Hebrews 8.....greater than AARON part 3
In a letter which extols the excellent glories of the Son of God, the superiority of Christ continues to occupy the writer’s mind; in the next three chapters he develops the supremacy of His service, having expounded the superior greatness of His office and His person. Now we see that He ministers on the basis of a better covenant (chapter 8); He ministers in a better sanctuary (chapter 9); and He ministers by virtue of a better sacrifice (chapter 10). The theme then in this chapter is that His priestly ministry on our behalf is based on a better covenant. The term “covenant” or “testament” (diatheke) is used multiple times throughout the letter, and refers to the old practice of “cutting a covenant”. Unlike in modern times, where a covenant is by legal signature (the breaking of which means a financial penalty), the covenants of old were signed in blood (the breaking of which meant forfeiting life). An animal of worth was slain and cut in half, then the pieces placed opposite each other. The two making a covenant then passed between the pieces with a third party pronouncing “so shall be done to the man who breaks this covenant” (see Genesis 15 vv7-18). Biblical usage of words is important and we should interpret them accordingly. The covenant here is the new covenant or new testament which replaces the old covenant which was broken. Based on Genesis 15 this is an unconditional covenant, made by one party (God) to another party (the believer), and therefore depends on the integrity of God alone, not on the obedience or otherwise of the believer. The basis of the new covenant is the promise of God, based on the finished work of Christ, now enthroned in majesty in heaven. It is “a better covenant” for three reasons:
It is ministered by a superior person verse 1
It is ministered in a better place verses 2-5
It is based upon better promises verses 6-13
Verse 1 Ministered by a superior person
The worth or status of the person always adds value to the work. The administration of the new covenant is by one of incomparable worth. “We have such an High Priest who is set on the right hand of the majesty in the heavens”. No High Priest could ever be enthroned as king, and no king could ever operate as priest. This is clear from the scriptures as no king ever came from the tribe of Levi (from which the priesthood), and there are two outstanding examples of kings who attempted to act as priest (King Saul in 1st Samuel 13, which episode signalled the end of his kingdom) and King Uzziah in 2nd Chronicles 26 where a prosperous and good king became a leper until his death). The offices of priest and king were always separated and were jealously protected, as they could only be fulfilled in Christ.....this alone sets Him apart in the mind of God. Again no provision was made for the High Priest to sit in the service of the priesthood, the only seat in the tabernacle was the mercy seat on which God alone sat. That privilege is reserved for Jesus Christ who is “set” or seated on the throne. It is not just any seat, it is the throne of the majesty in the heavens, the highest place of exaltation. From this lofty throne He makes good His intercessory work for us. The right hand of the throne is the place of ultimate authority. He is the executor of the mercy and compassion and grace of God.
Verses 2-5 He is the minister of grace in a better place
The place is heaven, no longer an earthly priesthood. He is the minister of the sanctuary, the inner temple, the very presence of God and He administers on behalf of all saints (this is implicit in the “public ministry” of verse 2). He is High Priest in the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. “True” is in the sense of spiritual as compared to the material tabernacle which Moses raised for God. The tabernacle (symbolic of the presence of God amongst His people....refer Exodus 25 v8) of old, was but a visible representation of the true tabernacle in heaven.
He now contrasts the heavenly worship with the earthly worship of the tabernacle. He uses five words in the letter to show that the heavenly sanctuary was superior to the earthly one; the earthly is described as a shadow or outline of the heavenly (chapter 8v5); another word is “pattern” (chapter 8v5) which means type, and therefore a replica of the heavenly; it is said in chapter 9v18 to be a figure or parable of the heavenly; in chapter 9v23 it is said that the entire tabernacle and its service was “the patterns of things in the heavens” and this just means similitudes or copies. Therefore the earthly tabernacle symbolising the old system of worship did not come first and was a copy of what was already in heaven. There was nothing wrong with the outline of the true tabernacle, but the outworking of it was imperfect. As concerning the service of the tabernacle every high priest was ordained of God to offer gifts and sacrifices. However there was an appointed place in which those sacrifices could be offered as seen from Deuteronomy chapter 12v13-14 “Take heed o thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes there shalt thou offer thy burnt offerings and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.” In contrast the Lord Jesus, who was destined to be high priest of the new covenant sat down having offered to God one perfect sacrifice and His finished work has been accepted. The place where He ministers is in heaven, not on earth, as He indicated in John chapter 4v23 “the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship Him”. The place where we worship is no longer on earth. There is no longer any restriction of worship to any one location, there are no longer any “holy sites”, as Jesus said “...neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem”. Worship no longer confined to any one location, a spiritual worship from the heart is the new order of things.
