Tag: better promises
Obsolete and passing away
Scripture reading for February 25th: Leviticus 21-23, Hebrews 8
Hebrews 8:6-7 “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant He mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.”
The old covenant of Law mediated by the Aaronic priesthood was made obsolete when God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to mediate a new covenant. The old covenant was written on tablets of stone and every violation required a blood sacrifice. The priests had to offer sacrifices for their own sins as well as the sins of the people. These sacrifices could not remove sin, but only cover it temporarily. The new covenant through Jesus Christ was enacted on better promises. The appointed Priest would live forever and be seated at God’s right hand. He would forgive their sins and remember them no more through the sacrifice of His own blood. The law would be written on tablets of human hearts and each person would personally know God and have access through Jesus Christ, their High Priest. Lay hold of the new today, and let the obsolete pass away!
Hebrews 8:10-13 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. In speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for the new covenant through the sacrifice, once for all, of Jesus’ body and blood. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit Who writes Your laws and Word on my heart and causes me to want to obey and love You and others. Empower me to proclaim the powerful message of freedom through the new covenant to those still living in the obsolete and vanishing dead religion.
Leviticus 22:1-2 “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so that they do not profane My Holy Name; I am the Lord.”
Who wants something obsolete?
Scripture reading for August 17th: Hebrews 8
Key Scriptures: Hebrews 8:10-13 “”For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,” for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. In speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.””
No one wants something for daily use that is obsolete. I purchased an Apple ll c computer as my first personal computer. It was quite the in thing in the late 70’s! In fact, today’s technology systems would not support it and it would be unusable. God was telling the Hebrew Christians that the old covenant of the Law and its sacrifices for sin was obsolete. Something new and better had come in Jesus Christ. Now the Law of God would be written on the tablets of human hearts and not on tablets of stone. God would not be distant and fearful to know, but all will be able to freely come before Him and know Him no matter who they are. God would not just cover their sins with the blood of an animal sacrifice, but would cleanse believers of all sins and remember them no more! It’s a better covenant with better promises, the old is obsolete!
Hebrews 8:6 “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant He mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”
Faith confession and prayer: Father, Thank You for Your great mercy to me and all who believe. Your mercy and forgiveness has enabled us to know You and receive this new covenant and by faith claim the better promises of cleansing and new creation and eternal life in Christ Jesus. Today, let me proclaim the excellencies of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes! Amen!
2nd Corinthians 1:18-20 “As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and no. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in Him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. . .”
Jesus: Priest of the New Covenant
Scripture reading for October 23rd: Hebrews 8
“The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle, set up by the Lord, not by man.” (Hebrews 8:1-2)
Jesus was a High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek. He is alive and seated at the throne of heaven at God’s right hand, a place of eternal honor. He now serves, not in a humanly constructed sanctuary or temple, but in the actual Tabernacle in Heaven. He offered one sacrifice–His own blood and body–for the sins of all men and women and sat down, his work of sacrifice now finished!
In contrast, the High Priests of the Order of Aaron were men who offered gifts and sacrifices prescribed by the law of God. The did this in a copy of the heavenly temple given to Moses on the Mount Sinai when he received the Ten Commandments, part of the Old Covenant. Under this Old Covenant, the people were obligated to keep or obey God’s law and offer sacrifices of blood when they failed unintentionally. The problem with this covenant was that the people disobeyed and broke the covenant. The Law could only reveal sin, it could not deliver men from sin! The blood sacrifices could only cover sin, not cleanse the inner man from sin and guilt.
But now, Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant. By faith in Him and His Blood, all who believe will be saved from sin’s penalty: death! We can know God personally and have His law written inside. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)
Blessings of the New Covenant!
Scripture reading for November 7th: Hebrews 8:1-13
The old covenant was the law of Moses. The old covenant was mediated by the Levitical priesthood and required sacrifices of the blood of animals for breaking the law of God. The Old Testament Scriptures told of the temporary nature of the old covenant and spoke of a new covenant that God was going to make in the last days.
