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, a minister in the sanctuary, and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. (Hebrews 8:1-2)
As we continue our look at the imminency of Christ=s coming in the letter to the Hebrews, pay special attention to the use of the past tense here. The writer tells his audience that they, at that time, had the kind of high priest discussed at the end of Chapter 9 - One Who is undefiled. Not only that, He had taken his seat (rested, if you will) and was seated at the right hand of God. The Perfect Sacrifice had become the Great High Priest in the true Asanctuary@ which God Apitched@ or fixed (as in appoint, or set up). The author continues his contrast of the shadow priesthood (the Levites) with the true priesthood of Christ.
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; hence 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." 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. (Hebrews 8:3-6)
The trappings of the old covenant practices were but representations of the heavenly pattern seen by Moses. The old priesthood functioned in the physical realm where the physical images portrayed the spiritual reality in a way it could be understood by the people. It was never intended to become the substance of their faith. It was more like the star of Bethlehem which was to lead them to Messiah. To put it in terms of the nativity, they became enamored with the star and never bothered to follow it. The wise men followed the star because they sought to submit themselves to His authority (worship: proscuneo - bow to, prostrate oneself before; a reference to a dog licking his masters hand).
The people of the old covenant made the mistake of putting form before substance. True, God had prescribed the form and they were to follow His instructions, but God=s intention was for them to see Him as their Sovereign King, Lawgiver, and Redeemer. Instead, they sought an earthly king, became a law unto themselves, crucified their Redeemer. It is no wonder that they proclaimed at that first post-crucifixion Pentecost, AMen and brethren, what shall we do?@
Still, the author encourages them with a phrase which appears four times in His letter: nuni de -
Abut now.@ The old covenant types had led the faithful to the Promised One and AnowA (then) He had Aobtained@ a ministry which surpassed the old and could accomplish what it never could because it was based on better promises. We could spend much time on this theme but our purpose here is to simply point out that what the faithful had long expected was happening in their generation just as Jesus had promised. The admonition was to stay the course because the time of fulfillment had arrived.For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. 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; 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 UPON 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 SHALL 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." When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. (Hebrews 8:7-13)
We need not spend a lot of time with these verses. Most Christians recognize the inferiority of the old covenant and acknowledge the better covenant that was established through the ministry of Jesus. Do notice that the old covenant was external and dependent on man, but the new was internal and the work of God alone. The thirteenth verse states the obvious, because God proclaimed a new covenant (updated His will, if you will) the old became obsolete. At the time Hebrews was written the old was, depending on your translation, Aready to disappear@ or Avanishing away@ or similar language. Though its efficacy ended long before, the form continued to stand and it was about to be removed. Today, rabbinical teaching affirms that biblical Judaism ended in A.D. 70.
Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. And behind the second veil, there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant. And above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail. (Hebrews 9:1-5)
Here the author begins to compare and contrast the ministry of the old covenant with the new. The old certainly had a glory all its own but as we will see, it could not compare with the glory of the new. You will remember that the people could not even abide the radiance of Moses= face after he had been allowed to witness the backside of God=s presence. Just as His glory filled the Tabernacle, in Christ we are filled with that same glory. It is veiled by the flesh in which we live, but it is spiritual reality nevertheless. Francis Schaeffer=s title question should haunt us, AHow Shall We Then Live?@
Now when these things have been thus prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship, but into the second only the high priest enters, once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:6-14)
Let
=s start with the phrase in the middle of this passage I put in bold type. In the Greek is is kairos diorthosis or a season of setting things on the level - hence, reformation. Things were really out of whack when Christ arrived on the scene. The very system God had intended for the well-being of His covenant people had been so perverted by the power brokers that it had become a curse on the people rather than a blessing. The old system was incapable of Aperfecting the saints@ and its ordinances were required to be repeated often. But, Christ entered the true Holy of Holies (the heavenly one) in a tabernacle Anot made with hands@ (the true tabernacle - a spiritual one). The timing of the transition from the old to the new is, in this text, quite clearly Aalready but not yet.@ Redemption had been Aobtained@ but it remained for many of those believers to experience the sanctifying work of the Spirit; that is, their affection for the Adead works@ of the Law which could never save them.A
The main point@ was that Christ alone was the only avenue of escape from what confronted them. The last days of the old covenant was no time to abandon the faith of the new for the form of the old. Next time, we will see clearly just how imminent the transition was. (It=s okay to read ahead! :-))In Those Days
God, speaking through the prophet in Jeremiah 3, briefly describes the unfaithfulness of chosen people. In verse 14, He calls for the faithful remnant to return and, in the next verse, He tells what will happen when He brings them to Zion: AThen I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.@
Oppressive regimes always seek to keep truth from the masses in order to control them. It
=s true in America today and it was true in old covenant Israel. Those entrusted with authority abused it to benefit themselves in terms of money, power, and influence. Though the masses struggled under the demands of those servants turned masters, they had a history of preferring oppression over the discomforts of resistance to evil. Indeed, it was so much like our time that it is tempting to follow that trail; but, I won=t.Instead, I want us to focus briefly on a verse in this context which is devastating to those holding a premillennial dispensationalist view of the last days. Proponents of the doctrine insist that at some point in the future, Jesus will return to earth in physical form just as He walked the earth 2,000 years ago. The temple will be rebuilt and all the old covenant ordinances will be re-established.
