Names of God, Part 40
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Names of God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:17:54
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· 45 viewsReview of the book of Hebrews 1:1 - 9: to set the stage for our study through Hebrews 9 in light of understanding the Tabernacle and its furnishings in connection to the covenant name of YHWH.
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Sunday May 5, 2023
Sunday May 5, 2023
TNOG 38
TNOG 38
Names of God
Names of God
YHWH - יהוה
YHWH - יהוה
Exodus 35:18
Exodus 35:18
18 the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords;
In Exodus 27:19, God specified bronze as the material for the “tent pegs” in both the Tabernacle and courtyard.
Tent Pegs:
According to Exodus 27:19, all the tent pegs used to secure the Tabernacle and its components were to be made of bronze1.
Tent pegs served a practical purpose—they anchored the Tabernacle’s fabric and framework to the ground, ensuring stability and preventing it from collapsing.
Symbolically, these bronze pegs represent steadfastness and security. Just as the pegs held the Tabernacle in place, our faith in God provides stability and keeps us grounded.
Sockets (Bases):
The sockets were the foundation upon which the pillars (or posts) of the Tabernacle stood.
These bronze sockets were placed at the bottom of each pillar, providing stability and support.
The use of bronze for the sockets symbolizes strength and durability. It reinforces the idea that God’s dwelling place is firmly established and unshakable.
Bronze Significance:
Bronze was a common material in ancient times due to its availability and durability.
It was associated with judgment, as seen in the bronze serpent raised by Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 21:9). This serpent prefigured Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.
The use of bronze in the Tabernacle reminds us of God’s holiness, justice, and faithfulness.
19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for all its service, all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.
This is further fulfilled in Exodus 38:20, 31 and Exodus 39:40 (cf. Num 3:37 ; 4:32 ).
20 All the pegs of the tabernacle, and of the court all around, were bronze.
31 the sockets for the court all around, the bases for the court gate, all the pegs for the tabernacle, and all the pegs for the court all around.
40 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;
37 and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.
32 and the pillars around the court with their sockets, pegs, and cords, with all their furnishings and all their service; and you shall assign to each man by name the items he must carry.
Revealer of Secrets -- Galeh Razin (Aramaic) גָלֵה רָזִין
Revealer of Secrets -- Galeh Razin (Aramaic) גָלֵה רָזִין
Daniel 2:29–30, 47
29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.
30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”
“Your majesty, when you were in bed, you began thinking about what would take place in the future; and he who reveals secrets has revealed to you what will happen. Yet this secret has not been revealed to me because I am wiser than anyone living, but so that the meaning can be made known to your majesty, and then you can understand the thoughts of your own mind.”
To Dani’el the king said, “Your God is indeed the God of gods, the Lord of kings and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.”
9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’
His talmidim [disciples] asked him what this parable might mean, and he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but the rest are taught in parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.”
4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
… The one who is evaluating me is the Lord. So don’t pronounce judgment prematurely, before the Lord comes; for he will bring to light what is now hidden in darkness; he will expose the motives of people’s hearts …
Are there secrets in your life you hope nobody finds out? There are no secrets with God. He knows and sees all. One day, the motives of our hearts will be revealed. Seek to live a life of humility and honesty before God and with others.
Sunday May 12, 2023
Sunday May 12, 2023
TNOG 39
TNOG 39
Names of God
Names of God
YHWH - יהוה
YHWH - יהוה
Although it is obvious earlier in Exodus that between the tent poles and the tent pegs ropes would be strung to carry the tension, the term “rope” does not occur in connection with the tent and courtyard curtain support system until this verse. However, mentioning the ropes recurs in Exodus 39:40 (cf. Num 3:26, 37 ; 4:26, 32 ).
Practical Function:
The curtains of the courtyard were made of finely twisted linen and hung from twenty posts on each side of the courtyard.
These curtains formed a protective border around the Tabernacle, demarcating the holy ground from the rest of the camp.
To secure the curtains, cords or ropes were used to tie them to the bronze bases of the posts.
These ropes ensured that the curtains remained in place, especially during movement when the Israelites traveled from one location to another.
Symbolic Significance:
The linen fabric used for the curtains was likely obtained from the Egyptians as part of the Israelites’ departure from Egypt after the ten plagues.
Linen was a valuable material, laboriously crafted from flax fibers. Its use in the Tabernacle symbolized purity and holiness.
The cords that secured the curtains represent connection and stability. Just as they held the fabric in place, our connection to God provides stability and keeps us anchored in faith.
Additionally, the silver hooks on the posts, mentioned in the instructions, signify the preciousness of God’s dwelling place and the divine attachment between heaven and earth.
