6:1-8 The Lord told Moses that now he would see how His mighty hand would cause Pharaoh to drive the Hebrews out of his land. The Lord explained that in the past He was known as "God Almighty" but now He would be known as "the Lord." He is the same one who promised to give Canaan to Abraham's descendants and He will free the Israelites so they will be His people and He will be their God. This was His decision, not theirs. He chose them.

v. 9-13 When Moses reported all this to the Hebrews they did not listen to him because of their discouragement. The Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let them go but Moses didn't think Pharaoh would listen to him if his own people would not listen. Nevertheless, the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

v. 14-24 Next, Moses launches into a genealogy listing the tribal leaders of the descendants of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi-- Leah's oldest sons. He does not include Jacob's nine other sons, perhaps because his intention is to show the ancestry of himself and Aaron. Remember, the Levitical priesthood will begin with Aaron. In class we read though the list of names and traced them on the genealogy chart. Click for genealogy chart. Notice that Aaron's sons are listed but not the sons of Moses.

v. 23-8:2 There have been many high priests in the Levitical priesthood because a new one had to be appointed whenever the current high priest died. But Jesus lives forever and will never die. Therefore He has a permanent priesthood. Those who come to God through Jesus (not through some other means like the Levitical high priest) are saved forever because He "always lives to intercede for them." The author makes it clear that people need a high priest. Someone must serve as their mediator and intercede for them. Jesus meets this need for a high priest because He is "holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." This cannot be said about the Levitical high priests. Jesus doesn't have to offer sacrifices for His own sins because He has never sinned. He offered Himself as the sacrifice once and for all. Levitical high priests were appointed by the Law of Moses and they are weak. But God's oath which came after the Law appoints the Son of God "who has been made perfect forever." The author says "The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest" who serves in the heavenly sanctuary in the "true tabernacle set up by the Lord."

Keep in mind that the author is writing to Jewish-Christian converts who were being tempted to go back to Judaism. Click to see the diagram. The Temple in Jerusalem is still standing, sacrifices are being offered every day, and the high priest was still entering the holy of holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. They don't know that in a few short years the Temple will be destroyed. There will be nothing to go back to. The author is explaining to them that whatever they felt they lost when they became Christians has been replaced by something infinitely better. They have a better High Priest of a better order of priests. They have a sanctuary in the true tabernacle set up by the Lord and not by men. They have had the ultimate sacrifice offered on their behalf by their everlasting intercessor. They have an inheritance far richer than the Promised Land and the traditions of their fathers. As we continue to read Hebrews we will see more details of how much they have gained by following Christ. This should be a great encouragement for us today.  

8:3-6 High priests, whether Levitical or Melchizedekian, are appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices to God. Therefore Jesus also had to have something to offer. On earth He did not serve as a high priest in the Temple which was merely "a copy and shadow of what is in heaven." Remember that Moses was told to make the tabernacle according to the pattern he was shown on Mount Sinai. The physical Temple that stood in Jerusalem was only a shadow of the real Temple in the heavenly realm. The Reality in heaven casts a shadow and that shadow is physical and temporary. Although Jesus was not a Levitical high priest, His ministry is superior to theirs just like the new covenant He mediates is superior to the old covenant.

v. 7-12 What was wrong with the old covenant? "God found fault with the people and declared that a time would come when He would make a new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah. It would not be like the old covenant that He made with the ancient Israelites because they didn't remain faithful to their agreement. The Lord turned away from them because of their unfaithfulness. But now through this new covenant the Lord puts His laws in their hearts and minds rather than on stone tablets. None of them will have to teach others to know the Lord because they will all know Him. Their sins will be forgiven. In class we talked about believers having a personal relationship with Jesus and with the Father through Him. This is different than what the Israelites experienced under the old covenant. Their mediator was the high priest, not Christ.

v. 13 "By calling this covenant 'new,' He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear." This is a powerful statement that has strong implications for us today. The author is saying that the old covenant is obsolete because a new and better covenant is now in effect. An example we used in class was refinancing a house. The original mortgage had a certain interest rate and repayment date. But it is replaced by the new mortgage and the terms of the old one no longer apply. The terms are set by the new agreement.

The author also says that the old covenant will soon disappear. The readers probably didn't know that it would disappear within their lifetime. In 70 AD the Temple was destroyed and it has never been rebuilt. There is no longer a Levitical high priest and no sacrifices can be offered as were required by the Law of Moses. The new covenant made the old one obsolete.

9:1-10 The author gives a brief description of the tabernacle that Moses was commanded to make. The first room was called the Holy Place and contained the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread. Behind the curtain, in the Most Holy Place, were the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant containing the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. There were golden cherubim overshadowing the cover of the ark. The priests entered the Holy Place daily to carry on their ministry of lighting the lamps and changing the showbread. But only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place once a year with blood from a sacrifice he offered for himself and for the sins the people committed in ignorance. Why was all this set up the way it was? "The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing." Notice the "not yet." The rituals of the old covenant continued for hundreds of years until at last Christ came as the High Priest who would offer the ultimate atoning sacrifice. The author goes on to say that this ritual was an illustration for their own time (1st century AD) indicating that their animal sacrifices did not "clear the conscience of the worshiper." These were only intended to be temporary "external regulations applying until the time of the new order."

v. 11-15 The Levitical high priest entered the inner room of the earthly tabernacle with the blood of animals. Christ entered the greater Tabernacle in the heavenly realm with His own blood
"having obtained eternal redemption." Under the Mosaic Law the blood of goats and bulls and "the ashes of a heifer" sprinkled on one who is ceremonially unclean makes them outwardly clean. But the blood of Christ actually cleanses their consciences. This is why Christ is the mediator of a new covenant-- to set them free from the sins they committed under the old covenant.

What did the author mean by the "ashes of a heifer"? Read Numbers 19. According to the law the Israelites were to select a perfect red heifer, slaughter it outside the camp and burn it up thoroughly. Then the ashes were gathered and placed in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. Whenever someone became ceremonially unclean by touching a dead body the priest would sprinkle them with some of the ashes of the red heifer, then they would be clean. The author's point is that if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer can make a person ceremonially clean then certainly the blood of Christ can take away their sins and cleanse them inwardly by cleansing their consciences. In class we talked about how personal salvation is. The guilt a sinner feels is a very private matter. And when that guilt is taken away by the forgiveness that can only come through Christ, that too is a very personal matter.

v. 16-28 This new covenant is like a last will and testament. It was not put into effect until the One who made it died. Even the old covenant was put into effect with the blood of animals. Moses sprinkled the people and the tabernacle with the blood of calves. "The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." If this was true for the earthly tabernacle then it must also be true for the true Tabernacle. But the heavenly Tabernacle requires a better sacrifice-- the blood of Christ. He offered Himself as the ransom for sinners only once, not every year like the Levitical high priest. Christ has appeared once "at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Just like all men die once, Christ also died once to take away sin. He will appear again, not to bear sin again, "but to bring salvation for those who are waiting for Him."

Much more next time.

 --Sandy Blank

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