Hebrews 11:17-22 – Lessons on faith of Isaac, Jacob and Joseph

For us believers, it is needful to look at all of life and history through the eye of faith, to understand that we need a reasonable and a constant attitude in keeping faith with God.

In verses 17-19, we get to see God putting Abraham to a test of faith. God told him to offer up Isaac to Him. This was to ascertain if Abraham would love his son more than his willingness to obey God. Abraham chose obedience to God because he trusted in God’s Word. He was confident that God would keep His promise of giving numerous descendants to him through Isaac. So, he reckoned that even if he were to offer up Isaac, Abraham’s unique son, God would still raise him from the dead. He believed that God would still fulfill His promise to give him an heir. When Isaac came away from the altar, it was as though he rose from the dead. Isaac's restoration illustrates the point that God will give believers what He has promised if they persist in faith and obey Him.

Here the author rounded up talking about Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Each of these three demonstrated confidence in God's Word. They believed that God would provide for each of them what He had promised. The faith of these three patriarchs benefited their descendents. All three of them held firmly to the conviction that their death could never thwart God's purposes.

Unyielding trust, that’s what Abraham had, when it came to sacrificing Isaac his son. Are there things that God had promised us and then tells us to surrender to Him those very things. This is a challenge to trust God that even if we were to offer what He had blessed us, He will never fail us. In fact we will have many more folds in return. God never fails in His words, what He said He will do.  

Hebrews 11:8-16– Lessons on faith from Abraham and Sarah

In these verses, we see the life of Abraham in several phases. The first phase was when He obeyed God and left Mesopotamia (verse 8). The second was when he had reached the land that God had promised to him and lived among strangers (verses 9-10). Verse 8 began by telling us about Abraham's faith and how he obeyed God’s call and left his homeland for the place that God had promised. He obeyed and acted on them although he did not even know where that place was. And even though Abraham had arrived at the land of promise, it was still a strange land to him, and he and his family still had to dwell among foreigners. Verses 9-10 reveal that by faith he was still looking for the land which God Himself would be the foundation and the architect. 

Next Sarah, the wife of Abraham, is described here as having faith to believe in God’s ability to enable her to conceive, even though she had passed the age of child bearing. Hers was a miracle totally beyond the realm of natural possibility. God rewarded Sarah’s faith way beyond her wildest imagination. Although Abraham himself was also well pass the age of fertility, yet through his seed, Isaac was conceived and born. Through Isaac, God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled and literally, the children of Abraham are as numerous as the stars in the heavens or sands on the seashore.  her faith – hHER

The word “these” is not referring to all that the author had referred to in preceding verses but only to Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob. They and Abraham had lived as exiled strangers by faith. In verses 13-16, the author interrupted his recollection about Abraham's acts of faith to give a little exhortation. He emphasized the fact that these patriarchs lived by faith, and they all died believing that ultimately God would fulfill His promises to them. 

Hence, they all looked forward to possessing a land that God had promised to give them. None of them turned back to where they had left. In other words, none of them apostatized. The author’s purpose was to call on the Jewish believers to emulate the examples of these patriarchs and not to abandon their hope. Because every one of these patriarchs trusted God and kept pursuing Him by faith, God was not ashamed of any of them. Just as God had prepared a heavenly dwelling for them, we all know from John 14:1-3 that Christ had gone to heaven to prepare ours.

Every example so far had been of people who in the face of temptation, kept believing God and pursuing the promises He had made to them. In every case God had shown His approval, and each was rewarded for their persistent faith. By extension these verses also apply to us. We are to do likewise to receive God’s approval and be rewarded.

Hebrews 11:7- Following the example of Noah

Noah was a man who trusted God fully. Being warned by God of things his eyes did not see, he believed God. The unseen things referred to would be the impending rain and flood. Although he did not even see a single sign of impending rain, he built an ark in preparation for all the warnings he had received from God. Because of his faith, the ark of salvation he built saved his household from the judgment of the flood that God sent upon the world.

Noah believed God and all that He had promised, even though everyone did not believe them. The thought here is that Noah did not live for the present. He lived in anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s Word, even when his eyes had not seen a thing as yet.

Noah's faith led to the preservation of his family. And by faith, he became an heir of righteousness and inherited a new world after the flood. In the same way, as believers, we must also hold on to our faith tenaciously. And as we do so we will encourage others to emulate us. Then, like us, they too will enter into their inheritance as they follow our example with persevering faith.

We must be prepared for the second coming of Christ. Let’s heed Paul’s call to…be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Hebrews 11: 5-6 – Gleaning from the life of Enoch

Enoch is a character whose life revealed a vibrant relationship with God. In his case, he was one of the few in the Bible who did not experience physical death. In Genesis 5:24, we are told that He walked with God and he was translated into God’s presence forever. Enoch was known as a person whose life pleased God. How did Enoch please God?

Genesis 5:22 tells us that Enoch walked with God 300 years after he became the father of Methuselah. This is precisely the point. Many would have stopped at the point where Enoch started.  In our days we have seen many first time parents stop going to church or serving in a ministry when their first child was born. Suddenly, all important routines have to change to accommodate the birth of that child. Enoch was different. With the birth of his son Methuselah, his fervency for God increased. Oh, would that there will be more Enoch-like believers in our days.  

Jude 14-15 said that Enoch also prophesied or preached about God. In other words, he witnessed for God. No wonder His life pleased God. Using the life of Enoch as a backdrop, the author called for faith. He said that without faith it is not possible to please God. Believers who come to God must believe that He exists and that He will reward those who diligently seek Him.

Are we walking with God closely? Are we serving the Lord fervently?  To see Him more clearly, to follow Him more nearly, to love Him more dearly, and to serve Him more fervently!

Hebrews 11: 4 - Learning from the faith of Abel

In verse 4, the author talks about Abel, the son of Adam who was murdered by Cain, his own brother. The author wants us to learn from his faith in God. In order to understand the illustration of Abel and Cain, we need to go to Genesis 3. In Genesis 3:21, we see that God provided the first sacrifice of an animal, to cover man after he had fallen. This indicated that man in and of himself could never deal with his own sin. God provided the covering through the death of an animal, signifying that blood had to be shed for the sin to be forgiven and covered.

Presumably, God must have indicated to both Cain and Abel the necessity for animal sacrifice. Hence, God did not accept the sacrifice of Cain simply because there was no shedding of blood. Cain chose to come to God on his own terms. He offered fruit and vegetables without the shedding of blood. In this, he had disobeyed God. Abel, on the other hand, offered the best of his animals and God accepted it because of the shedding of blood.

