Hebrews 8
We’ve got it better today! Hebrews is such a great book for showing us our relationship with God and the blessings God has given to us!
For the Hebrews, the High Priest would offer animal sacrifices to God as a substitute offering for sin. God isn’t an animal hater, but God is a Father who was desperate to rescue His children! It may seem cruel and disgusting, but the Bible says that life is in the blood, so the blood of an animal was the offering given in place of people’s sin. An animal is no equal substitute for a person, so the blood was not sufficient to remove the sin problem, but it could temporarily cover it; therefore, animals had to be continually offered. With sin covered, God could enter and work in and through the Hebrew people. This was the Mosaic covenant, or the old covenant, that God made with Moses and the Hebrew people.
It was always God’s plan to bring a new and better covenant. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was in God’s mind when He established the Mosaic or the old covenant. When God gave specific instruction to Moses for building a tent sanctuary in the desert, the blueprints Moses received was a pattern after the original in heaven. This tabernacle (literally dwelling place), was only a replica of the real temple in heaven.
When a covenant was made, that covenant could not be ended unless someone who was part of the covenant agreement died. Death ended the agreement. As the Son of God, Christ’s death legally ended the old covenant. He started a new and better covenant, as we see in verse 6. Not only was this new covenant better, the promises that it is founded upon are better. The position Christ now has with God, He shares with us! The blessings that belong to Christ, He shares with us! We need to pray we have a revelation of who we are, what we have, and all we can do through Christ Jesus, our Lord! It’s incredible!
Lamentations 3-5
To lament means to feel intense sorrow, sadness, or grief, even to cry or to wail. God did not allow judgment without purpose. Any punishment, like a loving parent correcting his or her child, was meant to turn the Hebrew heart back to the Lord in love, trust, surrender, reliance, and obedience. Any discipline should have the goal to teach and train so that the person will learn God’s ways. We can learn and adapt at any age. When older, some may need to go through a process of unlearning worldly lies or false doctrine. Some may need to go through a process of restoration and a new training if they have gone through something abusive or sinful. The good news is, God never stops working on us!
Lamentations 3:27-28 “It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke [of divine disciplinary dealings] in his youth. Let him set alone uncomplaining and keeping silent [in hope], because. [God] has laid [the yoke] upon his [for his benefit].”
It is better to yield to discipline when we’re young. Why? One, from a young age they will have a better life, avoiding the pitfalls and heartache of sin. Two, they will have a better go at making an effective impact for God on the world. In addition, younger people are not as set in their ways. Statistics not only show us that most people will accept Christ before age 21, but they also show us that for the most part, we age, the more we get more set, or established, in our ways. Younger people are still reliant on others for their care, and they are more teachable, more trainable.
Older people can learn too, but it takes humility, flexibility, and respect for others who might be younger than they are. It also takes revelation of deceptive or wrong doctrine or practices. It may also take turning away from a trusted voice and a long relationship with a person who has been given permission to speak into their lives, a voice that is loved but a voice that pulls that person a wrong direction.
In the middle of these laments and final prayer, the writer mentions the unfailing lovingkindness and mercy of God. Because this writer has experienced the amazing grace and abundant compassions of God, even when going through a trial, the writer has confidence the Lord will bring him through.
This, too, is a lesson to be learned. Discipline should never be administered without also teaching the forgiveness and restoration of God. A young person should never doubt their value, but to be confident of their worth. When they are being taught, it is for the purpose of their good. In addition, a young person should learn right and wrong, and when they have matured and begin to call out what is wrong or hypocritical in the church, their teachers should show respect and listen.
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