Hebrews 9:15-28
15 For 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.
16 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.19 When Moses had proclaimed every command 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. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23 It 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. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor 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. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Our Sunday School class has been studying Genesis lately and one theme keeps showing up - the covering. First time we see it is when Adam and Eve sinned and to come into the presence of God they made their own covering, fig leaves, but God said their efforts were inadequate and God Himself clothed them with animal skins. The text doesn't say, but we can assume that God at that point told them that the penalty for sin is death and instituted the sacrificial system which we see Cain and Abel carrying out in the next chapter. The writer of Hebrews could have taken it back past Moses and the blood ratifying the first covenant all the way to Genesis 3. The next covering was in Chapter 27 where Jacob covers himself with animal skins and the clothes of Esau to in effect become acceptable to Isaac. If the covering wasn't acceptable, Rebekah, in a foreshadowing of the new covenant says, "If he curses you, may the curse fall on me". The old covenant was not satisfactory but the curse fell on Christ in the New Covenant. The third episode of covering was seen in chapter 29 when an unacceptable Leah, in a act of trickery not unlike Jacob's, covered herself and disguised herself as Rachel to be acceptable to Jacob. When found to still be unacceptable she tried to make Jacob pleased with her by giving him sons but by the 4th one, Judah, she realized her acceptance came in Christ.
I feel like that is what this passage in Hebrews is talking about. In the Old Covenant there was an atonement cover over the ark where the blood of an animal was poured out on a regular basis over the broken commandments in the box and God would look down and his wrath against sin would be stayed but the sins could not be taken away, mankind outside of selected priests could not come into the presence of God in the tabernacle much less come into the eternal presence of God because the covering was inadequate. However, Christ came and once and for all paid the penalty of sin and clothed us with Himself so we can enter the Holy of Holies and eventually live forever in the presence of God being declared acceptable in the New and better Covenant. In context, the writer would be saying, "Why in the world would you all prefer to live under the first covenant. Not only is it far inferior but it had a limited life span and it has expired.
You know those people that still use flip phones and say, "I need nothing else", yet are always texting you for score updates? My wife used to say to my daughter, "Google this for me." Finally my daughter said, "Get a smartphone", and refused to Google for her. My wife broke down and did and now "has the world at her fingertips". Or those that say, "I don't need a microwave, I can heat things in the stove." Craziness! We, through the New Covenant are free to love and be loved. Don't resort to legalism and sacrificial actions to please God. No amount of your covering can make you acceptable to God. Trust in Christ who has already made you acceptable and rest in that and come boldly into His presence.
Our Sunday School class has been studying Genesis lately and one theme keeps showing up - the covering. First time we see it is when Adam and Eve sinned and to come into the presence of God they made their own covering, fig leaves, but God said their efforts were inadequate and God Himself clothed them with animal skins. The text doesn't say, but we can assume that God at that point told them that the penalty for sin is death and instituted the sacrificial system which we see Cain and Abel carrying out in the next chapter. The writer of Hebrews could have taken it back past Moses and the blood ratifying the first covenant all the way to Genesis 3. The next covering was in Chapter 27 where Jacob covers himself with animal skins and the clothes of Esau to in effect become acceptable to Isaac. If the covering wasn't acceptable, Rebekah, in a foreshadowing of the new covenant says, "If he curses you, may the curse fall on me". The old covenant was not satisfactory but the curse fell on Christ in the New Covenant. The third episode of covering was seen in chapter 29 when an unacceptable Leah, in a act of trickery not unlike Jacob's, covered herself and disguised herself as Rachel to be acceptable to Jacob. When found to still be unacceptable she tried to make Jacob pleased with her by giving him sons but by the 4th one, Judah, she realized her acceptance came in Christ.
I feel like that is what this passage in Hebrews is talking about. In the Old Covenant there was an atonement cover over the ark where the blood of an animal was poured out on a regular basis over the broken commandments in the box and God would look down and his wrath against sin would be stayed but the sins could not be taken away, mankind outside of selected priests could not come into the presence of God in the tabernacle much less come into the eternal presence of God because the covering was inadequate. However, Christ came and once and for all paid the penalty of sin and clothed us with Himself so we can enter the Holy of Holies and eventually live forever in the presence of God being declared acceptable in the New and better Covenant. In context, the writer would be saying, "Why in the world would you all prefer to live under the first covenant. Not only is it far inferior but it had a limited life span and it has expired.
You know those people that still use flip phones and say, "I need nothing else", yet are always texting you for score updates? My wife used to say to my daughter, "Google this for me." Finally my daughter said, "Get a smartphone", and refused to Google for her. My wife broke down and did and now "has the world at her fingertips". Or those that say, "I don't need a microwave, I can heat things in the stove." Craziness! We, through the New Covenant are free to love and be loved. Don't resort to legalism and sacrificial actions to please God. No amount of your covering can make you acceptable to God. Trust in Christ who has already made you acceptable and rest in that and come boldly into His presence.
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