Hebrews Chapter 9
Hebrews 9:1-29 says:
1Now the first covenant had regulations for worship
and also an earthly sanctuary. 2A tabernacle was set up.
In its first room were the lamp stand, the table and the consecrated bread; this
was called the
6When
everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the
outer room to carry on their ministry. 7But only the
high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never
without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had
committed in ignorance. 8The Holy Spirit was showing by
this that the way into the
11When
Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here,[b] he went through the greater and more
perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this
creation. 12He did not enter by means of the blood of
goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own
blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13The blood
of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are
ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences
from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!
15For this
reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may
receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to
set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
16In the
case of a will,[d] it is necessary to prove the death of
the one who made it, 17because a will is in force only
when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is
living. 18This is why even the first covenant was not
put into effect without blood. 19When Moses had
proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of
calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled
the scroll and all the people. 20He said, "This is
the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep."[e] 21In the same
way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its
ceremonies. 22In fact, the law requires that nearly
everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is
no forgiveness.
23It
was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with
these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these. 24For Christ did not enter a man-made
sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now
to appear for us in God's presence. 25Nor did he enter
heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the
Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26Then
Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But
now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by
the sacrifice of himself. 27Just
as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many
people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring
salvation to those who are waiting for him.
1) The Old Covenant law code that demanded
__________________(perfection) has not been abolished
– it has been _______________(fulfilled) by the eternal high priest, Jesus
Christ. Vs. 1-8
Notes:
·
In the first
10 verses the author goes on to explain the temple furniture.
·
·
Some people
believe there is some hidden meaning behind these verses, but most Bible
scholars believe the author is just describing the Old Covenant to point toward
the New.
·
·
The Ark of
the Covenant was a box about four and one-half feet long, two and one half feet
wide, and two and one half feet high.
·
Its cover was
the atonement cover.
·
On either end
were the images of the winged cherubim of the Glory who overshadowed that cover.
·
The “glory”
refers to the presence of God.
·
The atonement
cover was God’s throne, and the cherubim were his attendants.
·
It was on His
atonement cover that the high priests sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on
the Day of Atonement.
Leviticus 16:14-15 says:
14 He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his
finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle
some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.
15 "He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin
offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as
he did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and
in front of it.
2. The Ark of the
Covenant represented God’s _________________(presence) that was non accessible
except through a priest once a year on the day of atonement – Christians today
have access to God’s presence on a ___________(daily) basis through the
____________________(indwelling) _______________ __________(Holy Spirit). Vs.
1-28
·
Hebrews seems
to disagree with the O.T. on the articles within the tabernacle.
·
The O.T. says
that the jar of manna (9:4) and Aaron’s staff that had budded were in the most
Exodus
33 So Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put an Omar
of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to
come."
Numbers 17:1-10
1
The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites
and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral
tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. 3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be
one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place
them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I
will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites."
6 So Moses
spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the
leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron's staff was among them. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the
Testimony.
8 The next
day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which
represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed
and produced almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the
staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and
each man took his own staff.
10 The LORD
said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the Testimony, to be
kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling
against me, so that they will not die."
·
In the time
of Solomon, long after Moses, The Scripture says that nothing was in the ark
but the stone tablets.
1 King 8:9 says:
9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone
tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant
with the Israelites after they came out of
2 Corinthians
10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in
the body, whether good or bad.
·
This is said,
however, in a way that might imply something more had once been in the ark.
·
Also Hebrews
appears to locate the golden alter of incense in the most holy Place (9:4)
while the Old Testament locates it in the
Exodus 30:6 says:
6 Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before
the ark of the Testimony—before the atonement cover that is over the
Testimony—where I will meet with you.
·
This seems
strange because the preacher knows that the high priest entered the
·
How, then
could this altar of incense, which was used by the priest every day be in the
most Holy Place?
Exodus 30:7-8
7 "Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar
every morning when he tends the lamps. 8 He must burn incense again
when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the
LORD for the generations to come.
·
Several Old
Testament passages associate this altar closely with the
·
Exodus 30:6
locates it “in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony.”