The White Linen Fence:
The posts themselves were set into bronze bases, and the curtains hung from silver hooks.
The cords tied to the posts ensured that the curtains remained taut and secure.
Passing from pillar to pillar was a rod, which supported the curtains.
This entire arrangement emphasized the sanctity of the Tabernacle area and the need for reverence when approaching God’s dwelling.
40 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;
26 the screen for the door of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, according to all the work relating to them.
37 and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.
26 the screen for the door of the gate of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and altar, and their cords, all the furnishings for their service and all that is made for these things: so shall they serve.
32 and the pillars around the court with their sockets, pegs, and cords, with all their furnishings and all their service; and you shall assign to each man by name the items he must carry.
Exodus 35:19
Exodus 35:19
19 the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’ ”
The wording of this verse duplicates that of Exodus 31:10 and will be duplicated by Exodus 39:41 as well.
10 the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests,
41 and the garments of ministry, to minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister as priests.
The command to prepare priestly garments was given in detail in chaps. Exodus 28–29 (reprised in chap. 39), but also summarized in Exodus 31:10 as quoted here.
The priests wore specific garments while serving in the sanctuary.
These garments signified their consecration and set them apart for holy service.
10 the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests,
In Exodus 40:13–16, Moses is described as fulfilling the command via the actual investiture of the priests.
13 You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.
14 And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics.
15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”
16 Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.
God Who Remembers -- El Zokher אֵל זוֹכֵר
God Who Remembers -- El Zokher אֵל זוֹכֵר
Genesis 8:1.
1 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.
God remembered Noach [Noah], every living thing and all the livestock with him in the ark; so God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to go down.
Genesis 19:29.
29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
But when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham [Abraham] and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
Exodus 2:23–25.
23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.
Sometime during those many years, the king of Egypt died, but the people of Isra’el still groaned under the yoke of slavery, and they cried out, and their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Avraham, Yitz’chak [Isaac] and Ya‘akov [Jacob]. God saw the people of Isra’el, and God acknowledged them.
Isaiah 49:14–16.
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.
“But Tziyon [Zion] says, ‘YHWH has abandoned
me, YHWH has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget her child at the breast, not show pity on the child from her womb? Even if these were to forget, I would not forget you.
I have engraved you on the palms of my hands …”
Have you ever felt that God has forgotten you? Have you been waiting a long time to see the fulfillment of a promise he made? Trust in God. He is absolutely incapable of forgetting about you. You are engraved on the palms of his hands.
Sunday May 19, 2023
Sunday May 19, 2023
TNOG 40
TNOG 40
Names of God
Names of God
YHWH - יהוה
YHWH - יהוה
In our study through the names of God, we have been reviewing the most significant name of God, YHWH, יהוה. YHWH is introduced as the covenant name of God, given to Israel, even to Moses as an expression of God's essence. As such, we have been using the revelation of His name as set up for us in the 2nd ascent to Mount Sinai to meet with God, where He establishes this covenant with Israel. Included in this has been our study of the Tabernacle, the furniture of the Tabernacle, and the material and specifications of the Tabernacle.
We are going to step tinto the Hebrews 9:1 now. But, before we go into any detail in Hebrews 9:1 we need to take a little time to go back and get an overview of the first 8 chapters of Hebrews.
So we’ll go to Hebrews 1. We’re going to sort of walk our way (or run our way) through Hebrews. There are arrangements of sections in the book of Hebrews. These sections in Hebrews are built around a teaching portion or a didactic portion where the writer of Hebrews is explaining doctrine. Much of this is being taken out of an Old Testament context.
We have to remember that he is writing to Jewish believers. The book assumes that these are priests (former priests) who are now wondering if they should not return to Judaism and return to (and desert Christianity) service in the Temple. That concept of serving in the Temple—that word “service”—is going to take on more significance as we get into Chapter 9.
So, each of these sections has a teaching portion, and then at the end of the teaching portion, there is an application, an exhortation. An exhortation is nothing more than a challenge – a challenge to put into practice or apply the principles that have just been laid out. So we have a teaching portion and then an exhortation. In most of the exhortations, there is a warning – a warning not to fall away (not to become passive in your Christian life, not to just slip into neutral and kind of go through the motions), but to continue to pursue spiritual growth, spiritual maturity because we have a destiny with the Lord Jesus Christ to share in His inheritance to be joint heirs with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom and to serve with Him. What we are doing right now in our Christian lives is preparing us for that future time to rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The book begins with a four-verse prologue in the first section (the first four verses), which focuses our attention on the Son. He is identified as being the flashing forth of God’s essence. He is identical with God’s essence. The focus is on His sonship. That sonship isn’t that He is the Son of God (which is the eternal aspect), but that He is the future heir, which relates to the fact that He is the Son of Man. As the Son of Man, He will ascend and sit at the right hand of God the Father. As the Son of Man, He will come back, and He will establish His kingdom. As the Son of Man, He receives the inheritance.