He could not be a priest on earth as Messiah arose from Judah (Genesis 49 v10) and the priests must come from Levi; but now He is in heaven He is freed from that genealogical restriction. He could not be a priest on earth, since priestly service is offered according to the law, but because He serves on the basis of a better covenant (the covenant of grace) his service takes place in heaven. He will expound this in the later verses but for now the conclusion is He has “obtained a more excellent ministry” (verse6).
Verses 6-13 A more excellent ministry based on better promises
The priesthood of Christ is based on better promises and this is best understood by a comparison/ contrast of the two covenants given by God in relation to the salvation of man. It is false to believe that the old covenant was not based on the promise of God....a reading of Deuteronomy chapters 28-29 will clarify that. In the old covenant God made many promises which would have been honoured if Israel had kept the law We shall call the first covenant, the covenant of law, based on the promise of God, but requiring obedience to every tenet of the law. In the covenant to them the conditions were “If ye will...I will”. When we come to the new covenant, which is the theme in these verses, it is a covenant of grace, an unconditional covenant based on the formula “I will”, a promise that is repeated six times in verses 7-13. The covenant of law depended on my works to achieve perfection and therefore salvation; the new covenant is based entirely on God’s grace and His working in me. The covenant of law was “not faultless” and so a second must be introduced. This is not to denigrate the old, for in itself it was “holy and just and good” (Romans 7v12). Indeed a reading of 2nd Corinthians 3 will reveal that this covenant was “glorious” and the only limitation was on those who received it. We must not ever think that in giving a new covenant God has reduced His righteous demands, the new covenant sets us free but we are not free to break His law; but it is no longer the principle by which we are saved, nor can it be the principle by which we are sanctified, for history has demonstrated that “by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight” (Romans 3 v20). It was necessary for God to shew us our weakness, thus the new covenant of grace in Christ must come and replace the old which could only condemn us not save us.
This is not merely a new testament truth, for he quotes from the now famous promise of the new covenant from Jeremiah chapter 31 vv31-34. The writer in Hebrews chapters 7/8, culls from the riches of old testament scriptures to unfold the superior glories of Christ our great High Priest....chapter 7 v17 & v21 from the Psalms; chapter 8 v5 from Moses; chapter 8 vv31-34 from the Prophets, thus from the whole of the old testament in all it’s parts the glory of Christ is proclaimed. He is the grand and glorious subject of the old testament scriptures and His priesthood was predicted there, and now it is fulfilled. It is not that the old was bad, it is just that the new is better.
We now can consider the wonders of the new covenant;
Reveals the heart of God It was spoken by Jeremiah at a time when there was deep spiritual decline in Israel, and the judgment of God on the nation was pending. It was promised, not on the basis of their obedience, but on the unfailing, inexplicable, and eternal love of God for them “I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31 v3).
Based on the word of God It is a promise way into the future “Behold the days come saith the Lord....”. This will be finally fulfilled at the return of Christ “And so all Israel will be saved as it is written “There shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob for this is my covenant with them when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11 vv26-27). It has been partially fulfilled already when the Lord instituted the bread and wine remembrance in the upper room (Luke 22 v20 “This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you) and Paul through the Holy Spirit interpreted the symbolic issue of the Lord’s supper for the Christian church as “the new covenant in my blood”. This does not infer that the church has replaced Israel, as some suggest, but that the church exists because of Israel and by Divine grace comes into her blessings. This truth is further expounded in Ephesians chapter 2.
