Opinionated Meanderings of an Old Grump
Having examined the earthly tabernacle, the nature and contents of the Ark of the Covenant, and the emphasis on blood which we find in the Word of God, we now turn our attention to the heavenly sanctuary of which the earthly tabernacle and temple were models.
The Hebrews writer describes the earthly tabernacle and its associated rituals which was a mere model of the perfect and everlasting heavenly sanctuary – namely Jesus Himself.
The Hebrews writer discusses the ultimate priestly offering made by Jesus on the cross and the new covenant He established in His own blood as foretold by the prophet Jeremiah.
Having established his position that Melchizedek the king of Salem and priest of the Most High God who appeared to Abram, received a tithe from him and blessed him is actually Jesus Himself , the Hebrews writer now begins to discuss Jesus’ eternal and perfect priesthood itself, contrasting it with the imperfect priesthood of mortal human priests.
The writer now returns to his discussion of Jesus’ role as our great High Priest, quoting once more Psalm 110:4 proclaiming that Jesus is a high Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, and offering a much more detailed explanation of Jesus’ relationship to Melchizedek – the King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God.
Having warned that those who fall away from faith in Christ cannot be restored to their faith since they crucify Christ all over again in their unbelief. The writer now continues with a word of encouragement that he hopes for much better for his readers.
The Hebrews writer puts aside for the time being his discussion of Jesus’ role as our Great High Priest, and His relationship with Melchizedek – the priest and king of Salem, and takes up a brief exhortation for all believers to beware of growing stagnant in our spiritual lives, pointing out the need for us to continually grow in Christ. We then tackle one of the most difficult passages in the entire Word of God as the writer warns that those who fall away from the faith cannot possibly be redeemed again.
Now having thoroughly examined the concept of Jesus as the Living Word of God, we take up the idea that is the central tenet of the letter to the Hebrews – Jesus’ role as our great and compassionate High Priest.
As we continue our study of Hebrews we now come to one of the best known passages in the Bible as we consider Jesus – The Living Word of God.
Our concluding study of the Hebrews writer’s exhortation for us not to follow in the disbelief of the Israelites who disobeyed God’s command to go up from Egypt and conquer the promised land of Canaan. In this study, we examine God’s promised rest.