The focus in the first four verses is on Him as the future heir who is now seated. We are seated in Him. So we learn from these four verses that God has now spoken definitively, completely, and finally in His Son.
Hebrews 1:1 :
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
Hebrews 1:2 :
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
Nothing could surpass that, so this is one argument for the cessation of revelation. We learn here that the Son is appointed the heir of all things.
When He had made purifications, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Hebrews 1:3 :
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
That is a key phrase that we run into again and again and again through our study of Hebrews.
Hebrews 1:4 :
4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
That inheritance can’t relate to His deity because, in His deity, He has always been better than the angels. So, that inheritance has to be related to what He accomplished in His humanity.
Then, in the next section, we go down to verses 5 to 11. As you can tell, looking at the text with the indentation, these are comprised of a series of Old Testament quotations. What the writer does is he weaves together approximately 8 Old Testament quotations. He has 7 psalms and one quote from Isaiah (51:6), and he weaves these together in order to establish and document his point that the Messiah was expected to come and rule and that He would fulfill all that God had intended for man. The conclusion comes in the last verse of the chapter which is in verse 14.
Hebrews 1:14 : Are they not all
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
…referring to the angels.
ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
Key word there – service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. Jesus Christ in 1:4 is the heir. We will inherit salvation. It’s a future concept. So we look at this idea of salvation as something that is future. It’s phase 3. It’s what we are rewarded with at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Having laid out this foundation of who Jesus is (is higher than the angels, as the one who is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high), the writer of Hebrews then goes into the exhortation and warning and says that if God has done all of this - sending the Second Person of the Trinity to become a man, having Him live His life on earth during the whole period of the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, His present session in heaven - if God has done all of this to establish this inheritance that we are going to get (this inheritance salvation), how can we neglect it? If we’re in this training process - how in the world once we grasp what God has provided for us - can we possibly let that just slide and become complacent about our destiny, our eternal destiny, and what God is doing in our lives?
So we have a challenge then in the verse that is well known to many people. But usually it is applied to phase 1 salvation (justification-salvation) and it’s verse 2:3.
Hebrews 2:3 :how shall we escape
3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
…some kind of judgment, some kind of discipline.
if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him
The point he has made here is if Old Testament saints didn’t listen to God and were disciplined, how can we escape when we have a much better package than they had? This picks up one of the main themes that we have in the introduction in the first four verses, which God has now spoken in His Son.
Hebrews 1:1 :
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
If God has spoken that implies a response on our part to obey what He has spoken.
Verse 2 says:
Hebrews 2:2 :
2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,
How can we neglect our salvation? So, we are challenged to press on.
Then, we came to the second section. The didactic section here is a little bit longer. Each section gets a little longer. This is from 2:5 to 3:6. In chapter 2:5, the subject shifts to the role of man. Man is man. Why did God create Adam? Why did God put humanity on the planet? As God’s representative, we were destined to rule and reign over this planet. But when Adam sinned and caused the fall, the human race collapsed under the condemnation of sin. We were spiritually dead, separated from God. So for God to fulfill His plan, He sent Himself (the Second Person of the Trinity) to become incarnate, to become a human being, to go through the whole life testing-suffering process to pass the test that Adam failed so that Christ then could succeed as the Second Adam to be the one who would as a human being rule and reign over the planet and fulfill God’s initial plan for man. That’s the theme of this whole section. It culminates in His royal high priestly ministry.
So in verses 5 through 9, (chapter 2:5-9) we see Jesus set forth as the one who is to fulfill the destiny of man to rule. He’s the one - man is the one that God has appointed to rule over the works of His hands.
Hebrews 2:7 :
7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands.
Hebrews 2:8 :
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.
But what we see in verse 9 is that He who is made a little lower than the angels - that the Second Person of the Trinity (Jesus)…
Hebrews 2:9 :
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
That is fully experience.
death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:10 : For it was fitting for Him,
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
That is God the Father.
for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
So if Jesus has to go through the suffering and go through this process to be mature, how much more must we who are fallen and under the dominion of slavery to sin? So the point in verses 10 through 13 is that Jesus had to be a man and mature the same way we do and pass the test that Adam failed.
