Hebrews 8
THE HIGH
PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST FULFILS THE SYMBOLISM
OF THE AARONIC,
AND IS ALONE AN ETERNAL REALITY.
Christ’s heavenly priesthood, shown above to be of a higher
order than that
of Aaron, destined to supersede it, is in this section of
the Epistle (as
intimated in the concluding verses of ch. 7) set forth in
full as the reality
foreshadowed by it. The two priesthoods are compared with
respect to
(1) their spheres,
(2) their functions,
(3) their effects; and,
in the course of the exposition, the two (διαθήκαὶ - diathaekai – covenants) to
which they respectively belong are explained and
contrasted.
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;” Now the chief matter in (or, in regard to) the things
which are being said is (or, to sum up what we are saying). The word
κεφάλαιον – kephalaion – sum
- in itself may mean either “summary” or “chief
point.” We have
such a High Priest (i.e. such as has been described; compare
ch. 7:26), who sat
down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty (or, of
Majesty) in the heavens (compare ch. 1:3,
and what was there said).
Hebrews 8
THE HIGH
PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST FULFILS THE SYMBOLISM
OF THE AARONIC,
AND IS ALONE AN ETERNAL REALITY.
Christ’s heavenly priesthood, shown above to be of a higher
order than that
of Aaron, destined to supersede it, is in this section of
the Epistle (as
intimated in the concluding verses of ch. 7) set forth in
full as the reality
foreshadowed by it. The two priesthoods are compared with
respect to
(1) their spheres,
(2) their functions,
(3) their effects; and,
in the course of the exposition, the two (διαθήκαὶ - diathaekai – covenants) to
which they respectively belong are explained and
contrasted.
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;” Now the chief matter in (or, in regard to) the things
which are being said is (or, to sum up what we are saying). The word
κεφάλαιον – kephalaion – sum
- in itself may mean either “summary” or “chief
point.” We have
such a High Priest (i.e. such as has been described; compare
ch. 7:26), who sat
down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty (or, of
Majesty) in the heavens (compare ch. 1:3,
and what was there said).
The
Minister of the True Tabernacle, His Position and His Office (v.1)
Ø
It is in the heavens. He has passed through
the veil into the heavens. He
is no longer a localized priest,
near to some and far away from others, but
is in heaven, which is near to
all of us. This bringing of heaven in contact
with every human being is set
forth by the teaching of the natural world.
No one man has come in contact
With more than a very tiny piece,
comparatively, of the world in
which he lives; but once in twenty-four
hours every man in
the world sees the sun, which is the great visible
representative of
heavenly resource and blessing.
Ø
In the most glorious position a mediator can occupy. He is at the right
hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens. This throne is the
heavenly counterpart to the ark
of the covenant in the earthly tabernacle.
Ø
In this position the High Priest Jesus is seated. Seated, for He is
there
permanently. Incessant are the
needs of that human race for whom He
acts. Seated also to indicate:
o
sonship,
o
heirship, and
o
Divine dignity.
offices in connection with a
holy structure, on behalf of the people. The
word “true” here is doubtless to be taken in connection with the
holy
things as well as with the
tabernacle itself. Jesus is Minister of the true holy
things in the true tabernacle.
This word “true” is a most comprehensive
one, as showing the inward
compared with the outward, the essence
compared with the form, the
abiding compared with the changing, type as
compared with antitype, ends
that are spiritual and invisible, as compared
with means that are material and
visible. Notice the frequency of this word
ἀληθινῆς,
-
alaethinaes – true - in the New Testament.
We read of:
Ø
the true riches,
Ø
the true light,
Ø
the true worshippers,
Ø
the true bread,
Ø
the true vine,
Ø
the true God, and
Ø
the true witness.
The priesthood of Jesus is a new
and perfect thing, and
indicates a new and perfect
system. If a number of types are related
together, then the bringing in
of the antitype to one of them means the
bringing in of all the other
antitypes. God has a glorious place of abode
in the invisible
world, a true holy of holies, where Jesus has
gone, where
JESUS REMAINS and to that holy of
holies all true
worshippers shall,
in due time, be
gathered.
2 “A
minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the
Lord pitched, and not man.” A minister of the sanctuary (τῶν
ἁγίων –
ton hagion – of
the holies; sanctuary - ,
neuter, as in ch.9:12, equivalent to
“the holy places;” compare Ibid. v.8; ch.10:19), and of the true tabernacle,
which the Lord
pitched, and not man. The sphere of
Christ’s priestly
ministration (λειτουργος
–
leitourgos - minister,
λειτουργεῖν – leitourgein –
λειτουργία
– leitourgia
– ministry - being the
recognized words in the Septuagint
and Josephus for denoting sacerdotal functions, — hence Liturgy)
is thus in the
first place pointed to as being a heavenly one, symbolized
only by the
earthly sanctuary. But what is the true tabernacle,
in which Christ
ministers? Are we to suppose that an actual prototype of
the earthly
tabernacle is regarded as existing locally beyond the sky?
No; it is only
implied that there are, in the suprasensuous sphere, facts
and relations
which are symbolized and made level to our comprehension by
local
imagery. Still, there may be conceived as present to the
writer’s mind an
ideal picture of a heavenly temple, such as was seen in
vision by prophets,
and served to aid their conception of realities beyond
their ken. Thus in
Psalm 29, where the thunderstorm is described, the LORD is
conceived, in
the introductory and concluding verses, as enthroned above
it in His
heavenly temple, sitting there a King for ever, and
worshipped by the “sons
of God.” Thus in
I Kings 22:19 Michaiah sees in vision “the
Lord sitting
on His throne, and
all the host of heaven standing by Him, on His right hand
and on His left.” In Isaiah 6 this throne is seen as the distinct
counterpart
of the mercy-seat in the earthly temple, with the winged
forms above it,
and the “house” filled with the smoke of
incense, and live coals upon the
altar. Ezekiel’s still more remarkable visions (Hebrews 1.,
10., 11.) are in
like manner enlargements of the idea of the Shechinah in the holy of holies
(compare also ch.2:20; Psalm 11:4; Micah 1:2). Then the
visions of John in
the Revelation have the same basis; there is still seen a
glorious counterpart
above of the temple below; though now with new accessories,
expressive
of accomplished redemption. But that John’s visions are
meant only as imagery
representing the incomprehensible is evident throughout,
and especially from
the ideal description of the holy city in Revelation 21, in
which v. 22 is
peculiarly significant: “And I
saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are the temple of it.” In the same way is to be understood the
“true tabernacle.”
If, as we may
suppose, the writer had before his mind the
prophetic visions of such a heavenly temple, he entertains them only as imaging
spiritual facts and relations in the regions of eternity. “Which the Lord pitched,” etc.,
may have reference to Isaiah 42:5 -ὁ
ποιήσας
τὸν
οὐρανὸν
καὶ
πήξας
αὐτόν -
ho poiaesas ton
ouranon kai paexas auton -who is the Maker of heaven and fixed it –
Septuagint.
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. 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:” These verses are in
proof of the assertion of v. 2, viz. that
Christ has His ministry in the heavenly tabernacle.
He has been shown to be a
High Priest: therefore He must make some offering, this
being the very
purpose of a high priest’s office (ch.5:1). But where? Not
certainly in the earthly
tabernacle, this being served already, and exclusively
served, by the sons of Aaron.
