Wendy Blight

How I have enjoyed reading your comments.  We are in overwhelming agreement that Chapter 8 was a very powerful lesson.  God’s Hebrews 4:12 living and active Word is truly coming alive for us!  This week will be no different.  In Chapter Nine, we will compare and contrast the Old Covenant Sanctuary and the New Covenant Sanctuary.  Again taking us deep into Old Testament history. 

Throughout these many chapters, the author of Hebrews has given us glimpses of the sanctuaries, but this week his letter culminates in a most beautiful lesson of the value of these two holy places and how they relate to our faith.

And let us not forget that the author of Hebrews never condemns the Old Covenant system.  He exalts it, recognizing that its people, rituals, and ceremonies have great value because God instituted them.  However, he is adamant that his audience, and we, understand God created them solely for the purpose of foreshadowing what was to come.  They all pointed to the coming of Christ.

I love what John MacArthur says of the Tabernacle, “The Tabernacle is important and demands attention to our study, because it is a giant portrait of Jesus Christ.  Everywhere you can see Him.” 

Don’t you love that?!  As we open the pages of Chapter Nine, let us ask the Lord for an extra measure of His Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to enable us to see Christ in each and every detail of that giant portrait!

Let’s dig in…..

This Week’s Memory Verse: …For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22b

This Week’s Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that You redeemed me from the curse of sin and death. Thank You that by the shedding of Your blood, You forgave all my sin….past, present, and future. Father, I claim Your promise that by Your stripes, I am healed. Thank You that I have the mind of Christ and hold the thoughts, feelings and purposes of His heart. Thank You that Your love abides in me richly and flows through every part of my body. Help me to live every day in the presence and fullness of that abiding love… loving others…forgiving others…just as You have done and will continue to do for me. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Assignment: Read Hebrews Chapter Nine

Homework Questions:

1.  Read Hebrews 9:2-5.  If you are interested in a more detailed description and the instructions as to how it was made, read Exodus Chapters 25 and 26 and/or Exodus 36:8-38.  Draw or describe what you would see if you walked into the Tabernacle.

 

2.  According to Hebrews 9:2, what do you find in the first room?  What was this room called?

• Read Exodus 25:31-40 and draw or describe the lampstand.
• Read Exodus 25:23-30 and draw or describe the table and what was on the table.
• Read John 6:32-33 and share how it relates to the bread on the table.

*Clarification.  The author of Hebrews lists the Incense Altar as being in the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place), but it was not.  It was part of the ministry of the Holy of Holies, but it rested just on the other side of the curtain in The Holy Place.  To learn more about this altar, read Exodus 30:1-10.*

3.  What was between the first room and the second room?

4.  According to Hebrews 9:3-4, what was the next room called and what was in it?

• Read Hebrews 9:4-5.  What was in and around the Ark?  To learn more about the Ark, read Exodus 25:10-22.
• What do Psalm 80:1, Psalm 99:1, and Isaiah 6:1-4 add to our discussion?

 

5.  For a deeper understanding of the Old Covenant system of sacrifices as it relates to the role of the High Priest, read Leviticus 16:1-34.

• What do these verses speak to you?
• How would you feel if we still lived by this law today?  Would your faith be different?  If so, how?
• According to Hebrews 9:7 (and the Leviticus reading), what was the High Priest required to offer in the Holy of Holies?

 

6.  Read Hebrews 9:11-14. 

• List as many differences as you can find in verse 11 and 12 between the old order and the new order.

7.  Read Hebrews 9:13-14.

• What was the purpose under the old system of blood sacrifices?
• Read Genesis 3:6-15, 21 and Exodus 12:3-13.  Explain how blood played a part in God’s saving grace even before the Tabernacle and before Jesus.
• What price did God ultimately pay for saving grace?

 

8.  According to Hebrews 9:11-15, what things were accomplished by the blood of Jesus and how was His sacrifice different from all prior sacrifices?

     *If you want to go deeper, read the following verses and share how they speak to this question:  John 10:17-18, Romans 3:23-26, 5:8-9, Colossians 1:13-14, 19-20, and 1 Peter 1:18-21. *

 

9.  Read Hebrews 9:18-20 and Exodus 24:6-8.  Explain how Moses used blood in relation to the Old Covenant and write the words he spoke.

 

10.  If today we live under the New Covenant, under Jesus’ shed blood, which changes us from the inside out, why do you think so many of us continue to live with guilt and shame?  Do you personally struggle with these emotions?  Why?