·
First Kings
·
This altar
was situated right before the veil or “curtain” that separated the outer or
·
This is the
altar where priests offered incense, which represented the prayers of the
people.
·
It was the
place where they made intercession.
·
We might call
it the “gateway” to the
·
It was the
place priests held communion with God.
·
Thus, while
it would not have been proper to say that the altar of incense was in the
·
The Most Holy
Place represented the dwelling place of God, while the altar represented the
priests’ regular communion with the close approach to God.
·
V. 5 – Why
did the writer describe these furnishings of the tabernacle if he cannot
discuss them in detail?
·
He certainly
did not include these furniture items so that the readers could find hidden
meaning in them.
·
The author
listed the tabernacle furnishings to emphasize the earthly nature of the Mosaic
Tabernacle.
3. The author speaks of
the Day of Atonement, the tabernacle and the furnishings to emphasize that the
earthly, material nature of the tabernacle and its contents provided only
__________________(outward), _____________(ritual) cleansing – they never
_________________(changed) the worshipper’s_____________(heart). Vs. 1-10
QUESTION: IF THE OLD
COVENANT RITUALS NEVER CHANGED THE WORSHIPPERS HEART, THEN WHY DID GOD SET UP
THE OLD COVENANT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
4. THE OLD TESTAMENT COVENANT
WITH IT’S DETAILED LAW CODE TO BE OBEYED SET UP AND LOOKED ________________(FORWARD) TO THE NEW COVENANT WHERE
___________________(GRACE) IS GIVEN AND ___________________(OBEDIENCE) IS STILL
REQUIRED AND EXPECTED!
JESUS SAID “IF YOU LOVE
ME, YOU WILL OBEY ME”.
·
When
everything has been arranged like this it introduces 9:6-7
·
Both the
priest and the high priest entered the tabernacle areas – the priest the outer
room, the high priest the inner room.
·
The priest
entered only the outer room, not the inner area which represented God’s presence.
V. 6
·
They
repeatedly carried out a ministry that included only ritual duties.
5. THE REPETITIVENESS OF
HIGH PREIST ACTIONS POINTS TOWARD THE _______________________(INEFFECTIVENESS)
OF THOSE ACTIONS – SO GOD SENT A HIGH PRESIT IN JESUS WHO WOULD
_______________(FULFILL) THE ____________(LAW).
·
They respectively
tried to approach God without complete success.
·
The high priest
could only enter the inner room once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer up
sacrifices – which points to the limitations of the old earthly priesthood.
·
The Day of
Atonement happened on the 10th day of the seventh month.
·
There are
more restrictions.
·
The priest
could never enter without the blood from a sacrifice.
·
On the Day of
Atonement he first entered the
Leviticus 16:11-14 says:
11 "Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin
offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter
the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a
censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of
finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and
the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony,
so that he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the
bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement
cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the
atonement cover.
·
Then he
entered a second time that same day with the blood from the sacrifice of a goat
for sins of the people.
Leviticus 16:15-19 says:
15 "He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin
offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as
he did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and
in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement
for the
18
"Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the LORD and make
atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull's blood and some of the
goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. 19
He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to
cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
·
The old high
preist had to offer these blood sacrifices because of sin.
·
His own and
his people’s sinfulness blocked access to God’s presence.
·
The
sacrifices of the priest did not deal with sin.
6. The Old Covenant was
____________________(limited) on what is accomplished…
On the Day of Atonement, the priest offered sacrifice only for the sins the
people had committed in _______________________(ignorance)…
The Old Testament usually speaks of the sacrifices as atoning for ____________________(unintentional) sin, meaning some could never be forgiven
like murder, adultery and idolatry.
Leviticus 6:1-6 says:
1 The LORD said to Moses: 2
"If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor
about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats
him, 3 or if he finds lost property and lies about it,
or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do- 4 when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he
has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost
property he found, 5 or whatever it was he swore falsely
about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and
give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering. 6 And as a penalty he must bring to the priest, that is, to
the LORD, his guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of
the proper value.
·
Under Old
Testament law, there were no sacrifices for some sins such as murder, adultery,
and idolatry.