Therefore it must be in the heavenly sphere symbolized by
the earthly tabernacle.
And then, in v. 5, that there is a HEAVENLY REALITY, of which the
earthly
tabernacle
is but a SHADOW, is shown by
what was said of the latter when it
was made. (What Christ offers in the heavenly sphere is surely His own atoning
sacrifice. Some commentators have
found a difficulty in this conception on the
ground that this his sacrifice
had been completed once for all before His ascension.
True; but He is
regarded as carrying its efficacy with Him to the mercy-seat above,
and so for
ever offering it; even as it is continually commemorated and pleaded
in the Eucharist by the Church below. (Personally, although
I can’t explain it,
I believe that what Jesus said to Mary in John 20:17, “Touch
me not; for I am
not yet ascended to my Father” is connected with this, and that it had
something to do with the
offering of the blood! CY – 2014)
And thus,
be it observed, the symbolism of the Day of Atonement is
accurately fulfilled.
For the high priest did not sacrifice within the
tabernacle; he only carried to the
holy of holies the blood, representing the atoning efficacy
of the sacrifice made
outside before his entrance.)
The High Priest — For What Appointed (v. 3)
GENERAL. All high priests, whether they be Aaronic priests or Jesus
Himself, are appointed to offer
gifts and sacrifices. Thus the classification is
made of offerings for God. There
are gifts, the
expressions of thankfulness
and devotion, which may be
offered, which ought to be offered, but which
can only have value as they come
spontaneously and of free-will. To give
them only in response to a
Divine commandment would be to alter their
character altogether. Their very
name indicates this, as being not simply
things
given, but δῶρά - dora – gifts;
oblations; presents - things given freely.
Then
there are also sacrifices, the purpose
of which is more particularly
defined
in v. 1, where they are mentioned as sacrifices for sin. And all this
VOLUME
OF GRATITUDE AND PENTINENCE, instead of being
scattered
about in individual manifestations, left to each one’s own time
and place
and manner, was reduced to order, AND MADE A
NATIONAL
PROCEEDING! As to gifts, a man was free to settle in his
own
mind whether he would give or
not; but if he gave, he must give in a
particular way.
discharge a priestly office in
respect of gifts and sacrifices? With respect to
sacrifices the answer is given
plainly, not only in this Epistle, but in all
apostolic teaching. A reference
to ch.9:14 may be enough to
illustrate this. Jesus, the true
High Priest, offered up HIMSELF
as the
TRUE
SACRIFICE! But what about the
gifts? These, be it remembered,
we still have to provide. A sacrifice for sin we cannot provide, BUT IT
IS PROVIDED FOR
US! Gifts,
however, we are bound to bestow —
gifts, more in quantity
than ever,
and better in quality, seeing that our
obligations are added to by Christ’s
provision of a sacrifice for sins.
And we lay these gifts on God’s altar when most
of all we serve the needy.
As it is true that he who gives to the poor lends to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17),
so he who gives to the needy
because of their need, hoping for nothing again
(Luke 6:35), makes an offering
to the Lord. It is by the Spirit of Jesus Christ
that we are led into that sort
of gratitude which is acceptable to God. The
gifts which are most acceptable
for God to receive are those which indicate
our appreciation
of HIS SPIRITUAL MERCIES! It is a poor business if
we have not received more from
God than the things which He bestows
equally on the good and the
evil, the just and the unjust. Our best
gifts are
those which promote the cause of
Christ, which are offered with a distinct
intention towards the progress
of that cause. (Our greatest gift to
Him
is “our heart” – Proverbs
23:36 - and the greatest gift He gives to us is
HIMSELF! “I AM THY SHIELD
AND THY EXCEEDING GREAT
REWARD!” – Genesis 15:1 – CY – 2014)
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.” Who (i.e. being such as do so;
οἵτινες – hoitines - who) serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things
(ὑποδείγματι - hupodeigmati – to example - here, as in ch.9:23, means
“representation,” in the way of copy, not of pattern. (σκιᾷ - skia - shadow”) is
opposed in Hebrews 10:1 to εἰκόνα
–
eikona - image, which denotes
the reality, and in Colossians 2:17 to σῶμα – soma - body), even as Moses
is
admonished of God
when about to make the tabernacle (literally,
to
complete; but not in
the sense of finishing a thing begun, but of carrying
out a design to entire completion); for, See,
saith he, that thou make all
things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the
mount. For the
sense of κεχρημάτισται – kechraematistai
– has been apprized,
according to
Hellenistic usage, compare Matthew 2:22, (χρηµατισθεὶς
δὲ κατ’ ὄναρ –
chraematistheis
de kat’ onar - being warned of God in a dream;
being
apprized yet
according to trance).” The
reference here is to Exodus 25:40;
the words which “the LORD spake unto Moses.”
Rabbinical writers,
holding the view of an actual heavenly tabernacle, the
prototype of the
earthly one, have concluded from the passage in Exodus that
Moses had
a vision of it, or that a visible representation of
it was exhibited to him on
the mount. All that
is necessarily implied is that he was divinely
admonished
to make the tabernacle after the fashion conveyed, in whatever way, to his
apprehension when on the mount, so that it might be a true
representation of
some heavenly reality (compare Acts 7:44).
6 “But now
(νυνὶ
- nuni
– now - in its usual logical, not temporal, sense; compare
ch. 11:16; also 2:8; 9:26; 12:26) hath He obtained a more excellent ministry,
by
how much also He is the mediator of a better
covenant, which (ἥτις
–
haetis –
which -
equivalent to quippequae, as usual) was established upon better promises.”
Here the idea of the new διαθήκης
–
diathaekaes – covenant
- introduced first in the
way of anticipation at ch. 7:22, is brought to the
front, to be carried out in what
follows. There the proved superior greatness of the
predicted priest was made the
measure of the superior excellence of the covenant
of which He has become Surety;
here the superior excellence of the new covenant,
which is now to be shown from
prophecy, is made the measure of that of Christ’s priestly
ministry, which
has just been proved to be of necessity in the sphere of heavenly realities of
which
the Mosaic ritual was but a copy and shadow.
The word here used is
not ἔγγυος - egguos - surety, as in ch.7:22,
but μεσίτης – mesitaes - mediator;
on which it is to be observed that the mediator of the old
covenant was not
Aaron, but Moses (see Galatians 3:19): it was he that
intervened
between God and the congregation in the establishment of
the covenant;
and thus, in this respect also, the priesthood of the new
covenant
transcends the old one, in that (as was shown also in the
earlier part of the
Epistle) the type of Moses, as well as of Aaron, is
fulfilled in it. The word
νενομοθέτηται
– nenomothetaetai - (established in
Authorized Version.; enacted
in the Revised Version) expresses the promulgation of a law
— appositely in the
first place to the Law of Moses, which constituted the
conditions of the old
covenant; but also to the description of the new covenant,
which follows from
Jeremiah, according to which the law remains, but to
be written on the heart.
The gospel is elsewhere regarded under the idea of law, though
not a law of
bondage, but of liberty — a law, not of the letter, but of
the Spirit (see
Romans 3:27; 8:2; 9:31; James 1:25). The “better promises”
are
such as the passage from Jeremiah, quoted below, notably
represents.