 

11.  Read Romans 8:1-4, 32-35.  How do these passages speak to what we have learned in this chapter?  To your personal life?

 

12.  Read Hebrews 9:24-28.

• Where does verse 24 tell us Jesus entered?  Why does this verse tell us Jesus went there?
• Contrast the two sanctuaries.
• How many times does the author use the word “appear.”  Share what each tense used means for us as children of God.
• Read John 14:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:21-55, and 1 John 3:2 and share what they teach about Jesus’ return.

I ended my video message with the story of Barabbas.  Barabbas went free not because he deserved it but because Jesus took his place.  Will you take some time to thank Jesus today?  Find a precious, personal way to thank Jesus for the sacrifice He made just for you on Calvary.

Sweet Blessings to you,

 

Hey Bible study friends,

This morning I awakened weary, feeling as if I could not lift my head off the pillow.  Although it has been my joy and delight to spend the last few days caring for my sweet girl as she recovers from having her wisdom teeth extracted, it has been exhausting.

It would have been so easy to skip church and stay in bed, but my son asked to go to his life group at church.  How could I say no?  So grudgingly, I stepped into the shower and got ready. 

As I entered the sanctuary, I felt a longing to be filled.  Yet when worship began, my thoughts turned critical.  I disliked the opening worship songs.  I stood quietly, grumbling.  Why didn’t I just stay home and read my Bible? 

Then our pastor began to preach.  His message drew me in.  Verse by verse, God’s Word poured into me.  My spirit began to lift. 

He prayed.  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Worship began again, but this time my heart was primed and ready to praise.  The words seeped deep into the marrow of my bones.  The lyrics moved me….

Mold me.

Lead me.

Heal me.

Fill me.

Jesus…

Jesus…

Jesus…

Jesus….

Speaking His Name filled me to overflowing! 

My spirit lifted.  My strength returned.  My joy restored.

In one hour, the Lord used His Word and His sweet Spirit to refresh and renew me. 

Friends, are you weary today? Do you long to be refreshed, renewed, healed, restored? 

There is no better way than to be in His Word.  So, join me as we dig into this next lesson about our sweet Jesus.  He is waiting to fill each one of us.

 

This Week’s Memory Verse: But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: ‘I will put My laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be My people.’  Hebrews 8:10.

This Week’s Prayer: 

Father, how I love You.  Thank You for the gift of grace.  Thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit.  Thank You that through the promise of the New Covenant, Your Word is now etched into my heart and mind.  Father, give me the deep desire to love Your Word and learn Your Word. Give me understanding to know what it means and how to use it in my life.  Use it to mold my heart and make it more like Yours.  Enable me to live it out in my life each and every day.   Bring to mind the truths and promises I need when I need them.  Give me opportunities to share it with others so they too may know the love and hope I have found within its pages.  I love You and ask all this in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ my Lord.  Amen.

Assignment: Read Hebrews Chapter Eight

Homework Questions:

1.  Read Hebrews 8:1 and answer the following questions.

• What do you think is the author’s main point?
• What two proofs does the author present for the superiority of Jesus?
• Read Hebrews 10:11, John 19:30, Mark 16:19, and Luke 22:69.  From these verses explain what distinguishes Jesus’ priesthood from the Levitical priesthood.

 

2.  According to Hebrews 8:2, what is Jesus doing on the throne?  Share what this means in your life.

 

3.  What distinguishes the place from where Jesus ministers and the place from where the Old Testament high priest ministered? 

• Describe or draw a picture of the heavenly tabernacle as you imagine it to be from what we have studied.
• What parts of it are most meaningful to you?

 

4.  What does the author say about Jesus in Hebrews 8:4? Why?

Jesus never stepped outside His role as Son.  There is no evidence that He entered or even attempted to enter the Temple to perform the duties of a high priest.  John MacArthur says it well when he wrote:

“God never mixes shadow with the substance, the type with the antitype.  Jesus could not minister the old offerings, in the old, earthly sanctuary.  He ministers the new offerings in the new, heavenly sanctuary – built by God, not men.”

The old Testament high priest served in a copy or shadow of the heavenly tabernacle.

 

5.  What does Colossians 2:17 say?  How does this relate to our lesson?

 

6.  Read Hebrews 8:6, what role is Jesus given in this verse?

Jesus is our Mediator.  “Mediator” derives from the Greek word mesites, which is from the Greek word mesos, an adjective denoting “middle, in the middle or midst.”  Mesites as a noun means “a go-between.”  Moses is often referred to as the mediator of the Old Covenant.  Under the Old Covenant, the high priest was a mediator between God and man.  Now Jesus is the better mediator of a better covenant!

