Day 13 - Hebrews 7:27 - 8:8

Hebrews 7:27-8:8 

27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. 28 The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.

1 Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. 2 There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.

3 And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too. 4 If 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. 5 They serve in a system 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 pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”

6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.

7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. 8 But when God found fault with the people, he said:

“The day is coming, says the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant

    with the people of Israel and Judah.

Terrie's Comments -
I think it is interesting that in the beginning of chapter 8 the writer finally gets to what he calls "the main point"

Don't miss it...
The old tabernacle was a copy of the real one
The old covenant wasn't perfect and needed to be replaced...
verse 7 is very clear that the second covenant that God made with His people replaces the first.  
The new covenant is carried out through the ministry of Jesus Christ, our High Priest and is FAR SUPERIOR to the old and we have BETTER PROMISES in it.

This just keeps getting better and better :-) 

We need to understand the old covenant to understand exactly why we needed the new covenant.  The law required sacrifice and blood.  When Jesus died as a perfect sacrifice the whole requirement of the law was fulfilled and it is no longer required.  We now have a new covenant which is way better and doesn't require any further sacrifices to be made.  It is bathed in grace, mercy and obtained by faith in Jesus alone.


Tori's Comments -

That explains the meticulous rules in the old testament about building regulations and such. They were only a "shadow" (vs. 5) of the real thing. I feel like sometimes I settle for a shadow of a relationship with God (I could be crazy-talking, who knows). Like only half praying, half pursuing God when what he wants for my life is to dig deep and live a life of abundance. I'm making myself miss out, chasing shadows instead of the real thing.
Ponder time.


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