What’s the point of all this? Abel and Cain exemplified the kind of acceptable worship and unacceptable worship to God. Abel’s life illustrates a person who believes in God's revelation, and worships God according to divine instruction. Cain is likened to a person who has not believed the revelation of God, but chooses to come to God on his own self-centered terms. This is the reason that Cain's offering was not acceptable to God.

The same situation still exists today between two kinds of worshippers. Those like Abel, who would choose to come to God by faith, acting on His instructions; or those like Cain, who deign to worship God on their own terms. God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering indicated that Abel did so on God’s terms. Although dead, Abel’s blood still speaks. Like him, we can only have a right standing with God because of the shed blood of Christ. And only people like Abel can please God. His act still speaks to us today, concerning the need to come to God through Christ, and His sacrificial and completed works at Calvary. 

Hebrews 11:1-3 – The nature of faith

he Epistle to the Hebrews was a warning to the Jewish Christians against backsliding to Judaism. It was also a call to persevere in their faith in Christ to the end. We said earlier that the author mentioned three things in his exhortation: (1) Faith; (2) Hope and (3) Love. In chapter 11, the author would deal with the whole subject of faith. Many Old Testament saints were brought up to encourage the believers to emulate their faith as they pursued God. Verse 1 appears to restate what the author had said in Hebrews 10:22, “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith …” He was in fact saying, real faith in God will result in full assurance concerning the promises of God.

In Hebrews 11:1-2, he dealt with the nature and the significant features of faith. Two words that must be highlighted are: assurance and conviction. The word “assurance” has to do with being confident. Hence, the first basic nature of faith is assurance. Faith gives assurance to the believers’ hope. It is being confident that future things that are yet unseen will truly happen as God had said.

Secondly, it is about a conviction. Faith is the basis and the foundation on which the believers’ hope rests on. Faith convinces the believers and provides the ability to perceive and accept the invisible realities of life. And God approved of such faith. How do we know? We see in verse 2 that the Old Testament saints found their approval with God because of their faith.

In verse 3, the author dealt with faith and creation. Here, the author pointed out that faith enables believers to accept and understand that God brought the world into existence by His Word. Faith gives us the ability to believe that the visible world was brought into existence by the invisible thing, the Word of God. Let’s exercise faith for it’s our assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen. Let’s go for it!  

Hebrews 10:32-39 – Regardless of the circumstance, let’s keep on keeping on

The author now turned to encourage the believers. He reminded them of their past faithfulness and how they had endured great conflict of suffering. Apparently, the readers had a good beginning in their faith journey and showed great resilience in the face of persecution. They remained steadfast in the trying circumstances and had proven to be faithful in severe trials of their faith. They were unshaken when encouraged to abandon their faith. Besides, they had withstood public shame and persecution for their belief and had unashamedly supported other believers who had undergone persecution in the same way. Now the author was asking them to recall those moments.

In the 1st century, prisoners had very difficult times. Little provisions were made for them and they had to depend on friends for the supplies of even basic necessities such as food. Hence, it was a meritorious act for Christians to visit prisoners. However, this kind act invited some risk for the visitors. They would be identified with the prisoners. Yet the readers of this epistle did not recoil from those charitable acts. They endured much embarrassment personally for their kind gestures, besides having to endure the shame of being put in the same category as the prisoners. Verse 34 tells us that they empathized with the prisoners so much so that they were even willing to bear confiscation of their properties. Why? They were looking forward to a better and more lasting inheritance in the future in eternity. Hence, they were not only able to suffer their losses willingly and not grudgingly, but also joyfully. 

In order to help the readers to stay confident and not to abort their faith, the author turned now to get them to focus on their reward. In verses 35-36, he told them to look forward to the reward awaiting them. This would motivate them to keep on going. The author was in essence telling them that they were entitled to receive a reward for all that they had done. Hence, they should not be faint hearted and throw everything away now. This tells us that the readers were believers undergoing trying circumstances and not unbelievers. If they were unbelievers the author would have talked about salvation rather than endurance. Obviously, what they needed was to persevere in the race in the face of tough time. In verses 37-38, the writer gave the readers a peep into the future when they would receive their reward. Quoting Isaiah 26:20 and then Habakkuk 2:3-4 the author anticipated the Second Coming of Christ. He indicated here that at the right moment, the Lord shall return and there will be no delay. The moment of His Coming can never be too early or too late, it will be very precise. Meanwhile the believers were exhorted to walk by faith, for if they should abandon the faith, God would not be pleased. The words “shrinks back” suggest apostasy.

The writer was confident that he and his readers did not belong to the category that would apostatize. In using the word “destruction” the author was probably thinking about eternal damnation in hell. This would be in keeping with the force of all that he was saying in these verses. Some felt that the author could be concerned that his readers would become the object of God’s discipline. In this case, the word “waste” would be an appropriate replacement for the word “destruction.” It would give the idea that a believer who would not walk by faith, but return to his old ways would waste his life. Conversely, verse 39, promises the believer who does not backslide but persevere in faith would preserve his soul and ultimately receive his rewards. Let us lean on the promises that Christ had made and keep on keeping on to the end.

Hebrews 10:26-31 – Be steadfast and hold on to the end

In the Book of Hebrews, the author had been asserting the fact that it is a serious sin when a person who had received the revelation of the truth; known and professed it, and then chose deliberately to walk away. Such a person is called an apostate. The author of Hebrews wanted the readers to know the seriousness of becoming an apostate who would go on sinning willfully. When a believer deliberately turned away from his faith, he had rejected Christ and His sacrifice, he no longer had any protection from the judgment of God.

In verse 26, the pronoun “we” is all inclusive. The author was warning the readers, including himself, that to turn away from God deliberately and to go on sinning willfully was a serious matter to be wearied of. This is not referring to people who drift away from the faith once in a while and then repent and return. This refers to one who had drifted away, stayed out and refused to return. So severe would be this sin that the author revealed it would be punishable in the severest hell. When the author said, ”…there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins”, he meant that apart from the sacrifice of Christ, there would be no other sacrifice acceptable to God. To turn away from that atoning work of Christ would cause that person to end in the terrible judgment of hell, which would consume the adversaries. Interestingly, the word “adversary” is another name for Satan. God had prepared the fire of hell for him and it is a fearful thing to think that an apostate is lumped together with him.  

