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Daily Devotional-August 14

August 14, 2020

The message of Deuteronomy is one that the church desperately needs to hear today. These final words of Moses given to the children of Israel as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land serve as a warning, an encouragement, and a charge. Through them, God exposes the idolatry of our hearts and calls us to give all of our love, worship, and devotion to Him alone in every area of our lives! Moses warns the people that when they enter the land there will be things that compete with God for their attention, their affections and their worship. We, too, have hundreds of things that compete for our hearts each and every day. In this book, God teaches us how to properly respond to the amazing grace He has given us by giving Him our undivided allegiance, our whole hearts and our whole lives. Over the next 34 days, let’s seek this ancient way together as a church!

When we look back and see how God has been so utterly and completely faithful in the past, we can look to the future with absolute confidence and faith in Him! That is Moses’ message in this chapter of Deuteronomy. The people of Israel were stuck the already of God’s promises and the not yet of their full fulfillment. They had tasted victory and had started conquering the promised land, but they hadn’t seen the total fulfillment of all God had promised them yet.

Moses recounts how God had given them victory over their enemies in the past, and how at that time he had commanded Joshua, who would lead the people into the land, “Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. So will the LORD do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.” (v.21-22).

Moses’ argument is that God’s grace given in the past is assurance of His promises of future grace as well! As we recall how God has seen us through and been faithful towards us already, we can look towards the not yet and move forward with complete confidence in Him! He saw us through then, and He will not let us fall now!

God has “only begun to show…[His] greatness and [His] mighty hand” (v.24). He has been faithful up until now; let’s celebrate His faithfulness and follow where He leads today with bold faith!

Deuteronomy 3

The Defeat of King Og

3 “Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. ²But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ ³So the Lord our God gave into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people, and we struck him down until he had no survivor left. ⁴And we took all his cities at that time—there was not a city that we did not take from them—sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ⁵All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages. ⁶And we devoted them to destruction, as we did to Sihon the king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every city, men, women, and children. ⁷But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as our plunder. ⁸So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon ⁹(the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, while the Amorites call it Senir), ¹⁰all the cities of the tableland and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ¹¹(For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubitswas its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.)

¹²“When we took possession of this land at that time, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory beginning at Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with its cities. ¹³The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, that is, all the region of Argob, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (All that portion of Bashan is called the land of Rephaim. ¹⁴Jair the Manassite took all the region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called the villages after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) ¹⁵To Machir I gave Gilead, ¹⁶and to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a border, as far over as the river Jabbok, the border of the Ammonites; ¹⁷the Arabah also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

¹⁸“And I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel. ¹⁹Only your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in the cities that I have given you, ²⁰until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’ ²¹And I commanded Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. ²²You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land

²³“And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, ²⁴‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? ²⁵Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ ²⁶But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. ²⁷Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. ²⁸But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ ²⁹So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Family Discussion Question:

How does remembering God’s past faithfulness towards us give us confidence to walk by faith today?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-August 13

August 13, 2020

Moses continues his recounting of the events which had taken place since the people of Israel had made their covenant with God at Mt. Sinai and rebelled against Him, refusing to enter the Promised Land. In this chapter Moses recounts their 40-year journey through the wilderness and the beginnings of their conquest of the land!

This chapter really demonstrates the truth that nothing good ever happens when we choose to step outside the boundaries that the Lord has set! The people had rebelled against God by refusing to go in and conquer the land, and because of that every single person of that generation died without receiving what God had promised them (v.14-16).

On the other hand, the second-generation obeyed God! There were several nations which the Lord commanded them not to contend with or attempt to conquer along the way. Perhaps the people thought that they could have conquered these other nations if they had tried, but they were called to trust God to give them everything they needed, just as He had over the last 40 years.

The people chose to listen to God, to not cross over the boundaries that He had set for them, and because of that they experienced overwhelming victory when He did call them to conquer! Sometimes we think that life can be found outside of the boundaries that God has set for us, but the truth is that only suffering and pain and, ultimately, death are there. God’s boundaries lead us to life. “He knows your going through this great wilderness” (v.7), and His purpose in setting those boundaries for us is always that we would experience true and abundant life!

Deuteronomy 2

The Wilderness Years

2 “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. ²Then the Lord said to me, ³‘You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward ⁴and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. ⁵Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. ⁶You shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. ⁷For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”’ ⁸So we went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road from Elath and Ezion-geber.