Although it is certainly possible that folks could build a building and go through the motions of keeping the old covenant, that would be nothing more than a work of the flesh. It would also be repugnant to the gospel message of salvation in Christ alone. There is only one way to God for all men. Anyone seeking to come to God on their own terms will not find a happy result.
You know John 3:16; now remember Jeremiah 3:16:
AAnd it shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the LORD, "they shall say no more, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' And it shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made again.@God makes it very clear that when the fulness of time came, the faithful would no longer place any confidence in the trappings of the old covenant system. The text is explicit in saying that 1) the faithful wouldn
=t speak of the Ark of the Covenant, or even remember it, and 2) it would never be made again. If scripture says the Ark would never be made again, then we must accept that reality. Today we have replicas of the Ark based on what we read in scripture but without the direction and blessing of God they are meaningless. No replica will ever have God=s blessing and His Presence will never rest there as He did in days past.The Ark of the Covenant is such a central element of old covenant activity that its absence renders all hopes based on it to be
Asinking sand@ as the old hymn says. The faithful dare not trust anything other than Christ, the Solid Rock.Book Review
For some time now, I
=ve been working my way through Brian Martin=s, Beyond The Veil of Moses. The time I=ve taken with it should not be understood to mean it is a difficult read, so I encourage you to take a look at this compendium of thought on covenant eschatology.Martin
=s basic premise is couched in the terms of Paul=s second letter to the Corinthians where, in Chapter 3 we read, AHaving therefore such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not as Moses, who used to put a veil over his face that the sons of Israel might not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.@ (Verses 12-16)You will remember that when Moses returned from Mt. Sinai the second time, his face radiated the glory of God so much that the people were terrified by it. He veiled his face to put them more at ease when they were in his presence. Then, an interesting twist appears in the story. The glory that caused Moses to glow began to fade away. From our perspective, we can understand that God was showing him that the glory which came with the Law would not endure. Moses, as a type for all the people, did not want to admit that the glory was fading. It was, for him, a symbol of God
=s authority and if the people knew it was passing away he might no be able to retain control of them. Consequently, even though the people no longer would have feared his appearance, he kept his face veiled.Paul draws on these events to make the point that the old covenant form remained as a veil over the hearts of many. Even though Christ had removed the of the old system, they remained behind the veil of Moses. Martin rightly offers that even now, 2,000 years beyond those events, most Christians remain behind the veil of Moses. They remain there because they have yet to see how Christ fully replaced the glory of the old with the greater glory of the new.
The book is a great collection of relevant scripture interspersed with commentary from a variety of authors you need to read on this subject. Here is a great opportunity to be exposed to those works without making the time and financial commitment to reading them all. I
=m convinced that once you=ve read quotes from these authors, many of you will want to read more from them.This is not to say that Martin simply quotes others. He uses them to draw and present his own conclusions. He makes points I haven
=t read elsewhere, but I=ve still got a lot of reading to do myself. Even skeptics will find this information informative and challenging. I hope you=ll take the time to read it - soon. This book is a call for believers to understand how Christ kept His promises (all of them) in that first century generation to the end that we might all move from behind to beyond the veil of Moses. It is indeed a glorious view.(If you
=ve read a book you think others need to consider, feel free to submit a review to be considered for inclusion in The Carpenter=s Apprentice)The Apprentice=s Journal
I
=ll be devoting more space than usual to this portion of the newsletter this month because there are several things I want to share with you. Needless to say it has been an interesting month! Let=s get the yard business out of the way first.I
=m not sure what is going on but the birds aren=t spending much time around these days. A late hummer passed through early one morning a couple of weeks ago. The wren still sleeps in the corner of the porch on warm nights. There are birds around, they just don=t frequent our backyard as much these days. Usually, the sunflower seed I put out each morning is pretty much gone before noon but lately some is still left the next morning.. I=ve about decided the problems is the overgrown condition of the bushes and ferns around the gazebo that gives the neighborhood cats more cover than the birds like.Overall, the lawn is a mess right now. The oak trees in the front yard will be dropping leaves for months and I look forward to dealing with them about as much as I enjoy weedeating!
