system. No king could be a priest, although but he could be a prophet. No priest could be a king, although he too could be a prophet.




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