Other passages might be referred to (such as Ezekiel
36:25-28; 37:24-28),
of similar significance, though not with the same marked
mention of a
new covenant to supersede the old one. This
memorable passage
(Jeremiah 31:31-34) occurs in a distinct section of
Jeremiah’s
prophecies (chapters 30 and 31), delivered after the
commencement of the
Captivity, and directed to be written in a book. The
subject of the whole section
is the restoration of
who acknowledge any such at all in prophecy. In evidence of
this there is
not only the passage before us, pointing to an entirely new
covenant with
view of all the scattered tribes, not Judah only — the
whole ideal
being gathered together from all countries to
rule over them as king. The national and local framework,
which the
picture has in common with other prophetic visions of the
coming days, is
of course no difficulty to those familiar with the style of
the prophetic books.
The Chief Point (vs. 1-6)
This passage does not present a recapitulation of the
topics already
considered; it emphasizes, as the crowning topic in
connection with our
Lord’s priesthood, the fact that he has been “made higher than the
heavens.”
dwells now in heaven, His native
home. He occupies there the loftiest place;
for He
shares the sovereign authority and the universal dominion of THE
ABSOLUTE
GOD! Aaron exercised his
priesthood in an earthly sanctuary
made by men’s hands; Christ
officiates as our High Priest in the eternal
uncreated heavens. Aaron, when
he entered the holy of holies once a year on
the great Jewish fast-day,
merely stood for a short time before the symbolic
throne — his attitude one of
lowly service; but Christ has “sat down” at the
right hand of the
Eternal — His attitude that of royal
government. It is
noticeable that in this treatise
the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus does
not receive the prominence which
is given to it in almost every Epistle of
Paul. Indeed, it is only once
mentioned (ch.13:20). But doubtless
the reason of this is to be
found in the unique design of the treatise. This
book alone, of all the books of
Scripture, expounds the doctrine of the
priesthood of Christ; and it
brings into the foreground, accordingly, only
those acts which He performed as
the Antitype of Aaron — His sacrifice of
Himself in the outer court of
this world, and His passing within the blue veil
of heaven to sprinkle His blood
upon the mercy-seat. So the writer dwells
only upon the death and the
ascension of the Savior.
Redeemer is not incompatible
with His majesty; for He performs it as the
Plenipotentiary of the Godhead,
and in virtue of His session at “the right
hand of the
throne.” The heavenly sanctuary in
which Christ officiates is
here contrasted with the Hebrew
sanctuary. We are reminded that the
Mosaic tabernacle and its ritual
were nothing more than an adumbration of
the realities of the true
tabernacle. They were only a shadowy prophecy of
the priestly ministry of the
Lord Jesus. The very furniture of the sacred tent
had a symbolic meaning; and
every article was formed after a Divine
“pattern” (v. 5) — the snuffers and incense-spoons as well as the
magnificent lamp-stand. But how
different the scene of Christ’s continual
intercession from the Jewish
tabernacle or temple! Having offered Himself
as a Sacrifice upon the altar of
burnt offering which had been set up on
Calvary, He had to appear within
the sanctuary of God with His atoning
blood. Not being, however, a
high priest after the order of Aaron, He could
not go for this purpose into the
temple at
continue to be “a Priest at all’
(v. 4), it behooved Him to seek another
temple. Jesus accordingly
ascended to heaven, “the true tabernacle;’ and
He carries on His ministry there
in “the sanctuary,” i.e. in the holy of holies
which belongs to that true
tabernacle (v. 2). The Levitical high priests
were but typical mediators, who
performed typical services in connection
with a typical sanctuary. Jesus is the anti-typical High Priest, who has
offered a real
sacrifice for sin, and who makes prevailing intercession for
his people within
the true archetypal tabernacle. His ministry, therefore, is
“more excellent” than Aaron’s.
Ø
For the materialist. The Mosaic
tabernacle was a “copy” of the
celestial sanctuary; but
are not all nature and all earthly relations
just an adumbration of the
unseen?
“What if
earth
Be but the
shadow of heaven, and things therein
Each to
other like, more than on earth is thought?”
(Milton.)
Ø
For the sacerdotalist. Jesus is
the one mediating Priest of the New
Testament Church; and even He is
no longer a sacrificing Priest.
He bled and died in the outer
court; and He mediates in “the
sanctuary” now by intercession.
Ø
For the formalist. How great the
guilt of the man who, while
professing to be a Christian,
does not make the priesthood of
Christ a main
theme of his thoughts, and the joy of his heart!
Ø
For the Christian
believer. The saint should more and more rejoice in
Jesus as his Priest, and
constantly recommit his soul into His hands,
to be introduced to God by Him.
Ø
For the gospel minister. While
the teaching of the pulpit ought to
range, as far as possible,
over the wide sweep of thought which is
embraced in the orbit of
the Bible, the doctrine of the mediation
of our
glorified Redeemer must be its “chief point” — the
key-stone
of all its utterances, whether evangelical or ethical.
Three Better Things (v. 6)
“But now hath he obtained a more excellent
ministry” etc. In these words
the writer states in brief what he at once proceeds to
illustrate and establish
at considerable length, from this point on to ch.10:18. We
may perhaps with
advantage take a general glance at these three better
things, leaving their
particular
examination until summoned to it by the development of the Epistle.
excellent ministry” than
the high priests of the Jewish Church. The
proposition of the text is that
our Lord’s ministry is as much better than
theirs as the new covenant is
better than the old, and the new covenant is
better than the old because it
has been enacted upon better promises. His
ministry is that of our great
High Priest, or, in the word used in the text,
our Mediator. Let us mention a few particulars in which this ministry of
His is more excellent than that
of the Jewish high priests.
Ø
Because it is exercised in a higher sphere. They ministered in
the
material tabernacle and temple,
and for a brief season once a year
were permitted to enter the holy
of holies where God manifested
His presence by a symbol; but
these were only copies and shadows
of the heavenly realities. Our Savior is a Minister of the heavenly
“sanctuary, and
of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched,
not man.” He “appears before the face of God for us.”
Ø
Because it extends to greater numbers. The ministry of the
Jewish
high priests was exercised
for the Jews only. It was limited to their
own race, and to the
proselytes to their religion. But the ministry
of Jesus Christ is FOR ALL MANKIND! He “tasted death for
every man.” (ch. 2:9) He is the “Mediator
between God and men”
(I Timothy 2:5) of:
o
every nationality,
o
every race, and
o
every age!
Ø
Because it is enduring. The ministry of individual Jewish high priests
ended at their death, if not
before; and that ministry as an institution
waxed old and vanished away. But
the ministry of our great High Priest
is of perpetual vitality and
efficacy. His mediation will never be
superseded, never lose its
attractiveness and glory, until man is fitted
to approach God without a
mediator.
Ø
Because it secures richer results. These results, or
some of them at
least, are referred to in the “better
promises.” The results of the
ministry of the Aaronic
priesthood, like its functions, were to a great
extent symbolic and shadowy
rather than essential and real. But
through the
ministry of the Christ we obtain real benefits and
essential
blessings: e.g. reconciliation
with God, forgiveness, etc.
covenant.” But what are we to understand by the word “covenant”? As
used in human relations it
denotes a compact or agreement between two or
more parties, who are equal,
each of whom has the right to propose
alterations in the terms of the
compact, and to accept or reject such terms.
In this sense there can be no
covenant between God and man; for there is
no equality between the parties,
and man cannot reject any requirement of
God without committing sin.
