Shadows

Hebrews 10:1-4

Key words: law, shadow, reality, sacrifice, perfect/cleanse and sins. The main argument is that the law is a shadow of the good things that are to come and, by implication, that the new covenant brings the realities of those shadows. Putting it in literary terms, the author is saying that the law with its tabernacle and religious rituals is foreshadowing the reality of the new covenant with its heavenly tabernacle and the sacrifice of Christ. The implication is that the shadow cannot be greater than the reality and therefore Christ and his new covenant is superior.
In this section the author argues his point but directing the reader's attention to the sacrificial system that is part of the old covenant. The author contends that the sacrifices offered year after year do not make anyone perfect. If they did, there would be no need to offer them again. This is a clue to when the book of Hebrews was written; the temple was destroyed in 70AD bringing a forceful end to the sacrificial system. The author indicates that at the time of writing, the sacrificial system is still in operation. This means it is likely that the book was written sometime before 70AD.
The author talks about the sacrificial system in much the same way that Paul talks about the law: Pauls says that the law "caused" sin and the author states that the sacrificial system, rather than wiping away the guilt of sin, acts as a yearly memorial to sin. I don't think that being reminded of my sin is a bad thing as long as it ends in worship. I think that part of remembering my Lord's death by eating bread and drinking wine is reflecting on the cause of his death - my sin. Not to heap guilt on myself - for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ - but to increase my awe at the incredible unconditional love that Christ displayed for me and at the incredible way that he satisfied the justice and grace of God. I no longer live in the time of shadows. I live in the time of realized grace and forgiveness. I don't have to dream about being forgiven and pure; I can experience it now through Christ's blood.

A Virtual Tour of the Old Tabernacle

Hebrews 9:1-10

In this section, the author describes the layout and function of the old tabernacle. This continues the author's thought about the superiority of the heavenly temple compared to the earthly system. The train of thought is something like: since Jesus presides over a superior system, he must also be superior over all things.
There are two phrases that catch my attention. The first is in v. 8 where the author states that the Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed. The author isn't saying that there was some magic password that was necessary but that accss into the Most Holy Place had not been granted to the ordinary person - they were still dependent on the High Priest to represent them to God. The implication for me is that I now have access to the Most Holy Place through the blood of Christ - which the author will explore more fully in the next section.
The other phrase is at the end of verse 7 where it indicates that the high priest offered sacrifices for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. I'm not sure what that phrase means. It either means that the people had committed sins in ignorance and that the offering of the high priest covers even those sins or that the high priest was making an offering without knowing what the sins of the people were. Either way this is good news: either it means that the sins that I commit without even really knowing I was sinning are still covered by the blood of Christ or else it is a comparison; the high priest made offerings without even knowing what the sins of the people were but Jesus, fully knowing each one of my sins, took all that sin on himself, and all the wrath of God that went with them, when he died for me. Either way, my response is "hallelujah, what a Saviour!"