Why don’t the Hebrew Israelites teach Hebrews Chapter 8, are they afraid you will see the TRUTH?
WE NOW HAVE A HIGH PRIEST… Hebrews 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.
The apostle Paul is reaching the summit of his argument. He will continue to develop this point for the next three chapters.
The point is that we chosen Believers now have a high priest, “JESUS THE CHRIST.” He is quite unlike the high priests in the Old Testament. We have already seen the great differences in His qualifications over those of Aaron. Now we see that the place of His ministry is far superior to the old priesthood since He ministers in heaven itself.
It seems strange that millions of Believers have lived over the period of almost two thousand years without really understanding that we now have a high priest in heaven (Jesus Christ). We have often looked to a priestly class on earth for our spiritual benefits. We have looked to human mediators when the scripture plainly states that there is but “… 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
When we go to Mark 16:19 We see… So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He (Jesus) was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
The fact that He is seated indicates that the redemptive work of His priestly sacrifice is finished. “FINITO” Definition of finito / Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia. / Finite / (fɪˈniːtəʊ) / adj /informal finished, terminated, completed (Collins English Dictionary –Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014)
In the former earthly tabernacle there was no place to sit down since the work was never completed. We note that this priest (Jesus) conducts His ministry from heaven and not just from earth. He is seated no less at the right hand of the Majesty on high, a place of great authority and dominion.
Hebrews 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
THE OLD— A SHADOW OF THE HEAVENLY
Hebrews 8:3 Hebrews 8:3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
With this verse The apostle Paul switches from the high priest to the priestly offering itself. In olden times a priest could not come before God without an offering. Now we must ask, exactly what is the offering of our High Priest (Jesus)?
The apostle Paul has already given us a hint about this in Hebrews 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this He did once, when He offered up Himself.
That offering is Jesus Himself—His body broken for us and His blood poured out for us. The apostle Paul will deal with this subject again in Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
“We must learn ever to set before us the death of Jesus, which alone sanctifies our prayers.” But as the high priest did not enter the Holy Place without blood, so Jesus has entered the heavenly Holy Place with His own blood. That ‘blood of sprinkling’ is in heaven.” Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Hebrews 8:4 For if He were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
As we have learned previously in Hebrews, Jesus did not spring from Aaron’s line but He was from a different tribe altogether. Obviously, He could not have qualified as a priest on earth. The apostle Paul here speaks in the present tense of gifts being offered to God by the priests . This is another clue that the temple in Jerusalem was still standing when this epistle was written.
Hebrews 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
As we observe in several scriptures (Exo. 25:9, 40; 26:30; 27:8; Num. 8:4), it is implied that Moses not only had instructions but that he had actual illustrations from God as to how the tabernacle was to be built.
Obviously, the apostle Paul was not so much interested in either the temple built by Solomon or the one built by Herod. He reflects much of the same sentiment as Stephen did in his dying sermon. He said almost in disdain:
Acts 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet.
In time, the temple became greatly polluted so the apostle Paul uses the tabernacle as the example of our salvation in Jesus.
Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more “perfect tabernacle, not made with hands”, that is to say, not of this building;
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
For instance, let us think of the seven candlesticks or the lamp stand which beautifully pictures Jesus as the light of the world (John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.); or the table holding the bread of the presence which pictures Jesus as the living bread (John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.). Everything in the tabernacle was somehow a picture of Jesus and His salvation that is now made available for us.
There is surely a message for us today that all the things related to our salvation must be according to the pattern that God has laid out. “One of the great delusions of modern worshipers is the fallacy that there is no pattern and that it makes no difference what people do religiously, just so they are sincere in it.” Religion was created to control the masses, Jesus came to make us FREE.
Religion is complex but we are thankful to God that He has simplified it and presented it to us as a simple pattern and that with child-like faith we can receive Jesus as our Savior.
Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in My Name (Jesus) receiveth Me.
God surely wants us to move beyond types, shadows, pictures and even buildings themselves to a real spiritual relationship with Him. God wants us to live in Him and He wants to live in us. Long ago a very distressed woman asked Jesus where she should worship, whether in Jerusalem at the temple or in Samaria.