Hebrews 2:17 :
17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
That is verses 14-18. We see here that He shares in the same flesh and blood that we do. The result of this (vs. 17)…
that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest
We should take the weight of this. What the writer is doing so far up to 2:17 is to build a case. He is laying out a trajectory that is pointed to this whole Doctrine of the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. That becomes the underlying doctrinal foundation for the rest of this epistle - working out, unpacking the implications of Christ’s present high priestly ministry – that He went through all of these things in phase 2 of His life during the incarnation so…
in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 2:18 :
18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
So His priestly ministry is related to His sustenance, His aid to every believer in their spiritual life because He has gone through and been tested, as we will see in chapter 4 – every way as we are. We have a High Priest who can identify with our testing. Once again, it comes back to the high priestly idea.
So, down through verse 18, we see the teaching about Jesus and His maturity. This leads to His role as a merciful and faithful high priest.
As we follow His pattern (we get into chapter 3), we will also grow and share in that ruling destiny.
Again, you should underline, point out, and highlight in your Bibles (3:1 and again in Matthew) the mention of Jesus as the apostle and high priest of our confession.
Now, there is another word. The word “confession” pops up – that we are to hold fast to our confession later on. That means that we are to hold fast to our doctrine, to what we affirm to be true. If we believe something is true and doesn’t impact our lives, then does it really matter if we believe it? We ought to think about that. If you say you believe something is true (even if it’s not something too earth-shattering), it ought to change things in your life if you didn’t believe it was true before. But if you believe something is true, that is of the magnitude of what the Bible teaches. It doesn’t change anything about your life or how you carry out your life or how you conduct yourself socially, how you conduct yourself in business, how you conduct yourself in your marriage, in your family, in things like that; then does it matter whether you believe it or not?
That’s the kind of world in which we live. People want to compartmentalize our faith. For 200 years, the pressure of the cosmic system has been to get Christians to go into a closet and compartmentalize their Christianity from everything else. It doesn’t matter what you believe. That’s fine - just keep it to yourself on Sunday morning. But don’t get out into the marketplace of ideas and think you have the right to impact anybody else or challenge anybody else on the basis of what you believe. I mean, they can impact people on the basis of what they believe, and that’s fine, but if you try to impact people on the basis of what you believe as a Christian - well, that’s not acceptable. That’s really where we are and where we’ve come in our culture.
So we are to recognize that we are partakers (participants), metachoi in the Greek. We are partners in this future kingdom rule that Jesus is going to have. If we follow His pattern of growth, we will share in His destiny.
Then, when you get into 3:7 down through 19, which is another long section, there are several quotes (at least three from Psalm 95:7) about listening to the Word. That’s the whole thesis here, going back to the Jews in the Old Testament, who failed to listen to the Lord. So we are warned not to harden our hearts as they did but to listen to the Lord.
Hebrews 3:7 :
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice,
Hebrews 3:8 :
8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,
The result was that they didn’t enter into God’s rest. The Exodus generation failed to listen to God, and so they failed to experience the blessing that God had for them in going into the land. So there is a waning there in this section of the dangers of starting in 3:7 down through 4:13 as the warning section. This is where you have the dangers of falling away, not believing God, and not listening to God. Again in 3:15:
Hebrews 3:15 :
15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Again and again, there is this reiteration of this particular warning. Then, chapter 4 picks it up again and reiterates this one more time. In 4:7:
Hebrews 4:7 :
7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
The point is that if you harden your hearts, you will miss out on that blessing. If we become complacent in our Christian lives, we will miss out on the rewards, responsibilities, and privileges of ruling and reigning with Christ when He comes in His kingdom.
Then, in 4:14, we come to the next section. It begins with a “therefore,” so we know that the writer is drawing a conclusion from everything he has said. He says:
Hebrews 4:14 :Seeing then that we have a great High Priest
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Once again, we ought to circle, highlight that phrase, and connect it back to the earlier uses of high priest because everything that he is saying is connected to the fact that Jesus Christ is our present high priest.
who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession
There is that word again - not to fall away from what we believe.
Then, there is an explanation in verse 15.
Hebrews 4:15 :For we do not have a High Priest
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
He’s been through every kind of test – category of test that we face.
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Therefore we can go with confidence to the throne of grace. Now remember that in 4:16 because we pick up the same idea - because He is High Priest we can go with confidence before the throne of God a couple of more times in Hebrews.
So we come down to chapter 5. We get to chapter 5, again developing the idea of the high priesthood. In chapter 5, he talks about the limitations of the human high priest in the first five verses—that one of their limitations is that they’re sinners and they have to offer sacrifices for their own sins.
Then we come into chapter 5 (verses 5 through 10) which focuses not that kind of high priest; He is designated by God.
