Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

Hebrews 8

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. Hebrews 8:1-2

I maintain a pause of my study of 1 Corinthians as I continue using DesiringGod.com's Advent devotions where I pick up on Day 12.  Here, John Piper unpacks Hebrews 8:1-2 where the author of Hebrews encourages believers to see how Jesus - particularly as we celebrate Christmas - replaces Old Testament ceremonial practices, shadows and prophecies of the coming Messiah.  Piper writes: "[t]he point of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has not just come to fit into the earthly system of priestly ministry as the best and final human priest, but he has come to fulfill and put an end to that system, and to orient all our attention on himself, ministering for us first on Calvary as our final Sacrifice and then in heaven as our final Priest.  The Old Testament tabernacle and priests and sacrifices were shadows. Now the reality has come, and the shadows pass away."  Thank You Jesus for coming into the world so that You could save me from this world!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion.  You came into the world to save me and others from sin and death.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.    

He considered that God was able even to raise [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Hebrews 11

He considered that God was able even to raise [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. Hebrews 11:19

I continue my study of Hebrews, and today my focus is Hebrews 11:11-19, and and I am assisted in my understanding by the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary Series for Hebrews. The commentary outlines three divisions for this text:

I. The Faith of Sarah in Childbearing (11:11-12): Here, the text shares how God has providence over all life, including childbearing.  It shares: "First, there are no accidental births. Every human being is made in the image of God and comes to life because God says, “Let there be life.” Second, there are no naturalistic births. Scripture speaks of God opening the womb. God is ultimately sovereign, even over the conception of children." Referencing Genesis 21, where it is written in v1-2 that the "Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him," the commentary states "in his sovereignty, God chose a ninety-year-old woman in order to make a point about his power to fulfill his promises."

II. The Faith of Those Who Died in Faith (11:13-16): Here the text describes how those in Hebrews 11 - the "hall of faith" - only saw a foretaste of God's promises but still believed in the ultimate fulfillment of these promises.  It references both 1 Peter 1:1, 2:11 and Philippians 3:20 where both Peter and Paul write about a longing for believers true home in heaven.

III. The Faith of Abraham in Child Sacrificing (11:17-19): Here, the commentary discusses Hebrews reference to Genesis 22 and how it describes Abraham's response to God's command to sacrifice Issac as "most important and also one of the most infamous passages in all of Scripture."  It describes Abraham's obedience as he "believed God was able to raise Isaac from the dead if he was sacrificed."  It does further in describing this passage by sharing that "Issac didn’t die physically, but he did die in a figurative sense. He was taken right up to the point of death and then brought back to life. So in a sense we can say that Isaac died and was resurrected. In this way, this story and Isaac’s role in particular anticipate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our great high priest. Abraham passed God’s test because he was committed to God’s promises. He showed faith in God through his willingness to obey God’s command and sacrifice his son. He trusted God to deliver Isaac, and he may have even perceived that doing so would be the greatest display of God’s glory. That’s the story of the gospel. God has determined to save sinners and has done so in a way that brings him the greatest glory possible. This explains why God, who loves his Son to an even greater degree than Abraham loved Isaac, sent his Son to die for us."

Believers should our current life and what God has done as a foretaste of the promises we have yet to see.  While we have yet to see what God has in store for us, we have faith.

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My Prayer: Lord You are good and You have given me and all believers a foretaste of what we are ultimately promised in heaven - thank You Jesus for the faith that we have and I pray that my faith will continue - regardless of the circumstances.  Help me see the faith of those described in Hebrews as an encouragement and model for my own faith and trust in You that You are faithful.  I am not deserving of how You encourage and bless.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me and help me turn from my sin towards You and overcome such sin.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

 

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 9

 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 9:23-28, and my initial unaided observations of this text. Here the author of Hebrews once again compares the Old Testament and first covenant, including the associated sacrifices required by the law, with the New Testament and new covenant. Specifically, the author looks at how Christ only needed to die once as the once and for all of redemptive history as the penalty for sin and to satisfy God's wrath for sin.  V23-24 look at how Old Testament worship represented a foretaste, copy, or shadow of things to come.  V26b focuses us on Christ's death on the cross, "put away sin" - believers should rejoice in this "already won" victory, which of course includes victory over death as well.  In v27-28 we have this interesting text where it compares how a man only dies once and is then judged to determine whether he is saved or condemned, with how Jesus only died once but will come again to those awaiting His return.  The implication in Christ's 2nd coming is not explicit in the text here but my sense is that this is focused on how Christ's return will be the end of times as described in the book of Revelation.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is full of grace for me and who has given me victory over both sin and death - thank You Jesus!  I am of course not deserving of such a gift - the greatest gift of all time!  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Please help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.