Perhaps it is for this reason that the word
which strictly signifies
covenant is not used in the New Testament. But as
applied to God and man the “covenant”
denotes His method of revealing
Himself to men, and His will
concerning their salvation, His arrangement
of agencies and means and
conditions by which they may be saved. “The
word ‘covenant’ becomes appropriate in view of the solemn assent and
consent with which man accepts
God’s proposal, involved in His scheme or
plan. In this context the ‘old covenant’ is the scheme revealed to
under Moses; the ‘new’ is the gospel scheme involving the
gift and work of
both the Son and the Spirit of
God. The old covenant was good, as our
text implies. It originated in
the grace of God. It involved on His part
condescension towards man. It
was designed and fitted to benefit and bless
and save man. It promised life
and blessing to those who complied with its
terms; and its promises were
true. But the new covenant is very much
better than the old. This will
appear when we come to notice the “better
promises.” At present we mention only two aspects of its superiority.
Ø It presents a
more spiritual revelation of the character and will of
God. Under the old covenant nearly everything was expressed by
means of material forms and symbols — nearly everything appealed
to the senses. Its laws, its ritual, its promised blessings, pertained
largely to the visible, the sensuous, and the temporal. It was a revelation
suited to the childhood and youth of our race. But the new covenant
gives us a more spiritual manifestation of the Divine mind and will;
it is a revelation for the manhood of our race. It
proclaims the spirituality
of God and of His worship. It writes the
Divine law upon men’s hearts.
It promises spiritual blessings.
Ø
It is a fuller expression of the grace of God. (Compare John
1:14-18;
Romans 3:24; 5:21; 6:14.) The
next division of our subject will show
us that there is more of Divine
grace manifested in the new than in
the old covenant.
enacted upon
better promises.” The promises which
the writer has chiefly
in view are those mentioned in
vs. 10-12. Let us mention some of these
better promises of the new
covenant.
Ø
It proffers strength to comply with its own conditions. The old covenant
promised blessings to the
obedient; the new promises blessings to enable
us to render obedience. The Holy
Spirit is promised to incline our hearts
to the good, to strengthen us
for duty, etc. (“But as many as received
Him, to them gave
He power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on
His name.” - John 1:12)
Ø
Justification for the sinner on condition of faith in Jesus Christ.
(Compare Romans 3:20-26;
10:5-10; Galatians 3:10-14.)
Ø
Sanctification of the believer by the Holy Spirit. (Compare John
14:16-18, 26; 15:26;
16:7-15; Romans 15:13, 16; II Corinthians 3:18.)
Ø
Glorification of His people forever in the future state. (Compare
Romans 8:17-18, 30; II
Corinthians 4:17; II Timothy 2:10; I Peter
5:10.) Verily, these are better promises than those
of the old covenant.
And the covenant to which
they belong is far better than the old one.
By so much, also, is our
Lord’s ministry better than that of the Aaronic
high priests. Let us give earnest heed to secure our personal interest in
this new and
“better
covenant.”
A Verse of Comparisons (v. 6)
How all this illustrates the way of God! Whatever He
appoints and plans is good,
and good just because it is exactly proportioned to good
ends. But these
ends have to be measured by the power of men to fall in
with them. Man,
with his limited prospect, reckons to be an end what God reckons as only
the means to A GREATER
END! God made to
inheritance on earth, just that they might thereby be
prepared in time to see
that there was something much better. Higher demands were made,
a
completer obedience was possible, and the conditions
existed for fulfilling
richer promises. And of this new state of things Jesus, as the Mediator, is
THE CENTRAL FIGURE; it is His presence and His power that make the
new state of things possible. The better covenant is only
better because it can
become a reality, and Jesus it is who makes the reality.
The old covenant, as we
clearly see, was a broken covenant. God brought His people
into the land of
promise; but, after all, this could not be called the
keeping of His promise.
His promise was made upon conditions to be supplied by the
people to
whom the promise was made. They
did not supply these conditions,
consequently the promise could not be fulfilled. And now, instead of
Moses, the mere proclaimer of law, there comes Jesus to
complete law, to
expand promises into their spiritual fullness, and, at the
same time, act as a
Mediator in really receiving these promises for men. If God’s laws are
to
be written upon our hearts, it can only be by the work of
Jesus. If we are to
be persuaded into a living interest in God’s promises, and
to care for the
things He wants us to care for, it must be by the work of
Jesus. He only can
inspire us individually with an inclination to set our
names to the new
covenant. He only can show us the inward realities of which
outward
shows are but the parabolic expression. REAL MEDITATION! How rich
it is in results! It
is not like the wire along which electricity travels, a mere
medium of communication. It is a medium of life and growth.
Jesus Christ
is the real Mediator in living, abiding, unbreakable,
necessary communion
with God, and in the same sort of communion with man. The old covenant
did nothing more than reveal man’s utter deplorable weakness
in himself.
The new covenant reveals man’s
strength in Jesus Christ. (“I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians
4:13)
Jesus Christ can:
·
make all things
new; (Revelation 21:5)
·
He can make the good
better;
·
He can bring living
realities instead of living, tantalizing forms;
·
He can make man stand
erect in the strength of His renewed nature,
disposed to enter into covenant with God, and
able to keep the
terms of the covenant He
has made. (“But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of
God, even to them
that believe on His name!” - John 1:12)
7 “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should
no
place have been sought for a second.” “For” introduces this
sentence as a
reason for what has been already said; i.e. for a better
covenant having
been spoken of. The expression might be objected to by
Hebrew readers as
implying imperfection in the original Divine covenant.
“Nay,” says the
writer, “it was imperfect, it was not faultless;
for prophecy itself declares
this.” Should it be further objected that in the prophecy
it is not the old
covenant itself that is found fault with, but the people for not observing it,
the answer would be that the remedy for their
non-observance being the
substitution of a new one that would answer its purpose
better, some
imperfection in the old one is implied. This is indeed the
very point of this
verse. If it be asked, further, how faultiness in the old
covenant is
compatible with the view of its Divine origin, the answer
is abundantly
supplied in Paul’s Epistles. His position constantly is
that the Mosaic
Law, though in itself “holy,
just, and true,” and adequate to its purpose,
was still imperfect as a means of justification. It was but a temporary
dispensation, with a purpose of its own, intervening
between the original
promise to Abraham and the fulfillment of that promise in
Christ. Thus it is
no derogation to itself or to its Author to charge it with “weakness
and
unprofitableness”
for a purpose it was never meant to answer.
(ch. 7:18)
7 “For if
that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have
been sought for the second.” 8 For
finding fault with them (i.e. the people),
He saith, (or,
as some take it, finding fault, he saith to them), Behold, the days
come,
saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
I made with their fathers in the day when I
took them by the hand to lead
them out of the
and I regarded them not, saith the
Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of
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: 11 And
they shall not teach
every man his neighbor, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the Lord:
for all shall know me, from the least to
the greatest. 12
For I will be merciful
to their unrighteousness, and their sins
and their iniquities will I remember
no more.”
The passage is quoted from the Septuagint,
with a few verbal
differences which do not affect the meaning. In v. 9 our Authorized
Version
renders the original in Jeremiah “although I was an Husband unto them,” instead
of “and
I regarded them not (ἐγὼ
ἠμέλησα
αὐτῶν
– ego
aemelaesa auton –
I was a husband to them).” The
Septuagint, followed in the text, gives the more
probable meaning. On the whole passage be it observed:
for denoting the age of the
Messiah.