“And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. ⁹And the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the people of Lot for a possession.’ ¹⁰(The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim. ¹¹Like the Anakim they are also counted as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. ¹²The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave to them.) ¹³‘Now rise up and go over the brook Zered.’ So we went over the brook Zered. ¹⁴And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. ¹⁵For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.

¹⁶“So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, ¹⁷the Lord said to me, ¹⁸‘Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar. ¹⁹And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.’ ²⁰(It is also counted as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— ²¹a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, ²²as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. ²³As for the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.) ²⁴‘Rise up, set out on your journey and go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and contend with him in battle. ²⁵This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

The Defeat of King Sihon

²⁶“So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon the king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, ²⁷‘Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left.²⁸You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot, ²⁹as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us.’ ³⁰But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day. ³¹And the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land.’ ³²Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. ³³And the Lord our God gave him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and all his people. ³⁴And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction every city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. ³⁵Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured. ³⁶From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. The Lord our God gave all into our hands. ³⁷Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us.

Family Discussion Question:

Why do we so often think that the boundaries God has set for us are more restrictions on our enjoyment of life than they are meant to lead us to true joy? How can we work towards a right view of God’s laws?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-August 12

August 12, 2020

Moses begins his address to the children of Israel by recounting the events after their covenant with God at Mt. Sinai leading up to their current situation. Moses is addressing the second generation of Israelites who left Egypt in the exodus event, and here he begins to explain why the first generation did not receive the promises God had made to them.

Moses begins by explaining how he had set up judges over the people in order to take the load of the people’s problems off of him a bit. The way that Moses instructed the judges to carry out their duty is reflective of the fact that they were to reflect God’s character in their judgments (righteous, impartial, hearing the small and the great and not being intimidated). This demonstrated the principle at play when God gave His people the Law in the first place: the point is that they would shine as bright lights in the darkness, being distinct in their living from the surrounding nations and reflecting the character of God to the rest of the world!

From there Moses goes on to explain how the first generation of the exodus failed to take hold of God’s promises. When God gave them opportunity to enter the Promised Land, they shrank back in fear, refusing to trust and believe in God’s power and promises towards them. Because of this, God swore in His anger that not one of them would enter the land.

Moses speaks these words to the children of those who refused to enter, the second generation, and he speaks this as a warning to them not to be like their parents! They failed to follow God, failed to put His glory and character on display through their lives, and failed to attain what He had promised them, all because they did not believe Him as they should have.

For us, the message is clear: God’s promises are ours for the taking, but we must move forward in faith. If we don’t believe God, how should we expect to receive anything from Him?

Deuteronomy 1

The Command to Leave Horeb

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. ²It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. ³In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them, ⁴after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. ⁵Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, ⁶“The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. ⁷Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. ⁸See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’

Leaders Appointed

⁹“At that time I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. ¹⁰The Lordyour God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. ¹¹May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you!¹²How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife?¹³Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ ¹⁴And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.’ ¹⁵So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. ¹⁶And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. ¹⁷You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ ¹⁸And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land

¹⁹“Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea. ²⁰And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. ²¹See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’ ²²Then all of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’ ²³The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. ²⁴And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. ²⁵And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’

²⁶“Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lordyour God. ²⁷And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lordhated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. ²⁸Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’ ²⁹Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. ³⁰The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, ³¹and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’³²Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God, ³³who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.

The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion

³⁴“And the Lord heard your words and was angered, and he swore, ³⁵‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, ³⁶except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord!’ ³⁷Even with me the Lord was angry on your account and said, ‘You also shall not go in there. ³⁸Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. ³⁹And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. ⁴⁰But as for you, turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.’

⁴¹“Then you answered me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. ⁴²And the Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’⁴³So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country.⁴⁴Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah. ⁴⁵And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. ⁴⁶So you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.

Family Discussion Question:

What can we learn from the story of the first exodus generation’s failure and unbelief? What steps can we take so as to not make the same mistakes?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-August 11

August 11, 2020

For the next 13 days we will be spending time together walking through the book of Hebrews! Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians who were undergoing persecution for their faith and considering running back to Judaism. The author of Hebrews takes an in-depth look at the practices and regulations of the Old Testament as articulated in the Torah and argues for how Jesus is both superior to each of them and supreme over all of them! The author also warns his audience of the grave danger facing them should they choose to now reject Jesus and return to their former way of life. These warnings can and should make us feel uncomfortable as we read through the book together; allow the Spirit to do what He wants to do in your heart through them! Overall, the message of Hebrews is that Jesus, the Son of God as well as our Savior and Messiah, is infinitely superior to anything or anyone else we could give our lives to, and He is worthy of all our devotion and worship. Jesus is greater!