 

7.  Read Hebrews 8:9-12.  God had a master plan all along to reconcile His people back to Himself after the Fall.  But this plan had stages.  It was foreshadowed through His Word, through types, and through the prophets.  In fact, Jeremiah the prophet announced this plan thousands of years earlier.

• Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:8, with whom did God make this New Covenant?
• If this New Covenant was made to Israel and Judah, how are we beneficiaries? (Read Romans 1:16-17)

8.  The New Covenant started with the Jews.  Jesus was born into a Jewish family.  He was a Jew.  Jesus’ ministered to His own people, the Jews (see Matthew 15:24).  Jesus’ next step was to send out His disciples.

• Read Matthew 10:5-6.  What are Jesus’ instructions?  To whom were they to minister?
• Read Luke 24:46-48.  What are Jesus’ next instructions and to whom did He give them?
• Read Acts 1:7-8.  According to Jesus’ instructions, where was the message to go first?
• Read Acts 3:25-26.  What does Peter say about this subject?
• Look again at Acts 1:7-8, where was the message to go after Jerusalem?

 

9.  Read Hebrews 8:10 and write the verse below.

• Explain in your own words how the Old Covenant differs from the New Covenant.
• Read Ezekiel 11:19-20 and 36:26-27.  How do these verses reinforce what Jeremiah and the author of Hebrews say?

 

10.  Share ways in which you have experienced the reality of God’s law being written in your heart and mind.

 

11.  God’s New Covenant internalizes His Law through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is His Spirit that gives us the inner ability to obey God’s law and, in turn, enjoy His blessings.

• Read John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:7-8, and 1 John 2:27.  What do these verses teach about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

 

12.  Read Hebrews 8:12-13.

• Give the major difference between the Old and New Testament as they address the forgiveness of sin.
• Scripture teaches thatJesus paid the penalty for our sin.  Because of what He did on the cross, our sins are forgiven, to be remembered no more.  “Remember” as used here derives from the Greek word zakar.  It means “to think of, to bring to remembrance, to bring to mind.”  God no longer holds our sin against us.  They are far from His mind, never to be spoken of again.  What does this truth speak to you about forgiveness and forgetting in your own life?
• Has the Lord brought someone to mind whom you need to forgive or you have forgiven but struggle with forgetting?  If so, take first steps toward forgiving or forgetting.  Remember as you ponder this, sweet friend, that you are ABLE through God’s grace and through the power of His Holy Spirit.
• Write down your steps, pray about them, and ask the Lord for the strength and courage to take the first step.  Invite a friend to pray with you and hold you accountable.  There is no greater freedom than releasing unforgiveness and forgetting wrongs done to you!!  Walk in that freedom today.

This has been one of my favorite lessons.  As I ended today, I thought about what I would have been thinking if I had been a Jew listening to this message.  Would I have been convinced by now that Jesus was the better way? 

The writer of Hebrews could not have known this, but his words at the end of Chapter Eight, stating that the First Covenant would be obsolete, were literally fulfilled within just a few years of him writing this letter.  Rome destroyed the city of Jerusalem  and the Temple in 70 A.D.   Without the Temple, there was no altar, no Holy Place, no Holy of Holies, no mercy seat.  There was no place to minister and offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins.  The Old Covenant truly was obsolete!

Be sure to share your comments and questions.  They are THE best part of this study for me.  I love watching God work in and through our time together.

See you next week!! 

Blessings,

Happy New Year and welcome back to our Hebrews Study!!  I have missed meeting with you each week.

Heather, a huge thank you for guest posting and sharing such a beautiful and practical devotion with us.  The winner of Heather’s giveaway is Cheryl Downey who posted on January 4th at 10:22 a.m.  Please contact Heather at thegoodariel@hotmail.com to claim your gift.

As we jump back into our study, let’s do a bit of review that I think will be helpful to the next several chapters as we dig deep into the priesthood of Jesus.  Remember only men from the tribe of Levi were able to serve as priests under Old Testament Law.  And then, not all Levites qualified.  Only those who were descendants of Moses’ brother, Aaron, could serve as priests.  In this chapter, we will learn even more about the Levitical priesthood and why Jesus’ priesthood is superior.

Below please find the video lesson for Hebrews Chapter 7.

