Bible Study Made Simple
Title – A Better Ministry A Better Covenant
Teaching – God’s Revelation to Man Shows His great Mercy Towards Us in the High Priesthood of His Son
Simply Broken Out Summary / Thoughts
| Heb 7:26-28 | A reminder from Ch 7 that our High Priest is superior by His nature, not just office. How is it that Jesus is perfected? Isn’t He already perfect, as the 2nd person of the Trinity? Hint: Heb 2:10 |
| Heb 8:1-6 | The idea presented here is that what we see is only a crude physical manifestation of a reality beyond sin-degraded physical/mental/spiritual capacity. The progression begins in the Old Covenant (Old Testament), manifest in the New Testament through the revelation of Christ, and perfected when we enter into glory, where we can then fully appreciate the reality.This does not just apply to the Temple, although it is an excellent example to illustrate this revealing process, but our spiritual growth (sanctification) works the same way. Another example is the revelation of God’s character. Jer 31:34 quoted later in this chapter. |
| Heb 8:7-12 | This revelation about His character includes His foreknowledge that the first covenant would fail because it was made with people who fail (sin) and needed rescue. It was never the intention to be able to “earn a ticket to Heaven” based on keeping the Law.Note that this is a covenant given plainly to the Jews. It is a clear OT/NT reference to a promise my by God in the OT and re-iterated here in the NT, also in Romans chapter 9, and by Paul in Romans 11:1-5, 25.At this point, in verse 11, Bible teachers will be out of a job. Your servant will go fishing. |
| 8:13 | This may well be an allusion, a hint of things to come, in the destruction of the Bible shortly after the writing of the book. 2 Cor 5:17 |
| Heb 9:1-5 | Again foreshadowings of the reality which is ChristHeb 8:7, but the substance is Christ Col 2:17Let’s take a stab at meaning and symbolism: Can it be that the Tabernacle now in Heaven, once on earth, is a type of Christ? Consider its elements: It was on earth with the Jews, it is now in Heaven as is our Lord. The golden altar of incense signifying how Christ ever lives to make intercession for us It is covered around gold over wood, the living Christ in the flesh, wrapped in the majesty of gold. The golden jar of manna is Jesus, the Bread of Life The budding rod of Aaron is the symbol of Godly authority The tables of the covenant are the perfection of the Law solely observed by Christ. |
| Heb 9:6-7 | Once again, the writer drives home the point that the covering sacrifices and rituals are no longer necessary; the work was finished on the cross. “Te telesti” John 19:30. The human condition is such that we tend to fall away from relationship to ritual, in our personal relationships (can anyone say Facebook?), and in our worship, (do you sometimes go through the motions during worship or reading the Bible?). God understands this, and calls us out of ritual back to relationship through pursuing and heeding what He has to tell us through His written document. |
| Heb 9:8-10 | This speaks as the Tabernacle was still standing, and previously that the Old Covenant was about to be done away with, signifying perhaps the imminent destruction of the Temple.People try to tear down the goodness of the Law and the Bible mockingly by pointing out obscure parts of it like two different kinds of cloth were not to be interwoven.The Law had three parts, the moral law (for instance, the 10 Commandments eco 20:1-ft, Lev 19:18), civil law (for instance Lev 25:8-55 ), and ceremonial law (for instance Exo 25:10). This passage testifies that the ceremonial part of that law is about (and now is) done away with. |
| Heb 9:11-14 | So, what ARE the “good things to come?Jesus entered, He offered, He obtained. What are the differences between He and the OT high priest?The annual sacrifices were a reminder to the people that they were sinners, who needed continual sacrifices to cover their sins. When Jesus comes, not only is the sin taken away, but our consciences are cleansed. |
| Heb 9:15-22 | Titles of the Holy Spirit (see below)Testaments is best understood as a will. A will doesn’t take effect until somebody dies. |
| Heb 9:23-28 | The shadows, the copies are the inferior representation of the actual, which is Jesus in Heaven, not high priest in tabernacle. |
Memory Verse – One verse you have set to memory.“It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” – Heb 9:27
Application – How will you live out what you have learned?
I will look to see where my life has become ritual and turn back to relationship.