To support what he had just said, the author made a comparison. He looked back to the old dispensation under Moses. The Law stated that when a person had broken it, and two or three witnesses could confirm it, that person would be punishable by death. No mercy would be shown that person (Numbers 15:30). If under the Old Covenant, a person would be dealt with severely, how much more severely would one be dealt with, if he despised all that Christ had accomplished at Calvary? The point of the author was this: Under the Old Covenant, a person who spurned it would have to suffer a severe penalty. Now for a believer, who spurned the superior New Covenant, would have to face a greater penalty.

To trample “under the foot the Son of God” and regard, “as unclean the blood of the covenant” would be to despise Him and the superior Blood of Jesus Christ. It was the Blood of Christ that had sanctified the apostate. Besides, by remaining an apostate would be to insult the Holy Spirit, who had graciously brought one to faith in Christ. In verses 30 and 31 we find a quotation of Deuteronomy 32:35-36 that discussed the vengeance of God. In the Old Covenant, God had vengeance on His own people when they broke Moses' Law, how much more would He show vengeance on those who would violate the grace given through Jesus Christ?  Vengeance belongs to God.  And it is indeed “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” 

Hence, we must take heed to be wise and not be foolish. Let’s seek to understand what the will of the Lord is. We learn to redeem every opportunity because the days are evil. Be circumspect and live to glorify God!

Hebrews 10:19-25 – Christ, the new and living way

From this point onwards, the author of Hebrews would be dealing with the practical outworking of all that he had discussed in the previous chapters. He had dealt with the superiority of Christ, especially as the High Priest of the New Covenant. Bear in mind that he was talking to a group of Hebrew people teetering at the brink of returning to Judaism. Throughout this epistle, he had interspersed his writings with a series of four warnings - Hebrews 2:1-4; Hebrews 4:1-2; Hebrews 6:4-8; Hebrews 10:26-28. In his warning of the dangers in Hebrews 10:19-28, it was not all gloom. However, in this final warning, the writer outlined three Christian virtues which he would later develop in the last three chapters. In verse 22, he dealt on the virtue of faith and developed it further in chapter 11. In verse 23, he dealt with hope and expanded it in chapter 12. And finally in verse 24, he talked about love and discussed it in more detail in chapter 13.  

In verses 19-23 he began by warning believers of the danger of willfully sinning. The connective “therefore” in verse 19 looks back to what the author had said in the previous chapter. He had been talking about Christ’s High Priesthood and how He had offered a better and perfect sacrifice; enacted a better covenant; and now serves in a better sanctuary. In light of all that Christ had done, believers now have an open invitation to enter the Holy of Holies, the presence of God. For up to this point only the high priests were given the privilege once a year. But because of what Christ had done, He had made a provision for believers both now and the future to approach God.

In this passage, the author gave two reasons why believers could approach God. The first reason is recorded in verses 19-20. He explicitly stressed the Blood of Jesus as the means for believers to enter God’s presence. The Blood of Jesus basically refers to His sacrificial death. The crucified flesh of Jesus had now removed that veil that separated the people and the presence of God. Hence, believers can now come confidently through Christ’s sacrifice into the presence of God. This way to God’s presence is not only new but also living. New, in that Christ’s death had created a new situation never known in the Old Covenant. It is “living” because it is intricately and indissolubly bound up with the Lord Jesus Himself. The second reason why believers could approach God confidently is given in verse 21. Because believers have a great High Priest over the House of God, they can now approach God boldly. Believers here are seen as the House of God.    

In verses 22-25, the author gave three admonitions to the believers. The first admonition was for believers to draw near to God by faith. How? He asserted that they should draw near to God with true devotion. Not only that, they should also draw near with a faith that fully assured them that Jesus’ Blood had removed every stain of guilt and made them acceptable before God. They should also come “having hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience.” In Hebrews 9:18-22, the author described how Moses sprinkled the people with the blood of animals to ratify the Old Covenant at Sinai. But now, in a greater way, in the New Covenant, Christ’s Blood sprinkled over the believers’ hearts had cleansed them from all evil conscience. And they should come having their “bodies washed with pure water.” This is referring to water baptism, the outward act of washing to symbolize inner cleansing.

The second admonition found in verse 23 was for believers to hold fast to their hope. This was a call to persevere in their faith. They should remain unwavering because of the God Who had promised them their future, is a faithful God. Finally, the third admonition found in verses 24-25 dealt with the horizontal relationship. It was a call to love - their social responsibility. This was particularly needful as some of them were leaving Christianity. By love they should encourage one another to remain faithful to the Lord. Verse 25 suggests that to desert the communal gathering puts one at risk of backsliding. However, this verse also suggests mutual accountability as all believers would have to give an account to God ultimately. The day drawing near would be the day of accounting. This definitely is an allusion to the judgment seat of Christ.

Beloved, we have a responsibility to God to live our lives faithfully but we also have a responsibility to our brothers and sister to help them live for God consistently. By the grace of God, let us be each other’s keeper in the journey!

Hebrews 10:11-18 – Christ, the only way

In these verses, the author wanted to demonstrate the finality of Christ’s Priesthood. In the Old Testament, there had not been a record that any of those Levitical priests sat down. They could not sit down because their works were never finished for the sacrifices they offered could never remove the guilt that sin brought into the people’s lives. Whereas, here we see Christ offered Himself for the people’s sins once for all, after which He sat down. Here the author quoted from Psalm 110. In referring to the posture of sitting, the author meant to say that His work of bringing salvation to believers had been done. He now sits beside the Father because His work is finished.

Verse 11 begins by revealing the futility of the repeated sacrifices of the Old Covenant priesthood. The argument of the writer was this: the numerous times that the same sacrifice was repeated only went to show its ineffectiveness. It simply implied that the work of the priest could never be done. Like the Old Covenant priest, Christ the High Priest also offered a sacrifice, but He only had to offer it once. His one offering of Himself decisively took away the sins of the people for all times.  Having made the perfect sacrifice, Christ then sat down at the right hand of God. More precisely, His work of removing believers’ sins and making them fit for God’s presence had been completed. Christ had fulfilled in every way the righteous demands required of God. Christ is now waiting for the appointed time of ultimate triumph over the enemies.

The “offering” in verse 14 refers to Christ offering His own body on the Cross. Because of its effectiveness, this sacrifice had brought perfection forever to the saints. The word “sanctified” gives the impression that the sanctification had already been completed. However, this sentence translated by the NIV is best. It says, “By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” This suggests that the sanctification is still on-going while the work of justification is already completed.