Hebrews 5:5 :
5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”
This is the second time that Psalm 2 is quoted. Also Psalm 110:4 is brought in.
Hebrews 5:6 :
6 As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”;
So he introduces now this Melchizedekean high priesthood category. But the people aren’t ready for this, and so he is going to have a diversion at this point because he says that they’re not ready to listen to this. He has built up to this point, and then in verse 11 he says:
Hebrews 5:11 :of whom
11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
That is Melchizedek.
we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
Then we basically have a reproof section in the exhortation from 5:11 down through 6:8. Starting in verse 9, he’s going to talk about the fact that he is really convinced of better things. But first, he has to give them a little bit of verbal discipline. In 5:5-10 he talks about the Second Person of the Trinity – that He is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. In His incarnation, he offered prayers and supplications, which is what is related to the role of a high priest. He is qualified to be a high priest and learned obedience through suffering in 5:8. He is also matured in 5:8 that He might provide salvation.
Hebrews 5:8 :
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
Then starting in 5:11 we have the exhortation and challenge. The warning is in the middle of 6:4-8. The rest of it is a challenge to obedience. It focuses on the idea of the need to press on beyond the basic doctrines they’ve already learned.
Therefore 6:1:
Hebrews 6:1 :
1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
In verses 4 through 8, we have a warning section that is a difficult challenge for a lot of people. They think this indicates that you can lose your salvation or that these recipients of the letter may not have been genuinely saved. As I have said (pointed out), the terms all indicate full, genuine salvation. The warning isn’t that they might lose their salvation; the warning isn’t that they weren’t really saved; the warning is if you fall away, if you do not hold fast to your confession if you are not consistent in going forward, if you do not maintain your walk with the Lord. You just let it slide, and you begin to backslide. You can reach a point in carnality as you back up in your spiritual life under divine discipline that is tantamount to a point-of-no-return where you can’t recover and you’ll be taken out under the sin unto death. That is verses 4 through 8.
But the positive side of it is the writer says:
Hebrews 6:9 :
9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.
Hebrews 6:11 :
11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,
This is the introduction here, this idea of hope – a confident expectation of something in the future.
The focus here in this encouragement is that we are to realize eventually future ideas – looking toward our future destiny we will ultimately realize that expectation we have in terms of our eternal destiny. The precursor to that though is that we have to exercise diligence in our spiritual growth to realize the full assurance of hope until the end. That “hope” is a keyword.
Hebrews 6:12 :
12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
That’s another keyword to highlight – promises, promises, and promises become a key part of this next section.
Hebrews 6:13 :
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
In verse 15 and 17, we have promise again. So we see how this idea is picked up, and in the encouragement section here, the keywords are hope and promise.
Now, when we get down to the end of chapter 6, these last two verses are critical to the transition to chapters 7 and 8. Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 become the next part, the first part of the next section. We’ve looked through three sections now. Chapter 7:1 begins the next section. This is the transition. This hope we have is an anchor of the soul. An anchor is that which gives stability to the ship. Even if a ship is out on the open sea, if there is a storm, they will often throw the anchor overboard to give some balas to the ship and give it stability in the midst of stormy seas. So hope – that future destiny - no matter how tough the storms of life may be, no matter how rough the adversities get, no matter how overwhelming life seems- that gives us stability and confidence now is an understanding that God’s in control. Jesus Christ controls history. Jesus Christ controls the details of our lives, and Jesus Christ is the one who is going to get us through the storms of life.
So that hope is an anchor of our souls, a hope that is sure and steadfast and one which what? Enters within the veil.
Hebrews 6:19 :
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
Now he starts to introduce a little more of this tabernacle terminology. I have pointed out a little bit as we’ve gone through here. But, when we get to chapter 9 we are right in the middle of the tabernacle and all the terminology.
It is important to see how this writer is gradually laying the foundation for what he is going to do in chapter 9. His hope is sure and steadfast, one that enters within the veil where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us.
Hebrews 6:20 :
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
What?
according to the order of Melchizedek.
…another key phrase to emphasize. We’ll see it repeated four or five times in chapters 7 and 8 leading up to chapter 9.
So now we go back. Remember he had introduced Melchizedek back in chapter 5. But then in verse 11 he says, “Well, you are just dull of hearing so I can’t tell you about Him.” Then he gives them a little verbal discipline for chapter 6.
Now, he comes back to the topic of Melchizedek. In chapter 4 the focus is on the Melchizedekean priesthood versus the Jewish Aaronic high priesthood and Levitical priesthood – that the Melchizedekean priesthood was not based on physical requirements, on parentage, on genealogy, on any of those factors but was a divine appointment. It was also a royal priesthood and the Levitical priesthood (or Aaronic priesthood) was one that was passed on from generation to generation. It had physical qualifications. It was limited in its application, so he will demonstrate that the Melchizedekean priesthood is superior to the Aaronic priesthood.