Jesus replied in “John. 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
A BETTER MINISTRY
Hebrews 8:6 But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He (Jesus) is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
The Book of Hebrews in many places describes how the “new” is better than the “old.” It speaks of better things (Hebrews 6:9); a better hope (Hebrews 7:19); a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22); better promises (Hebrews 8:6); better sacrifices (Hebrews 9:23); better possessions (Hebrews 10:34); a better country (Hebrews 11:16); a better resurrection (Hebrews 11:35); and a better word (Hebrews 12:24). One thing that makes everything so much better is that God’s new program “is no longer based on human performance.” The new program will deal with internal desire and not merely with external things. “It will be based on God’s word, upon His grace and solely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ.”
It is important for us to realize that the Old Covenant with its promises dealt primarily with things in their present day life. It focused on such things as length of days, increase in the natural realm, blessings upon harvests, victory over enemies, and peace with prosperity. There was very little said about eternal life. The New Covenant fully promises eternal life but it does not insure us that we will have earthly prosperity or even long life here on earth. Its focus is more on spiritual blessings.
This, of course, flies in the face of The Hebrew Israelite Bible teachers say today and what many Christians fervently believe. We should remember that the Apostle Paul suffered beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, and numerous other dangers. He was at times hungry, thirsty, cold, naked, (2 Cor. 11:23-33). However, he bore all these things in light of the great spiritual reward reserved for him in heaven. He had no concern for his earthly life.
Also, young and valiant Stephen never saw long life as promised in the Old Covenant but was martyred for Jesus at an early age. He died in glory with his eyes firmly fixed on the risen Christ. At this instance the one seated in heaven actually stood as his first martyr was stoned.
Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, Acts 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
We remember in Mark 10:30, that although Jesus promises some blessings in this world, He notes that they must also come with persecutions. It is true that the principles of both the Old and New Testaments, when put into practice, will promote blessing for ourselves and for others, but we cannot fix our eyes upon these natural earthly blessings, but on spiritual, heavenly blessings.
Hebrews 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
As we have seen, there was something wrong with the Old Covenant arrangement, but it was not that the word of God was weak or imperfect. The Bible says otherwise in Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
As we have said before the problem was the weakness and sinfulness of human beings.
THE NEW COVENANT
Hebrews 8:8 For finding fault with them, He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
Now we come to what has been called the longest quote in the New Testament. It is the promise of a new covenant taken directly from Jeremiah 31:31-34. We see once more that the reason for “the Old Covenant passing away was not with the covenant itself” but it was due to the weakness of human flesh (Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh). We also see here that it is God alone who makes this covenant.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
It is clear here that God makes the covenant and not man. It is also clear that the New Covenant is not made with believers as has often been supposed but with Israel and Judah. We remember from history that the two houses divided shortly after the death of King Solomon in 930 BC.
The southern kingdom, centered in Jerusalem, came to be called Judah and the northern kingdom, centered in Samaria came to be known as Israel. We also remember that the northern kingdom was carried away captive by the Assyrians in 722 BC. It was not until 586 BC that the southern kingdom went into captivity under the Babylonians.
It is a very important point that the New Covenant is made with these two houses. This is especially important considering that the people of the northern kingdom have been dispersed for some 2700 years and have all but disappeared from history. Still the prophets speak clearly of these scattered people being returned to the land in the last days (Jer. 30:3; Eze. 37:16-22).
This is a great mystery of God and people have not understood it very well. Throughout the twentieth century and to the present time the Jewish people have been returning to their ancient homeland amidst much opposition, especially from the Arab peoples surrounding the falsely called, new state of Israel.
This consternation, opposition and rage has now spilled over into many nations of the earth. Not only have the Jews returned (those remnants of Judah) but numerous people have returned supposedly from the scattered northern tribes of ancient Israel. We note again that it is with all of these that God will institute the New Covenant. Believers are only grafted into that covenant by the grace and mercies of God (Rom. 11:17-18; & Eph. 2:11-22).