Before the New Covenant was enacted, it was already anticipated in the Old Covenant. This was clearly evident as the author quoted part of Jeremiah 31:31-34 to substantiate this fact. The Holy Spirit had testified through Jeremiah and continued to testify of the adequacy of the New Covenant. The final forgiveness provided in the New Covenant marked the end of sacrifices for sin. In this New Covenant enacted by Christ once for all, God had erased from His memory the sins of His people permanently. This seems to contradict the fact that God is omniscient. Does it? The fact simply means that while God knows everything, He does not hold the sin against the sinner whom He has forgiven.  

Our transformation takes effect because of the sacrifice of Jesus. Through it we are assured that our sins are forgiven. Hence, we are assured of our freedom from the tyranny of guilt. As we remember the cost of what took us from the pit to be near God’s throne, it gives us great incentive to live holy lives for His glory.

We will draw near to You.

Jesus we hear You calling

There is no fear here in your perfect love

We will draw near to You.

Knowing that as we do

You will draw near, You will draw near to us

Hebrews 10:5-10 – Christ, the effective sacrifice

Christ was not just the perfect sacrifice, He was also the effective sacrifice.  In verses 5-7, the author did an unusual thing. He literally took the words of David from Psalm 40 and put them on the lips of Christ. In these verses, once again, the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of animal sacrifices was re-iterated. God did not take pleasure in those sacrifices. Why? It was because the sacrifices were offered only as a formality. The people had turned something God provided into a mechanical ritual, instead of heartfelt repentance and faith. The sacrifices were offered up with neither the willingness of the heart to draw near to God nor the desire to please Him. Many times we see in the Old Testament how the Lord said, that His desire was for obedience more than sacrifice. In Psalm 51:16-17 we read, “For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” David knew that sacrifices and burnt offering could not remove the guilt of his sins. Otherwise, he would have easily offered them and fixed the guilt of his sins. But he knew that only a repenting heart and the willingness to walk in obedience could please God.

In verse 7, the author then showed Christ’s willingness to come and be the sacrifice. Christ knew that it was the Father’s will for Him to come as the sacrifice. In saying that “…a body Thou hast prepared for me;” God was seen to have planned for Christ’s incarnation. This thought here would also refute the late 1st century teaching of Gnosticism. Jesus did not just seem to be human but that He was truly human. Here we also see Christ responding by saying, “Behold, I have come to do Thy will, O God.”  Christ consciously and deliberately offered His life to God to do His will. The statement, “… in the roll of the book it is written of me …” suggests that the Old Testament writings already anticipated the coming of this Messiah in human form. The will of God that Christ came to fulfill was to lay down His life for the redemption of mankind.  

In verses 8 and 9, the author repeated what he said in the previous two verses. Here, he identified four Old Testament sacrifices and offerings. The term “Sacrifices” refers to peace offering; the “offerings” were probably those voluntary “meal offerings;” the burnt offerings would be the sacrifices that were wholly consumed. The “sacrifices for sin” would refer to that class of sacrifices stipulated in Leviticus 4-5. All these were only types that were foreshadowing the work of Christ. 

Verse 9; concerning Christ’s coming to do God’s will, is a great statement when properly understood. He literally came into the world to do the will of God. He was on earth and every day of His life He sought to do the will of the Father. In John 4:34, He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.” And despite the tremendous weight and pain, He said to the Father, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” As a true man, Jesus was tempted to do the things human so often would do. But Christ’s response to every tempting moment had always been, “Father not my will but yours be done.” And He did that in a human physical body, what no fallen human being had done and will ever do. He constantly obeyed God.

However, Christ came from eternity where His will had always been in harmony with God and He took on human flesh. In human form, Christ continued to harmonize His will with the Father’s. While on earth, Christ lived by the Word of God perfectly. And He did it with great joy. This formed the basis on which God was totally satisfied. His was a life of total obedience. He was the only person, whose personal will merged with God’s will in totality. The will of God that had never been obeyed to its fullest by any man, Christ completely accomplished them. His action had removed and abolished the Mosaic Covenant and its sacrificial system. And in its place God now established the second, the New Covenant. This was God’s will and it satisfied Him. Christ’s offering of Himself superseded the Levitical sacrifices in that it justified the believers and set them apart to God, once and for all times. Christ had set us a standard to emulate. Let’s be totally obedient to the Father! Let’s live to please Him and Him alone! 

Hebrews 10:1-4 – The inadequacy of the old rituals

In these verses we see that Christ had not only offered a better sacrifice but also a perfect sacrifice. The author reveals that the people’s sacrifices offered to God were merely outward conformity to the Law with no inward desire to please Him. They were mere acts of worship minus the true willingness of the heart to know Him. The author’s primary concern here was to help his readers to progress from a formal empty religion to a state of genuine union of their wills and faith in God.

We are reminded that the Mosaic Law, being only a shadow, could never possibly bring a person into an intimate relationship with God. The Law only dealt with the external and not the internal. Despite the repeated offering year after year, it still could never bring a person close to God. The two words “make perfect” do not mean to make sinless but rather to make perfect in one’s access to God. The author wanted them to know that their animal sacrifices did not solve their sin problem. Moral defilement could not be removed by mere physical outward means. For that reason, despite their repeated offering of the same sacrifice, they were not liberated from the guilt of their sins.

Asking a rhetorical question in verse 2, the author implied that the animal sacrifices had not been effective. If they were, the people who offered them would no longer be conscious of the guilt of their sins and they would not have to offer anymore sacrifice. The fact that they needed to offer sacrifices again and again proved the inadequacy of their repeated offerings. Verse 3 looks back on the Day of Atonement, where the yearly dramatic exercise of offering animals was carried out with the intention to deal with their sins. Since those sacrifices offered year after year were ineffective, they had become an annual reminder rather than a removal of sins. The author went on to underscore the fact that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. Thus, the author said that the Old Covenant sacrifices were inadequate.

While the Old Testament rituals indicate a person’s need to deal with his guilt-ridden conscience, they provided no way to bring him into an abiding relationship with God. We can now appreciate all that our Lord went through. He paid an awesome price to make perpetual relationship with God possible. 

What grace is mine, that He who dwells in endless light

Called through the night to find my distant soul

And from His scars poured mercy that would plead for me

That I might live and in His name be known

So I will go wherever He is calling me

I lose my life to find my life in Him

I give my all to gain the hope that never dies

I bow my heart, take up my cross and follow Him!

Hebrews 9:15-28 – How is Christ a more superior sacrifice?

Verse 15 began by saying, “for this reason” meaning because of His superior sacrifice and work, Christ became the Mediator of a New Covenant. His mediation work fulfilled two purposes. Firstly, it redeemed believers from their transgression committed under the Mosaic Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant was like a death sentence because it defined what had to be done but did not empower the people to obey and perform God’s command. Hence, the people had transgressed regarding its command. However, Christ’s death redeemed believers from their transgression of those commands, stipulated in that covenant. The second purpose was for those who have been called to receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.