2. The
failure of the old covenant is attributed in the first place to the
people’s not continuing in it,
and then, as a consequence, to the LORD’S
withdrawal of His protection.
The evidence of such withdrawal immediately
before the prophet’s view may be
supposed to have been the Babylonian
captivity.
a.
God’s laws,
not imposed as an external code, but put into the
mind
and written on
the heart;
b.
the general knowledge
of the Lord by small as well as great, without
the former need of
continual admonition; and
c.
as the originating and
inspiring cause of all, the forgiveness on the
Lord’s part of past sins.
It is important to perceive that this last characteristic
of the new covenant,
though coming last in order, is given as the reason for the
other two; for
this is a first principle of the gospel. The sense of forgiveness through
Christ, of acceptance in the Beloved, is ever set forth as
the inspiring
principle of the obedience of Christians. “We love Him,
because he first
loved us.” And hence flow the two results denoted in the prophecy.
Spirit, from the sense of
forgiveness in Christ, a hearty service of love and
loyalty; no mere mechanical
observance of an external code. Then,
2.
“And they shall not teach,” etc.; i.e. those who thus, led by the Spirit,
give themselves to such hearty
service, will acquire, further, an immediate,
and as it were instinctive, “knowledge
of the Lord,” not confined to “the
wise” or “the
scribe,” but the personal privilege of even the “little
ones” of
Christ (compare Matthew 11:25, “I thank
thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth,
because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed
them unto babes;” also John 6:45, “It is written in the
prophets, And they
shall be all taught of God;” also I Thessalonians
4:9, “But as touching brotherly love,
ye need not that I write unto you; for
ye yourselves are
taught of God to love one another;”
also I John 2:20,
“But ye have an
unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things”). It is
not to be inferred (as has been)
from this last result that a distinct order of
ministry is no essential
constituent of the Christian Church for admonition
of others. The fact that such a
ministry was constituted from the first in all
the Churches, and was in active
operation when apostles wrote as above, is
in itself sufficient disproof of
such a view. All that is implied is that all
faithful believers, small as well as great (using, of course, the means of
grace and edification provided
for them in the Church), should
themselves
have inward illumination
and personal communion with God. This
is
indeed a peculiar glory of the
Christian religion. The poorest and
the simplest
believer may
have spiritual perceptions and spiritual experience of his own,
surpassing those
of his appointed guides, and remaining his
own though
priests and
teachers be unfaithful. “I am
small and despised” (may the
Christian, still more than the
ancient psalmist, say), “yet do not I forget thy
precepts.” (Psalm 119:141) “I have more understanding than all my
teachers;
for thy testimonies are my meditation.” (Ibid. v. 99)
Observe, lastly, the
ideality of the whole view
given of the effects of the new covenant. It presents
to us the purpose, the
potentiality, of the new dispensation, rather than results
to be fully realized in this
world; though still actually realized so far as the
“glorious light
of the gospel” (II Corinthians 4:4) illuminates the Church,
and is allowed to “shine into” the
human heart. This remark applies to all
Messianic prophecy.
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.”
“He hath made
the first old” (πεπαλαίωκεν
–
pepalaioken – He has made
old) refers to
the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy, not of the writing of the Epistle.
The very mention of a new covenant had even then antiquated
the other. It
thenceforth survived only under the category of old as
opposed to new;
and further marked with the growing decrepitude which is
the precursor of
dissolution. This further idea is expressed by the present
participle
παλαιούμενον - palaioumenon – which is growin old - (elsewhere applied to
garments that are wearing out; compare ch. 1:11; Psalm
102:25-27; Isaiah 50:9;
51:6; Luke 12:33), and also by γηράσκον – gaeraskon – waxeth
aged - a figure
taken from the advance of old age in men. When the Epistle was written, it would
not have been spoken of as “waxing old,” but as defunct. The
temple, indeed, was
still standing, with the old ritual going on; but it had
become but as the stately
shrine of a lifeless thing. As to the view of the antiquation having begun even
in the prophetic age, we observe that the prophets themselves show
a
consciousness of this, in that their growing tendency is to
depreciate rather
than exalt the ceremonial Law, and
to put mercy above sacrifice. In fact,
the Old Testament itself, especially in its later parts,
is replete with the
principles of the new covenant, anticipated in part, though
not to be fully
revealed UNTIL CHRIST
APPEARED! And so, when He did
appear,
the old dispensation had already become obsolete, and the
new one prepared
for; to be rejected in
Testament,” had “the veil upon their heart.” (II Corinthians 3:15)
Law and Love in the New Covenant (v. 10)
“For this is the covenant that I will make,” etc. The paragraph from which
our text is taken is a quotation from Jeremiah 31:31-34. It
is said that
the Lord “will
make a new covenant with the house of
house of
of the spiritual
2:28-29; 9:6-8; Galatians 3:7-9). Notice:
the great distinctions between
the two covenants arises from the materiality
of the old one and the
spirituality of the new one. In nothing is this more
manifest than in the matter of
Law. Law is present in both of them. But in
the old it was
engraved upon tables of stone; in the new it is written upon
the hearts of
men. Under the old the people were led
“by the hand,” guided
by visible symbols; under the
new they are led by the heart, guided by
spiritual influences. Our
text sets forth certain aspects of Law in the new
covenant.
Ø
Law present in the mind. “I will put my laws into their mind.” In, the
former dispensation Law was
spoken to the outward ear, it was made
visible to the bodily eye; and
so given, it was often soon neglected and
forgotten. But in the present
dispensation, to those who have by faith
entered into covenant relation
with God, Law is given as a possession
of their spiritual nature. It is
not external to them, but is present within
their minds as a
rule of action and as a theme for meditation.
Ø
Law treasured in the heart. “And on their heart also will I write them.”
When a thing is highly esteemed
by us, or when a cause has awakened
our deep interest, we say
with propriety that it lies near our heart. With
greater emphasis and deeper
significance do we say the same of one
whom we love. So in the new
covenant Law holds a high place; it is
prized and loved. It is loved as being good in itself. “The
Law is holy,
and the
commandment holy, and righteous, and good.” (Romans 7:12)
It is loved, also, as being the
expression of our Father’s will. There were
instances under the old covenant
in which the Law was loved and
delighted in, but they were rare
exceptions to the general rule. Under
the new covenant the Law of the Lord will be increasingly prized and
loved and
obeyed.
Ø
Law embodied in the life. “Out of the heart are the issues of life.”
(Proverbs 4:23) Writing the Law upon the heart is a pictorial
way of
expressing the inspiration of a
disposition to obey Law. God will give
His people courage to profess
His laws, “and power to put them in
practice; the whole habit and
frame of their souls shall be a table and
transcript of the Law of God.” The Law which they love in their heart
they will express in their
lives. This is the highest revelation of Law.
It is most effective in
relation to the individual; it is most clear in relation
to others, and most influential
also. This
revelation is the work of the
Holy Spirit. It is He who
illumines the mind, inspires the heart, etc.
will be to them a
God, and they shall be to me a people.” We
do not mean
to imply that the giving of the
Law unto the minds and hearts of God’s
people was not an expression of
His love; for such in truth it was. But here
is a brighter manifestation of
His love. Notice:
Ø
God’s relation to the Christian. “I will be to them a God.” He will
be to them all that they could
desire and expect to find in their God.
