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Hebrews 5:8
Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. There is an American expression: “The devil is into details”. It is funny that the enemy is given this attribute. The enemy doesn’t know anything. All does is copy God. He merely tries to be a counterfeit in order to deceive us. God is the One really into details; nothing is more evident in this week’s reading sections, one on Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu who perished for offering ‘unauthorized incense’, and the other on Uzzah who perished because of touching the Ark of God not being authorized to do so (Leviticus 10:1-2; 2 Samuel 6:6-7). These two stories are very similar; that is why they are read together. Their similarity lies in the lesson that they teach. Both stories happen at a time of spiritual ecstasy and jubilation. In the incident with Nadab and Abihu, it was the eighth day of the dedication. Fire had just come from heaven and the people saw the glory of Adonai. Can you imagine the jubilation and the spiritual ecstasy? We can easily picture the joy, the shouts, the dancing, the clapping of the hands (Leviticus 9:23-24). It was the same when David was bringing the Ark into Jerusalem; we are told of musicians, of dancing, of joy, and merry-ing (2 Samuel 6:5). In both cases tragedy strikes for what could be considered in our eyes, a small disobedience in protocol. These two events teach us a very important lesson, a lesson often forgotten and ignored by people of faith today. They teach us that religion without the parameters of Torah is unacceptable to God. God told us how to come to Him how to worship Him; how to honor Him, and He also told us how not to (Leviticus). Oh, but that goes against our natural instinct and desire for spontaneity. We won’t to be able to follow the ‘leadings of our own hearts’, only act in the obedience of commands, as that wouldn’t be ‘natural’. Really though, this is nothing more than pride acting out in the form of an inability to submit to instructions and wanting things our own way. We understand that we cannot approach a high earthly dignitary such as a King or a President without going through protocol hoops; if one just bursts through security without permission and unannounced he’ll surely be arrested. The difference is that in the case of an earthly dignitary, they try to protect the dignitary, in the the case of God, these rules are to protect us. We simply cannot approach God on our terms. It ist His privilege. But no; people always want to try to find new ways to approach Him. They even use ways borrowed from the pagans such as ecstatic speaking, or manifestations that are not of His Spirit.. The simplicity in which He told us to do things is not enough; we must tweak it and give it our own imprint. It is the pride of man which leads to destruction. May we learn to be in the details as He is in the details. Obedience is not a small thing: in obeying God we emulate the Master.
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Hebrews 9:10
… until the time of reformation. More important than finding the actual Ark of the Covenant, we must understand not only what it stands for but more importantly, what it doesn’t stand for. Let us therefore continue our archeological work of removing the debris of the doctrines of man in order to rediscover the Truth of the Word of God according to its own value. We have discovered that KJ editors added the word ‘covenant’ in their text of the eighth chapter of the letter to the Jewish believers of Israel. Removing that unfortunate edition, we now read the text not as a dispensational argument, but as a revelation of the meaning of the two chambers of the Tabernacle. Following the same principle we continue onto the thirteenth verse of chapter eight which reads, In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:13 KJV). Taking the added word ‘covenant’ out, what is it in our text that ‘decays and waxes old’, that becomes in fact obsolete? The terms of the Toratic covenant given on Mt Horeb? How is that possible since the Torah is fixed forever in Heaven (Psalms 119:89)? The Levitical priesthood? How could that be since the eternal Torah says that theirs is a perpetual priesthood (Exodus 40:15)? Aaron’s priesthood only stopped because the Temple was destroyed thirty years after Yeshua’s resurrection, but both the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah speak of its reinstitution when the Temple is rebuilt. For that reason, it cannot be the Temple either that has become obsolete in our text. What is it then that ‘decays and waxes old’ becoming obsolete in verse thirteen? When we read the text without the edition and understanding that ‘first’ and ‘second’ speak of the two section of the Tabernacle, chapter 9 gives us our answer,; it says, Now even the first had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, …. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant…. These preparations … their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper (Hebrews 9:1-9) (emphasis mine). It is this present age which decays and passes away, that becomes obsolete as the Kingdom of God is slowly but surely established since the manifestation of Messiah. This present age of the futile rule of man on the earth is coming to an end. We already hear the footsteps of Messiah on the horizon. He is coming to take His Bride and with her establish the Kingdom of His Father on earth. May it come soon, Abba, even in our days! 2 Timothy 2:15
… Rightly handling the word of truth. Are you prepared to play archeologist? Many today want to find the Ark of the Covenant. Some claim to even have found it. But better than discovering the Holy Ark in a cave somewhere in the M. East, let’s unearth it from the debris of 2,000 years of man’s biased interpretations. The writer of the letter to the Messianic Jews of Israel wrote, For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second (Hebrews 8:7). If you read this verse in a King James Bible, you will find the word ‘covenant’ in italics. This is a tool KJV editors used to signal readers that a word was added as an aid to the translation. In most cases this tool is needed. You will notice also that in the Old Testament of KJV Bibles, most of the time ‘is’ is also italicized. The reason is that Hebrew infers the use of the verb ‘to be’ in the present tense, therefore it has to be added in an English translation. What we have in the aforementioned verse is different because the word ‘covenant’ is not inferred at all in the context of the chapter, but was added because of the doctrinal preference and understanding of the editors. This edition creates a totally different understanding of the eighth and the ninth chapter of the letter to the Messianic Jews, resulting in an anti-Torah and anti-Old Testament theology. Reading it without the edition, the verse reads, For if that first had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second (Hebrews 8:7). Continuing the process in chapters eight and nine, we see that the text is not about so-called covenants, but is rather an explanation of God’s idea in the two chambers of the Tabernacle, the ‘first called the ‘proto’, and the second called the ‘Deutero’. Chapter nine explains to us that these two chambers represent not a dispensation theology but a schedule. Let’s read it now without the edition, Now even the first had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place (this was a description of the first chamber; now to the second chamber). Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant…. (Now the explanation from the text itself …) By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age) (Hebrews 9:1-9). This text was written between 65 and 70 C.E, being therefore told that the first chamber represents this present age, it is obvious that the second chamber represents a different age in the future, something we will present in the few next devotionals; in the mean time, keep digging! |
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