In the concluding chapter of Hebrews the author gives a few practical applications of the truths he has elaborated on throughout the rest of the letter as well as invoking a blessing on his readers and greeting them. He tells his readers to leave behind their love for and attachment to the things of this world and join in the reproach that Christ endured for us on the cross, and then he commands them to continually offer their praise and worship to God (v.13-16)!

Throughout the letter the author has repeatedly spoken of how Christ’s blood has “cleansed”, “sanctified”, and “perfected” us. In his blessing towards his audience, he now reminds us that this kind of transforming, redeeming power which exists in Jesus’ blood is not an end in itself; God empowers us through it, equipping us with every good thing in order to do His will!

We have been cleansed, been forgiven and set apart and made new in Christ Jesus, not simply in order to change our eternal destiny but in order for our lives here on earth to be lived in obedience and surrender towards God. He desires to use us to build His Kingdom and to advance His gospel, and through the blood of Jesus He gives us everything we need in order to do it!

Let’s seek His will and His Kingdom, trusting in the power, greatness, glory, and love of Jesus which surpasses anything and everything else! He really is greater!

Hebrews 13

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

13 Let brotherly love continue. ²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. ³Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. ⁴Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. ⁵Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

⁷Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. ¹¹For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.¹²So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. ¹³Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. ¹⁴For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. ¹⁵Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. ¹⁶Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

¹⁸Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. ¹⁹I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

²⁰Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, ²¹equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

²²I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. ²³You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. ²⁴Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings.²⁵Grace be with all of you.

Family Discussion Question:

How has God used the book of Hebrews to grow your understanding and affections towards Jesus? How does His blood equip us to do His will?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-August 10

August 10, 2020

In this chapter of Hebrews the author encourages his audience, as he has time and time again throughout the letter, to persevere in the faith through all the difficulty they are facing. He points them to the examples of the Old Testament saints which he outlined in chapter 11 and, ultimately, to the example of Jesus Himself, and tells them that they must follow these examples of endurance and perseverance in the face of hostility and opposition.

This chapter is a call to wake up and be strong in the Lord! He reminds his readers that everything they are suffering is a refining tool of discipline in the hands of the Lord, that God is indeed treating them as His children by using these hardships and persecutions to shape their hearts and their character after His own!

We don’t like suffering or difficulty, but it is perhaps thedefinitive tool that God uses in our lives to make us more like Jesus, and because of this fact the author says that we must “lift your dropping hands and strengthen your weak knees” (v.12). We persevere by faith through the suffering because we know that the end result is us being more like Jesus!

The author then makes an Old Testament comparison to give his readers a final word of warning, this time between the voice of God which spoke out of the cloud of glory at Mt. Sinai and the voice which is speaking to his audience. God warned the people of Israel from earth, but through Christ God warns His people now from heaven itself. If they didn’t escape judgment when they refused to submit to Him, how could we possibly think that we will if we do the same?

Through all of the suffering, difficulty, and hardship that we face in this life we can know that God is accomplishing His purposes in us and for us, and we can know that in the end we will receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. This ought to lead us to thanksgiving and joyful worship!

Hebrews 12

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do Not Grow Weary

³Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ⁴In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
⁶For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

⁷It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ¹¹For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,¹³and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. ¹⁴Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ¹⁶that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

¹⁸For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. ²⁰For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ²¹Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” ²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹for our God is a consuming fire.

Family Discussion Question:

How does knowing that God uses the suffering and difficulty we face to shape and to mold our hearts according to His purposes give us the encouragement and strength we need to face them?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-August 9

August 9, 2020

Here in Hebrews chapter 11 the author gives us the well-known “Hall of Faith”, recounting the ways in which the people in the Old Testament lived their lives by confident faith in God and His promises as an example for us to follow. He has just finished demonstrating the awesome, incomparable greatness of Jesus and His superiority to everything that came before Him, and now the author turns and commands his audience, in light of Jesus’ surpassing greatness, to walk by faith, following in the steps of those who went before.

He defines faith in the first verse as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” As he goes down the list of Old Testament heroes who lived according to their faith, notice that they are not commended merely for believing God, but for what they did based on that belief. Every single time the author says “By faith”, what follows is an action the person took based on their confident belief and trust in God and His promises.

Faith means that we obey God, that we follow where He leads when His plan and purposes aren’t all laid out for us clearly. It means that we trust that He really is as great as He says He is, and that if that is true then it is worth following Him no matter what we have to go through or where He leads us!