He gives Himself as the chief blessing of
the new covenant. (“Fear
not, Abram:
I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”
(Genesis 15:1).
He will be to His people as great, as wise,
as powerful,
as good as He is
in Himself. We have all things in Him (I Corinthians
3:21-23). We have:
o
His wisdom for
our direction,
o
His power for our
protection,
o
His love for our
spiritual satisfaction and joy,
o
His Spirit for
our instruction, consolation, and
sanctification,
and
o
His heaven for
our abiding and blessed home.
A whole library dealing
with these words could not fully express the
number and preciousness of
the blessings which are comprehended
in them — “ I will be to them a God.”
Ø
The Christian’s relation to God. “And they shall
be to me a people,”
This is set forth as our
privilege; and a great one it is. But the privilege
has its obligations. If by faith
in Jesus Christ we have entered into this
covenant relation with God, we
have the right to expect its blessings
from Him, and we are solemnly
bound to fulfill its duties to Him.
Our duty to which the covenant
binds us includes:
o
supreme
affection to God;
o
reverent worship
of Him;
o
hearty
consecration to His service;
o
cheerful
compliance with His will
May we be enabled both to
perform the duties and to enjoy the
privileges of this
gracious covenant.
Knowledge and Mercy in the New Covenant (vs.
11-12)
“And they shall not teach every man his neighbor,” etc.
“And they shall
not teach every man his fellow-citizen, and every man his
brother, saying,
Know the Lord,” etc. We have here:
Ø
The highest subject of knowledge. “The Lord: all
shall know me?”
“This is life
eternal, that they should know thee the only
true God,”
(John 17:3) This knowledge is:
o
Sublimest in its
character. There is no knowledge so
exalted
as this. Knowledge of astronomy is a high attainment;
but it
is not to be compared with knowledge of Him who made the
stars and all
worlds, and who sustains them and presides
over them.
o
Widest in its
extent. He is
infinite, and can never be fully
known by man: The knowledge of
God and of Christ is
the sum of all science; this is the only knowledge that can
INCORPORATE AND MINGLE with our being; and all
other knowledge is real
only so far as it is symbolical of this.
o
Mightiest in its
moral influence. It transforms the
character
of those who possess it
(compare II Corinthians 3:18).
Ø
The purest source of knowledge. The obligation of men
under the old
covenant to impart to each other
the knowledge of God is implied in
the text. This obligation is not
abolished under the new covenant; but
there is less need for such
private instruction because of the frequent
public services of qualified ministers
of the gospel. Moreover, the text
undoubtedly refers to the communication of knowledge by the
Holy Spirit. The agency of the Holy Ghost is assumed under
this
covenant as ‘the Spirit of
truth,’ the supreme and most vital Teacher
of this true knowledge of God. For the covenant, taken in the large
sense of a system of agencies, is definitely and
certainly the gospel age
as distinguished from the
Mosaic; and
of this gospel age or dispensation,
the gift of the Holy Ghost, to
teach, impress,
and enforce the true
knowledge of God, is the center
and the soul, even
as Jesus is the
center and soul of the Christian
economy considered as ‘the Propitiation
for our sins,’ and our great High Priest before the throne of God. The
results as given
here come of His teaching and
of no other. This
knowledge does not spring from
mere human conjecture,
or imagination,
or investigation, or
ratiocination; but from SPIRITUAL
REVELATION!
“All thy children
shall be taught of the Lord.” “Ye have an anointing
from the Holy
One, and ye know all things” (I John
2:20,27).
Ø
The clear apprehension of knowledge. Proceeding from so crystalline a
source, the stream will be clear.
If our mind and heart be free from
prejudice, then the instruction concerning God which we receive from
the Word and the
Spirit will be clear and correct; what we know of Him
we shall know truly.
Ø
The wide diffusion of knowledge. “All shall know
me, from the least to
the greatest of
them.” Primarily the “all”
refers to the “people” (v. 10)
of God: all of them shall know Him. But eventually there shall be a
universal diffusion of the
knowledge of God. This the sacred Scriptures
distinctly affirm (Matthew
24:14; 28:19; Luke 24:47; Revelation 14:6).
will be merciful
to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember
no more!” Under the new covenant God
manifests His
rich grace in the way in which
He forgives sin. We have here:
Ø
The source of forgiveness. “I will be merciful.”
Forgiveness does not
spring from man’s repentance,
but from God’s mercy. Repentance is a
condition of forgiveness, but
the grace of God is its source. Apart from
His grace repentance is
impossible unto us. “By grace are ye
saved,”
(compare Ephesians 2:7-10).
Ø
The fullness of forgiveness. He pardons “their iniquities and their sins.”
He cleanses “from
all unrighteousness.” “The blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanseth
us from all sin.” (I John 1:7) None are too
numerous,
none too aggravated, etc. (compare Isaiah 1:18;
55:7 – “He is able
to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him.” – ch.7:25)
Ø
The irrevocableness of forgiveness. “Their sins will I
remember no
more.” Strictly speaking, the Infinite Mind cannot forget
anything.
But God forgives
so completely that the sins are as it were buried
in deep oblivion.
His forgiveness is irrevocable. This inspiring truth
is repeatedly and impressively
expressed in the Bible (Psalm 103:12;
Isaiah 38:17; 43:25; 44:22;
Micah 7:19). This rich, abounding mercy
is the reason of man’s fuller,
clearer knowledge of God. There was
mercy in the old covenant, but
in that it was not preeminent as in
the new one. The chief feature
of that was Law; the chief feature
of this is grace. Forgiveness leads
to gratitude and love to the
Forgiver; and love leads to the
clearer, wider knowledge of Him.
If you would
know God truly, intimately, deeply, YOU MUST
LOVE HIM!
The New Covenant (vs. 6-13)
Here we have another of the broad contrasts which
everywhere meet us in
this treatise. In those Epistles which are undoubtedly
Paul’s, the process of
reasoning resembles the movement of a file of
soldiers; but in this to the
Hebrews, the movement resembles rather that of soldiers in rank.
The
writer introduces his contrast between the covenants with
the remark (v. 6)
that our Lord’s heavenly ministry as greatly excels that of
Aaron as the
new covenant which He administers is superior to the old.
(v. 7) does not refer to the
covenant of works, which was made with
Adam in
This covenant had been solemnly
inaugurated and accepted by the Jews at
the foot of
renewed in later times (Joshua
24:24-25; II Chronicles 15:12; II Kings 11:17;
II Chronicles ch.29; Nehemiah
chapters 9 & 10). It was not “faultless;”
that is, it was imperfect as a dispensation of grace. The Mosaic institutions
were only preparatory to those
of gospel times. They were legal rather than
evangelical, and sensuous rather
than spiritual. They were suited to the
nonage of the Church; and “
hand to lead him
forth out of the
So Judaism taught spiritual truth only in faint outline.
Its method was that
of spectacular representation.
The Law was “our tutor to bring us unto
Christ” (Galatians 3:24).
the Jewish Scriptures the
imperfection of the “first” covenant, and to
describe the “better
promises” of the “new” and final covenant, the writer
quotes a most striking passage
from the Book of Jeremiah ch.31:31-34.