In the first four verses, he introduces us to Melchizedek and explains why he is significant. Just those few verses in Genesis are all we know of Melchizedek. But he shows that Melchizedek must clearly have been superior to Abraham if Abraham brought tithes to Melchizedek.
Then, when we get to verse 4, chapters 7:4 through 10, we see the superiority of Melchizedek to Aaron. This is where we have the comparison and contrast between the descendents of Levi and the Melchizedekean priesthood. The author points out that there is a need for a superior high priest. When we get down to verse 12, he says:
Hebrews 7:12 :
12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
There has been a shift from the Levitical priesthood to the Melchizedekean high priesthood of Jesus Christ. A change of priesthood causes a change of Law.
Now, another key word needs to be identified and traced through here—this concept of law, covenant, and promise. Those are key ideas that run through this section. There is a shift with a new priest who arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:15 :
15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest
Hebrews 7:17 :
17 For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
We have a repetition from Psalm 110:4 .
4 The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Then, verse 18 picks up this legal terminology. It is so important to notice all the times you have law, commandment, oath, sworn – all these terms relate to legal action. The legal action is that to change the priesthood, you change the law. The covenant shifts. So now he is in the setup for why there has to be a New Covenant and that the New Covenant brings in a new high priesthood.
In verses 23-25, his basic argument is that the former priests and the Levitical priests were mortal; Jesus is eternal. As such, He is able to save forever.
NKJ Hebrews 7:25 :Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who
25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
What?
come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Now that picks up the same terminology that we are “to draw near to God as our High Priest” and “that we can go to the throne of grace to obtain grace and mercy.” So, he picks up the same ideas related to the high priestly ministry of Christ. Now, here in verse 25, it’s talking about those who draw near to God through Him. That salvation here isn’t justification in phase one; salvation continues to be talked about in terms of spiritual growth and future destiny.
Then verses 26 down through 28 he comes to a summary of this argument he has presented.
Hebrews 7:26 :
26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;
Hebrews 7:27 :
27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
See, back in chapter 5, he made the point that the human high priest was an inadequate priesthood because they had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. He concludes.
Hebrews 7:28 :For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath,
28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
God’s oath.
which came after the law, appoints the Son, who has been perfected forever.
That leads to what he points out at the beginning of chapter 8. Now, the main point—the summary. What have I been saying?
Hebrews 8:1 :
1 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
Where did we see this phrase? That takes us all the way back to the introduction. See how he is laying all these things out. This is brilliant literature. There are so many threads interwoven together here.
who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
He is a minister in the sanctuary.
Here, we pick up another new word group – this word group for minister. The word group that we have here is brought in in verse 2. This is the word leitourgos. Now, we’re going to see this word as a noun for minister. We’re going to see the verb form leitouro for service. We’re going to see the word leitourgis for ministry. And then we’re going to see the word latreia for worship. Now, all those words have the same basic root. The idea has to do with our whole life of service.
This is the same word that’s used in Romans 12:1 when Paul says:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
That’s the word there: service to God. That’s the word related to worship, related to our ministry. It’s the same basic word group.
So, in verse 1 of chapter 8, Jesus is focused on as the one who is seated as the High Priest at the right hand of the Father.
In verse 2, he’s a minister in the sanctuary. The word there is hagios, the holy place. I just wish translators would be consistent. We get into chapter 9, and we talk about the place in the Tabernacle, and it’s the same word: hagios. So if you translate it “sanctuary” here and “holy place” there, and it’s the same word, people miss the connection.
Hebrews 9:1 :
1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.
The word translated “tabernacle” here is the Greek word skene. The Greek word means a tent or a dwelling place. This word comes across in – they use it in theater to describe part of the stage. It’s picked up in Russian. It has the same idea there, but it all goes back to the basic Hebrew word, which is shakan, which means the dwelling place, which is the word from which we get the word Shekinah. We’ll look at that in a minute in terms of the Hebrew. So Jesus is a minister (leitourgos) in the Holy Place (the hagios) in the true Tabernacle.
In the third verse, the writer of Hebrews states out in a general principle. He is going to explain. He says:
Hebrews 8:3 :For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices.
3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.
Offering gifts and sacrifices is the service that He does. That’s that lutruo that he does – to offer gifts and sacrifices. That’s the function of the leitourgos. So he goes on to say in the last part of verse 3:
Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.
What’s he going to offer? That question is left hanging here. We don’t get to it until the middle of chapter 9.