This point is made crystal clear in the ending of the chapter: the author starts by stating all of these amazing feats that were accomplished by faith, but in verse 35 he turns to the horrific things that were endured by those of faith. Jesus is able to lead us to do great and incredible things for Him and His Kingdom; He is also worthy of enduring and persevering through suffering for.

In any and every circumstance Jesus is the treasure, the reward that we cling to by faith, and that is how we live a life that is pleasing to God!

Hebrews 11

By Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ²For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

⁴By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ¹⁹He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. ²⁰By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. ²¹By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. ²²By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

²³By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. ²⁴By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.²⁶He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. ²⁷By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

²⁹By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. ³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

³²And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— ³³who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. ³⁵Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. ³⁶Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Family Discussion Question:

What are some ways you have heard “faith” defined? How does the way the author defines and demonstrates it in this chapter change your understanding of faith?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-August 8

August 8, 2020

In this chapter the author finished contrasting the sacrifices under the Old Covenant Law with the once-for-all sacrifice which Jesus made on the cross. Once again, he demonstrates to his audience (and to us) that Jesus is greater.

The comprehensive greatness of what Jesus has done leads the author to encourage his audience to return to having full assurance in Him and the redemption He offers. The benefits we receive from Jesus’ blood compared to the ministry of the Old Covenant system are astounding:

The sacrifices under the Law were unable to “make perfect those who draw near” (v.1); Jesus has “by a single offering…perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (v.14)
The priest stands daily in the same place to make the same sacrifices, which can never ultimately deal with sins; Jesus sits at the right hand of God, His work already having been completed, and His sacrifice is sufficient not only to forgive us our sins but to cleanse us from sin!
The priests under the Law entered the holy place by the blood of animals and only with great fear and trembling; we enter into the heavenly holy place by the blood of Jesus with boldness and confidence!

In light of these facts, the author once more warns his audience of the grace danger that they face should they choose to continue in sin and ultimately reject the sacrifice of Jesus for them; to do so is to trample Jesus Himself underfoot, to treat the blood He shed as something common or worthless, and to outrage the Holy Spirit. It is, indeed, “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (v.31), and we ought to take this warning extremely seriously.

The author ends with assurance that his audience is not made up of the type of people who will shrink back in the end and so prove that they never belonged to Christ in the first place. The question for us, then, is whether you are? Should tribulation come, persecution arise, or calamity strike, would you cling to Christ with confident faith in His surpassing greatness and worth, or shrink back and be destroyed?

He is sufficient, and His sacrifice is all that we need. Draw near to Him once more with a true heart and in the full assurance of faith!

Hebrews 10

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.²Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? ³But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
    but a body have you prepared for me;
⁶in burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you have taken no pleasure.
⁷Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
    as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

⁸When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), ⁹then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.¹⁰And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹²But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,¹³waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. ¹⁴For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

¹⁵And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

¹⁶“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”

¹⁷then he adds,

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

¹⁸Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

The Full Assurance of Faith

¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

²⁶For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. ²⁸Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁹How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? ³⁰For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³²But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, ³³sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.³⁴For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. ³⁵Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. ³⁷For,

“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
³⁸but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”

³⁹But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Family Discussion Question:

How does the blood of Jesus give us confidence in approaching a holy God? How can you draw near to Him in the full assurance of faith this week?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-August 7

August 7, 2020

In this chapter the contrast between the Old Covenant priesthood and Jesus’ priesthood continues. The author describes in detail the ministry of the Levitical priests and their proximity to God, and then goes on to explain how Jesus, as our superior high priest, has gone before us and paved the way for us to have direct access to God!

Under the Old Covenant the priests were limited to the Holy Place, outside the presence of God in the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest was able to enter the Most Holy Place, and he only did so once a year on the Day of Atonement after having his own sins atoned for by sacrifice. There was no direct access to God, and all the sacrifices they performed, while they temporarily atoned for the peoples’ sins, did nothing to transform their hearts.

Jesus’ ministry as high priest is totally different:

While the Levitical priests served in the earthly temple, Jesus ministers in the actual presence of God, of which the earthly temple is merely a shadow
The Levitical priests had to offer sacrifices to atone for their own sin; Jesus offered Himself, a holy and spotless sacrifice, for the sins of His people!
The atonement the Levitical priesthood achieved was temporary, repeated and did nothing to change the peoples’ hearts; the redemption accomplished by Jesus’ sacrifice is eternal, once for all, and purifies us from the inside out!
The Levitical priests were the only ones who could come into God’s presence; Jesus, as our great high priest, has made a way for all of His people to have direct access to the very presence of God Almighty!