·
The Day of
Atonement sacrifices never effectively atoned for all sin. V. 4
·
Christ’s
sacrifice covered _______ _____________(all sin), with
the single exception of apostasy which is the complete denial of Christ’s
sacrifice and its effectiveness.
·
The fact that
the tabernacle had two parts emphasizes the ____________________(inaccessibility) of God – only a holy person could come in
contact with God and live.
·
Only the high
priest could go beyond the curtain into the Holy of Holies.
·
By His
sacrifice Christ has both opened and closed the way into the
·
The Greek
translated, “still standing” can easily mean still having validity.”
·
The coming of
Christ our high priest demonstrated an end of the old system.
·
V. 8 – Since
the priests and high priests could not freely enter God’s presence in that
tabernacle, it demonstrated that the gifts and sacrifices then being offered
were not able to clear the conscience of the worshipper.
·
The tabernacle
worship pointed forward to the present time. But how?
·
By
demonstrating its own inadequacy, it indicated that something better was to
come.
·
The
description of the old ways has indicated that something better was to come.
·
The
description of the old ways in Vs 6-7 has demonstrated that the worship of the
old tabernacle did not reveal the way into God’s presence. V. 8
·
The inability
of the priest and high priest to freely approach God demonstrated that the
gifts and sacrifices that were offered were not able to clear the conscience of
the worshipper. V. 9
7. The Old Covenant
sacrifices never __________________(cleared) the ____________(inner)
__________________(conscience) of the worshipper because such sacrifices were
_________________(external) rituals that pointed toward the coming of Christ
and the _________________ _____________________(New Covenant) which would
address the _____________(inner) heart of the believer.
1 John 1:8-9 says:
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness.
·
Thus the
whole old system demonstrated the inadequacy of the old sacrifice to deal with
sin and pointed forward to the sacrifice of Christ.
·
Second, the
old system also looked forward to the new in a positive way.
·
It demonstrated
that a sacrifice was necessary for sin, a blood sacrifice, thus pointing to the
kind of sacrifice Christ would make.
·
The phrase,
“not able to clear the conscience” is weak translation of the preacher’s
original words.
·
The New
American Translation is a better translation when it says: “Which cannot make
the worshipper perfect in conscience.”
·
No animal
sacrifice could make the priest, high priest or the worshippers they
represented “perfect in conscience”.
·
The preacher
uses the term conscience in a broader way than we usually use it.
·
The
conscience embraces the whole person in his relation to God.
·
He now
“perfects those who come to Him by forgiving their sin, cleansing sin from
their hearts, and by enabling them to live lives of obedience that mirror His
life of obedience.
·
Jesus makes
the provisions of the New Covenant a reality in the lives of believers.
·
By contrast,
the old sacrifices could not deal with the inner reality of the human heart in
relationship to God.
·
They
pertained only to food and drink and various ceremonial washings, only to
external regulations, to ceremonial things and not to the inner reality of the
conscience.
11. The old sacrifices no
longer apply since the New Covenant cleanses the _____________(inner)
and the inner automatically cleanses the ______________(outer). V. 10
·
The term “good”
was used in the Old Testament to describe the Promised Land.
Exodus 3:8 says:
8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of
the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious
land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites,
Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jobsites.
12.The
phrase “good things” refers to the blessings of the New Covenant which are ________________(forgiveness)
of sin, ___________________(cleansing) from sin, and ___________________(fellowship)
with God. V. 11
·
These good
things are already here.
13.
Because Jesus entered the true Most Holy Place, the Heavenly dwelling place of
God by His own blood His followers also have _____________(access)
to _______________(Heaven) and the _________ ____________(new earth) one day. Vs.
11-12
14.
Jesus entered the presence of God _________(once) and
for all, not repeatedly or annually, having obtained _________________(eternal)
redemption for His _________________(followers). Vs. 12-14
Numbers
19:9-22 says:
9 "A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes
of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They
shall be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it
is for purification from sin. 10 The man who gathers up
the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean
till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for
the aliens living among them.
11
"Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will be unclean for seven days.
12 He must purify himself with the water on the third
day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify
himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. 13
Whoever touches the dead body of anyone and fails to purify himself defiles the
LORD's tabernacle. That person must be cut off from
14
"This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who
enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container without a lid fastened on it will
be unclean.