This oracle was given when the
Jews of Judah were on the
brink of the Babylonish
captivity, to comfort their desolate hearts with the
cheering hope of Messianic
times. The chosen people had not “continued”
in God’s covenant; and, because
they had broken it, He had “regarded them
not” (v. 9), but allowed first
into exile. But Jeremiah is
commissioned to announce that, notwithstanding
all, God in His wonderful mercy “will make a new covenant” (v. 8), with
the whole Hebrew nation. The
twelve tribes shall again become one rod in
His hand. And all Gentiles, who by faith belong to the true Israel,
SHALL
SHARE THE
BLESSING!
“better
promises”? Jeremiah’s oracle mentions
three.
Ø
The Law written on the heart. (v. 10.) The child is
controlled by
positive external precept; the
man by moral and spiritual principle.
During the pupilage of the
Church, the Divine laws were written
“in tables of stone;” but, now that the Church has come to manhood,
they are inscribed“in
tables that are hearts of flesh”
(IICorinthians 3:3).
The ascendancy of ritualism in
any Christian Church means, therefore,
a return to the “childish things”
of the old covenant — a going back to
the swaddling clothes of religious
babyhood.
Ø
The universal knowledge of God. (v. 11.) During the Jewish
dispensation, the average Jew
had only an exceedingly dim
apprehension of religious truth,
whether about God or the way to
Him, or about holiness or
immortality. But, under the new covenant,
spiritual truth shall become the
longer the more clearly perceived,
and the more widely diffused.
For now the Holy Spirit is the great
Teacher of the
Church; and He does not impart
esoteric instruction
to some special caste, but teaches every believer “from
the least to
the greatest.” What, then, is modern ritualism,
but a return to
the dim vision of
the old economy? It is the use of candies —
sometimes literally — in broad
daylight.
Ø
The full forgiveness of sins. (v. 12.) This “promise,”
although
introduced last, precedes the
other two in actual bestowment. Sin
must be pardoned
and cleansed away before the Law can be
written
on the heart, or the mind flooded with SPIRITUAL LIGHT! None
of the Levitical sacrifices could
expiate moral guilt; BUT ON THE
BASIS OF CHRIST’S
ATONEMENT God now imparts that
forgiveness
which is the precedent condition of moral renewal
and of a holy
life (Psalm 130:4).
“Thou shalt not” (Exodus 20:3-17); but now, in ordering the new
covenant, His words are, “I will” (vs.
10-12). And what does this change
of language imply? “I will” really
points to the effusion and diffusion of the
Holy Spirit. He was poured out on the day of Pentecost, the anniversary of
the giving of the Law from
New Testament
Church that makes the new covenant so vastly superior
to the old. We should ask ourselves
whether our souls individually are
sharing the blessings
of the gospel dispensation. We must
remember also
that the “better promises” imply on our part definite
duties and great
responsibilities, And, as regards the world, we must be persuaded that
ONLY THE GENERAL
ACCEPTNCE OF THE NEW COVENANT
will extirpate by the roots THE ENORMOUS EVILS WHICH STILL
AFFECT SOCIETY!
Decaying and Departing (v. 13)
“Now that which
decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” In these
words the writer states a general principle of which the
old covenant was an
illustration. That
covenant was relatively old, because a new one had been
introduced; it was also absolutely old, and had not in
itself the strength to
exist much longer. When anything arrives at that condition
its end is not far off —
it “is nigh unto vanishing away.” Let us indicate a few of
the applications of
this principle. It is applicable to:
applied to the Mosaic economy.
Many of our present religious forms —
forms of Church government and
forms of worship — are of human origin.
If they are vital and suit the
circumstances and conditions of this age, let
them be maintained; but if they
do not, and cannot be made to do so, by all
means let them go. In fact, a
living Church will certainly put off its dead
forms by the natural expression
of its life. The late A.J. Scott says wisely
and beautifully, “True reverence for
antiquity seeks a Church presenting
the clearest image of eternity in the midst of the mutations
of time. This she
is to do by the inward vigor of the essential principles of
her life, dropping
off forms no longer useful, as the oak has done the leaves
of last summer.
The live oak abides the same by its vitality, while it
changes form and
dimensions by growth: the mass of squared timber has lost
its power of
assimilation, its command of resources; death enables it to
remain
unchanged in form, till death brings decay that changes form
and
substance. What is dead is changed from without; what lives
changes from
within.” And Dr. Huntington forcibly says, “When religious forms
have
first been devised, a certain
freshness of conviction has gone into them that
has made them vital. But
presently the life has refused to stand and
stagnate in these cisterns, and
so ebbed away and sought out new channels.
The mistake has been that the
forms have insisted on standing, after the life
within was gone; and accordingly
their figure has been that of wooden
vessels shrunk and dried in the
sun.” Now, where the vitality has gone, let
the form go also; for, as
Carlyle says, “the old never dies till all the soul of
good that was in it has got
itself transfused into the practical new.” Let the
dead forms pass away:
“For who
would keep an ancient form?
Through
which the spirit breathes no more?”
(Tennyson.)
religious organizations is
equally applicable to religious creeds. As Mr. J.A.
Froude puts it, “While the
essence of religion remains the same, the mode
in which it is expressed changes
and has changed — changes as living
languages change and become
dead, as institutions change, as forms of
government change, as opinions
on all things in heaven and earth change,
as half the theories held at
this time among ourselves will probably change
— that is, the outward and
mortal part of them.” The living faith of the
Church may need restatement. The
language in which man’s apprehension
of the great verities of the
gospel was expressed in past ages may become
stiff, cold, unexpressive, and
obsolete as regards the apprehension of those
verities in this age. Then let
it go. And reverently in the living language of
today, let the living faith of
today be expressed. The living faith — that is
the great thing. “A living
doctrine never need advertise for a body, nor go
carefully about to invent one,
any more than a young oak needs to
advertise for a trunk and
branches. God giveth it a body as it hath pleased
Him (I
Corinthians 15:38). Get the faith, and
it will shape a form of its own.”
time comes when the human form becomes
old and waxeth aged and is
nigh unto vanishing away. “The
days of our years are threescore years and
ten,” (Psalm 90:10 – I am
at this writing, through God’s grace, 71 years old,
and cannot I see, and even feel,
the writing on the wall/ - CY – 2014). When
the earthly house of our
tabernacle is worn out we know that it will soon be
dissolved. The departing
vitality tells us that the body itself will soon vanish
away. Its decrepitude heralds
its disappearance. This is a reason:
Ø
Why the aged should live in readiness for their departure
hence.
(Philip Henry, the father of Matthew Henry, was known for
praying (“God, help us to be ready to leave this
world, or, to be
left.”)
Ø
Why the aged should be treated with considerate kindness.
Their age has a claim upon our
respect, unless its character forbids
respect, and then it should
elicit our pity. Their feebleness makes its
silent and touching appeal to us
for support. And they will soon be
beyond our sight and our
services. By the help of God let us seek so
to live that, when the time of
our departure draws near, we may be
ready to leave this world,
having finished our work, and to enter upon
the, to us, unknown future,
having committed ourselves to the keeping
of the “great God, and our Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)
The Advent of the New and the Doom of the
Old (v. 13)
novelty by itself counts for
nothing. Man’s new things are too often
brought in, not because they are
needed, but from mere restlessness, love
of change, and
self-glorification. The right principle of change is necessity,
superseding the old because it
has done its work. That is the
principle, we
may be sure, on
which God acts. Thus we must not too
readily assume that
the introduction of the new is
the doom of the old; that is, using the word
“old” in the sense of long-established. New philosophies, new
schemes of
the universe, rise up
threatening the long-established gospel; but in time the
philosophies become old,
unsatisfying, and vanish away, while the gospel
remains, still
welcome, still powerful. (Mr. Spurgeon, Charles Haddon,
that is, said “There is nothing that is new but that which is false!” –
[something to well remember in this days of such vast change amid
“cultural wars”] – I Goggled that in red and it was the first hit in my
browser! - CY – 2014)
God’s new things always come in
at the fullness of time. The first covenant
had done its work, but those who
upheld the forms of it were the last to
see this. Nay, more; just in
proportion as the inward reality vanished did
they cling with tenacity to the
outward form. If it had depended on the
rulers of
have been a long time in coming.
