Being in a new covenant: a bible study on Hebrews 8:1-10:18

Being in a new covenant

A bible study on Hebrews 8:1-10:18

This section of Hebrews brings together a number of OT structures:

  • High Priesthood

  • Tabernacle (not temple)

  • Sacrifice

  • Covenant

They have all been introduced previously in the book. Now they are bought together.

The premise of the Gospel and specifically of Hebrews, is that being in the presence “of the Majesty on High is extremely dangerous ever since we chose to make ourselves our own majesty in high. We need four things to be safe in God’s presence.

Mediator

Question 1

[8.1] “We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven”

Jesus would not be a priest on earth because there are already priests doing the mediation work. (8:4). Why is his ministry superior to that of the earthly priests? (8:6)

Read Chapter 9:6-10. How does the writer describe the daily work of the priests and the once a year work of the High Priest? What could their work achieve? What wasn’t achieved by their work?

Read Hebrews 9:11-14. When Christ came as High priest what did he offer? What can the blood of Christ achieve that the blood of bulls and heifers could not achieve? (compare 9:14 and 9:9)

A safe place to negotiate

Here is a floor plan of the tabernacle:

tabernacle.png
outer-court.png

The tabernacle travelled with the Israelites in the wilderness as they moved towards “rest” in the promised land. When they camped it was at the centre of the camp with three tribes on each side of the tent. It put God at the centre. God initiated its construction. It was David’s idea to build the temple.

Question 2

[8.2] “the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.”

  1. How does the writer describe the Tabernacle in Heb 8:5?

  2. Read Heb 9:1-7. What do these verses add to the description of the Tabernacle?

  3. What was the Holy Spirit teaching by this procedure? (Heb 8:8)

  4. Which sanctuary did Christ enter? (Heb 9:24)

Sins removed

Question 3

[8.2] “and who serves in the sanctuary”

  1. What is needed to be in God’s presence according to Hebrews? (Heb 9:9, 9:14)

  2. How it is attained?

    1. 9:12

    2. 9:15

    3. 9:22

    4. 9:26-28; 10:10; 10:14. The one day of the year that the OT High Priest entered the Holy of Holies was the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). What do these verses teach us about what it takes to have our sins “borne away”?

  3. Could the old sacrifices take away sins? (Hebrews 10:19)

  4. How are those whose sin have been removed described? (Heb 10:10; 10:14)

A renewed relationship with God

This section of Hebrews that we have been looking at in this study is based on the idea that we live under a new covenant. The passage being explained is Jeremiah 31:31-34. A covenant in the OT and the NT is not so much about the initial “contract” as the relationship established. It is this relationship which Hebrews is all about. It is has been made possible through Jesus’ work as a High Priest, in the sanctuary making a sacrifice.

Question 4

[8:6] “the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one”

  1. What did blood have to do with establishing the first covenant? (Heb 9:18-20)

  2. How does the writer describe the relationship between the old and the new covenant?
    Heb 8:6 and Heb 8:13
    Does this mean that God has moved from plan A to plan B or that plan A pointed to the new covenant and was fulfilled by it? Has God been working on the same plan all along?

  3. What is the characteristic of the people in the new covenant? (10:14-18)

  4. Quick preview! Read Heb 10:19-25. Is the new covenant with individuals or a new people of God?

All of this was foreshadowed

The writer of Hebrews says:

[8:5] “They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.”
[10:1] “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming.”

Question 5

If you see an interesting shadow do you concentrate on it or on the reality that castes the shadow? What is the danger that the writer of Hebrews thinks that the readers could fall into?

Using Hebrews ideas in our Holy Communion Service

We are familiar with a lot of the concepts because they are drawn on in our Holy Communion services

“a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice” AAPB First Form

“In Obedience to your will, your Son our saviour offered himself as a perfect sacrifice”, AAPB Second Form

Ye that do…Draw near with faith,

who made there (by his one oblation of himself once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; Book of Common Prayer

Question 6

Why is the book of

Hebrews a good place to drawn on in a Communion service when it does not mention the Lord’s Supper at all? Is Holy Communion a replacement for the sacrificial system or a reminder that it has been replaced by the perfect?

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