Day 356 (Hebrews 7-10) - Year 6
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Today we drop back in on the book of Hebrews and its rich descriptions of Jesus and His supremacy over all things. Chapter 7 opens by continuing to compare Him to the Old Testament priest Melchizedek.

Some scholars believe he was a Christ type, while others believe he was God the Son, making a special appearance on earth before he was born as Jesus. They certainly have a lot in common. For instance, Melchizedek's name means righteousness, and he was the king of a place called peace. And when he showed up in Genesis 14, he brought out bread and wine. And the author of Hebrews makes a case for Melchizedek being greater than Abraham because he bestowed a blessing to Abraham. The idea of someone being greater than Abraham was probably shocking to Jewish readers.

It's a pretty great story. Check it out if you have time. And if you want more information on the mysterious Melchizedek, we've linked to a video and an article again in today's show notes. Another interesting thing about Melchizedek is that he wasn't a descendant of the line of Levi, and all the priests during the Old Covenant were supposed to be descended from Levi. But there's a good reason he wasn't a descendant of Levi, because he lived about 500 years before Levi was born.

As a non-Levitical priest, one not descended from Levi, Melchizedek kind of sets a precedent for Jesus as priest, because Jesus was also not a descendant of Levi. But Jesus, who is from the line of Judah, gets his priestly authority based on the fact that he is eternal. That'll do it. If you joined us in the New Testament, it's possible that some of this may be lost on you, but I hope you'll stick around and join us when we start in Genesis 1 again, because it will help you see some of the really rich textures in this story.

One of the things it points to is this. The old law that the priests upheld was great for when they were under the old priestly system, but we have a new system in place now because the priest has changed. It's kind of like how our laws change when we get new leaders in office. Now that Jesus is our high priest, we operate under a new covenant. And verse 27 points out why this is infinitely better. It says,

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Jesus offered the final sacrifice for our sins. There's no need for a sacrificial system anymore. He finished it. Chapter 8 reminds us that after he finished paying for our sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

Priests don't sit. There's too much work to do. So the fact that he's sitting, it's because the work is done, finished. The author references this again later in 1012 when he says,

Another reason why this new covenant is superior is because the old one had some major limitations. Namely, it couldn't change hearts. It could reveal sin, but it couldn't make a person not love sin. But the new covenant is written on our hearts. It reaches us on every level. The author says this new covenant makes the old one obsolete. You don't need to have laws telling you to do something if your heart wants to do it. You do it anyway because you're motivated by love, not by law.

The author references this again in 10.9 when he says, "...he does away with the first in order to establish the second." You can see how this probably hits the Jewish Christians where they live. It has to be a real challenge to shift the frame of mind they've been living in for 2,000 years. For them, the law isn't just a preference or a habit or even a belief. It's their entire culture and identity.

Chapter 9 describes the interior of the temple and how priests of the Old Covenant had to make mediation. Verse 15 says, But this New Covenant doesn't do away with blood. It's still required. See,

sin still has to be atoned for. Verse 22 says that if blood isn't shed, sins aren't forgiven. But in this new covenant, we have the blood of a perfect sacrifice, the blood of Christ. And because he is the perfect sacrifice, he only has to be sacrificed once. That's why the author keeps driving home the phrase, once for all time. The deal is done.

Verse 28 says, So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. So yeah, he'll be back, but not to die again, not to be sacrificed again, but to be celebrated.

Chapter 10 revisits some of the other limitations of the law. For instance, if sacrificing an animal could pay for sin, then why did they have to keep doing it year after year? The author tells us in verse 4, And several times in the Old Testament, God told his people this. He said, I don't want your sacrifices. That's not what I'm after. I'm after your hearts.

The sacrificial system provided a temporary solution to a permanent problem. But Christ's death solved the problem once for all time.

The author is like a broken record with this idea. He says it again in 10.14, for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. The Holy Spirit bears witness that our hearts have changed under this new covenant. And because our sins have been paid for, God is no longer accepting any payments. Verse 26 and 27 say don't even bother trying to find another way to cover your sins because there isn't one.

He uses this fact to urge them to hold fast to their faith and not try to turn to other solutions because other solutions don't exist. He says,

He calls them to endure, despite persecution and despite things in life not being fair, because endurance is the test of our faith. It's what reveals the state of our hearts. Whether we really believe or whether we're just people who heard about Jesus and nodded in agreement, then walked away. He encourages them to encourage each other because he knows they'll need it. He says, keep meeting together, prompt each other to walk in love and good works, remembering all the while that Jesus is coming back.

My God shot today came from two different spots and how they fit together. The first was in the temple description in chapter 9. The author is describing the place where God dwelled before he took up residence in his people instead. While God's presence is in all places, his presence was especially concentrated in a room in the temple called the Holy of Holies, which was sectioned off by a curtain. But remember when Jesus died and there was an earthquake and the curtain in the temple was split from the top to the bottom? We read about it in Matthew 27.

Those concurrent events signaled a change in station. God's dwelling place wouldn't be in the temple anymore. And not long after that, God's Spirit came to dwell in His people. This is how our hearts can be changed, by the presence of His Spirit in us.

Later, in chapter 10, we see another layer to this story. Verses 19-22 say,

The curtain was his flesh. The curtain was torn from heaven to earth to open the way for us to be united to the Father. He lets us draw near, so let us draw near. He's where the joy is. ♪

DGroup International is the partner ministry of TBR. Here at TBR, we read the Bible and in DGroup, that stands for discipleship group, we study the Bible. We meet in homes, in churches, and even online. If you want to see when and where DGroups meet near you, visit mydgroup.org forward slash map. And if there's nothing that works for you, check out mydgroup.org forward slash online to see if an online group might work instead. And if none of that works, you can always sign up to become a leader. We'll put you through all of our training online.

For more info, visit mydgroup.org or click the link in the show notes.