While we are studying about Jesus’ priestly ministry in the sanctuary this quarter, the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church, has asked me to do a seminar on the sanctuary, as a part of their Friday evening Zoom vespers service. Since anyone can join on Zoom, I thought why not invite all my friends from Sabbath School Net to  join us? The series continues every other Friday. A couple of weeks ago I did the preview, which was called “Bear Hugs and Kisses, A look at the atonement from the Father’s perspective.” Sorry I did not get invites sent out in time! However I want to invite you to join us this coming Friday as the series continues. Please check the schedule below, and I hope to get to meet you online. 

The Zoom ID is 936 190 2575. The passcode is 615408

Friday February 18, 7pm EST. The Sanctuary and the Plan of Salvation.

Friday March 4, 7pm EST. The Cleansing of the Sanctuary Part 1.

Friday March 18, 7pm EST.  The Cleansing of the Sanctuary Part 2.

I hope you can join us, and find fresh new Biblical revelations of the plan of salvation in the light of the sanctuary and the cross. 

Amen!(0)

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Key Thought: Jesus save us because of His perfect obedience, and through His death cancelled the penalty of death, and made possible the new covenant.
February 19, 2022

1. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 8:10-12.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What is the nature of the new covenant?
3. Personal Application: How do we look at the new covenant and our responsibility in being a part of it? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “I would never kill an animal and slit its throat. I wouldn’t do that. I’m glad I’m under the new covenant and don’t have to worry about killing an animal if I sin because the law and sacrifices have been done away with.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 8:1-6.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Why is Jesus a better mediator of the covenant?
3. Personal Application: How often is your prayers for Christ’s intercession for you and others? How important is it? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “If Jesus is our High Priest, what is the role of the priests’ in the church today that offer Christ’s blood and body to the members every week?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Hebrews 10:5-10.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What is the difference between Christ’s sacrifice for us and the Lord’s Supper?
3. Personal Application: What is the role of obedience in our lives and why is it so important? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “If Jesus’ sacrifice of His body was once for all, why is the Mass celebrated offering the body and blood of Christ every day?” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Jeremiah 31:33,34.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What does it mean that they won’t teach others to know the Lord? Does that mean we won’t have teachers and education in heaven?
3. Personal Application: If this covenant was for the house of Israel, why is it repeated twice in Hebrews in the New Testament? Is this covenant different from the covenant with the Gentile Christian believers? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(0)

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The titles of the thirteen Sabbaths of study this quarter give us two hymns to use as the themes:
Hymn 593 – In Times Like These and 
Hymn 177 – Jesus, Your Blood and Righteousness.

The better promises given to us in the Memory Text will have us 
Standing on the Promises – Hymn 518.

God is making a covenant with us in 
Hymn 347 – Built On the Rock (verse 4) and God’s covenant supports us in 
Hymn 522 – My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less (verse 3). Sunday continues on with Romans 10:4 encouraging us to believe – 
Hymn 511 – I Know Whom I Have Believed and 
Hymn 486 – I Do Believe

Renewed on Monday, we can ask God to help with this – 
Hymn 297 – God Be Merciful to Me all because God sent His Son in 
Hymn 526 – Because He Lives.

Jesus perfect sacrifice for us is shown in:
Hymn 157 – Go to Dark Gethsemane,
Hymn 179 – The Wonders of Redeeming Love, and
Hymn 635 – Lord of All Good.

The better promises of Wednesday are sung in 
Hymn 518 – Standing on the Promises due to our “faith in Jesus” as 
My Faith Looks Up to Thee – Hymn 517. “God gives us His Holy Spirit to empower us to fulfill His law”: 
Hymn 268 – Holy Spirit, Light Divine.

We see the great faithfulness God has toward us and He would have loved to have had from Israel: 
Hymn 100 – Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Their obedience is what God desired as “an expression of gratitude,”  just as we can give: 
Hymn 285 – Jesus Calls Us (verse 4) and 
Hymn 320 – Lord of Creation (verse 2).

It is with gratefulness that we may sing 
Hymn 79 – O Love of God, How Strong and True!