This Week’s Memory Verse: But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lives forever. Hebrews 7:24.

This Week’s Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You have taught me so much about You and Your Son over the last six chapters.  Thank You for Your Word and how it confirms itself over and over again from Old Testament to New Testament.  Thank You for loving us so much that You did not leave us in a place where we had to be separated from You and could only be in Your Presence through a priest.  Thank You for sending Jesus so that we could be in an intimate, personal relationship with You.  Thank You that anytime I want to talk with You, I can.  Thank You that because of Jesus, You hear me.  I love You, Lord.

Assignment: Read Hebrews Chapter Seven

Homework Questions:

1. Melchizedek is a type of Christ, yet Scripture tells us very little about him.  Despite this lack of information, the author of Hebrews uses Melchizedek to help us understand the central, most important, aspect of Judaism…the priesthood…and why Melchizedek’s priesthood is greater than that priesthood. Let’s begin with this question:  Who is Melchizedek?

• Read Hebrews 7:1-3.  Name the two titles given Melchizedek in verse 1.
• What did Melchizedek do for Abraham?
• What did Abraham do in response?
•  Share what else you learn about Melchizedek in verses 2 and 3.

2. Melchizedek’s priesthood was royal. Scripture identifies him as not only a priest but also the King of Salem.  As we learned earlier in our study, Old Testament law did not allow this dual role of priest and king.  But it was predicted by the prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 6:13 which says,

“It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.”

And as we have already studied in Psalm 110 (verses 1 and 4), David also speaks to a Messiah who will be both Priest and King.

• Read Hebrews 7:2 and list Melchizedek’s two titles and their meanings.

By his name alone, Melchizedek represented righteousness and peace.  These are two words that often go together in Scripture and are usually associated with Jesus.

• Read Psalm 85:10, Isaiah 11:5-6, and Isaiah 32:16-18.  Share what they speak to you.

3. Melchizedek’s priesthood was personal.  It was not hereditary.  The author of Hebrews identifies him, not by his blood line or genealogy but by the statement that he was a priest of “God Most High.”  For Old Testament priests, genealogy was everything. If a man was not a Levite and a descendant of Aaron, the law forbid him from serving as a priest.

• What problems could arise due to the fact that priests were chosen by blood line and not character?  How did God solve this problem? (For an example, read  1 Samuel 2:12-16, 27-34)
• What does Hebrews 7:3 say about Melchizedek’s family history?
• Why do you think it significant that there is no record of his genealogy?

 

4.  Melchizedek was eternal.  A Levitical priest served from age twenty-five to age fifty.  The Levitical priesthood itself began with Moses and ended with the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.  But there is no biblical recording of Melchizdedek’s priesthood ending or beginning.  It just was.

• Scholars believe this symbolizes the eternality of his priestly order and is yet another piece of evidence that Melchizedek’s priesthood is a t_ _ _ of Christ’s eternal priesthood.

5.  Read Hebrews 7:4-7 and share two ways these verses affirm Melchizedek’s greatness as a priest.

6.  What we learn from Melchizedek’s life is that priesthood is NOT based on inheritance alone.  The key to priesthood is that it is received directly from God.  For Old Testament priests, priesthood came through God’s Law.  And because the Old Testament Levitical priesthood was based on the Law, God needed to establish a different priesthood for Jesus because He did not qualify under the Law since He was from the tribe of Judah, not Levi.

Also, the purpose of the priesthood was to reconcile men to God through a system of sacrificial offerings.  And it accomplished this purpose to a point.  But it was imperfect in that it could not give men complete access to God.  Perfection would only come when they could offer full and complete access to God.

• Read John 14:6.  What does it say?  To whom was Jesus speaking?
• Read Hebrews 10:1-2. How does this reinforce what we just read?

7.  The truth the author wants his audience to know is that the Old Covenant sacrifices offered in the Temple only covered the sins of the people.  They never removed them.  Had the sacrifices fully and completely removed sin, the priests would not have had to offer them day after day, year after year.

• Read Jeremiah 31:31-34.  What does this say and how does it support what the author of Hebrews is saying?

8. Remember the author’s audience as you read this and how absurd his words must have sounded to them.  They were Jews steeped in the tradition of sacrificial offerings. I am certain that they could not fathom the idea that the priesthood Moses had instituted thousands of years earlier was temporary, inadequate, and imperfect.  It was all they knew.  Day in and day out, year in and year out they faithfully brought their sacrifices.  Now this teacher…this man…this religious leader was telling them it was no longer valid.  He was telling them the old priesthood had been replaced by Jesus and that He was now the new way to receive forgiveness of sin and access to God.

