Hebrews 10:6

Hebrews 10:6

"Here I am, I have come to do Your will, my God."

It is painful to be made aware that all those centuries of burnt offerings and sin offerings that were resolutely presented to the Lord had little effect. They did not completely cleanse those who made the offerings and neither did they bring pleasure to the God who reigns over His people in heaven. This must have been devastating news for young Jewish believers who were effectively being told that the religious devotion of their ancestors had been completely meaningless! All those animals, all the effort and time, the decorative trappings of the Tabernacle and Temple, the fastidious attempts by the priesthood to honour the Law’s demands, it all had little value or purpose. So why did they do it? Was it not the Lord God who initiated all of this and chose the nation who would be responsible for these endeavours? What was the point?

The point was to show the world the weaknesses and sinfulness of the human race, that we are incapable of keeping laws and that we are all born into a sinful state for which we have no answer. We have also been shown that the worship of idols and false gods cannot save us from our sins, that all humanity is scarred by disobedience and unbelief, and that the consequence is death and separation from our Creator God. The Law shows us that all the rules in the world cannot save us for we are incapable of self-improvement. We are also indebted to the Jews for being the example, or the substitutes for us all, so that we might long for a better way. Those who care about such things, look for answers and there is only one answer, it is Christ Jesus Himself. He alone can atone for us. He alone could be fully human and yet untouched by sin. He came to show us that we cannot save ourselves and that God loves us so much that He is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to cleanse and restore us. Without the years of Jewish endeavours, we would be ignorant of God’s plans, for every single lesson that needs to be learned by the human race has been taught through them. None of this would make sense without their example, but now we can see the unique way in which the Lord God has resolved humanity’s biggest problem and made it possible for us to attain eternal life rather than fearing eternal death. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

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