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A Better Promise
1 What I mean is we have a high priest who sits at the right side of God's great throne in heaven. 2He also serves as the priest in the most holy place inside the real tent there in heaven. This tent of worship was set up by the Lord, not by humans.
3Since all priests must offer gifts and sacrifices, Christ also needed to have something to offer. 4If he were here on earth, he would not be a priest at all, because here the Law appoints other priests to offer sacrifices. 5 But the tent where they serve is just a copy and a shadow of the real one in heaven. Before Moses made the tent, he was told, “Be sure to make it exactly like the pattern you were shown on the mountain!” 6Now Christ has been appointed to serve as a priest in a much better way, and he has given us much assurance of a better agreement.
7If the first agreement with God had been all right, there would not have been any need for another one. 8 But the Lord found fault with it and said,
“I tell you the time will come,
when I will make
a new agreement
with the people of Israel
and the people of Judah.
9It won't be like the agreement
that I made
with their ancestors,
when I took them by the hand
and led them out of Egypt.
They broke their agreement
with me,
and I stopped caring
about them!
10“But now I tell the people
of Israel
this is my new agreement:
‘The time will come
when I, the Lord,
will write my laws
on their minds and hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be
my people.
11Not one of them
will have to teach another
to know me, their Lord.’
“All of them will know me,
no matter who they are.
12I will treat them with kindness,
even though they are wicked.
I will forget their sins.”
13When the Lord talks about a new agreement, he means that the first one is out of date. And anything that is old and useless will soon disappear.
Reflect
Access is all important. What use is there in a fat bank account if you can’t access the funds? We may draw a vague measure of comfort from knowing there is money stored up in our account, but if we can’t access the funds to pay for urgent daily needs how useful is that bank account?
Similarly, the vast treasures and beauty of heaven have little practical meaning for us unless we can access them in the daily grind of life. Today’s reading from Hebrews reminds us that through Christ, our great high priest, we have access to the resources of heaven. This access is possible because by his sacrifice, Jesus instituted a new agreement or covenant with God (v 6).
Something truly remarkable happens when our access to God is internalized. Barriers are removed. The Spirit comes in to play and work. That’s what our new agreement with God promises for us. “The time will come when I, the Lord, will write my laws on their minds and hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (v 10, quoting Jeremiah 31:33).
Have you internalized your access to God? He is not out there beyond our reach. Christ our eternal high priest has brought our Father near – as near as our next thought – as close as a whispered prayer.
Respond
Father God, I want to know you and be known by you. You know and forgive me despite my failings. Oh, what love you have shown me through Jesus, your Son! You grant me access to the blessings of heaven. Thank you, Lord. Amen.
David Kitz
David Kitz is an actor, an award-winning author, and teacher. For more than thirty years, he has served as an ordained pastor. His love for drama is evident to all who have seen his Bible-based performances. He has toured across Canada and United States with a variety of one man plays for children and adults. Raised in Saskatchewan, David now lives in Ottawa with his wife Karen. Books in print: The Soldier Who Killed a King, Little Froggy Explores the BIG World, Psalms Alive!, Tunks on Tongues