Man by himself cannot be trusted to say
when the season
of decrepitude for any institution has come. God takes the
laws of necessary
change into His own hands, and makes it evident to those
who have eyes to see
that His new things have not come without necessity.
The new state of things needs to
be experienced as a reality, and then it
approves itself as an
improvement on the old; it becomes plain that the old
was not an end in itself, but
only a stage toward the attainment of the new.
Whatsoever new thing is true and
manifestly serviceable must make its
way; and it is well for its own
sake that the way should be made through
difficulties and
discouragements. They are wise who can see in time the
difference between a mere
novelty and a novelty that has conquest and
resistless growth in it. The bringing in of the new wine-skins is the doom
of the old ones. (Matthew 9:17)
Christ in Heaven, the Mediator of the New
Covenant (vs. 6-13)
The argument of ch. 7 has a further object than the mere
proving our
Lord’s superiority to Aaron. The priesthood being altered
and centered in
Him, most important facts bearing on the spiritual position
of the Hebrews
grow out of it. The priesthood was the center of the
dispensation; they
stood and fell together. A new priesthood means a new and
better
dispensation. That is the purport of chapters 8:1-10:18,
where this idea
is worked out by the writer in particulars.
(1) is in vs.1-5,
here. If the priesthood is raised to heaven, then heaven
is the true
tabernacle and the old is abolished.
(2) is that in these
verses; subject — Christ in
heaven, the Meditator of the
new covenant. We have a Mediator in
heaven; but for what ends does He
mediate? Not those which the former priesthood had in view,
for since they
were appointed for them, they may be assumed to have been
sufficient for
them. It must, then, be for some higher end, for purposes
not possible
under Aaron. The writer turns, as usual, to their
Scriptures, and points
them to the declaration in the Book of Jeremiah, “Behold,
the days come,”
etc. A new and better
covenant was promised six hundred years before.
Behold in Christ the possibility of the fulfillment of that
prediction; through
Him exalted are to be bestowed the larger blessings
promised in the latter
days. Moreover, the fact of another covenant promised
proves the
imperfection and temporary character of what then was. At
the moment of
writing, the old covenant was trembling to its fall. That
generation had not
passed till the venerable symbols of the old covenant had
disappeared from
the earth like the mist of the morning.
an agreement. God has
undertaken, agreed, covenanted to give certain
blessings to men. He is a God in
covenant with the race. A testament is a
will, a promise to be fulfilled
after death. It is a covenant, with the
additional idea that it can only
be fulfilled after the death of him who makes
it. In the Gospels and Epistles
(though not so in Old Testament) these two
words are used interchangeably
as the translation of one word. The two
“testaments” are God’s two covenants, which can only be fulfilled through
the events of
Ø
The history of the Divine covenant. The “new” covenant
was only new
in a certain sense; in reality
it was the old — the original covenant on
which the Jewish was temporarily
grafted. God’s covenant was one from
beginning to end.
First made in
working out, till
in the Apocalypse we have its perfect consummation in
a REDEEMED WORLD! The covenant with
Abraham was a separate
and special covenant with regard
to his seed alone, and in time to be
absorbed in the older covenant
of world-wide aspect.
Ø
What was the purpose of the Abrahamic covenant? Owing to the
corrupt state of the world, it
was necessary that a nation should be
singled out, and prepared to
receive the Messiah and His gospel —
a nation through which the truth should spread world-wide. Hence
the covenant with
promised on obedience. This
tended to humiliation, was constantly
broken and renewed, and thus
carried to the heart of the people the
sinfulness of sin, man’s inability to deliver himself, and his need of
REDEMPTION
THROUGH ANOTHER! When that was
accomplished it was no more
needed, and was abolished,
and only the original covenant
remained.
CONTRAST TO THE OLD. The
prophecy of Jeremiah quoted here
contains three particulars of
such a contrast.
Ø
A conscience pacified by perfect forgiveness. The twelfth verse
begins
with “for,” and contains the
ground of the preceding. Forgiveness first.
In the Jewish economy the expiation
of sin was imperfect and temporary,
and quite unfit to perfect the
conscience of the worshipper. The sacrifices
provided a kind of legal pardon
by which the nation was kept in special
relation to Jehovah, but they
could not put away moral guilt; “it was not
possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”
(ch. 10:4) But the
new covenant made ample provision FOR ALL
THAT WAS NEEDED — a forgiveness free (“merciful”),
comprehensive (“iniquities and sins”), irreversible (“remember no
more”), a forgiveness that meant the annihilation of the record
from the very
memory of Heaven.
Ø
A mind enlightened
by direct communion with God. “I will be
to them a God!” The Jewish ritual made the people dependent on
the priests for their
knowledge of Jehovah; they might not enter
the tabernacle, nor
approach the symbol of the Divine presence;
for the mass of
But through the new
covenant WE ALL HAVE “access by one
Spirit unto the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18)
Ø
A heart willingly consecrated to the Divine service. “My laws in their
mind and heart.” Even under Judaism some were able to say, “Oh
how I love thy Law”
(Psalm 119:97), but it was not so with the
average Jew. To him the Law was
irksome and restraining. He might
conform to it outwardly, but it
was
by the compulsion of fear, or a
slavish sense of duty; his
obedience did not carry his heart with it.
But under the new covenant there
is a new nature in harmony with
the Divine will, a disposition
inclining us to obedience.
“Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6)
COVENANT, THE OLD IS DISANNULLED. “In that He saith,
A new,” etc. The practical lesson for today in this is — You are
living
under the new covenant; see to
it that you possess its blessings.
Ø Remember the
high character of these blessings covenanted to us.
Doubtful, shadowy, partial
forgiveness; the intervention of the
priest for personal knowledge of
God; right-doing not so much
from willingness as fear; — that
was the old covenant. Are not
many Christians rather living
under this than under the new?
Ø
Remember the universal possibility of these blessings. The old
covenant was restrictive,
national, hereditary, and belonged to
Abraham’s seed only. But under the new covenant exclusiveness
has vanished. God is in
covenant with the race. His promises are
to “every creature.” The rainbow of this covenant spans the world.
Ø Remember the
certain permanence of these blessings secured by the
mediation of Christ. As Aaron was the
mediator of the old, Christ
is of the new covenant (I
Timothy 2:5); that is, its blessings are
bestowed through Him. We can
only receive them from His pierced
hands, and as the result of His priestly
work. But He is ever
presenting His
pleading blood before the throne on His
people’s behalf, therefore they shall continue for ever. Christ’s
continuance is the pledge of
their continuance; “an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and SECURE!” (II Samuel 23:5)
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