Dominus autem in templo sancto suo sileat a facie eius omnis terra!
וַֽיהוָ֖ה בְּהֵיכַ֣ל קָדְשֹׁ֑ו הַ֥ס מִפָּנָ֖יו כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ פ
The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
Draw near to meet the LORD
8 First he said, “You neither want nor are you pleased with sacrifices and offerings or with animals burned on the altar…
11 Day after day every priest stands and repeatedly offers the same sacrifices that can never take away sins.
The author of Hebrews brings the Law and well-known ritual of sacrifices of blood on the altar to compare the old and new covenants. He now asks us to approach the LORD in the sanctuary, the Holy Place.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10:31 KJV
He invites us into the Holy of Holies, a place of the presence of the LORD, a place where the priest offers blood sacrifices to cover our sin, a place so holy that only one high priest will enter humbly just once a year.
Boldness in the Blood of Jesus
Therefore, be bold, have confidence – fear not.
Come into the sanctuary, the Holy Place of the Lord. For before you, Christ Jesus has entered with the Perfect Sacrifice as our High Priest – He IS our Perfect Sacrifice by His own Blood.
We have climbed the holy mountain, entered the courts of the Temple with thanksgiving and sacrifice. And as the Lord’s chosen we have come to this place to worship the Lord. Our High Priest is no longer a sinful man, but Christ; and He invites us to enter the Temple.
Walk toward the altar of sacrifice, that holiest of places just past the curtain. (For in fact, by the crucifixion of Christ on the Cross the curtain is torn.)
Hebrews 10:19-39
So let us come near to God
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…
With sincere hearts sprinkled clean, our evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water, because our hearts have been sprinkled clean from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. By the Blood of Christ, hold firmly to our confession of faith.
Hold firmly, hold fast without wavering, since He who promised it is faithful.
To do a good deed
Here is our action and not our obligation or prescribed work for heaven.
Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good.
Hebrews 10:24 GNT
[CSB] 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other…
Others in the flock of faith, the congregation of believers, are important. Yet how can the saints encourage each other in Christ if they neglect time together?
A teacher of the Law asked the Messiah, Christ Jesus, “What is the greatest Commandment?” He responded, ‘love the LORD and love one another.’ Of course the faithful want to love the Lord God, yet the second (a golden rule) often challenges us.
The writer of Hebrews challenges Christians to incite each other to agape love AND good deeds. It is a personal love of others to do God’s good will. And he cautions of the Day when all will be judged.
Jesus had warned: “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.” – Matthew 24:12 NLT
Justified or Judged?
Even in the first century followers of The Way often detoured in their own way. The love of some in the beginning of these last days had already grown cold.
Sinners in Zion are terrified;
Trembling has seized the godless.
“Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning?”33:14 פָּחֲדוּ בְצִיֹּון חַטָּאִים אָחֲזָה רְעָדָה חֲנֵפִים מִי יָגוּר לָנוּ אֵשׁ אֹוכֵלָה מִי־יָגוּר לָנוּ מֹוקְדֵי עֹולָֽם׃
Isaiah 33:14
Warning against Deliberate Sin
Heb. 10:26 [NKJV] For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
HELL! even for one who has accepted Christ, but turns away.
[CSB] 28 Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy…29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Scriptural support
Once again the writer of Hebrews quotes familiar Old Testament scripture to support his teaching of a new and better covenant he introduced in chapter 8.
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
Deuteronomy
32:35 לִ֤י נָקָם֙ וְשִׁלֵּ֔ם לְעֵ֖ת תָּמ֣וּט רַגְלָ֑ם כִּ֤י קָרֹוב֙ יֹ֣ום אֵידָ֔ם וְחָ֖שׁ עֲתִדֹ֥ת לָֽמֹו׃
Habakkuk
2:4 הִנֵּה עֻפְּלָה לֹא־יָשְׁרָה נַפְשֹׁו בֹּו וְצַדִּיק בֶּאֱמוּנָתֹו יִחְיֶֽה׃
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. – KJV
Remember the early days
32 … you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.
35 So don’t lose your confidence, since it holds a great reward for you. 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will you can receive what he has promised.
37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay.. 38 My righteous people, however, will believe and live..
We are not people who turn back and are lost. Instead, we have faith and are saved.
Hebrews 10:39 GNT
To be continued...