16
"Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a
sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human
bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
17 "For the unclean person, put some ashes from
the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some
hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and
the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human
bone or a grave or someone who has been killed or someone who has died a natural
death. 19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle the
unclean person on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to
purify him. The person being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe with
water, and that evening he will be clean. 20 But if a
person who is unclean does not purify himself, he must be cut off from the
community, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of
cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, and he is unclean. 21
This is a lasting ordinance for them.
"The man who sprinkles the water of
cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of
cleansing will be unclean till evening. 22 Anything that
an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean
till evening."
·
The blood of
the old system offers human, not divine cleansing.
·
Outward
cleansing is “cleansing of the flesh”.
14. Whereas the O.T.
sacrifices and rituals provided ________________(outward)
cleansing, the blood of Christ will provide for true _____________(inner)
cleansing of the ______________(heart). Vs. 1-28
·
Christ’s
offering was not made by the flesh, but through the eternal Spirit.
·
The old
sacrifices could sanctify the ceremonially unclean from outward or ritual
impurity, but Christ’s sacrifice can cleanse or purify our consciences – our
inner selves that are spirit.
15. The sacrifice of
Christ provides true inner cleansing from both the ______________(guilt) and power of _______________(sin) and thus enables
us truly to come into God’s _________________(presence). Vs. 13-15
·
Christ has
provided a new and truly effective way of approaching God and is why it is
called the New Covenant!
·
Christ’s
sacrifice has established the New Covenant Jeremiah predicted.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 says:
31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will make a new covenant
with the house of
and with the house of
32 It will
not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to [a] them, [b] "
declares the LORD.
33
"This is the covenant I will make with the house of
after that time," declares the LORD.
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 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,"
declares the LORD.
"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no
more."
·
The phrase
“those who are called” refers to all God’s people.
16. The first covenant ___________________(revealed) the ______________(will) of God but did not
provide effective _____________________(deliverance) from ______________(sin),
from the “transgressions” that people committed. V.15
17. The Old Covenant __________(set) ______(up) and pointed ___________________(forward)
to the new. Vs. 1-28
·
There are two
Greek words for covenant that the NIV translates as “will”. Vs. 16-17
·
The Greek
word, “Suntheke” was used to represent an agreement _________________(mutually) negotiated and agreed on by two or more parties.
16
·
The Greek
word, “Diatheke” was used to describe a disposition or potential agreement that
________(one) person gave to other people which they
could accept or reject but could not negotiate or change. V. 17
·
Secular Greek
writers often used “Suntheke” for covenants or agreements among people. Vs. 16
·
However, the
translators of the Greek Old Testament used “Diatheke” to portray God’s
“covenant” with His people. V. 17
·
New Testament
writers followed the practice of the Greek Old Testament.
18. GOD’S PEOPLE COULD ________________(REJECT) THE COVENANT HE OFFERED THEM, BUT THEY COULD NOT
_____________________(NEGOTIATE) OR ALTER ITS STIPULATIONS. Vs. 16-17
NOTE: Even though most
Modern English versions translate “Diatheke” as “will”,
in the Greek it means ____________________(COVENANT)!
·
Most Bible
scholars agree that vs. 16-17 should be translated Covenant.
19.The
animal sacrifice that initiated a covenant in the O.T. represented the ____________________(death)
of the __________________(persons(s) or making the covenant. Vs, 16-20
NOTE: A sacrificial
animal was slaughtered and cut in two. The one making the covenant passed
between the halves of the animal, signifying that if he did not ____________(keep) the _________________(covenant) he was making, he
would __________(die) as the animal has died – the practice was called the “____________(walk)
of _____________”(death).
Genesis 15:7-21 says:
7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who
brought you out of
8 But Abram
said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of
it?"
9 So the
LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years
old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
10 Abram
brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each
other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11
Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a
thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the
LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be
strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated
four hundred years. 14 But I
will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out
with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your
fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back
here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
17 When the sun had
set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared
and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with
Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river [a] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-
19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites,
Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
·
Genesis
15:7-21 offers the best example of this type of covenant.
·
In the incident
that this passage describes, Abraham killed the animals and divided them in
two, but “a smoking fire pot with a flaming torch” representing God himself
passed between the pieces.