In verses 16-17, the author likened the Covenant of God to the will that man would make. The beneficiaries of any will can experience the effects of the will only when the person who made the will had passed on. The content of the will can never be executed as long as the person who had made it remains alive. And just like the Old Covenant was inaugurated by the blood of animals, the New was also inaugurated with blood. It is the precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Just as the blood of animals was applied on the Old Covenant beneficiaries, the Israelites and the tabernacle; the New Covenant went into effect when Christ's shed Blood was applied to its beneficiaries, the believers, spiritually.

In verse 22, the phrase “one may almost say, all things” appears to imply God’s provision for the poor. Blood sacrifice was required except for the poor where God allowed them to bring a flour offering instead of an animal (Leviticus 5:11). However, God had stipulated under the Law of Moses that without the shedding of blood or death there would be no forgiveness. This principle was also true of the New Covenant. There would be no purging of sin for the believers, if not for the shed Blood of Christ. This verse tells us that blood was used for the cleansing. In the Old Testament, blood offering was also used to sanctify and cleanse the altar (Leviticus 8:15, 19); lepers (Leviticus 14:6-7); and sanctuary (Leviticus 16:15-19), etc. Like the copy of the things to come; the altar, the tabernacle, etc. that needed to be cleansed by blood, so also the heavenly things had to be cleansed by blood. But it had to be cleansed by the blood of a better sacrifice: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

In verse 24, the author continued to discuss where Christ was serving. He did not enter into a holy place made with hand, which was just a replica of the true one. Christ went into heaven itself and into the very presence of God. He entered in for us, believers. Then in verses 25-26, the author made a double comparison: Firstly, he compared the single offering made by Christ and the repeated offerings made by the high priest on the Day of Atonement year by year. Secondly, in saying that the high priest’s offering was “with blood not his own”, he was implying that Christ offered blood that was His own when He offered Himself. The point of the author is this: if the sacrifice of Christ was insufficient to pay the penalty for man’s sin for all times, then He would need to be sacrificed again and again since the beginning of the world. But this was not necessary, for Christ appeared at the end of the age once and for all “to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” The author took into account the Jewish idea that history was divided into two ages. They thought that at the end of the age, God would send the Messiah to provide the possibility of true forgiveness and thus to inaugurate the age to come.

So we see that Jesus Christ entered the presence of God rather than an earthly tabernacle (verse 24). And that He made only one offering rather than repeated offerings (verse 25). And He put away sins forever rather than temporarily (verse 26).

The last two verses 27 and 28 tell us that because Jesus Christ died for our sins, believers should have no fear of condemnation after death. Verse 27 suggests that death is only the end of physical life on earth but not the final end. For there will come a judgment following death where men will have to give an account to God. These verses also suggest that believers should look forward to the ultimate deliverance. In His death at His First Coming, Christ brought deliverance from the penalty of sin. He will come again but this time, there will be no reference to sin. He will come to usher those who eagerly wait for Him into their eternal inheritance.

Praise the Lord that in Christ Jesus, we not only have a more superior sanctuary but also a more superior sacrifice! Besides, we also have a more superior salvation. What more can we ask? Let’s embrace Christ with all that we are and serve Him with all that we have! 

Hebrews 9:11-14 – The effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice

Earlier we saw that the superiority of Christ’s Priesthood was based on three things: (1) a better ministry; (2) a better covenant; and (3) a better sanctuary. Now in these verses we are given one more reason: a better sacrifice.

The author to the Hebrews picked up from where he left off in Hebrews 8:3. He showed us what Christ has done, since the sacrifices of the Old Covenant were ineffectual. Here we are told that Christ made an offering that had secured the believer’s redemption for all eternity. And since blood is the emphasis in all sacrifices, the author delved on the significance of the blood of animals and that of Christ. The author set out to say in verses 11-14 that the sacrifice that Christ offered was more superior to that of the Old Covenant. He added that the time of reformation which the author spoke about in verse 10 had arrived. As High Priest, Christ’s service was rendered in a greater, better and more perfect tabernacle. Unlike the old one that was temporal and had become obsolete, the tabernacle that Christ entered in to serve was not made by hand and was not of this creation, meaning not an earthly one. The point the author made is that Christ had entered the true holy place, that is, Heaven, the very presence of God.

Besides, the author explicitly said that Christ did not enter into the presence of God with the blood of animals. He entered in with His very own Blood. In the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant, the priest could only enter the Holy of Holies through the blood of goats and calves. The goats were for the sins of the people and the calves for the sins of the high priest (Leviticus 16:5-11). However, Christ the High Priest of the New Covenant, entered not into the Holy of Holies, but into the very presence of God with His own Blood. The blood of animals had limited efficacy whereas Christ’s Blood has great value and is totally efficacious.

While the priests of the Old Covenant had to offer sacrifices repeatedly, Christ need not do it yearly. His entrance into God’s presence was once for all. The phrase “once for all” meant that Christ is in the presence of God for all time. The many sacrifices of the Old Covenant only procured partial and temporary deliverance, whereas Christ’s Blood obtained for believers their eternal redemption. The cleansing provided by the sacrifices of the Old Covenant was only temporary, but the sacrifice of Jesus Christ provided permanent cleansing. The author pointed out that the Old Testament sacrifices only brought cleansing of the outward flesh, whereas the Blood provided by Christ’s sacrifice cleanses one’s conscience. It is interesting that the Holy Spirit is alluded to as “the eternal Spirit.” In verse 14, we see that all three persons of the Trinity had a part in the redemptive work.

In verse 14, why did the author make reference to dead works? Evidently, he was referring to the Mosaic Covenant. The author wanted to contrast the dead ceremonial and ritualistic cleansing of the prescribed Mosaic Covenant with the effectual cleansing of the conscience of the New Covenant, inaugurated by Christ. While the cleansing provided by the Old Covenant was only temporary, the cleansing of the New Covenant was permanent. 

Why was the sacrifice of Christ better? (1) It was conducted in the heavenly tabernacle; (2) it was transacted with His own Blood; (3) It is a once and for all sacrifice; (4) its result is permanent for it’s an eternal redemption; and (5) its accomplishment is greater for it cleanses the conscience. Hallelujah! Our conscience is cleansed for all time and we can draw near to God in worship. Hence, we should boldly draw near without fear.

