Hebrews
Priority
Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony
Subject: Conversations, Panels, and Sermons
Lesson: 16-33
Genre: Lecture
Track: 16
Dictation Name: RR198H16
Location/Venue:
Year:
Let us worship God. Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. Let us pray.
Oh Lord our God we thank Thee that our times are in Thy hands who doest all things well. We thank Thee our father that Thou art on the throne, that there is nothing impossible with Thee. Teach us to look not upon the effects upon us, but upon the good for Thy kingdom in all the things that occur to us, and in all the events of our times. We thank Thee that judgement is in Thy hands and not in the hands of men. We rejoice our Father that Thy word is true, thy purpose is altogether righteous and holy, and that Thy will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our God we thank Thee in Christ’s name, amen.
Our scripture is Hebrews 8:1-5. Our subject: Priority.
“ 1Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
3For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
4For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
5Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.”
Now, a logical question must have occurred to the Hebrews who read this letter. Jesus was one of the line of David, and this was His ostensible fathers ancestry, Josephs. Of course he was of the line of David also according to His mother. Because Joseph received Jesus as his son, Jesus had legal title to Josephs prerogatives. He was thus the son of David, the heir to the throne. But what about his priestly heritage? Would it not have been possible for God somehow to make Jesus a legal heir of Aaron? He would then be an acceptable candidate for the office of High Priest.
This could have been done very easily by one or two marriages. God could’ve done this but He did not do it. Why not? In verse 1 we are told that the sum of the things thus far said tell us that we have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. He sits there as king and priest.
Neither Judea or Israel was a Hebrew kingdom in our Lords day. It was ruled in Galilee by an Edomite or Edomean, who was king. The family of Herod. But there was a Hebrew High Priest, and although he was controlled by Rome he was still of the line of Aaron. As king Jesus Christ owed loyalty only to God, and as High Priest He was Gods appointed High Priest, not Judea’s nor Rome’s. Thus both as priest and king, his loyalty was to God alone.
Moreover, as Gods High Priest, He was verse two tells us, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. Jesus Christ is the minister of Gods sanctuary or holy places, of the true tabernacle, not the one built in Moses day, but the heavenly one built by God, which is eternal and in the heavens. This true sanctuary is in some sense the model for the one built under the direction of Moses.
Now we don’t know what that heavenly sanctuary is like, because the model is not a literal reproduction, but a reproduction in terms understandable to men, of the meaning of what is in heaven. The implication is a clear one, the tabernacle and temples built by men are inferior to and also very much subordinate to the heavenly sanctuary. Why should Gods eternal High Priest be at all under the authority and jurisdiction of the Levitical priesthood? The priesthood of Aaron was circumscribed, and it always was under the controls of men. But not so the priesthood of Melchisidec. Verse 3 tells us: “For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.”
It was required of the High Priest that he offer gifts and sacrifices to God. In this he represented the people and made peace with God on their behalf. This meant that he had to have something to offer. Christ as High Priest must have gifts and sacrifices to offer, and a place to offer them namely the heavenly sanctuary. This we are told is a matter of necessity. Since Christ’s sacrifice is the necessary one, and all the Levitical sacrifices are simply types of His atoning sacrifice, the absolute necessity of his offering is stressed. It transcends the typical offerings of the temple, and it is therefore separated from the Jerusalem temple and the priesthood of Aaron.
We cannot limit Gods efficacious activity then to the temple any more than we can limit Gods activity now to the church. We miss the point of Hebrews if we fail to see the Hebrew believers wanted to confine God to Levitical channels, even as the church since has often tried to limit God to the church. But God can neither be controlled nor limited. In verse 4 we are told: “For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest seeing as there are priests that offer gifts according to the law.” Not being a Levite, Jesus could not be a Levitical Priest. The Levitical Priests offered gifts to God according to the Law we are told, the Law of Sacrifices. Christ’s Sacrifice of himself as the lamb of God would not have been legal.
Because He was Gods High Priest, according to another order, Jesus Christ was not limited to Levitical functions. Moreover His Priestly function was beyond the man made sanctuaries, nature, and function. We have an actual frame of reference, and it was therefore a sacrifice in terms of the heavenly sanctuary. The Levitical Priesthood is simply a stand in for the heavenly one. These Aaronic priests serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. As Moses was admonished of God, when he was about to make the tabernacle, for see, said he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. So speaks verse 5.