·
By this act,
“the Lord made a covenant with Abram” – keep in mind that God did all the work.
·
A COVENANT
MAKER DID NOT LITERALLY DIE, BUT HIS DEATH WAS SYMBOLIZED BY THE COVENANT
SACRIFICE.
·
V. 17 –
“Because a will is in force only when somebody has died” could mean “on the
basis of the deaths of sacrificial animals or on the basis of sacrifices”.
·
We could
translate V. 17 – “Because a covenant is in force only on the basis of
sacrifice”.
·
Vs. 16-17
could be translated, “In the case of a covenant, it is necessary for the death
of the one who made it to be offered because a covenant is in force only on the
bases of sacrifices”.
·
V. 17b reads,
it never takes affect while the one who made it is living, or “it does not take
affect until the maker’s death has been symbolically enacted by the sacrifice.”
·
In the case
of Christ, however, the death was not symbolic but real.
20. BECAUSE WE COULD NOT
KEEP OUR PART OF THE COVENANT, JESUS FULFILLED THE ___________(WALK)
OF _____________(DEATH) FOR US SO THAT WE COULD DO THE __________(WALK) OF
___________(LIFE). Vs. 15-22
John
10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
·
JESUS KEPT HIS
PART OF THE COVENANT AND STILL CHOSE TO DIE FOR US BECAUSE HE KNEW WE COULD NOT
KEEP OURS.
·
·
JESUS DID
NOTHING WRONG, BUT DIED IN MY PLACE SO I WOULD NOT HAVE TO.
·
In V. 19, the
preachers mind turns to Exodus 24:3-8, which records Moses’ inaugurating the
covenant with blood sacrifices.
Exodus 24:3-8 says:
3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's
words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has
said we will do." 4 Moses then wrote down
everything the LORD had said.
He got up early the next morning and built
an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing
the twelve tribes of
8 Moses then
took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of
the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these
words."
·
God did not
make this covenant in private, just with Moses, or just with the leaders; he
offered it to all people.
·
The scroll
representing God, and all the people was bound together by the blood of the
covenant.
·
Exodus 24:3-8
actually says that Moses put the blood on “the altar and the people” not “the
scroll and the people”.
·
The “scroll”
or the “Book of the Covenant” may have been laying on
the altar when Moses poured the blood on the altar.
·
The preacher
speaks of the scroll in V. 19 because it contained the stipulations of the
covenant.
·
By saying
that Moses bound the people to the scroll with the blood, he emphasized the
need for God’s people to obey.
·
The
definitive statement with which Moses concluded the establishment of the Old Covenant
shows the importance of the blood: THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, WHICH GOD
HAS COMMANDED YOU TO KEEP. V. 20
·
Hebrews
·
The old high priest
only entered the
·
That all
covenants were inaugurated with blood sacrifices. Vs. 16-17
·
The Mosaic
covenant was inaugurated by blood and carried out by using blood of sacrifices
to bring purification. Vs. 18-21
·
IN FACT THE
LAW REQUIRES THAT NEARLY EVERYTHING BE CLEANSED WITH BLOOD.
·
The word “nearly”
is the preacher’s admission that a few things were not purified under the Old Covenant.
21. GOD FORGIVING ME OF
MY SINS COST GOD A
·
The New Kings
James version reads, “Without the shedding of blood, There
is no remission. There is no release”.
22. The Old Covenant
could never _____________(release) a person from the _____________(guilt)
and bondage of sin – only the New Covenant could give
________________(freedom). Vs. 23
·
Jesus came to
offer a better sacrifice that would completely do away with sin, just not cover
it.
·
THERE IS NO
_________________(RESURRECTION) FROM SIN WITHOUT A __________________(crucifixion)
FOR SIN.
Vs. 27-28 – “Jesus is
coming again” completes the analogy with the Aaronic high priest on the Day of
Atonement.
·
On that day,
the high priest offered a sacrifice.
Leviticus
15 "He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin
offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as
he did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and
in front of it.”
·
This offering
was equivalent of Christ coming to earth and offering Himself once and for all.
·
Then the high
priest entered the