It will end all divisions The new covenant was “with the house of Israel and the house of Judah”; it was dependent not on their performance but on the word of the Lord... “saith the Lord...”. The Lord never speaks idle words! At the time of this prophecy Israel and Judah were divided and had been for almost 400 years, yet by the power of His grace He would bind them together again (Hosea 1 v11; and Ezekiel 37 vv11-28 and many other scriptures); there will be no more divisions!
Love finds a way His love for them has never waned “I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt....they continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not saith the Lord”. He did not abandon them, but He did not regard them for they turned away from Him. Because of His eternal unchanging love, this could only be temporary.
He changes minds and hearts “I will put my laws into their minds and write them in their hearts”. No longer a set of rules before their eyes, but an inward power to know and want to do His will. This is the power of the Spirit within, this is God in us, this is man in the image of God, thinking like Him, loving like Him. Note the order...minds then hearts, He instructs the mind and motivates the heart. The law of God is no longer on tablets of stone but “in the fleshy tables of the heart”, it is God working in and through us, and all of Himself! What an absolutely glorious salvation. This will be true of all true Israel and all old testament saints, and all in the Church and all saved in the last days of tribulation and all saved during the Millennium. Then shall be fulfilled the words of the Sermon on the Mount “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
There will be mutual satisfaction Living in this state of unbroken and unbreakable union we shall dwell with Him as our God and He with us as His people. The “utopia” of all existence, defined as “an imagined state of things in which everything is perfect” will flourish in permanent reconciliation and harmony...”I will be to them for a God and they shall be to me for a people”, He satisfied with us and us with Him. For this present world it is only a dream, but it will happen, it is written in the new covenant.
Everyone shall know the Lord The knowledge of the Most High is elusive (Job 11 vv7-9)...Proverbs 30 v4) and high (Proverbs 8 vv14-16), and priceless (Proverbs 2 v4& 8 v11), and excellent (Philippians 3 v8), and unsearchable (Romans 11 v33). It would be beyond our ability and would span more time than we could live to know the Lord. Yet in the new covenant we shall all know Him, there will be no need for teachers, for all shall know Him from the least to the greatest. As Paul said in 1st Corinthians 13 v12 “then shall I (fully) know even as also I am (fully) known”.
All barriers to fellowship with God shall be removed By His mercy He will forgive all our unrighteousness and our sins and iniquities and He will remember them no more. Here we have the summing up of all human sin in the three words sins/transgressions/iniquities; sins, our shortcomings, unrighteousness, our stepping over the boundaries, iniquities, the inward driving force of our will contrary to God. There are, apparently, 33 aspects of sin, according to the Greek new testament, but these three headings describe the full scale of human perversion. David penned in Psalm 32 these words which illustrate the point “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile”. God will remove all traces of sin from our minds from our hearts, from our bodies and, above all, from His memory. Never again will the question of sin be raised, it will be erased from the Divine memory by an act of judicial mercy. Only God can do this and it is well to understand the biblical usage of the Divine memory. He is not like us, we only remember facts fed into us in our lifetime, God has forever perfect knowledge, and part of that knowledge is a revulsion to sin, and a determination to expunge it. God remembering anything or anyone, does not mean forgetfulness, but an act of His will at an appropriate time. Scriptures like Genesis 8 v1, 9 v15, 19 v29, 30 v22, Exodus 2 v24; Leviticus 26 v42 etc all bear this out, and have to do with Divine decrees. God has decreed that sin will be expunged, and it will be in the new covenant. Since Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant, He alone is worthy of our allegiance since the new renders the old obsolete and is in the process of dying away. This is expounded by Paul in greater detail in 2nd Corinthians 3 where he uses the phrases “done away”, “abolished”, “taken away” to describe the old covenant, while not denigrating it, he says it has served it’s usefulness and is now superseded by something vastly superior.