The Tabernacle which God ordered built was after a pattern given by God at Sinai, so that the tabernacle did not reproduce something literally from heaven, but it reproduced the meaning of that which was in heaven, and that meaning focused on the atonement. The construction had to be strictly in terms of the God driven purpose, which meant that the earthly sanctuary is a pale reflection of the heavenly one. So the obvious conclusion is, the heavenly sanctuary is far, far superior.
Then logically, it follows that the High Priest of that heavenly sanctuary is far, far superior to any of the Roman puppet high Priests residing in Jerusalem, and certainly they were disgraceful puppets. You remember our Lord, drove out the money changers and those who were selling sacrifices. He did it because the High Priest had said, instead of bringing your sacrifices, you must buy them. So they had a monopoly on the sales. And instead of bringing your coins which have the image and circumscription of Caesar on them, you must exchange them when you enter the temple area for temple coins. Well of course in the exchange they made a profit, in selling the sacrifice or sacrificial animals they made a profit. So that in one year, a high Priest could retire a multi millionaire. That’s why Rome put a limit on their term, according to the Old Testament they were High Priest for life, but with this racket they were so powerful that they were wealthier than Rome, or the Roman administration in that area. So they were limited to one year.
Well, they were Roman puppets, but extremely wealthy ones. The eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ, is verse one tells us, set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. He is God the Son. God incarnate, our actual High Priest. And so Hebrews asks the Jewish readers: “And you prefer the sorry High Priests in Jerusalem? You know what they are! And you prefer them as your high priest because they are legal? Rather than Gods high priest?”
But of course men do. They prefer rascals to honest men, because as sinners they understand them better. Too often corrupt pastors are preferred to godly ones because they are less threatening.
In Exodus 25:40, Moses is commanded strictly to build the tabernacle after the pattern revealed to him on Mount Sinai. This clearly meant that priority belongs to the heavenly sanctuary and to God who gave the word. But the essence of original sin is that men seek to be their own God, their own source of law, of morality, of determination. This sin crops up in all men’s activities, including those in church and state. Man seeks to give priority in determination to himself, and to this world over God and His word.
So, whether the issue is the High Priesthood or the authority of church rules and regulations, men want no revealed pattern. They don’t want Gods word to take priority over mans word and mans patterns. It has become routine in church trials to refuse any appeal or hearing on the justice of the appeal. The only question allowed is procedural, were the proper legal forms followed in the judgement. Of course this is what happens in any civil trial, on appeal guilt or innocence has nothing to do with it. Were the proper procedures formed? Was the trial transcript accurate? What this tells us, in both Church and state is simply this: justice is no longer legal.
The procedural rules constitute legality on appeals in church and state. This is our situation today, and it tells us how far we have strayed. Well, Hebrews is an appeal against all this. “Is this what you want? You know what the High Priest is.” It never goes into the matter of corrupt High Priests, everybody knew it. So they are the legal High Priest, but are they truly men of God? Is their concern the word of God? Or is it their own rules and regulations. Let us pray.
Our Father, we give thanks unto Thee for this Thy word. Thou knowest better than we do how far gone we are, in the same kind of sin that marked Old Jerusalem before its destruction. We have sold justice, to retain our proper forms. Lord God of hosts have mercy upon us, cleanse Thou both Church and State, and make of us again a righteous people. This we ask in Christ’s name, amen.
Are there any questions now about our lesson?
When we began Hebrews I pointed out that it’s the least popular book of the New Testament. I think you can begin to see why it is not popular, and why so much of the teaching and writing about Hebrews simply follows a pietistic mold and never confronts the basic issues. But Hebrews was like a Nuclear weapon used against the old temple and priesthood. It applies to the church whenever the church begins to exalt itself and say: “You either do these things or you’re not church” Or, “You follow our forms.” And this is what the churches have been doing. So, Hebrews has become neglected, especially because it is so relevant to our problems today.
The latter half of this chapter, or the rest of this 8th chapter of Hebrews carries this argument forward in a devastating way as we shall see next week. And then Hebrews proceeds to get in to some of the very, very important matters about sacrifice, and then about Christian conduct. About faith. What faith involves, and the requirements of faith as set by the saints of old.
Well, if there are no further, or no comments or questions, let us conclude with prayer.
Our Father, Thy word is truth, and Thy word is a joy unto us because it brings us closer to Thee, and makes us more powerful as we confront the evils of this world. For by Thy word and by Thy spirit Thou hast made us strong. Make us effectual in every day of battle, in every controversy, and ever faithful that through Jesus Christ we may be more than conquerors.
And now go in peace, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, bless you and keep you, guide and protect you, this day and always, Amen.