Daily Meditations

Hebrews 10:2 The plight of man The author makes a simple and valid point, if the endless rituals and offerings set out in the Law could make men perfect, if the rules and regulations could be obeyed to the letter, then there would be no need for the endless repetition of the daily sacrifices, and the procession of priests and Levites who served at the Tabernacle / Temple. One offering should do it, just once, after that the people could go free and get on with their lives. However, here we read one of the primary reasons for the Law, it awakens guilt and exposes sins. If there was no standard, no measuring stick, if there was no means of judging between right and wrong then none of us would feel guilty! The Law reveals God’s standards and then asks us to measure ourselves and immediately, we see that we fall far short. That is why the Law is so despised and why men prefer to make up their own system of rights and wrongs that waters down God’s original commandments.   All of us carr...

Hebrews 10:1 The shadow of the Law Men can castigate the Jews all they like but there is one tangible thing they had, or have, that no other nation has been given – the Law. For all its complexities and the obstacles it puts between us and God, it is still His Word and His will revealed. It may be  “a shadow of the good things that are coming”  but it is God revealing His heart to men and exposing the destructive power and deceitfulness of sin. No other nation has been given instructions from heaven like the Law, and it may only be a “shadow,” but it is still a glimpse of how the Godhead thinks and works. With the Law came the Levitical priesthood and all the rituals and ceremonies associated with this, every detail of which was, and is, a pointer to a greater heavenly reality. Without the Torah the world would have no clue as to how God thinks or the nature of the heavenly Tabernacle and the glorious work of our great High Priest, Jesus Christ Himself. The Jews can only see t...

Hebrews 9:28 The bringer of salvation There are two stand – out things that Christ Jesus has done that completely changes the course of history and the lives of everyone who genuinely believes in Him. Firstly, the sin problem that decides our destiny at death, has been resolved, literally, once and for all. the verse before us does not say that He covers our sin or hides them or heals them, it clearly states that he was  “sacrificed once to take away the sins of many.”  They are gone! Our sins have been taken away forever, if we believe. This is not for all, or even a few but for many! There are large numbers of human beings who have lived and died in the past who believed in the sacrificial offering of Yeshua and because of their faith, their sins have been taken away. As Paul points out in Romans 3,  “it’s just as if I never sinned.”   The death problem that we talked about in the previous verse is settled, we may leave this world in the certain knowledge that...

Hebrews 9:27 Death then judgement An awful lot of time and resources are spent today in trying to help us avoid or postpone death! Without wishing to sound ungrateful none of us can really avoid our destiny, for all must die, rich and poor, the great and the good, paupers and kings, famous and unknown. As the daily news reminds us, even the most accomplished and wealthy of earth’s citizens eventually die, that is our destiny and it is impossible to cheat it. Strangely, very few spend any length of time thinking about what happens next, and many who do make up their own versions of life after death or follow religions that promise much but that are unable to deliver.  The Bible is clear that we cannot avoid this terminal appointment, our graveyards are full of those who have passed before us and in truth, our time on earth is very short. The old phrase,  “Eat, drink and be merry”,  has not altered over the centuries and it is understandable that many adopt this attitude to...

Hebrews 9:26 Once for all! Thank God that the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus was once-for-all and need never be repeated. As the writer of Hebrews states,  “Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.”  These words do not just show us the supremacy of His sacrifice but that it was also part of a divine plan that has always existed. If the sacrificial system is the only means of cleansing and forgiveness of sins, and if Christ’s offering fell short or was not acceptable by heaven’s standards, then He would have had to offer Himself annually just as all other High Priests had made regular sacrifices before Him. Thank God that was not necessary, in fact Yahweh had always known, from the creation of the world, that animal sacrifices would not suffice, and He  always had in mind to offer His Son as the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world, once for all. Some may ask, then why did the Jews have to relentlessly follow the rules an...

Hebrews 9:25 Away with repetition! The author is intent on his readers grasping the superiority of our heavenly High Priest by comparison with the earthly occupants of this role. Firstly, he draws attention to the monotonous rituals of the earthly priests who, year after year, fulfilled their roles in a repetitive series of ceremonies that had no apparent end or long-term solution to the problem of sins. In early autumn every Jewish worshipper marked their calendars and pondered a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to witness the Feast of Trumpets and the days of repentance that terminated in the rituals of Atonement and, if they could, they remained for the Feast of Tabernacles. Everyone knew what would happen on these holy days, for the routines never changed, but never-the-less, they watched, waited and celebrated their traditions and then went away to get on with life. It was, of course, an honour for the man who was High Priest to perform his duties on behalf of the nation, but everyone knew...