We are bound for The Promised Land! Hallelujah!! – 
Hymn 620 – On Jordan’s Stormy Banks. Come, Lord Jesus, come – very soon.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing, but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org and in the search bar type in a special word that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Amen!(0)

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Compare Hebrews 8:10-12 with Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Deuteronomy 30:11-14, and Jeremiah 31:31-34. What does this teach us about the nature of the new covenant?

Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com

The promise of a new covenant in Hebrews refers back to Jeremiah. According to Jeremiah, God’s promise of a new covenant was, in fact, a renewal of the covenant that He had first made with Israel through Moses (Jeremiah 31:31-34). It could be argued, then, that Jeremiah 31 was not strictly speaking of a “new” covenant but of a “renewal” of the original covenant with Israel. In fact, the Hebrew word for new, hadashah, can have both the sense of “renew” and “brand new.”

The issue with the old covenant was that the people broke it (Hebrews 8:8-9). The covenant was not faulty; the people were. If Israel had seen through the symbols to the coming Messiah and put their faith in Him, the covenant would not have been broken. Yet, to be fair, there were many believers throughout Israelite history in whom the purposes of the covenant were fulfilled and who had the law in their hearts (Psalm 37:31, Psalm 40:8, Psalm 119:11, Isaiah 51:7).

While the new covenant is a renewal of the old covenant, there is a sense in which it is, indeed, new. Jeremiah’s promise of a “new covenant” did not simply envision a renewal of the conditions that existed before the exile, which had been broken and renewed several times because the nation had lapsed several times into apostasy. And that’s because the people were simply unwilling to keep up their end of the covenant with God (Jeremiah 13:23).

Thus, God promised to do a “new thing” (Jeremiah 31:22). The covenant would not be like the covenant that God had made “with their fathers” (Jeremiah 31:32). Because of the unfaithfulness of the people, the promises that God made under the Mosaic covenant were never fulfilled. Now, in virtue of the guarantee given by the Son (Hebrews 7:22), God would fulfill the purposes of His covenant. God did not change His law or lower His standards; instead, He sent His Son as a guarantee of the covenant promises (Hebrews 7:22, Hebrews 6:18-20). This is why this covenant does not have curses. It has only blessings because Jesus fulfilled it perfectly, becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Read Hebrews 7:11-19. Why was a new covenant needed?

According to Hebrews, the fact that Jesus was appointed priest according to the order of Melchizedek implied that a new covenant had been inaugurated. The old covenant had been given on the basis of the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7:11, NASB). The Levitical priests acted as mediators between God and Israel, and the law excluded anyone else from the priesthood. The author concludes, then, that a change of priesthood implies a change of the law of the priesthood, as well as the change of the covenant (Hebrews 7:12, Hebrews 7:18-19).

Image © Justinen Creative Collection at Goodsalt.com

The issue with the old covenant was that it could not provide perfection (Hebrews 7:11). Paul is talking about the Levitical priesthood and its ministry (sacrifices, feasts, etc.). The animal sacrifices offered through them could not provide true, total cleansing from sin, nor access to God (Hebrews 10:1-4; Hebrews 9:13-14; Hebrews 10:19-23).

The fact that a new covenant was necessary does not mean that God was unfair with Israel when He gave them the old covenant. The Levitical ministry and the services of the tabernacle were designed to protect them from idolatry and also to point them to Jesus’ future ministry. Hebrews stresses that the sacrifices were “a shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1, NKJV).

By pointing them to Jesus, the sacrifices should have helped the people put their hope and faith in “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, NKJV; compare with Isaiah 53:1-12). This is the same point that Paul makes when he says that the law was “our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24, NASB) or that “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4, NIV).

In other words, even the Ten Commandments, as good and perfect as they are, cannot provide salvation (Romans 3:20-28, Romans 7:12-14). They provide a perfect standard of righteousness, but they do not provide righteousness, any more than looking in a mirror can erase the wrinkles of age. For perfect righteousness, we need Jesus as our Substitute.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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