1 Now in the things which we are saying the chief point is this: We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this high priest also have somewhat to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the law; 5 who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses is warned of God when he is about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount. 6 But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith,
      Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
      That I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the
            house of Judah;
9    Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
      In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of
            Egypt;
      For they continued not in my covenant,
      And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10   For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
      After those days, saith the Lord;
      I will put my laws into their mind,
      And on their heart also will I write them:
      And I will be to them a God,
      And they shall be to me a people:
11   And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen,
      And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord:
      For all shall know me, From the least to the greatest of them.
12   For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
      And their sins will I remember no more.
13 In that he saith, A new covenant he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away.

      We have repeatedly observed that the chief intent of the letter to the Hebrews is to turn the eyes of the persons addressed to Jesus. "Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession" (Hebrews 3:1). "Looking unto Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2). "Consider him" (Hebrews 12:3). Jesus is held up to them from the first to the last. It was by this means that these weak, fainting, wavering ones should be made strong and faithful and hopeful. It is notable, too, that Jesus is not held up so much in the capacity of a teacher or an example here. That is done elsewhere with more emphasis. But what these Hebrews, and all of us who are in like condition, now especially need is to look on Jesus in his glory, his power, his heavenly ministry--Jesus the High Priest, Jesus the King. And why? It is the assurance of our hope. As Jesus is mighty, so shall we be more than conquerors through him. As he is faithful and efficient as our High Priest, so may we trust in the power of his intercession, the success of his work in bringing us to God, the help and sustenance that comes through him every moment. This is the faith that enables us to stand. Let us look unto Jesus. We have considered ourselves long enough. We have seen our inability and the power of our adversaries; have dwelt upon it; have sought in ourselves for the strength to overcome; and have tried to lift ourselves up, and have met only failure and gained only discouragement. Now look to your Priest all-merciful, your King all-powerful.

      Here and there in the Old Testament is a prophecy of the Priest that shall be King, the King that shall be Priest--predictions that were not fulfilled under the old order of things. We see here the great Priest's [37] sanctuary, which is also his throne (Jeremiah 17:12; compare Hebrews 8:1, 2). We read there of Israel's deliverance through a Prince, a Ruler that should proceed from the midst of them, and whom God would cause to draw near and approach to him--which latter was the priest's special function and prerogative (Jeremiah 30:21). Read it all in plain clear words in Zechariah 6:12, 13--how the man whose name is the Branch shall sit and rule upon his throne and shall be a priest upon his throne; yes, and a mediator between God and the people, for "the counsel of peace shall be between them both."

      That earthly tabernacle in which Aaron and his successors ministered was not the true "tent of meeting" nor the real sanctuary of God. It was but a copy and a shadow of the real tabernacle, the heavenly thing which was shown to Moses, and after which the earthly tabernacle was copied and patterned. So was all the old covenant service only shadow and type of heavenly reality. But Jesus ministers, not on earth, but in heaven, in the holy of holies, where God himself is. As God met with the people (through their representative, the high priest), typically, in the earthly tabernacle to bless them (Exodus 20:24), so God meets with his people now, in real fact, through their Representative and Mediator, Jesus Christ the High Priest, and they receive continually the blessing of this unceasing ministry. It is a better sanctuary, a better ministry, a greater Priest, a greater blessing, and we are under a better covenant, enacted upon better promises.

      So the first covenant was inferior and faulty. Here let us gather some contrasts from 2 Corinthians 3:6-9

      The old covenant is called "the letter" which "killeth."

      The new, "the spirit" which "giveth life."

      The old is "the ministration of death, written, and engraven on stones."

      The new, "the ministration of the spirit."

      The old, again, "the ministration of condemnation."

      The new, "the ministration of righteousness."

      What great fundamental difference lies between the two?

      The old came from God; so did the new.

      The old was God's word, just as the new.

      The old required obedience; no less does the new.

      The old had its punishment for disobedience; so has the new.

      The old had its promises for the obedient; the new likewise.

      The old, as well as the new, required a faith in God.

      And yet they are as widely separated as the east is from the west. A correct understanding of this will be of incalculable benefit to most of us, for it is a general mistake among us to overlook the distinction and to attempt to live the new covenant on the plane and principle of the old.

      The fault of the old covenant lay, in the first place, with men. "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good" (Romans 7:12); but it was weak--not in itself, but through the flesh (Romans 8:4). "The law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin" (Romans 7:14). There is the weak place, and that is the ground God announces for removing that old covenant: "They continued not in my covenant, And I regarded them not, saith the Lord." They simply proved their inability to keep that law.

      But did not God know that at the time he gave the law? God had an ulterior purpose. The law became the revealer of man's sinfulness and weakness, thus preparing him for the free gift (through faith in Jesus Christ) of that righteousness which was unattainable to them through their own works and strength. It was the schoolmaster to bring men to Christ (Galatians 3:19, 22-24). [38]

      Now it is the chief point of the new covenant to obviate the fault of the old, so that there should nevermore be any need to say of men that, on account of their weakness, "they continued not in my covenant." The poorest and weakest of men shall now stand: "Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to make him stand." (Romans 14:4).

