CHAP. Hebrews 8:1 to Hebrews 10:18. Not only is Christ greater than Aaron, but His functions, and the place where He fulfils them, and His very posture there, are all superior to those of the priests under the Law. Jesus ministers permanently as Priest in the real (‘the true') and heavenly temple (H... [ Continue Reading ]
Hebrews 8:1. NOW a transitional particle IN REGARD TO (or in) THE THINGS HERE SPOKEN OF (literally being spoken of), THE CHIEF POINT IS THIS: ‘The _sum_ is this' is a possible meaning of the word; but it does not agree with the force of the preposition, with the incomplete tense of the verb, or with... [ Continue Reading ]
Hebrews 8:2. A MINISTER (the regular word for public work, and specially for priestly functions, Jeremiah 33:21) OF THE SANCTUARY (the inner part ‘the holy of holies,' as it is called in Hebrews 9:3; though elsewhere, as here, the holy place or the sanctuary simply, Hebrews 9:25; Hebrews 13:11) AND... [ Continue Reading ]
Hebrews 8:3-6. FOR a new proof is now given that Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary. There is no priest without sacrificial functions (Hebrews 8:3); and if Christ were here on earth He would not be a priest at all (Hebrews 8:4), THERE BEING ALREADY THOSE WHO OFFER THE GIFTS and do temple service fo... [ Continue Reading ]
Hebrews 8:7. FOR ... the better promises implied in what follows are themselves a proof of the inferiority of the old covenant NO PLACE WOULD HAVE BEEN SOUGHT, _i.e_ in the development of the Divine purpose, in the plan of redemption.... [ Continue Reading ]
Hebrews 8:8. Yet it is sought FOR (and this is the proof) FINDING FAULT WITH THEM. This phrase completes the description of the previous verse. _There,_ the _covenant_ is said to be not blameless; and here, it is the people who are blamed. The covenant, as a revelation of God's holiness, was faultle... [ Continue Reading ]
Hebrews 8:9. The old covenant differs from the new in this that it was broken on the one side, and ended in indifference and displeasure on the other. Perfect as the Law was, the Jews never kept it. Idolatry prevailed in nearly all the earlier ages of the theocracy, as later hypocrisy and formalism... [ Continue Reading ]
Hebrews 8:10. The new differs also from the old in this, that (_a_) God will write His law upon their hearts; (_b_) they shall be permanently His people, and He will be their God (Hebrews 8:11); (_c_) the true knowledge of God, moreover, will become the common heritage of all the members of the poli... [ Continue Reading ]
Hebrews 8:12. IN SAYING A NEW COVENANT, HE HATH MADE THE FIRST OLD. Long ago, in Jeremiah's day, God showed by His promise of a new covenant that the former one had done its work; was antiquated and virtually obsolete. AND (we know, for it is a general truth) THAT WHICH IS BECOMING ANTIQUATED, which... [ Continue Reading ]