Hebrews 9:6-10 – Our privilege in Christ

In these five verses, the writer talks about the regulations of the divine service in the Tabernacle. Here, he continues to highlight the inferiority of the Old Covenant. The Holy Place is referred to as the “outer tabernacle” in verse 6, and the Holy of Holies as “the second” in verse 7. While the priests could continually enter the outer Holy Place daily, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year, on the Day of Atonement.

What was being said about the daily divine worship in verse 6? The priest would enter the Holy Place daily to pour oil in the menorah or the golden lamp-stand; or to replace the bread on the table of showbread weekly; or to put incense on the altar of incense. But only once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies to offer the special sacrifices for that day (Leviticus 16:34). The offering would only cover the sins committed ignorantly by the people. This meant that only sins not premeditated could be atoned for in the old system. But intentional sin could not be atoned for. 

In verse 8, the writer’s intention was to show that the Holy Spirit wanted to convey the information, that the system of the Levitical priesthood did not make available a way into God’s presence for the ordinary believer. As long as the earthly tabernacle with its Holy Place was still standing, entrance into God’s presence was not available to the people. The phrase “a symbol for the present time” in verse 9, conveys the idea under the Mosaic Law, entrance into God’s presence was not possible. Hence, it represents the failure of the old system.

In verses 9-10, the author pointed out that the sacrifices of the old system could never perfect the conscience of the worshippers. The conscience is the moral faculty of a person that either commends or condemns that person. The sacrifices prescribed in the old system could never remove the guilt of one’s sin that would hinder his oneness with God. The Old Covenant system of worship could not meet the deepest longing of God's people, an intimate personal relationship with God. Its rites and ceremonies were merely external matters, until God would provide a better system at “a time of reformation.” The time of reformation refers to the New Covenant that Christ inaugurated.

In summary, verses 1-10 conveyed five reasons why the sanctuary of the Old Covenant was inferior: (1) it was an earthly sanctuary - verse 1; (2) it was only a type of something greater - verses 2-5; (3) it was inaccessible to the people - verses 6-7; (4) it was only temporal - verse 8; and (5) its ministry was external rather than internal - verses 9-10.

The old system only dealt with physical and ceremonial cleansings of the flesh. It was not able to offer purification of one’s conscience from dead works. At best it could only provide the people a temporary and limited entrance to God. It could only satisfy one’s conscience until Christ’s arrival, to enable one a permanent access into God’s presence.  

The question for us today is unlike the early readers of Hebrews. They chose to revert to the old system. For us, our issue is not about the choice, it is more an issue of our willingness to come to God regularly through Christ! It is silly of us not to seize the opportunity to regularly enjoy our Christ’s obtained privilege, when the way is obviously open to us! We must seize the moment! 

Hebrews 9:1-5 – God wants us near

Having introduced the New Covenant, the author proceeded in chapter 9 to  show why it was better than the Old Covenant. In saying God had made the first covenant obsolete, he was aware that some might get the impression that he was undermining the Old. However, he was not denigrating the old system, he was merely pointing out its inadequacy. He was merely describing the earthly tabernacle that the Levitical priests served, in order to compare it to the greater and perfect Sanctuary where Christ the High Priest served.

The first covenant referred to, in verse 1, was of course the Mosaic Covenant. In that covenant there were regulations concerning worship. Those regulations for operation were specified in the Law. The author also made reference to the sanctuary and he qualified it with the world “earthly.” His intention was to show that it was a man-made sanctuary as opposed to the heavenly Sanctuary or Heaven, the dwelling place of God.

In verses 1-5, the author described the tabernacle that God had instructed Moses to construct (Exodus 25-30). In verse 2, he made references to the Holy Place and the furnishing in it and in verse 3-5; he described the Holy of Holies and its furnishings. In the Holy Place was found the lampstand (Menorah) and table of sacred bread whereas in the Holy of Holies, he pointed out that there were the altar of incense, the Ark of the Covenant, the golden jar of manna, the rod of Aaron that budded, the table of the covenants (the two tablets that contain the Decalogue), and the two cherubim that cover the mercy seat.

There appears to be a little contradiction between this and the Exodus’s account. In the Old Testament, the altar of incense was placed in the Holy Place and not the Holy of Holies. Most people understood Hebrews 9:4 to say that the altar of incense was in the Holy of Holies. How do we reconcile this? In the passage, the author’s emphasis was on the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. What he could be saying is this: standing on each side of the veil was the altar of incense and the Ark of the Covenant respectively. Hence, in his mind, the altar of incense was on the side of the veil in the Holy Place. 

These furnishings could only serve to constantly remind worshippers of their sin, it could not offer any means for them to enter God’s presence. Bear in mind that they are only foreshadow of better things to come. They were supposed to assist worshippers to draw near to God. The intention of God remains the same – He still wants us near.

Take me past the outer courts
Into the holy place
Past the brazen altar
Lord, I want to see your face

Pass me by the crowds of people
The priests who sing your praise
Lord, I hunger and thirst for Your righteousness
And it's only found in one place

Take me in to the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me in to the holy of holies
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am

Hebrews 8:6-13 – The Superior Covenant

Having dealt with the issue of the better ministry of Christ as High Priest, the author turned now to focus on the Covenant that He had ratified with His Blood. His main purpose was to show the superiority of this Covenant. Hence, in verses 6-9, he gave reasons for the necessity of the New Covenant; in verses 10-12, he showed the four superior promises of the New Covenant before underscoring the certainty of the change in verse 13.

Verse 6 began by showing that the superiority of Christ’s ministry as High Priest rested on the superiority of the Covenant. In comparison with the Mosaic Covenant, this one was more superior because it rested on two things: more superior promises and a better mediator. Unlike the Old Testament that was mediated through angels and Moses; the Mediator of this New Covenant.is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 7 gives the first reason by stating that: had the first covenant and its promises been adequate and flawless, there would be no necessity for a second one. This implied that the first covenant had faults; hence, the need for another. Therefore, in verse 8, God declared that He would make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and Judah.

Verse 9 then shows that the New Covenant to be made with Israel would be unlike the first. In the Old Covenant, the people of Israel had failed God and that made it necessary for a new one. Hence, God gave the promise of a New Covenant. In the first covenant given by Moses, the people were not empowered to keep the covenant and they did not stay faithful to God. Now in the New Covenant, believers would have the ability to stay faithful to God. The Laws of God would not be engraved in stones but in hearts instead. Besides, God’s abiding presence would also be in the believers. This would make the second covenant different from the first.

