A copy and shadow of the heavenly things

Hebrews 8 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ² a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. ³ For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. ⁴ Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; ⁵ who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” ⁶ But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

⁷ For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. ⁸ For finding fault with them, He says,

“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant
With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; ⁹ Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord. ¹⁰ “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel  After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. ¹¹ “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. ¹² “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.”

¹³ When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

Today’s text says:  We have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,  a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.”   Jesus taught us to pray saying:  “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  Like the tabernacle was supposed to be a copy, made in the pattern of heaven, so too, are we to make the things of earth as they are in heaven. Too often we try to make heaven and the God of heaven conform to earth. We try to adjust God, His will and His ways to our culture and society.   Romans 12:1-2 says:  I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.   For God’s will to be done on earth, for us to prove what God’s will is, we need to present our bodies, our entire lives to God. Because of the sacrifice of Christ, we are to be renewed in our minds. When Jesus was here among us, His message from the beginning was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)  Repenting is changing both how we act and how we think. When we repent, our minds are renewed so that we are transformed from earthly to heavenly.

The text says:  “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord.  “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel  After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people.  “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them.  “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.”   God’s promise is that He will not remember our sins. Through the cross and the blood of Christ, God forgives our sins. God does not forgive and forget our sins though so that we can go on sinning. Christ redeems us so that we are no longer as we were, we are transformed. God says, in the New Covenant, that:  I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts.   Because of what Jesus did, God’s commandments are made known to us. If we want to claim the benefits of the New Covenant, that God has forgiven and forgotten our sins, then we need for our hearts to be aligned with His Laws, which are written on them. In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus says:  “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.” In John 14:15;23-24 He says:  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”   If we love God, we must keep His commandments which He has written on our hearts and minds. God and Christ will make their abode with us. It will be here on earth as it is in heaven.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the New Covenant and all that it does for us. Thank You that You have written Your laws on my heart and my mind. Thank You for answering the prayer You taught us, that Your kingdom would come and Your will would be done, on earth as it is in heaven; in and through my life.   Amen.