Thursday, December 22, 2005

Today Our Daily Bread Hebrews 9

Hebrews 9
Old Rules about Worship
1Now in that first covenant between God and Israel, there were regulations for worship and a sacred tent here on earth. 2There were two rooms in this tent. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and loaves of holy bread on the table. This was called the Holy Place. 3Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. 4In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing some manna, Aaron's staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant with the Ten Commandments written on them. 5The glorious cherubim were above the Ark. Their wings were stretched out over the Ark's cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain all of these things now.
6When these things were all in place, the priests went in and out of the first room F38 regularly as they performed their religious duties. 7But only the high priest goes into the Most Holy Place, and only once a year, and always with blood, which he offers to God to cover his own sins and the sins the people have committed in ignorance. 8By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the Most Holy Place was not open to the people as long as the first room and the entire system it represents were still in use.
9This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. 10For that old system deals only with food and drink and ritual washing—external regulations that are in effect only until their limitations can be corrected.
Christ Is the Perfect Sacrifice
11So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that great, perfect sanctuary in heaven, not made by human hands and not part of this created world. 12Once for all time he took blood into that Most Holy Place, but not the blood of goats and calves. He took his own blood, and with it he secured our salvation forever.
13Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people's bodies from ritual defilement. 14Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our hearts from deeds that lead to death so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15That is why he is the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, so that all who are invited can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
16Now when someone dies and leaves a will, no one gets anything until it is proved that the person who wrote the will F39 is dead. F40 17The will goes into effect only after the death of the person who wrote it. While the person is still alive, no one can use the will to get any of the things promised to them.
18That is why blood was required under the first covenant as a proof of death. 19For after Moses had given the people all of God's laws, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God's laws and all the people, using branches of hyssop bushes and scarlet wool. 20Then he said, "This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you." F41 21And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the sacred tent and on everything used for worship. 22In fact, we can say that according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified by sprinkling with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
23That is why the earthly tent and everything in it—which were copies of things in heaven—had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
24For Christ has entered into heaven itself to appear now before God as our Advocate. F42 He did not go into the earthly place of worship, for that was merely a copy of the real Temple in heaven. 25Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the earthly high priest who enters the Most Holy Place year after year to offer the blood of an animal. 26If that had been necessary, he would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But no! He came once for all time, at the end of the age, to remove the power of sin forever by his sacrificial death for us.
27And just as it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment, 28so also Christ died only once as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again but not to deal with our sins again. This time he will bring salvation to all those who are eagerly waiting for him.
FOOTNOTES:F38: Greek first tent; also in 9:8. F39: Or covenant. F40: Or Now when someone makes a covenant, it is necessary to ratify it with the death of a sacrifice. F41: Exod 24:8. F42: Greek on our behalf. ~ Lena's Journalin'~
This "old" system was very good at bringing mankind to the realizations of the impossibility of approaching God with sin, which in it's very devilish nature separates people from God. It also beings forth the true understanding of the inability to stand before a pure and Holy God unchanged, unaltered, unspoken for. Upon approaching even natural kings, one must be properly introduced and well spoken of and for before approaching the presence of the king. The impossibilities of us approaching God do not diminish the mystery and desire to see and seek Him. This innate desire is God-made and encouraged. The awesome thing, is there IS a way to approach, without being killed as an imposter, etc. The WAY is Jesus. When we know Jesus and when we get the sacrifice of His life made for us to approach, we can take that holy gift before us to our King and recieve admittance and entry into His presence.
Most visitors or approachers to a High power, would in wisdom bring a gift, their gift would go before them, would reflect their motives, would show their worthiness. We have no worthiness without the shed blood sacrifice made by our Lord Jesus Christ. He loved us enough to go before us and shed His blood and offer us the free gift that we could not afford or pay for, the gift of eternal life and reconcilliation to the separation that was made between us and God. Jesus laid out the literal red carpet for us, to approach our Father, the One who loved us, created us and so desires us to want to come be with Him, live with Him, love with Him, rule with Him. His heart is overjoyed when we make the approach on that red pathway! This "red carpet" is in God's presence continuously. It is a permanant stain. That stain cannot, and will not be removed from that place. If we go there continuously we will find it's cleansing, healing and forgiving power. Don't stay away so long, the blood is speaking for you, today. Come and see what it says.
Blood is proof that death occurred.
In the OT animals were sacrificed for the sins of men, but they had to be killed again and again and again. It was only a temporary remedy for sin. When they were slain, the blood was drained out, all of it. The Hebrew people were not allowed to drink or eat the blood, though they ate the other "parts". There was something holy about the blood. It was life poured out for another.
What would you think or how would you feel, if you did something that required a life to be taken? Which life would be taken for your decisions made, choices taken? You had to end a life, you had to end one of the best lives among you. You find out you can sacrifice an animal rather than a man, but you tend sheep and the sheep give you their lives. You raise them, they are your career, they bring food on the table and clothes on your back. You have a special few you have reserved to show how beautifully you've raised your flock and these are the ones you reproduce to make your flock stronger, they are evidence of the wisdom you've exrecised and the value of your right decisions. You actually take these to contests with other Sheep Herders and compare them, sometimes this contest brings you rewards, more money to clothe your family or pay for the place where you live. You've poured your whole life into this livelyhood. But you are required to take a life, give a life, end a life because of some of the other wrong choices you or even your parents made. It's a lifelong debt that your family passed on to you, as a natural son you are required to pay it. How large is it's sum?
Your best is your firstborn Son, he's been raised to take over the herd, he's faithful in little and much, he makes a father proud. It is unthinkable to consider giving, taking or ending His life. He has his own children to raise also!
You find out you can scarifice a lamb, but it has to be the best of all, the one with the most potential. The amount is dependant on you. For one sin - one lamb, for 2 - 2...etc. You are still hesitant to offer this penalty price. You now know the menaing of sacrifice. You take your best, maybe it is chosen for you, you bring it in to the priest who takes it for you and does with it as he will according to the debt to be paid. Your heart aches, you see the potential gone, life given away, for choices you made, for choices your fathers made. The amount of sacrifice depends on the amount of wrong choices. You desire to govern your choices according to the true value of the sacrifice to be made, and your love for righteousness. You begin to hate what causes sacrifices to have to be made. You understand the shedding of blood and its value. without the best, without the giving, you and your household would be forever lost. You cry, because you are both sad and happy, happy and sad. The blood was poured out for you, was poured out for your fathers, was poured out for your children after you. It had to be done. You thank God it was not your firstborn son! In that light you are pleased to take the lamb, again and agian. You're thankful for the blood. You're thankful for the body... and this is why you COME.
Jesus rose from the dead, He made sure the work was finished and visibly gave witness of the finished work. Nothing now can keep anyone away from the Father and from Jesus, spiritually speaking. The only thing that can take us away from them are the decisions of the mind. That's it. It used to be that even if we decided with our minds we could not be saved and rectified to God, except through obedient sacrifices, offered continuously. Even then everything was so detailed it was almost impossible. Now it is possible, so don't hesitate- GO There-TODAY!