Daily Meditations

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 ...

Hebrews 9:20 The blood of the Covenant Once again, the sprinkling of blood is being emphasized, this symbolic act was the start of a process that would characterise the faith of the Israelites forever. The sprinkling of blood was part of just about every ritual and ceremony that they celebrated, and blood was sprinkled over numerous items, people, buildings and artifacts, because it always spoke of purity, cleansing, dedication to God, and sprinkled items were deemed to be covered and protected from the stain of sin and thus sacred to the Lord. So, even the Covenant itself was covered by blood and thus sanctified and set apart for God and from God. Remember that this was not just some human tradition or religious regulation, this was all done in the name of the Lord and under His authority and instruction.  We turn to ourselves and of course, make a direct link with the blood of the sacrifice that was offered at Calvary. The blood that Yeshua offered when He was whipped and scourge...

Hebrews 9:19 Covered by the blood The events described here are a mirror of Exodus 24 where Moses and his sons were invited to approach the Lord on Mount Sinai, together with 70 elders from the tribes of Israel. This is a continuation of the giving of the sacred laws by the Lord, which are described in Exodus 20-21. The people in the camp were fully aware of what was taking place and had promised that  “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”  (A fragile commitment to the Lord, evidenced by the fact that just hours later, they were worshipping a golden calf!)  It was Moses who was entrusted with writing down the words of the Lord which, of course, included the 10 Commandments, although it was the Lord God who wrote these on the Tablets of Stone. The following day Moses built an altar at the foot of Mount Sinai and set up 12 stone pillars representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Young bulls were sacrificed and half of their blood was splashed on the altar and the rest on th...

Hebrews 9:18 There has to be blood! And here is the evidence that a death has taken place. Blood has been proved to have been shed. The Old Mosaic Covenant relied on the slaughter of endless animal sacrifices. We can only imagine the numbers processing towards the holy site, especially on Feast days when Jerusalem was full of pilgrims. We looked at the various offerings in verse 13 and in every case the creature had to be killed and its blood poured out, if it was to atone for the sins of the offeror.  “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”  Hebrews 9:22. Countless innocent animals were led to the slaughter over the centuries of Tabernacle / Temple rituals. The pilgrim would lay his hands on the beast and then kill it. The priests would collect the blood and apply it to the sides of the altar, then the animal would be butchered. Hundreds of thousands of animals must have been sacrificed in this way. These poor creatures were seen as substitutes for men and t...

Hebrews 9:16-17 Wills and death This is familiar ground, my wife worked in the law, managing Probate and Wills etc. and my work, before retirement, involved giving tax advice to solicitors and executors. One thing is absolutely sure, and it has not changed over the centuries; no beneficiary can make a claim on what is described in a Will until the testator dies. Beneficiaries may well know what has been promised to them and some greedily anticipate the death that guarantees their entitlement; however, their inheritance cannot kick-in, and the Will has no legal power until death has taken place. It seems that the legal rules being practiced when this Epistle was written were not much different to modern regulations in that a death must be proved, which today means that a formal Death Certificate must be completed. On seeing this, a lawyer will be able to read the Will and make the wishes of the deceased known. The context of this verse is very simple, v15 has already informed us that th...