Daily Meditations

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...

Hebrews 9:24 Christ has entered the heavenly sanctuary Copies, metaphors, allegories, substitutes – it seems harsh to reduce the Jewish religion to such levels after they had spent centuries trying to uphold the Law. After all, it was God who selected them, gave them their orders and oversaw their attempts to keep their side of the Covenant promises. Indeed, many of them still believe that their access to the Lord depends on their efforts and their allegiance to the rituals and regulations handed down by their ancestors. Thank God, that one day, their eyes will be opened. (read Romans 9-11).  It would not be fair to point the finger at the Jews when the church has been even more dismissive of God’s truth. How many churches teach the Old Testament; to help believers to understand what Jesus Christ really came to do? How many grasp the significance of the replica Tabernacle and its representation of the heavenly reality? How many believers understand the role of our High Priest and t...

Hebrews 9:23 The copies and the reality In chapter 8:5 the writer of this Epistle states that the Tabernacle and its furnishings and all the ceremonial and ritual practices associated with it, were just a copy – a metaphor! Hundreds of years of sacrifices and offerings were rigorously observed, the Jews thought that they were appeasing their God, that their religious devotion was all that the Lord ever asked from them, only to now be told that it was all just a substitute for something far more real and meaningful than Moses and the Law could ever give them. It must have felt like God was using them, that they had made themselves unpopular with the world – for nothing! That is not true, at their best they had been a shining light to the world, at their worst they had simply shown us all the futility of working for salvation and to appease the Lord God. Even better, they had allowed the world a glimpse behind the curtain that separates men from heaven, they had prepared the way for the ...

Hebrews  9:21-22 The cleansing with blood These verses continue the thought in verse 20, that the sacred Temple rituals were not put in place just to symbolise the cleansing from sin and a guilty conscience, but also to sanctify the people and the implements used to carry out the priestly duties. Even the Book of the Covenant was sprinkled with blood, the people were sprinkled with blood, the Tabernacle and all its sacred objects were sprinkled with blood. The Tent and its furniture had not sinned, they were ceremonially treated this way to show that they were dedicated to God and deemed fit for purpose. We need to understand this, that the blood of Christ does not just cover our past sins, but it also sets us apart for the holy service of God. Interestingly, once the Tabernacle and its artifacts had been ceremonially cleansed by the blood, they were also anointed with oil (See Leviticus 8), as was Aaron and his sons and the garments they wore. Let’s just get this straight, people ...