What Jesus has done is so much greater than anything and everything which came before Him, and nothing can ever take away from what He has accomplished through His blood and His resurrection! All of this leads us to worship Him and to look to Him to return, when He will “save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (v.28)

Hebrews 9

The Earthly Holy Place

9 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. ²For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. ³Behind the second curtain was a second sectioncalled the Most Holy Place, ⁴having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. ⁵Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

⁶These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, ⁷but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. ⁸By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing ⁹(which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, ¹⁰but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹²he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

¹⁵Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. ¹⁶For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. ¹⁷For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. ¹⁸Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. ¹⁹For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” ²¹And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. ²²Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

²³Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. ²⁵Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,²⁶for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, ²⁸so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Family Discussion Question:

Which of the ways that Jesus’ ministry is greater than that of the Levitical priests resonates most with your heart today? Why? How can you thank and worship Him for what He has done and is doing for you today?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-August 6

August 6, 2020

In this chapter the author of Hebrews demonstrates the superiority of Jesus to anything and everything that came before Him based on the superiority of the New Covenant, which Jesus mediates, to the Old Covenant. The author states here that the earthly tabernacle (and, by extension, the whole Old Testament law) is merely a shadow and a copy of the heavenly things which they represent; Jesus is the greater fulfillment of it all!

Jesus is greater as our high priest because He is eternal and because He ministers in the actual, literal, direct presence of God in heaven rather than in the earthly Holy Place. The author says that the covenant Jesus mediates is better because it is enacted on better promises, and then he quotes from the book of Jeremiah to give us just a few of the promises that this New Covenant is enacted on:

The New Covenant will not be like the Old Covenant, which failed due to human sinfulness (v.9)
God will transform His people from the inside out by writing His law on their hearts and minds rather than on stone tablets (v.10)
All of God’s people will know Him intimately (v.11)
God will forgive His people’s sins finally and forever (v.12)

All of these promises have been fulfilled for us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He truly is our great high priest, our greater worship, having made the Old obsolete and ushered in the New for His people! Everything which came before Jesus was meant to point us to Him, and He alone is worthy of all our devotion, love, and worship!

Hebrews 8

Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant

8 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,²a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. ³For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. ⁴Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. ⁵They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” ⁶But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. ⁷For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

⁸For he finds fault with them when he says:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
    and with the house of Judah,
⁹not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
    on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
    and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
¹⁰For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
    after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
    and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
¹¹And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
    and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.
¹²For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
    and I will remember their sins no more.”

¹³In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Family Discussion Question:

How does the fulfillment of God’s New Covenant promises in Jesus move us to have confidence in Him? How can you respond to His faithfulness in acts worship today?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-August 5

August 5, 2020

Here the author picks up where he left off in 5:10, returning to his description of Jesus’ high priesthood. Through contrasting the high priesthood of Jesus to that which was outlined in the Mosaic Covenant, he demonstrates the superiority of Christ to the Levitical priesthood and all it represented!

Several times throughout the letter now, the author has quoted Psalm 110:4, stating that God appointed Christ as a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. If you don’t know who Melchizedek is, go read Genesis 14:18-20 for the only other mention of him in the entire Old Testament. The author of Hebrews here explains some things about Melchizedek and sets him up as a “type” of Christ, a forerunner of the type of high priest that Christ would one day be for us!

In contrasting the high priesthood of Jesus with that of the Old Covenant, the author points out several big differences: the Levitical priests were made so by descent, but Jesus has been made high priest by an unchangeable and eternal oath; the Levitical priests were mortal and died, but Jesus lives to make intercession for us forever; the Levitical priests were sinful and had to constantly make sacrifices for the people’s sin and for their own, but Jesus is holy and perfect and offered Himself once and for all for others!

Because of these things, we can rest assured that Jesus is greater than the priesthood of the Old Covenant; indeed, He is “the guarantor of a better covenant” (v.22), because where the Old Covenant Law was unable to make us perfect, Jesus is our better hope, allowing us to draw near to God and making us perfect in and through Himself!

“He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him” (v.25). Let’s celebrate His greatness and the comprehensive nature of His salvation today!

Hebrews 7

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ²and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. ³He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

⁴See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! ⁵And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. ⁶But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. ⁹One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek

¹¹Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? ¹²For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is witnessed of him,

“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹(for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

²⁰And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever.’”

²²This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

²³The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. ²⁵Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Family Discussion Question:

How does the high priesthood of Jesus on our behalf motivate us not only to obey Him, but to worship Him?