“The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a High Priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.” (Hebrews 8:1-2) But when Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He went to serve in the true tabernacle. The earthly temple was only copy and shadow of what was real in heaven. (Hebrews 8:5-6) Moses was instructed to make everything according to the pattern give him by God on Mt. Sinai.
The old covenant was obsolete and passing away and the new covenant that God had spoken about through the prophets was now established for the new High Priest! “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34), (Hebrews 8:10-12)
This covenant brought a personal relationship with God to each person. Instead of tablets of stone, God would write His law on their hearts and minds. Sins would be totally forgiven and the record wiped clean. This new covenant is far superior to the old covenant and the High Priest is out of this world!
The real value of the new covenant is in enjoying it now. Have you gone to Jesus Christ and humbly asked Him to forgive you of your sins? Will you let Him wipe your record clean and then give you power to live with His law on your heart and in your mind? Today is the right day!
The better covenant!
Scripture reading for December 14th: Hebrews 8-10
I love new things! Sometimes old things are nice to collect, but new things are nicer to use because they have all the latest technology and all the parts are new. But everything we were used to with the old has to be relearned with the new! Sometimes this shift is difficult for us because we are set in our ways. This is what happened to many Jewish believers in the time of the letter to the Hebrews.
The old covenant had laws and regulations for those who broke those laws. The old covenant had promises for those who obeyed and warning for those who didn’t. Moses was the mediator of the old covenant and Aaron and the Levites were the high priest and priesthood. These were men who had failings themselves and eventually died. The old covenant had a mobile tabernacle carried by the Levites, and God could only be visited at prescribed times by a certain few people.
Under the new covenant, things are much better! Jesus Christ is the mediator of this new covenant. He revealed it to us by His life, teaching, and sacrificial death on a cross. He was God’s Son, not just a servant. He was perfectly obedient to the old covenant while here on earth and then became the sacrifice for laws broken under the old covenant.
His sacrifice was better because His body and blood were without sin. He offered it once for all to put away sin. (Hebrews 9:14) His blood was offered in heaven on the heavenly mercy seat when He rose from the dead. He lives forever and is able to be a perfect high priest of a different order, that of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:20) He can identify with us because He is a man and has lived here on earth, experiencing our temptations. (Hebrews 4:15-16)
When we trust in Christ, God gives us a new heart and sends His Spirit to live in us. (Hebrews 8:10-12) We become priests of the new covenant –a kingdom of priests! Our sins are forgiven and erased from God’s memory. We become the new dwelling place of God, living stones in His new body the church. We become children of our Father and can approach Him boldly without fear anytime and anywhere. We should be offering thanks daily for this blessed new covenant!
Blessings of a New Covenant!
Scripture reading for November 7th: Hebrews 8:1-13
The old covenant was the law of Moses. The old covenant was mediated by the Levitical priesthood and required sacrifices of the blood of animals for breaking the law of God. The Old Testament Scriptures told of the temporary nature of this old covenant and spoke of a new covenant that God was going to make in the last days.
“The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a High Priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.” (Hebrews 8:1-2) But when Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He went to serve in the true tabernacle. The earthly temple was only copy and shadow of what was real in heaven. (Hebrews 8:5-6) Moses was instructed to make everything according to the pattern give him by God on Mt. Sinai.
The old covenant was obsolete and passing away and the new covenant that God had spoken about through the prophets was now established for the new High Priest! “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34), (Hebrews 8:10-12)
This covenant brought a personal relationship with God to each person. Instead of tablets of stone, God would write His law on their hearts and minds. Sins would be totally forgiven and the record wiped clean. This new covenant is far superior to the old covenant and the High Priest is out of this world!
The real value of the new covenant is in enjoying it now. Have you gone to Jesus Christ and humbly asked Him to forgive you of your sins? Will you let Him wipe your record clean and then give you power to live with His law on your heart and in your mind? Today is the right day!