In verses 10-12, the author delineated four promises made to the people in the New Covenant: (1) they would know God’s will and desire to do it - verse 10; (2) they would enjoy a privilege and unique relationship with God - verse 11; (3) they would know God personally - verse 11; and (4) they would experience permanent forgiveness of sins - verse 12.

Here, the author contrasted the two covenants God had made with the people. The first one, the Mosaic covenant, had become obsolete, as it was growing old. The destruction of the temple in AD 70 literally brought this to pass. The temple, the rituals and everything attached to it, were destroyed and the Jews were scattered throughout the world. The New Covenant was enacted at the death of Jesus Christ. Hence, the basis of the New Covenant was the death and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. This New Covenant had only been partially fulfilled. We must bear in mind that the New Covenant was made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not with the Church. The part of the New Covenant offered to us is salvation. The rest of the Covenant will find its fulfillment in the millennial kingdom. The Apostle Paul affirmed it in Romans 9-11. Paul taught that at that time, God would gather Israel and they would be reunited with Him again. We need to know that God did not eliminate the promise He made to Abraham although the Old Covenant was terminated.

In the Old Covenant, knowing God was only in the realm of the intellect, but in the New Covenant and with Christ Jesus, we can know God intimately. There is a knowing that leads to a longing. Are we there?

There is a longing, only You can fill

A raging tempest, only You can still

My heart is thirsty Lord

To know You as I’m known

Drink from the river

That flows before Your Throne

Draw me deeper

Deeper in love with You

Jesus hold me close

In Your embrace

Draw me deeper

Deeper than I’ve ever been before

I just want to know you

More and more

How I long to be

Deeper in love.

Hebrews 8:1-6 – The Priest, par excellence

Having established that Christ is a better High Priest, the author then settled down to talk about His works in that role. Beginning from chapter 8 right through to Hebrews 10:18, this will be his main subject. In his discussion, he also introduced another critical theme: the New Covenant. The ministry of the Lord Jesus would be linked with the New Covenant. His service as High Priest had three built-in elements: a covenant, a sanctuary and a sacrifice. In this discussion, the author’s aim was to use the service that Christ performed to prove His adequacy as High Priest. In so doing, he had demonstrated the superiority of Christianity to Judaism. So in verses 1-6, he set out to show that Christ came to introduce a better covenant.

The statement, “what has been said” found in the first verse, actually refers to what he had already discussed in chapter 7. In the previous lesson, the author had highlighted certain deficiencies of the Levitical priesthood: (1) the fact that they were subjected to death (7:23); and (2) the necessity to repeat the sacrifices for sins of both themselves and the people (7:27). And having laid the foundation, the author was ready to move on. In saying “what has been said,” he was making a transitional statement. He was signaling that he was about to move on to his next discussion on the better ministry of Jesus Christ as High Priest.

In these six verses, he pointed to the fact that we have a better High Priest. How? Three facts proved Christ is a better High Priest. (1) Jesus is a seated Priest. Having completed His work of offering the final sacrifice for sins, Christ is now seated. (2) Jesus is an enthroned Priest. Having completed His work, Christ had taken His throne at the right hand of God the Father. (3) Jesus is a heavenly Priest. Being seated in Heaven, He had entered the true Sanctuary where He is presently ministering.

In verse 3, the author said that every high priest was appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, so as High Priest, Jesus also had to have something to offer. What was the “something” that He would offer to God? The author would pick this up and discuss it from Hebrews 9:11 onwards. 

The point of verses 3-6 is this: Jesus' priesthood was not an earthly priesthood but one that functioned in the realm of Heaven. The author explained that while on earth, based on the Mosaic Law, there were priests authorized to offer the sacrifices stipulated by the Law. But the sacrifices could not bring them into the real, heavenly presence of God. However, Christ entered into God’s eternal presence because of His life and redemptive accomplishment. Hence, His real priestly ministry began when He entered Heaven. Since Christ’s ministry was in God’s eternal presence, His priestly service was more superior to that of the Levitical high priest.

The earthly tabernacle was just a copy of the heavenly tabernacle. The earthly priest served in the earthly tabernacle but Christ is serving in the true Holy of holies. Let us be greatly encouraged that He is presently ministering on our behalf, in God’s abiding presence in heaven!  

Hebrews 7:23-28 – Christ the Eternal Priest

“The Levitical priesthood is transient.” That’s the emphasis of verses 23-25. Although there were a greater number of priests in that order, each had to be succeeded by another because all of them were subjected to death. In contrast, Christ’s ministry as a Priest is permanent, and He does not need any successor because He will never die. Verse 25 brings believers great comfort. Because Christ will never die, there will not be a need to find a replacement for Him. Since He lives forever, He can deliver His people to the very end. He will see the believers through to its completion, where they will enter into their eternal rest in God’s presence.

Having shown that the new ministry superseded that of the old order, the author then said the only fitting thing to do was to have a superior person as the High Priest. In thinking of an appropriate person for such a superior ministry, who else could be better qualified than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself?

Verses 26-28 make some positive assertions concerning Christ’s character, achievement and status as a High Priest. In verse 26, we see that Christ’s character made Him more than a suitable candidate for the High Priesthood. Firstly, He is holy, meaning blameless. Secondly, He is innocent. This word stresses the fact that He is free of guile and malice. Thirdly, being undefiled meant that Christ’s purity is beyond question. Fourthly, Christ is separated from sinners, suggesting that He is totally different from sinners. This also suggests that He is not only inherently pure but He remains pure despite His contact with sinners. And fifthly, Christ is exalted even higher than the heavens.

Every high priest had to offer a sacrifice to God for his own sins, before he could offer one for the sins of others. Jesus, however, need not offer any sacrifice to atone for Himself or those of the people. He had already given Himself as a once and for all Sacrifice on the Cross that had completely pleased God. Hence, there is no necessity for any subsequent sacrifices. This issue will be further dealt with in Hebrews 9:11-14 and 10:1-15. 

In verse 28, the author gave some contrasts between the priesthood of Levi and that of Christ. It appears to be a summation of chapter 7. In the old system, the Law appointed to the priesthood men who were weak. However, in the new order, Jesus the Son was appointed as High Priest through an oath. This appointment was more recent than when God appointed the Levitical priests.

When the author said that Jesus the Son was “made perfect forever,” he meant that He was made perfect through His suffering and this perfection continues. And He will never fail us. Furthermore, He can never and will never be replaced by another high priest. Here, the author wanted his readers to understand that the superior priesthood after the order of Melchizedek foreshadowed the Priesthood that Jesus Christ fulfilled. This being the case, why would anyone want to revert to the Levitical order?

