A wonderful Promise

DEVOTION

HEBREWS

A WONDERFUL PROMISE

Heb 8:3-6

3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."   6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.

NIV

Once again, in this continuing theme of the old and the new we see how much better this knew is and that we are so far better off having it. It is hard to comprehend how any promise of God could be superior to other of his promises, but it does appear to be that way. Well actually the promises are better; it is the ministry of Jesus over the human priest which is superior. It still comes back to this same theme, that anything man builds or does is so puny compared to what Jesus builds and does. If man builds anything, he better make darn sure he has built it according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain. It does not matter if that is a business, career, profession, or even life itself man works on, or a ministry man is in, he better build it according to the pattern he was shown on the mountain. When we start building our life, or our career, or our ministry we really need to go up on the mountain first and meet with God to find out the pattern, the structure, the plans he has for how we are to build it. How futile it would be the think we have a better plan or pattern to use. Even in ministry man has devised this system of having to pay for an education from one of their schools of ministry in order for them to recognize the payee as a licensed member of their elite group. That is not the pattern God established on the mountain. He said that he would call those, established those who were to serve in his earthy sanctuary. He would declare who would serve, and in that case it was Aaron. God does not change and he still calls the shots as to who serves him. Man thinks he can build a better way, but they are wrong. If it is not according to the pattern God established it will fail. Yet all of this is still the old way, in some sense, for all we really need is the ministry of Jesus, the covenant he brought is so superior to anything in the past. The covenant of the past could not bring eternal life, because no man could satisfy the requirements, but the covenant, the promise Jesus brought does provide eternal life, because he did satisfy all the requirements. He is our high priest and we surely have a great and wonderful promise.