Then verse 4.
Hebrews 8:4 :
4 For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
So here he comes back and says (It’s a little bit of an aside.), “Look, if He were just a human, He couldn’t do this. It would not matter. He could not function as a priest. If He were on earth, He wouldn’t be a priest at all because He doesn’t fit the qualifications of the Law.
Then in verse 5 he says:
Hebrews 8:5 :who
5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
The Levitical priests.
serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the Tabernacle.
So the tabernacle (and later the temple on the earth) is introduced here as a copy and a shadow of a heavenly archetype – a heavenly tabernacle.
So Levitical priests simply served a copy, but He, as high priest, has entered into the true tent or dwelling place of God. So verse 5 says that these human priests.
For He said, "See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."
So the pattern comes out of the heavenly archetype.
Then the conclusion of this point was:
Hebrews 8:6 :But now He
6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
Jesus
has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also a Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
What’s it based on? It’s based on better promises and a better covenant. That legal foundation is established.
He has a more excellent ministry – leitourgos. Again the emphasis all through here has been on that service in terms of His ministry. It is a service of worship.
Then there was the digression related to the New Covenant. The author goes through this digression to show that all of this, the new High Priesthood, the new structure of things relates to this New Covenant that God is making with Israel. The conclusion of that we touched on last week in verse 13 when he said:
Hebrews 8:13 :In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete
13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
It hasn’t fully passed from the scene yet, because they are still sacrificing, serving, and functioning on the Temple Mount; but it’s the closing days of the Temple because divine judgment is on the way.
and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Now that brings us to where we stopped last time in 9:1. We’re still in the middle of the fourth section. The fourth section doesn’t end until 10:39, and the exhortation (the challenge) doesn’t begin until 10:19, so we still have all of 9 to go through and the first 18 verses of 10 before we hit the exhortation. He’s still teaching them and explaining the impact of Christ’s high priestly ministry.
If you look at the proportion within the layout of Hebrews, this is the core issue in the book of Hebrews – understanding the significance of Christ’s present high priestly ministry for the Church Age believer. But the backdrop for this has to be somewhat of an understanding of what was going on in the Old Testament in the tabernacle and in the temple. However, he focuses his thinking on the whole worship in the Tabernacle.
So he writes. Let’s just read these first 5 verses here.
Hebrews 9:1 :Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service
1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.
Guess what that Greek word is, translated as “divine worship.” It is the Greek word latreia. We have introduced this whole terminology that was lying in those first 6 verses of chapter 8. So this connects right back. Instead of translating it the way they did in chapter 8, they translated it with “worship,” which was never there in chapter 8. It should be “had regulations of divine service.”
and the earthly sanctuary.
Hebrews 9:2 :
2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;
3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
2 For a tabernacle
or a dwelling place
was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;
3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
It only focuses on two things – the lampstand, which, as you went in, was on the left side, and the table of showbread table of sacred bread. That was on the right side. This is the outer section of the Tent of Meeting called the Holy Place. Then there was a second veil in the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies.
4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
Now, he’s going to build everything out of this. This isn’t the first time the writer of Hebrews has said, “Well, we’re not going to talk about it too much now.” Then he pauses and comes back and talks about it in detail.
1. So, what we are going to do now is just a little introduction to the Tabernacle. The Hebrew word there on the screen is Mishkan for the Tabernacle. Shakan is the same word, skene. By putting an “m” at the beginning it makes the verb a participle. It can become a noun. So, this is a look at the Tabernacle. I’ll just give you a couple of points, and then we’ll have show and tell. That’s what I love about the Tabernacle. It’s a real hands-on thing. 2. Tabernacle translates the Hebrew word Mishkan, which means a sanctuary, a tabernacle, or a dwelling place. It’s used in various places - one time in Ezra 7:15. It comes from the root shakan, which means to settle or to dwell. The Greek word is skene, which means a tent, a tabernacle, or a dwelling place. Sometimes, it’s called the Tent of Meeting or the Tent of Testimony. Of course, the Ark had the tablets of the Law, which was the testimony, and that was inside the Ark of the Covenant.
When God would come, His presence was often indicated by a cloud. Shekinah is the word for His dwelling presence. Shekinah doesn’t mean glory in and of itself. It just emphasizes His dwelling presence. But there is always a manifestation of His dwelling presence and that is indicated usually by a cloud, by smoke. If it’s dark, it’s indicated by lightning or fire. Light was used as a symbol or representation of God’s essence. So it would look something like that. It would be what the Israelites experienced with the pillar of fire hovering over the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle.