      But do you say that such is not the case? Many have failed, no doubt; but the reason of that is that men fail to learn and walk in the principle of the new covenant. "The law," writes Paul, "is not of faith; but, He that doeth them shall live in them" (Galatians 3:12). That is the principle of the old law, and, as the apostle points out, it is not of faith. But how often is it attempted to bind the commandments of the new covenant on men on that very principle! How often have I attempted to walk in the precepts of the Lord after the Old Testament fashion!

      But to make it clearer, the law says, "Do this, and you shall live;"

      The gospel says, "Live, and you shall do this."

      The law says, "You shall love the Lord your God;"

      The gospel says, "We love because he first loved us."

      Under the old law they served as slaves;

      Under the new they are first made sons, that they might serve from the heart as children.

      The old law says, "If you follow these precepts, there is a hope for you;"

      The gospel says, "Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

      The old law would say, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling," and stop there;

      The new adds, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

      The gospel says: "Faith first, hope first, love first, then the works that flow from them; adoption first, then the willing service; life first, divine life, then the manifestation of it in our conduct."

      Moreover, the man under the sway of the old covenant served because of, and according to, a law written on stone--an outside law; but to him who has caught the meaning of the gospel, God's will is written in the heart. Not that he needs no more instruction, but like the mother takes care of her child--not because the law statutes of our government demand it, but because she delights in it and is happy in doing her duty, and much more, toward her beloved child. So has God designed we should serve him according to a law written neither on stone nor paper, but on our hearts. "I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart."

      In addition to this, we have the assurance that God "will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13); that the power and might of God is available to us in our battles against evil (Ephesians 6:10), and that the grace of God shall manifest itself in us the more in proportion to our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9); that we shall be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man (Ephesians 3:16); and, finally, that we shall be able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). These things are given us that we may not sin; and yet if any one does even then fall into sin, repentance is offered him (Revelation 3:19, 20), and cleansing from sin (1 John 1:9), and the assurance that we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. But the glory of Christ's high-priestly intercession is not, as some suppose, in the readiness with which we obtain forgiveness of our sins, but rather in the power by which he keeps us from sin, that we may be children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom we shine as lights in the world.

      It was here, of all places, that God saw fit to draw the contrast between the covenants of grace and of works, and this has already occupied much space. Now for a brief notice of the three characteristics of the new covenant here enumerated.

      Verse 10 presents one; "I will put my laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them."

      Verse 11, one; "And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen, And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For all shall know me, From the least to the greatest of them." [39]

      Verse 12, one. The last (verse 12), is the first, "For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And their sins will I remember no more," the basis of the other two--a complete, full, free forgiveness of sins. Such a thing was not under the old covenant, but there remembrance was made of sins every year.

      In regard to verse 11, some have taught that it referred to state of affairs yet future. That it may have a more complete fulfillment at some future time, no one would deny. But here it is applied to the present dispensation. And how is it true now? First, under the old covenant, having been born into it, many grew up in ignorance of their God and were in covenant relationship with him before they knew him at all. This is impossible under the new covenant, where the first steps leading into it are "hear," "learn," "believe," "obey." Second, it was not every man that had direct dealings with God then, but the priests only, who drew near on behalf of the people. So, of necessity, the acquaintance of the people with God was at second hand. Now they are all priests, and all draw near through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:25). Verse 10 is already illustrated above.

      The old covenant virtually closed at the death of Jesus (Colossians 2:14); but the old worship and service was continued, even by Jewish Christians, neither God nor inspired men opposing (Acts 21:20-26). But, as our lesson shows, it was dying away, at least in respect to the Jewish Christians; while the Jews' temple service came to a sudden end at the destruction of Jerusalem.

      We could have no greater hope or confidence, Heavenly Father, than in the blessed revelation that Jesus, in the perfect sanctuary, ministers for us as our perfect High Priest to bring us unto God. As believers in him, and followers of him, and bearers of his name, we claim your blessing and your help. Our eyes are unto you, O God. In our weakness we look unto you for uplifting and strength and hope. May your Son be ever before our eyes, that we may consider him, our King, our Priest. Write your law in our hearts, and work in us both to will and to do of your good pleasure, and make us perfect in him according to the glorious promise of the new covenant; and then, having no ground in ourselves to boast, we will glory in you and give praises to your name through all eternity, in Jesus' name. Amen.

      The next lesson is Hebrews 9:1-14. This is the chapter of the blood of Christ.

      Recall all you know about the blood of Christ.

      Has it been mentioned hitherto in this Epistle?

      What is the subject of verses 1-10?

      Note verse 8--what did the Holy Spirit have to do with the earthly tabernacle?

      Read ahead and see on what verses 11-22 treat. [40]

[LOH3R 37-40]