In a letter which extols the excellent glories of the Son of God, the superiority of Christ continues to occupy the writer’s mind; in the next three chapters he develops the supremacy of His service, having expounded the superior greatness of His office and His person. Now we see that He ministers on the basis of a better covenant (chapter 8); He ministers in a better sanctuary (chapter 9); and He ministers by virtue of a better sacrifice (chapter 10). The theme then in this chapter is that His priestly ministry on our behalf is based on a better covenant. The term “covenant” or “testament” (diatheke) is used multiple times throughout the letter, and refers to the old practice of “cutting a covenant”. Unlike in modern times, where a covenant is by legal signature (the breaking of which means a financial penalty), the covenants of old were signed in blood (the breaking of which meant forfeiting life). An animal of worth was slain and cut in half, then the pieces placed opposite each other. The two making a covenant then passed between the pieces with a third party pronouncing “so shall be done to the man who breaks this covenant” (see Genesis 15 vv7-18). Biblical usage of words is important and we should interpret them accordingly. The covenant here is the new covenant or new testament which replaces the old covenant which was broken. Based on Genesis 15 this is an unconditional covenant, made by one party (God) to another party (the believer), and therefore depends on the integrity of God alone, not on the obedience or otherwise of the believer. The basis of the new covenant is the promise of God, based on the finished work of Christ, now enthroned in majesty in heaven. It is “a better covenant” for three reasons:
It is ministered by a superior person verse 1
It is ministered in a better place verses 2-5
It is based upon better promises verses 6-13
Verse 1 Ministered by a superior person
The worth or status of the person always adds value to the work. The administration of the new covenant is by one of incomparable worth. “We have such an High Priest who is set on the right hand of the majesty in the heavens”. No High Priest could ever be enthroned as king, and no king could ever operate as priest. This is clear from the scriptures as no king ever came from the tribe of Levi (from which the priesthood), and there are two outstanding examples of kings who attempted to act as priest (King Saul in 1st Samuel 13, which episode signalled the end of his kingdom) and King Uzziah in 2nd Chronicles 26 where a prosperous and good king became a leper until his death). The offices of priest and king were always separated and were jealously protected, as they could only be fulfilled in Christ.....this alone sets Him apart in the mind of God. Again no provision was made for the High Priest to sit in the service of the priesthood, the only seat in the tabernacle was the mercy seat on which God alone sat. That privilege is reserved for Jesus Christ who is “set” or seated on the throne. It is not just any seat, it is the throne of the majesty in the heavens, the highest place of exaltation. From this lofty throne He makes good His intercessory work for us. The right hand of the throne is the place of ultimate authority. He is the executor of the mercy and compassion and grace of God.
Verses 2-5 He is the minister of grace in a better place
The place is heaven, no longer an earthly priesthood. He is the minister of the sanctuary, the inner temple, the very presence of God and He administers on behalf of all saints (this is implicit in the “public ministry” of verse 2). He is High Priest in the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. “True” is in the sense of spiritual as compared to the material tabernacle which Moses raised for God. The tabernacle (symbolic of the presence of God amongst His people....refer Exodus 25 v8) of old, was but a visible representation of the true tabernacle in heaven.
He now contrasts the heavenly worship with the earthly worship of the tabernacle. He uses five words in the letter to show that the heavenly sanctuary was superior to the earthly one; the earthly is described as a shadow or outline of the heavenly (chapter 8v5); another word is “pattern” (chapter 8v5) which means type, and therefore a replica of the heavenly; it is said in chapter 9v18 to be a figure or parable of the heavenly; in chapter 9v23 it is said that the entire tabernacle and its service was “the patterns of things in the heavens” and this just means similitudes or copies. Therefore the earthly tabernacle symbolising the old system of worship did not come first and was a copy of what was already in heaven. There was nothing wrong with the outline of the true tabernacle, but the outworking of it was imperfect. As concerning the service of the tabernacle every high priest was ordained of God to offer gifts and sacrifices. However there was an appointed place in which those sacrifices could be offered as seen from Deuteronomy chapter 12v13-14 “Take heed o thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes there shalt thou offer thy burnt offerings and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.” In contrast the Lord Jesus, who was destined to be high priest of the new covenant sat down having offered to God one perfect sacrifice and His finished work has been accepted. The place where He ministers is in heaven, not on earth, as He indicated in John chapter 4v23 “the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship Him”. The place where we worship is no longer on earth. There is no longer any restriction of worship to any one location, there are no longer any “holy sites”, as Jesus said “...neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem”. Worship no longer confined to any one location, a spiritual worship from the heart is the new order of things.
