Lighthouse scribes

Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honour beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There he ministers in the heavenly tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.

Why has the writer been talking about Jesus’ priesthood? Chapter 7 showed us why. It was important to see Jesus as a high priest after a different order, completely different from the Levitical order the people knew and understood.

In Hebrews 8, the writer continues to tell us how Jesus’ priesthood is different. In verse 1 he emphasises a strong point: Jesus is not dead. Jesus is not in the grave. Jesus is sitting at the place of honour in heaven, where he ministers. Jesus does not minister from a tabernacle made with hands (v. 2, Exodus 25, Leviticus 16). Jesus has never needed to offer sacrifices for himself (v. 3). Jesus is the only one who serves in the heavenly tabernacle (v2).

Before the old is the eternal.

In verses 2 to 5, the writer makes it clear that the Levitical system had always been a copy of the eternal system of worship. Jesus wasn’t a ‘new concept’ that replaced the old; the old concept was in fact an earthly copy of one that had existed in heaven already. The Levitical system of worship could never achieve God’s purpose and was never created to do so.

Wait a second?

At this point, you’re probably thinking, ‘Okay. So, why then did God not just send Jesus after Adam sinned? Why did He wait thousands of years to offer us the perfect sacrifice?’

I wouldn’t want to go into that study now, as it takes us far away from where we are. One thing learning about God has taught me is that God does everything at the right time, so when I use that understanding to relate to the things I read, it helps. Unlike us, God, who is omniscient, knows exactly when anything needs to be done, and he doesn’t fret like us or make emotional decisions like men. I also think about these: ‘If he had given Abraham a son in the first year, how would he and Sarah have learnt faith, or how would we know all we know and appreciate of God?’ I think about how men did not have the law for at least a millennium, yet only a few chose to serve God. If the people who lived in the days of Enoch and Noah couldn’t be bothered about God, how then would they have appreciated God’s best gift in Christ Jesus? So, God gave men the Levitical law, not because it could restore them into the fellowship and lineage of God, but because through the law, men became conscious of sin and saw God’s faithfulness (read the book of Romans).

The New Covenant

When we read the Bible, we see God making covenants with different people. We looked at the covenant with Abraham in Chapter 6 (Gen 12, Gen 15), and we must have read His covenant with Noah in Genesis 9 (where we see the origin of the rainbow) and with Israel in the book of Exodus. None of those covenants were like the new covenant, yet they were all part of life’s tapestry. The new covenant is better than the old. The new covenant is greater than any covenant God ever made with any man or his generation. The new covenant is for everyone, and the shedding of the blood of Jesus did not require our participation. The new covenant is a covenant of grace, where God has paid the ultimate price and invites us to fellowship with Him. In the new covenant, an intimate relationship with God is not an experience that only a select few have, but everyone. I don’t know what you are thinking, but if you are like me, you’re probably in awe of God in a new way, seeing as we are privileged to be a part of this new covenant.

Love,

Osi