How sad it is that while claiming the New Covenant for themselves people have consistently persecuted the Children of Israel with whom the covenant was originally made. How could people have been tacitly involved in the recent Holocaust where six million Jews were murdered?
George Guthrie remarks: “Many Jewish survivor-victims of camps like Auschwitz and Dachau remembered with bitterness that their jailers celebrated Christmas and Easter.” The Holocaust was just the most recent in a long series of persecutions over the ages that included forced conversions, forced baptisms, murders, economic oppressions, expulsions, crusades, and inquisitions.
It is clear from scripture that most of Israel and Judah will return to the Lord and fully inaugurate the New Covenant only after returning to the actual land of Israel. It will be in the land that Israel and Judah will receive a “new heart” and become cleansed from all their defilements (Ezek. 36:24-28).
Hebrews 8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Although God led Israel by the hand and placed before her the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to be their guide, Israel still rebelled (Delitzsch remarks that rebellious Israel passed through every grade of paganism). “In fact, there is no period of the history of Israel before the captivity, in which more or less idolatry was not united with the worship of Jehovah, except the time of David and the first years of Solomon, during which, the influence of Samuel still continued to be felt.” Ultimately, because of their idolatry God turned away from them.
GOD’S LAW WRITTEN ON HEARTS AND MINDS
Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Matthew 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Matthew 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Matthew 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
With God’s New Covenant we see a fulfillment that was only hinted at in the Old Covenant (Deut. 6:6; Psa. 37:31; 40:8). We see the Law of God actually being written on people’s hearts and minds. This is what Jesus came to do, to internalize the law and to apply it more deeply into the hearts and minds of His people. Let us give just a couple examples of this from the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Also in Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Jesus internalizes the law and deals with the area of angry thoughts and lustful looks. Under the Old Covenant it was theoretically possible for one to make a perfect offering and yet never deal with angry or lustful thoughts in the heart.
What does it mean to have the Law of God written on our hearts and minds? Let me illustrate with an example of driving our automobiles in city traffic. How do we react when we come to a stop light? For those of us who have driven for a number of years, the thought of whether or not we will stop at the red light is never dealt with consciously. When the light starts to turn our foot just naturally presses on the brake. We never say “Let’s see, shall I stop at this light today or not?” This is an example of having a civil law written on our hearts and minds. Jesus does a similar thing with the moral laws of God. We should come to a point where breaking these laws is never even considered by us. They should have become a part of the fabric of our lives.
We want to quickly add that this is the sovereign work of God through the Holy Spirit. Even in the twenty-first century we are not able to do such things on our own. Paul says in Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Paul also says in Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Long ago when Moses read the laws of the covenant to Israel the people said in Exodus 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. “But how little they knew themselves! Within a week or two they were dancing wildly around the golden calf.” How true it is that “the law is ruinous and fatal to us as long as it remains written only on tables of stone.” Indeed the scripture says in 2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Someone may wonder about how it is possible for God alone to make this New Covenant? The very meaning of a covenant is an agreement between two parties. The apostle Paul also helps us with this quandary: “Do you ask how God can call this a covenant, in which there is no second covenanting party? The answer is easy: Jesus Christ has stood in our stead, and has not only negotiated this covenant, but has fulfilled in our name, and on our behalf, all the conditions which were necessary and right.”
Hebrews 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
This statement seems almost incredible; that there will not be a brother or neighbor left on earth who does not know the Lord. Yet the Bible tells us of a day when the kingdom of God is fulfilled. The prophet Habakkuk says of this day in Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
God is really emphatic about this statement. In the Greek there are two negative particles that occur before the word “remember.” God will in no way and in no wise remember our transgressions. Under the New Covenant it is if we have never sinned in the first place. Our sins and iniquities (evil deeds) are wiped out— forgiven and forgotten. They will not be brought up again in all eternity.
Hebrews 8:13 In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
The Greek word for “vanish” (‘abad) is used in verbal form in James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
In this scripture it speaks of the transience of our human lives. Here the Old Covenant as “tottering with senility” and “like an old, old man who is sinking into the grave.”
