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Hebrews 9:1-5

¹Now in that first covenant between God and Israel, there were regulations for worship and a sacred tent here on earth. ²There were two rooms in this tent. In the first room were a lamp stand, a table, and loaves of holy bread on the table. This was called the Holy Place. ³Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. ⁴In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing some manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant with the Ten Commandments written on them. ⁵The glorious cherubim were above the Ark. Their wings were stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain all of these things now.

Reflect

The Jewish people of the day believed that the tabernacle was the epitome of the world. This is the place where God truly dwelt on earth. Inside the tabernacle were two rooms. The second and most important room was called the Holiest of All. In this room was the arc of the covenant. It was a box, covered in gold that contained items important to Israel. It contained a golden pot of manna that reminded Israel of God’s provision and their ungratefulness, Aaron’s rod that reminded them of their rebellion against God’s authority and the tablets of the covenant that reminded them of their failure to keep the Ten Commandments.

On the Day of Atonement, as the High Priest went in to make a sacrifice to God, he sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the top of the ark. As God looked down into the ark, He saw the symbols of Israel’s sin, rebellion and failure. But when the blood of sacrifice was applied to the top of the ark, His sight of the sin of Israel was covered by the blood of the sacrifice.

Even today, as God looks down on us and see’s the reminders of our sin, Jesus’ blood that was shed on the cross covers His sight of our sin.

Respond

Why was it important that God have two houses, one on earth and one in heaven?

What reminders of you sin are covered by Jesus’ blood?

What does it mean to you when we say that the blood of Jesus covers God’s sight of your sin?

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Hebrews 8:13

¹³When God speaks of a new covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and ready to be put aside.

Reflect

My in-laws have a wonderful set of encyclopedias. They purchased them years ago and saved them for our kids. While I respect their wishes, has anyone ever heard of the Internet? I can get everything (and more) that I need with a few strokes of the keyboard. Google is my Worldbook! Even with all of the instant access to information we still have, they still hang on to those books. Someone, somewhere will find a use for them.

God also made it possible to have instant access to Him. By replacing the rules and regulations of the Law with His new covenant of forgiveness and salvation, he made the old way obsolete. Our job is to stop hanging on to what is old and embrace what is new.

Respond

Why was it important that the recipients of this letter understand that the old ways of living were obsolete?

Are there things in churches now that are obsolete?

What obsolete items in your spiritual life are you hanging on to?

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Hebrews 8:8-12

⁸But God himself found fault with the old one when he said:

“The day will come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. ⁹This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. ¹⁰But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds so they will understand them, and I will write them on their hearts so they will obey them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ¹¹And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, `You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know me. ¹²And I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins.”

Reflect

I admit. I’m lazy. I don’t like to exercise. Everyone knows that to live a healthy life, you should get some exercise on a regular basis. It’s written down everywhere. I have loads of instructions, workout routines, diets, calorie counters etc. But, I just can’t stick with it. I’m flawed. Lazy.

I’m no different than the Israelites. They were given a simple set of instructions and they couldn’t follow it. Ten simple steps to get to the promise land and they couldn’t hack it. God knew this. It was evident from Adam – who couldn’t even follow one simple rule – on down. That is why he sent Jesus. Jesus did all of the work. All we have to do is put our faith in Him!

Respond

What was the one instruction that Adam couldn’t keep?

What did the Israelites do or not do that made God turn his back on them?

Who did God send to remind us everyday that He is God and that we should understand and obey how He wants us to live?

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Hebrews 8:6-7

⁶But our High Priest has been given a ministry that is far superior to the ministry of those who serve under the old laws, for he is the one who guarantees for us a better covenant with God, based on better promises.

⁷If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.

Reflect

Does anyone remember “New Coke”? It was terrible. They took a classic soft drink and ruined it. It was a pretender. A poser. It didn’t taste like Coca Cola. For some reason, they thought they had to tamper with the real thing to compete.

Jesus is The Real Thing and the covenant he guarantees is so much better than the Old Covenant. God’s master plan for the Old Covenant, was to provide a taste of the forgiveness and salvation that only Jesus could provide through his perfect sacrifice.

Respond

Why wasn’t the first covenant faultless?

Why was it necessary for God to create a new covenant with His people?

If Jesus guarantees the New Covenant, who guaranteed the Old Covenant?

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Hebrews 8:3-5

³And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too. ⁴If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law of Moses. ⁵They serve in a place of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the design I have shown you here on the mountain.”

Reflect

I have participated in a few theatrical productions in high school and college. It seems as though we practice and practice and practice until we think we have it all down. The night before the big opening, we have a dress rehearsal. This is run just like the real thing. All of the costumes, lighting, sound and environment is there. There may even be a small audience. It is a foretaste of what the real production will look like.

That is what the Old Covenant is to the New Covenant. A dress rehearsal. The temple on earth was only a copy of the real one in heaven. It was God’s plan to have his people perform a dress rehearsal until Jesus came on that opening night.

Respond

Why did God give Moses specific instructions on how to build the temple?

Why was the temple so important in Moses’ day? Why isn’t it as important today?

Jesus gave us instructions on how we should live here on earth. Are you performing your own dress rehearsal for heaven?

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