EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
By E. E. Burch
The epistle of Paul to the Hebrews is one of the most interesting and instructive portions of Holy Writ. It has been justly styled the epitome of the dispensations of God to man through all time. It clearly unfolds the grand connection between the Old and New Testament Scriptures, between the priesthood of Aaron and that of the Lord Jesus Christ, and between the tabernacle of Moses and the heavenly tabernacle of which that was a type. “For see,” saith God, “that thou make all things according to the pattern shown to thee in the mount.” Heb. 8: 5. This epistle was directed to the Christians of Judea, who were continually exposed to insults and persecutions from the Jewish Sanhedrin and from the Pharisees who had rejected and crucified the Lord Jesus. These Christians had been taught by the Lord to expect the soon-coming destruction of their beloved city and the holy temple, with all the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic worship, for which they were still very zealous. Saddened and afflicted, they mourned the destiny of their splendid temple and the glory of Zion, soon to pass away forever. What could take the place of all these wonderful things—the temple with its holy places, the ark and the mercy-seat, with the cherubims of glory overshadowing it, between which the glorious shekinah had appeared—their holy sanctuary, the pattern of which had been given by God himself? Could their new religion compensate them for the loss of all these? Alas! they knew not; but this epistle unfolded to their distracted minds the wonderful connection between the Mosaic and the Christian dispensations, between the Levitical priesthood and that of the Lord Jesus Christ, and between the earthly sanctuary and that which was built of God, eternal in the Heavens. The whole system of ordinances over which the Levitical priesthood ministered, the sanctuary with its holy places, and the altar with its bleeding and smoking victims, were typical of the sacrifice of Christ and the work of redemption wrought out by him. As Christ is prophet, priest, and king in the Christian church, there was no more need of the types and shadows of the ceremonial law of Moses, which were all fulfilled in Him who hath entered on his priestly office in the heavenly sanctuary, having given himself as an offering and a sacrifice unto God for the sins of the people. Therefore, “having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,” unto Him who is able to save to the uttermost all those who come to God through him. What holy joy must have filled the hearts of those mourning saints, when they realized all things gathered together in Christ, even in Him who had wrought out eternal redemption for them. Then could they understand the propriety of the removal of the earthly sanctuary with all its ritual service, and the passing away of the priesthood of Aaron, that Christ might be all in all. With joy and thanksgiving they could look up to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ ministers at the right hand of God, presenting their prayers and offerings before the eternal throne. They could clearly understand the office of the adorable Redeemer, who had given his life a ransom for the sins of the world; and all the teachings of the Scriptures were fully explained in him. They could then see the propriety of the new covenant which God had made with his people, of which the prophet says, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; . . . for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws in their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Heb. 8: 8–10; Jer. 31: 31–34. Thus the first covenant, “which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation” (Heb. 9: 10), was removed at the death and resurrection of Christ, who is entered by his own blood into the heavenly sanctuary, an high priest forever; “who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Heb. 8: 1, 2. And not only they, but also all the people of God, who are adopted into his family through the atonement of Christ, rejoice in the precious promises of this epistle, and look with joy to that blessed Saviour, who has purchased eternal redemption for all that look for his glorious appearing.