In the outer court there were two basic things that were there. There is the laver. We have everything set up down here. We use a model in prep school to teach the Tabernacle. It has various coverings, and the Holy Place of the Tent of Meeting is here. We’ll go into those as to their significance and why each had to be made a certain way. It was made out of different fabrics, made out of different animal skins. Then, you have the laver and the altar in the outer court.
Now, over here, these are built to scale. This is a set that was made by Goodseed and was designed. They did a tremendous amount of research on this to make sure that they could build a set that would be all proportional according to the descriptions in Scripture. So, in the outer court, you had the brazen altar and the laver. You can see by looking at those that the altar was enormous.
Later on in the Solomonic, First, and Second Temple, you could probably put 20 to 30 priests up on top of the altar. It was huge. When there were the high feast days, they would set up stations around the altar where they were sacrificing the lambs; then they would pass up what would be burnt as a burnt offering on the altar. Then there was the laver which was set out in front for the washing of the hands and the washing of the feet for the ceremonial cleansing before the priests could go into the presence of God.
Once he went inside the Tent of the Meeting, there were two rooms. There is on outer veil that he goes through into the first room called the Holy Place. Then, an interior veil separates the Holy Place from the interior Holy of Holies. Inside the outer section were three things – only two are mentioned here. There is a little bit of a description challenge in the way this is written. You have two things. You have the Table of Showbread. The bread had to be continually changed. All of these things say something about Jesus. The altar represents Jesus in terms of His being a sacrifice. The laver is Jesus’ death that cleanses us from sin. The Table of Showbread represents Jesus as the bread of life. The lampstand (the candelabra, the menorah) represented Jesus as the light of the world. Then, up against (right next to the veil), you had the altar of incense. This was to represent Christ’s priestly ministry of prayer and intercession for us continuously. The smoke from the incense would go up, pass through the veil into the Holy of Holies.
Inside the Holy of Holies, you had the Ark of the Covenant, which looked like this. It was a box made of acacia wood covered with gold, representing the hypostatic union of Christ. Inside the box were placed a pot of manna, the Ten Commandments, which were broken, and Aaron’s rod that budded. Each of those represented sins. Then, the Mercy Seat (the lid that covered it) represented the mercy of God. The blood on the Day of Atonement was placed on top of the Mercy Seat. The cherubim represents the justice, the righteousness of God. The blood covers the sin. This is a picture of atonement and the cleansing of sin that comes from atonement.
These are the basic pieces of furniture in the Ark. I’ve got some pictures here, some diagrams of the laver. Some of these pictures are from a tabernacle in the wilderness that was set up down – it used to be set up down in the southern part of Judah not too far from a place called the Pillars of Solomon. This is a picture of the laver they built there, so you can get an idea of its size and proportion.
This is a picture from up above looking down on how they had constructed this. This was all built according to the patterns laid out in the Scripture. You can see the brazen altar and the laver out in front. (Pictures are shown.) This is a picture of the altar with the horns of the altar prominent. Then inside, the walls were of gold and on the left side you have the golden candlestick (the candelabra), the Table of Showbread representing God as the one who provides life and the means for life and the altar of incense. Then, inside the Holy of Holies, you have the Ark of the Covenant.
So what we have done so far in terms of the introduction to the Tabernacle is just run through some of the main furniture and look at the keywords in point 1. Point number 2 talked about the indwelling presence of God.
3. Shekinah comes from the intertestamental period between the Old and New Testaments. It’s never used in the Old Testament. It’s a rabbinical term that gets introduced based on the verb shakan, to dwell indicating the dwelling presence of God. 4. All this is just 4 points of introduction. There was a temporary Tent of Meeting that was set up by Moses during that year when they were constructing all of the furniture for the Tabernacle. If you go into Exodus, you’ll see that right after God comes down before the Tabernacle is built, Moses is meeting with God in the Tent of Meeting, but they haven’t even built the Tabernacle. So it was a temporary meeting place. So apparently, before they created the mobile worship center, they had one of these temporary buildings outside that people could put in their backyard, which was sanctified. That’s where Moses went to meet with God. It was a genius system to break everything down and to be very simple and transportable while they were going through the desert.
All of this becomes the backdrop for explaining critical doctrines in the New Testament related to the spiritual life, related to Christ’s present high priestly ministry. All of this is embedded within all of the rituals that occurred in the Old Testament. One of the things that I want to do is not only look at the basic function or the operation of the Tabernacle itself but also look at the offerings and the sacrifices that are laid out later on in Leviticus so we can have some understanding. You have these different offerings – the burnt offerings, peace offerings, and grain offerings. What is the significance of each of those? So that gets our taste buds oriented to the little next section before we start.