Written ~ 11-21-2024
Read Hebrews Chapter Nine
Hebrews 9
I absolutely love the first ten verses of chapter nine… these ten verses summarize and encapsulate what you would learn if you read through the Books of Exodus and Leviticus. While I am an advocate for reading and studying the Old Testament Scriptures, I realize they can be overwhelming and somewhat perplexing… but I hope those reasons don’t cause you to avoid an Old Testament Bible Study all together. We should not dismiss the Old Testament, if it were meant to be dismissed, God would not have included it in His Holy Word. The Bible is comprised of the inspired Words of God Himself. It is not up to us to disregard an entire section of the Bible because we don’t understand it or it is a good antidote to insomnia.
Anyway… Be sure to read through verses 9:1-10, because for today’s Bible Study we will focus on most of the remaining verses.
What the first ten verses reiterate is that the old system, the old covenant did not achieve complete forgiveness and cleansing; there needed to be something better, something eternal.
Hebrews 9:11-12…
11 “So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With His own blood – not the blood of goats and calves – He entered the Most Holy Place once and for all time and secured our redemption forever.”
When we study the Old Testament, we learn about the commandments given to Moses by the Lord. We learn about the tabernacle, the Holy Place, the Most Holy Place and the Ark of the Covenant. We learn about all the different ways a sacrifice was necessary to cleanse the people of their sin. But the most incredible realization when reading through the Old Testament is when it clicks in our brains that it is all pointing to Jesus, it is all pointing to the things of Heaven! Studying those difficult to read Books can actually become quite exciting! Why? Because we know the One in whom those Scriptures are pointing to! When we learn more about Christ, we will know the significance of understanding the Old Testament Scriptures as well.
With the old covenant a blood sacrifice was required. The new covenant required blood as well, but this time it is from the perfect Lamb of God, it is the final sacrifice needed for the forgiveness of sin.
Hebrews 9:13-15…
13 “Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds 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. 15 That is why He is the One who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called 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.”
Remember… When we come under the saving Power of Jesus Christ it is not because of anything we did. We do not have to work or earn Salvation. It is a free gift from God, all we have to do is believe, accept, receive and Salvation will be given to us. Look at what that promise gives us! It purifies our consciences, that means no more shame, no more guilt for the things we have done. We can worship the Living God! Jesus becomes our mediator, He goes to the Father on our behalf, pleading our case. We will receive an eternal inheritance! We have been completely set free from the penalty of sin. All of those things could never be achieved under the first covenant, this is the reason Jesus offered Himself to God, so He could be the perfect sacrifice we needed to be free of sin, once and for all.
Hebrews 9:22…
22 “…according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness…”
When we study the Old Testament and read through the entire first covenant, we will see an extensive list of everything that would require a blood sacrifice in order to be cleansed. We will see the significance of the Tabernacle and everything in it. What we are discovering is that everything the Book of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers explains is an earthly copy of what is found in heaven. So, since Jesus came from heaven, He doesn’t represent the earthly copy, no, He represents the original.
Hebrews 9:24-26…
24 “For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 25 And He did not enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. 26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, He has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by His own death as a sacrifice.”
I don’t know about you, but doesn’t the correlation between the Old Testament covenant and New Testament covenant seem to be making a whole lot more sense?
The concluding verses of this chapter show the hope we have as believers and followers of Jesus. My prayer is… that each of you know where your heart belongs. Does it belong to the Lord, fully and completely? Or does it still belong to this world, even ever so slightly? We should be eagerly waiting for Christ to bring us home and be joyfully telling everyone the wonderful gift that is received through Salvation.
Hebrews 9:27-28…
27 “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him.”
So, be sure that you are on the right side of judgement! Either you will be ushered into an eternity with Jesus in Heaven or you will face the eternal torment of Hell. I can’t begin to adequately express my heart’s desire that each and every one of you reading these words would give your hearts fully to the Lord, to actually live as though you truly realize Jesus Himself is walking with you, right at your side, 24/7. Every action and every word that comes out of your mouth should please Him. We should never take the sacrifice Jesus offered and completed for granted.
I hope you’ll take the time to read through this entire chapter, I kept this Bible Study on the shorter side, so you would, perhaps, take the time to read some of the Old Testament passages that correlate with what we have read in this chapter… I referenced those Scriptures below…
Hebrews 9:2 = Exodus 25:23-40, 26:1-30; Leviticus 24:5
Hebrews 9:3 = Exodus 26:31-33
Hebrews 9:4 = Exodus 16:33, 25:10-16, 30:1-6; Numbers 17:8-10; Deuteronomy 10:3-5
Hebrews 9:5 = Exodus 17:22
Hebrews 9:6 = Numbers 18:26
Hebrews 9:7 = Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:2, 14-15
Hebrews 9:10 = Leviticus 11:2, 25, 15:8; Numbers 6:3, 19:13
Hebrews 9:13 = Leviticus 16:3, 14-15; Numbers 19:9, 17
Hebrews 9:18-19 = Exodus 24:6-8; Leviticus 14:4; Numbers 19:6
Hebrews 9:20 = Exodus 24:8
Hebrews 9:21 = Leviticus 8:15, 19
Hebrews 9:22 = Leviticus 17:11
I hope this list of Scriptures brings some added enlightenment to your study of Hebrews!
~AMEN~