He could not be a priest on earth as Messiah arose from Judah (Genesis 49 v10) and the priests must come from Levi; but now He is in heaven He is freed from that genealogical restriction. He could not be a priest on earth, since priestly service is offered according to the law, but because He serves on the basis of a better covenant (the covenant of grace) his service takes place in heaven. He will expound this in the later verses but for now the conclusion is He has “obtained a more excellent ministry” (verse6).
Verses 6-13 A more excellent ministry based on better promises
The priesthood of Christ is based on better promises and this is best understood by a comparison/ contrast of the two covenants given by God in relation to the salvation of man. It is false to believe that the old covenant was not based on the promise of God....a reading of Deuteronomy chapters 28-29 will clarify that. In the old covenant God made many promises which would have been honoured if Israel had kept the law We shall call the first covenant, the covenant of law, based on the promise of God, but requiring obedience to every tenet of the law. In the covenant to them the conditions were “If ye will...I will”. When we come to the new covenant, which is the theme in these verses, it is a covenant of grace, an unconditional covenant based on the formula “I will”, a promise that is repeated six times in verses 7-13. The covenant of law depended on my works to achieve perfection and therefore salvation; the new covenant is based entirely on God’s grace and His working in me. The covenant of law was “not faultless” and so a second must be introduced. This is not to denigrate the old, for in itself it was “holy and just and good” (Romans 7v12). Indeed a reading of 2nd Corinthians 3 will reveal that this covenant was “glorious” and the only limitation was on those who received it. We must not ever think that in giving a new covenant God has reduced His righteous demands, the new covenant sets us free but we are not free to break His law; but it is no longer the principle by which we are saved, nor can it be the principle by which we are sanctified, for history has demonstrated that “by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight” (Romans 3 v20). It was necessary for God to shew us our weakness, thus the new covenant of grace in Christ must come and replace the old which could only condemn us not save us.
This is not merely a new testament truth, for he quotes from the now famous promise of the new covenant from Jeremiah chapter 31 vv31-34. The writer in Hebrews chapters 7/8, culls from the riches of old testament scriptures to unfold the superior glories of Christ our great High Priest....chapter 7 v17 & v21 from the Psalms; chapter 8 v5 from Moses; chapter 8 vv31-34 from the Prophets, thus from the whole of the old testament in all it’s parts the glory of Christ is proclaimed. He is the grand and glorious subject of the old testament scriptures and His priesthood was predicted there, and now it is fulfilled. It is not that the old was bad, it is just that the new is better.
We now can consider the wonders of the new covenant;
Reveals the heart of God It was spoken by Jeremiah at a time when there was deep spiritual decline in Israel, and the judgment of God on the nation was pending. It was promised, not on the basis of their obedience, but on the unfailing, inexplicable, and eternal love of God for them “I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31 v3).
Based on the word of God It is a promise way into the future “Behold the days come saith the Lord....”. This will be finally fulfilled at the return of Christ “And so all Israel will be saved as it is written “There shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob for this is my covenant with them when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11 vv26-27). It has been partially fulfilled already when the Lord instituted the bread and wine remembrance in the upper room (Luke 22 v20 “This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you) and Paul through the Holy Spirit interpreted the symbolic issue of the Lord’s supper for the Christian church as “the new covenant in my blood”. This does not infer that the church has replaced Israel, as some suggest, but that the church exists because of Israel and by Divine grace comes into her blessings. This truth is further expounded in Ephesians chapter 2.