When we moved to Huntsville back on New Year
=s Day in 1978, we lived on a 100 acre tract of land. I shot my first deer the following fall. It was about a 200 yard shot with the deer on a dead run. I was using a 30-30 with open sights and still hit the animal right through the shoulders and dropped him on the spot. The hunters out there are shaking their heads and thinking Alucky shot.@ I totally agree, but I also knew I=d never be able to equal that shot. Since I don=t enjoy cleaning a large animal, I decided that it was a good time to put up the rifle and do all my shooting with a camera. Until this year.It may surprise you to know that I got my deer a couple of weeks before the season opened. However, I had no choice of weapon - it was the front end of Sharon
=s car! We were coming home one evening doing about 60 m.p.h. when I got a glimpse of the animal just before it ran in front of us. I instinctively hit the brakes but it was too late. We started stopping about the time of impact and the deer went flying off in front of us into the oncoming traffic at windshield height. Fortunately, the approaching cars were far enough away to be missed by the flying deer.For a split second I thought about stopping but I knew the radiator had to at least be leaking and we were over three miles from the house. It was late and I didn
=t want to wait for a wrecker so I needed to get home quickly before the engine overheated. We made it but the temperature gauge was pegged on the high end by the time we did. The car was 11years old and I was sure the insurance company would declare it a total loss, and they did. So Sharon has a new car. She had been wanting one, so once again we confirm that the Lord does indeed move in mysterious ways.On the transportation front, I
=m still driving my old 1984 Bronco. Yeah, it is a gas guzzler but I only drive it three miles to and from work for the most part. I really do want to restore this vehicle so I try to keep it running even though Sharon hates to get in it. If we=d hit the deer with it the outcome would have been much better!The Bronco has had a starting problem I couldn
=t diagnose for some time. Everything checked out okay, but when the engine was warm it could be really hard (or impossible) to start. I recently put it in the shop to have a U-joint replaced and asked the mechanic to check the starting system too. He got the same results I did. Even though the battery tested good, as we talked he finally asked how old the battery was. I told him I couldn=t remember but that he had put it in the vehicle. When he checked his records, we were both surprised to discover it was installed in 1993! He simply said, ABuy a new battery.@ I did and the problem was solved.There must be a life lesson in that story, but I
=ll leave you to discover it for yourself.Our daughter and grandsons were back to visit recently. Those boys are an energetic bunch! They are now into the bug collecting business so Laura has gotten to learn about mounting their finds. Sharon made them a bug catching net and they had a time harassing the bugs in our backyard. It
=s hard to believe but Geren, the oldest, will be six on December 2nd. He is really growing up and coming into his own. At 32, Joshua is asserting himself more and more. He is the outdoorsman of the trio, at least for the moment. David does his best to match the pace of the older boys even though he is only 19 months old and is considerably smaller.Some of you will remember me telling you about Alton and Pat Lumpkin and their family a couple of years ago. They are Sharon=s uncle and aunt in Rosie, Arkansas. I shared with you the blessing I received from being with them as the family provided care for Alton. With tearful rejoicing, I now follow-up on that story to let you know that Alton recently left the bondage of his earthly body to abide in the presence of his Lord, Whom he loved and served faithfully. One can only imagine his joy at seeing his Master face to face and the pure delight of his reunion with his son Stevie.
Sharon was able to make the trip to Arkansas for the funeral. From what she has shared with me about it, I really hope I can get a copy of the video that was made. From what I know about the family, I=m not the least bit surprised that it was a touching memorial to a man who, by God=s grace, had touched so many lives.
Alton was a man of many gifts and was always ready to use them as God provided the opportunities. Though he had a promising future in gospel music and once sang in the same venue as many of the groups you would know if I mentioned them, Stevie=s needs and the needs of his family came first. When advised to put Stevie in a facility for children faced with his challenges, Pat and Alton declined and made a life he could share in the mountains of Arkansas. That decision was not just about Stevie; the entire family has been richly blessed on that mountain and wouldn=t take anything for the lessons they=ve learned about life and about themselves in that precious spot.
The time I=ve spent there over the years has blessed and taught me too: things that are difficult to put into words because language simply isn=t rich enough to describe them. How do you describe the look on faces in an unspoken exchange filled with love and compassion? What tongue could possibly express the beauty of the profound caring displayed in lives given so tirelessly to one another? To speak of love so deeply lived would only diminish it.
It is sheer joy to see a family so bound in love and faith that difficult times and death become simply points of interest and not destinations. Lives lived so victoriously are a testimony to the goodness of our Father and a witness to the world that His kingdom is indeed Aalive and well.@
We will all miss Alton even as we cherish the time we had with him here. If our lives can be filled with the peace and joy he knew when days seemed dark, we will enjoy the contentment that was the hallmark of his life. He worked hard to meet the needs of his family but his confidence was in his Provider Who never failed him. Because he was blessed, we are blessed. We have great consolation knowing Alton=s love for music found its highest expression since having joined the heavenly chorus.
~~~~~~~
Edward Alton Lumpkin
October 12, 1924 - November 13, 2005
Servant of the Most High God