A comment on theology

Structure of Hebrews 9 and Surrounding Context

by Curtis Forrester

Previously we said that it was important that we understand the setting that Hebrews 9 finds itself in. “A text without a context is a pretext.”  We looked at the context from both a broader view and a narrower, immediate view. One gave us a picture of the book as a whole while the other attempted to highlight the immediate context to understand what the flow of the conversation was, such that when we got to chapter 9 we’d understand what the writer was saying, and why.

An important next step that we’ll take is to look at the structure of chapter 9 and the surrounding context. Most of us write in “chunks” that are organized into paragraphs. We transition from one theme to the next, and there is usually some indicator that we are either changing topics or are transitioning into a conclusion. Back to my infamous Greek professor, he also loved to quip, “You have to ask what the ‘therefore’ is there for.” Words like “but”, “for”, “so”, “and”, “however”, and “therefore” are connectors that give us an indication that thoughts are connected in a certain way. To the Greek writer these words were well known, and each had a degree of intensity. So, even to us, “but” announces that we are going to contrast, but “however” (pun intended) is a stronger transition statement.

The broad structure, then, of this passage is as follows. Chapter 8 is the preface of what is stated in chapter 9, and chapter 10 is a continuation of what was first started in chapter 7, expanded in chapter 8, and continued in chapter 9.

Chapter 8

Passage

Message

1-5

The earthly was simply a copy or shadow of the heavenly.

6

New covenant – summary:

·        Christ obtained a more excellent ministry

·        He is the mediator of a better covenant

·        The new covenant is made on better promises

7-13

First covenant not faultless; it is obsolete and ready to disappear. In comes the new. Description of the new covenant

Chapter 9

9:1-7

Description of the earthly (shadow). The writer describes it in order to make his point. (Not a history lesson.)

8-14

Each compartment is positioned as a metaphor for each age/covenant.

15-17

Christ’s last will and testament inaugurating the new covenant.

18-22

Inauguration of first covenant

23-28

Cleansing of the new covenant sanctuary

Chapter 10

1-4

Insufficiency of old covenant law

5-10

Establishment of second covenant

11-22

Primacy, beauty, and power of new covenant

If we were to paint this passage (spanning 3+ chapters) with the big brushes, it would look something like this. Yes, there was an covenant that God made with His people many years ago, and yes there was, and is a sanctuary, services, and priests that officiate. Yet, that covenant and those services are obsolete because they have been superceded by something much better. The laws, sanctuary, and priesthood were all only shadows on the wall. They were not the very form or reality, but rather were copies of something. They were insufficient to do us any good, because they were never intended to do us ultimate good. They were a parable (9:9) to teach us of something.

Christ, however, has ushered in a new covenant that is far superior to the older one that he makes obsolete. The reason that He and His new covenant are far better is because He, and it, is exactly what the original “shadow” was teaching about. All the laws and visual metaphors were lessons to teach us about spiritual realities that had not yet come. The blood of bulls and goats were never intended to cleanse us, but rather were intended to teach us. The law never made anyone perfect for the very reason that the law was intended to teach us of, to show our desperate need of, and to drive us toward our Savior. Perfection could never come by the Law because we were weak in the flesh (Rom 8:3). The great strength of the law was in teaching about the character of God and revealing our weakness.

While the old covenant was still standing the new was yet far off. But now that the new has entered, the old is obsolete. Now that the Reality has appeared, there is no need for the shadow.

As we will see in the next part as we dig into the content and details of chapter 9, the message there is incredible good news. When we also consider the theme and messages of Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians and of course the 4 Gospels, the message of Christ is a theme that continues to rise in glory, exalts Christ as our Champion and Savior, and thrills our souls. No longer are we trapped under a burden of guilt and condemnation (Col 2:13, 14). We who have labored so long have been set free by Christ, and the cross of Christ stands tall as the symbol of our redemption from sin and guilt. No longer can the Law excite our passions toward rebellion. In Christ all the glories of this age and the next are present realities. “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” (1 Cor 15:55, 56)

The old covenant did its job wonderfully. However, we, over time, misunderstood it and thought that it was efficacious and had merit in itself. So, the writer of Hebrews is adjusting our thinking – he is putting the old into its proper place, and showing how the new has superceded it and brought so much more.

When God joined our race and wrapped Himself with humanity, He walked among us. When He spoke His words packed the power of heaven and were soaked with love and compassion. All through the Gospels you find Jesus stopping abruptly, having been moved by compassion.  In that day the teachers ruled supreme and the ignorant masses, under the weight of spiritual oppression and a burden of guilt and feelings of worthlessness, lived from day to day wondering if there was something more to life than what they saw. Jesus, the Son of God, the Creator of the Universe – the One who invented the laws of physics, designed the molecule, architected the cell and all of its reproductive symmetry and majestic simplicity – This Supreme Being lived among the children of Abraham to whom He had spoken promises to so many years before.

These people had lost sight of the meaning of the parable, and had missed the metaphor. What was to teach of realities to come had become their reality. The Sabbath, a symbol of resting in the Creative Genius of our Divine Savior had become the horror of the calendar. Many years the children of Israel in the wilderness complained against God, and He sent fiery serpents that were killing them. (Num 21) As they cried out to God, the Lord said, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live.” (Num 21:8) Those who looked lived. The symbol taught a powerful lesson, and years later Jesus declared: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.” (John 3:14, 15) Jesus was the serpent who was lifted up. “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” and “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us.” (Gal. 3:13)

The simple truth of that ancient parable was lost in Israel – they, rather than learning the spiritual lesson, instead turned and worshipped the serpent on the pole – rather than understanding that God directed the symbol as a metaphor of His healing power, instead they began to feel that there was power in the symbol itself! (2 Kings 18:4) This is why Zechariah had that bronze serpent broken to pieces, and why verse 5 continues “He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel.” (2 Kings 18:5)

Jesus came into the midst of a people who were worshipping the symbols and their own power to use them to their own good. The only power that they had was whatever power of will they managed to assert – there was no power in the symbols themselves. The writer of Hebrews is emphatic on this point. The “old covenant” was never given any power. It only spoke of the power of Jesus Christ when he ushered in the new covenant that is grounded on better promises.

It is my earnest prayer today that we understand the message here in Hebrews 9 and abandon the symbols and fall before the throne of mercy; that we would turn from the earthly altar of pride and self-sufficiency and come before the thrown of grace where all the power of the resurrection is available to we who believe.