It will end all divisions The new covenant was “with the house of Israel and the house of Judah”; it was dependent not on their performance but on the word of the Lord... “saith the Lord...”. The Lord never speaks idle words! At the time of this prophecy Israel and Judah were divided and had been for almost 400 years, yet by the power of His grace He would bind them together again (Hosea 1 v11; and Ezekiel 37 vv11-28 and many other scriptures); there will be no more divisions!
Love finds a way His love for them has never waned “I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt....they continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not saith the Lord”. He did not abandon them, but He did not regard them for they turned away from Him. Because of His eternal unchanging love, this could only be temporary.
He changes minds and hearts “I will put my laws into their minds and write them in their hearts”. No longer a set of rules before their eyes, but an inward power to know and want to do His will. This is the power of the Spirit within, this is God in us, this is man in the image of God, thinking like Him, loving like Him. Note the order...minds then hearts, He instructs the mind and motivates the heart. The law of God is no longer on tablets of stone but “in the fleshy tables of the heart”, it is God working in and through us, and all of Himself! What an absolutely glorious salvation. This will be true of all true Israel and all old testament saints, and all in the Church and all saved in the last days of tribulation and all saved during the Millennium. Then shall be fulfilled the words of the Sermon on the Mount “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
There will be mutual satisfaction Living in this state of unbroken and unbreakable union we shall dwell with Him as our God and He with us as His people. The “utopia” of all existence, defined as “an imagined state of things in which everything is perfect” will flourish in permanent reconciliation and harmony...”I will be to them for a God and they shall be to me for a people”, He satisfied with us and us with Him. For this present world it is only a dream, but it will happen, it is written in the new covenant.
Everyone shall know the Lord The knowledge of the Most High is elusive (Job 11 vv7-9)...Proverbs 30 v4) and high (Proverbs 8 vv14-16), and priceless (Proverbs 2 v4& 8 v11), and excellent (Philippians 3 v8), and unsearchable (Romans 11 v33). It would be beyond our ability and would span more time than we could live to know the Lord. Yet in the new covenant we shall all know Him, there will be no need for teachers, for all shall know Him from the least to the greatest. As Paul said in 1st Corinthians 13 v12 “then shall I (fully) know even as also I am (fully) known”.
All barriers to fellowship with God shall be removed By His mercy He will forgive all our unrighteousness and our sins and iniquities and He will remember them no more. Here we have the summing up of all human sin in the three words sins/transgressions/iniquities; sins, our shortcomings, unrighteousness, our stepping over the boundaries, iniquities, the inward driving force of our will contrary to God. There are, apparently, 33 aspects of sin, according to the Greek new testament, but these three headings describe the full scale of human perversion. David penned in Psalm 32 these words which illustrate the point “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile”. God will remove all traces of sin from our minds from our hearts, from our bodies and, above all, from His memory. Never again will the question of sin be raised, it will be erased from the Divine memory by an act of judicial mercy. Only God can do this and it is well to understand the biblical usage of the Divine memory. He is not like us, we only remember facts fed into us in our lifetime, God has forever perfect knowledge, and part of that knowledge is a revulsion to sin, and a determination to expunge it. God remembering anything or anyone, does not mean forgetfulness, but an act of His will at an appropriate time. Scriptures like Genesis 8 v1, 9 v15, 19 v29, 30 v22, Exodus 2 v24; Leviticus 26 v42 etc all bear this out, and have to do with Divine decrees. God has decreed that sin will be expunged, and it will be in the new covenant. Since Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant, He alone is worthy of our allegiance since the new renders the old obsolete and is in the process of dying away. This is expounded by Paul in greater detail in 2nd Corinthians 3 where he uses the phrases “done away”, “abolished”, “taken away” to describe the old covenant, while not denigrating it, he says it has served it’s usefulness and is now superseded by something vastly superior.
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