• Read Hebrews 7:12.  Of what does the author speak here?
• Define the word “change.”
• What would you have thought if you were a Jew sitting in his audience?  Would his words have convinced you?

 

9.  Read Hebrews 7:15-17.  Below you will find verses 15-16.

And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,  one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.

Let’s examine the word “another” for a moment. The Greek language has two words for “another.” Allos, meaning another of the same kind, and heteros meaning another of a different kind.  Allos indicates the adding of another, a quantitative difference.  Heteros indicates a change in type or kind, a qualitative difference.  As applied to Hebrews 7:15, the author is saying Jesus is not another Levitical priest like those who ministered in the temple.  He is a completely different kind of priest.

• Now read Hebrews 7:18-19.  Why did the author of Hebrews state that the old requirements for priesthood were “weak and useless (NLT)” or “weak…and unprofitable…(NKJV)?

10.  The climax of his case comes now with the author telling his audience that Aaron has been replaced by Christ.  The old has been set aside for the new.

• What is the better hope in which we have confidence in Hebrews 7:19?
• If you had to distinguish the old and new system as they relate to sin, what do you believe is the most profound difference?
• Read 1 Peter 1:10-12.  Share your thoughts on this passage and how it relates to our lesson this week.

11.  Hebrews 7:20-22 tells us God established the new system with an oath.

• Find the oath.  From where does it originate?  Identify the three places we already have seen it in Hebrews (hint: chapters 5 and 6)
• Quite often when God does a big thing, He does it with an oath.  Not because it makes His promise any more valid or reliable, but because the oath places emphasis on the importance of what He is saying.  If you want to go a bit deeper on this subject, read Genesis 22:16-18.  If you do this, share how God used an oath here and why.
• Read Hebrews 7:22 again.  What does this passage tell us about Jesus’ role?
• Describe what having Jesus as your surety (or guarantor) means in your own life?

12.  Read Hebrews 7:23-28.  Let’s focus on Hebrew 7:25 because contains a most marvelous promise.  Below please find this verse in several translations to give you greater insight into the verse.

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (KJV)

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (NIV)

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (NASB)

Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save^] those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. (NLT)

• Spend some time with this verse and these translations.  Share what God speaks to your heart.
• Friend, the promises found in these verses should fill our hearts to overflowing with praise and gratitude!  According to Hebrews 7:25, who does God save?
• What is the assurance we have in the last half of Hebrews 7:25?

13.  Christianity is often criticized for claiming Jesus is the only way to God.  Christians make this claim because it is what the inerrant, unchangeable, eternal Word of God says.

• Read John 14:6.  What does Jesus say here?

Jesus is not only able to save.  He is the only one able to save.  His the only one who has been given authority by God to free people from the slavery of sin and death.  Jesus alone delivers us from ALL sin…past, present, and future.  There is no other requirement for salvation than faith…faith in Jesus.  All God asks is for in return is a humble and contrite heart, a tender and remorseful heart that desires forgiveness above all else.

And, if that is not enough, once we receive forgiveness, Jesus remains near, ever interceding on our behalf.

Picture yourself bowing before Him and confessing your sins…your critical spirit…your gossiping tongue…your unforgiving heart?

Now, listen to His words as He goes before His Father in heaven on your behalf:

“Father, I know it looks bad.  I know this is her third time asking for forgiveness about this.  But she is struggling.  She is trying.  She is praying.  She is on her knees.  She is broken.  Remember, Father, I have already paid for what she has done.  My grace is sufficient.  She has been forgiven.  See my righteousness in her, Father.”

Because of what Jesus has done, sweet sister in Christ, you and I are able to stand in the presence of a Holy God and be found blameless and holy in His sight!  Can you think of a greater gift?

As we end today, I have two questions for us to ponder.

*Do you believe what we have studied this week is Truth?  If you do, how does it encourage you as you interact with your Father in heaven?

*Will you take time to thank God for the gift of Jesus in your life?  Journal how He moves your heart.  Stay in this place a while and praise Him…thank Him…feel Him…need Him…love Him.  He is most worthy!

May God richly bless you this week as you spend time in Hebrews Chapter 7.  Please share your thoughts with us as you read, study, and pray.  I will be praying for all of us as we dig deeper with Him.

Blessings,