When Abraham met Melchizedek, he stopped, gave his tithes and other offerings, and stayed for but a brief moment, and went on his way. But with Jesus, this will not do. We cannot just visit on Sunday and happily go our way. We cannot afford just to give Him brief moments. It would be a gross injustice if we don’t give Him our entire life.  In offering Him our lifetime, we get to spend an eternity with Him. What a joy and delight this thought brings! Go for it!

Hebrews 7:15-22 – Hallelujah, what a Priest!

In these verses, the author gave another reason why God would replace the old order. The Lord Jesus Christ was a priest not because He met the physical requirement of the Law, for He was not from the tribe of Levi. His qualification was based on the power of His indestructible life. Quoting Psalm 110:4, the author said that God had attested that the Messiah would live forever. And just as Melchizedek who lived forever, Jesus hailed from that order. This was confirmed by His resurrection, and hence, He is a priest who lives forever.

Verses 18-19 tell us that the old system, the Levitical priesthood based on the Mosaic Covenant, was weak and useless. Thus, God had substituted and superseded it with a new one. This new system ushers in a hope, for by it believers could draw near and be ushered into a personal and intimate relationship with God.

In verses 20-21, the author gave another indication of the inferiority of the Levitical priesthood. Quoting Psalm 110:4, verse 21 said that God had made an oath concerning the Messiah’s Priesthood, a privilege that the Levitical priest did not have. Thus, this also showed the superiority of the Messiah’s Priesthood. And due to this promise made in an oath, the Messiah was established as a permanent Priest. Verse 22 then asserted that Jesus had become the believers’ assurance of a better covenant.

Take note that at the core of the Old Covenant was the priesthood. And God had terminated both the Old Covenant and the Levitical priesthood. He had now put in place Christ Jesus, the new Priest that necessitated a New Covenant to supersede the old one. This word “covenant” is mentioned for the first time in this epistle, and the author will be featuring it further in the coming argument.

The ministry of Christ as Priest does not rest on family line. It rests on “the power of an indestructible life”. The Aaronic priesthood was set aside because it could not give us perfect access. And now in Jesus, we have “a better hope … by which we draw near to God”

Into Thy presence we come,

Not by the works we have done.

But by Thy grace and Thy grace alone,

Into Thy presence we come!

Hebrews 7:11-14 – Christ is greater than the Old Covenant and the Levitical priesthood

The author had reasoned that Melchizedek was more superior to Abraham and Levi. He now turned to emphasize the priesthood of Melchizedek and Christ, and showed why as priests they were more superior to the Levitical priesthood, as stipulated in the Mosaic Covenant. He even went on to show that God would replace the Levitical priesthood.

He reasoned that had the old system been adequate, Christ would have functioned in that order. There would be no necessity for the Melchizedek order. But because of its flaws, God already had intention to bring an end to it. That was why in Psalm 110:4, God foretold that the Messiah would function in the order of Melchizedek.

The issue here is this: if the Levitical Priesthood and the Mosaic Law had been able to bring a person into a vital relationship with God, there would not be the need for the Melchizedek order. In this passage, we also have the clearest assertion that God had to make a change because of the inadequacy of the Mosaic Law. For in the Mosaic Covenant, the priesthood played a very major role. When God foretold of the change in priesthood, He already had in mind to change the whole covenant. For according to the Mosaic Covenant, Christ could not officiate at the altar because He came from the tribe of Judah. No one from that tribe had ever served as priest. This made it necessary for the Law to change.

Here the author’s intention was to warn the backsliding Jewish believers not to return to Judaism. He warned them against mixing Old Testament priestly rituals with Christianity. In do doing, he also carefully showed the significance of the priesthood in the order of Melchizedek over that of the Levitical system. 

The warning is for us today as well. Though we may not have so much entanglement with the Law we do have some entanglement with man-made traditions. We must remember that Christ our priest is from a Messianic priest. He is our only perfect access to the Holy of holies. He is our perfect mediator and access to God’s holy presence. Let us not presume to draw near to God through other ways but through Him and Him alone!

Hebrews 7:4-10 –Melchizedek shows Christ as a greater priest

Having given some details about the uniqueness of Melchizedek, the author now turned to discuss his significance. Melchizedek was not only more superior to Abraham but he was also greater than Levi. He elaborated further on three facts that he had given in the previous three verses. Firstly, Melchizedek received a tithe from Abraham; secondly, he blessed Abraham; and thirdly, he surpassed Abraham in life span. His intention, as shown in verse 4, was to demonstrate that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.

The two words “Now observe” in verse 4, indicate that what he was about to discuss was something significant and he wanted them to pay close attention, so that they would not miss the weight of it. The patriarch Abraham was a revered figure to the Jews, yet he paid tithes to Melchizedek. This implied that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham.

In verses 5-6, the author’s purpose was to contrast Levi with Melchizedek. The Old Testament priests, the sons of Levi, were descendents of Abraham. They were instructed by the Law to collect tithes from the people. Hence, they collected tithes because God commanded it in the Law. But in the case of Abraham, his tithes to Melchizedek was a voluntary act. This act of Abraham demonstrated that the Melchizedek priesthood was more superior to the Levitical priesthood.

In part of verse 6 as well as verse 7, the author further demonstrated why Melchizedek was greater than Abraham. He said that it was customary that only a greater person would bless someone lesser. Since Abraham was blessed by Melchizedek, it showed that the latter was more superior to the former. Furthermore, Melchizedek was significant because from the genealogical record, he was immortal. The sons of Levi who received tithes from their brethren all experienced death. In contrast, Melchizedek, to whom Abraham paid tithes, lived on (verse 8).

In verses 9-10, the author was arguing deductively. He asserted that even Levi actually paid tithes to Melchizedek. How so, since Levi was not even born at that time? The author implied that he was actually in Abraham’s loins and when the patriarch paid tithes to Melchizedek, Levi also indirectly participated in paying that tithes. In other words, Levi who was supposed to receive tithes also paid tithes to Melchizedek through Abraham; hence, it proves that Melchizedek was more superior to him.  

We are told in Genesis 14:8 that when Melchizedek greeted Abraham, he also gave him bread and wine. This symbolically shows us that Christ, our eternal Melchizedek, also offers His life as bread to us and His blood as wine for our redemption. His life, His flesh and blood were given so that we could be made righteous and experience God’s peace. Now as we feed on him, our spiritual food and drink, we are sustained, and so live to be His emissaries in the world. We are to continue in His mission to bring peace, healing and wholeness to the world.