Category: Hebrews
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The Spirit of the Day
Meredith Kline, in Images of the Spirit, has a wonderful exposition of the post-fall encounter of Adam and Eve with God. They had eaten of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; their eyes were opened and they sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. The KJV (most other […]
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The Heart with the Treasure
It’s easy to see the law as harsh and oppressive. Martin Luther counted it as an enemy sided with the flesh and the devil, set against us to destroy us. It’s understandable. We are sinners. We have broken the law. We carry guilt with us. So, when we read things like, if you turn away […]
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From Nature to Culture
God established a pattern and rhythm for His creation from the very beginning. The earth began formless, empty, and dark but the heavens* served as a pattern after which man was to continue to shape and fill and light the earth. God established the rhythm of the day, of evening and morning, darkness and light […]
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Sit at My Right Hand
Yahweh says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” Psalm 110 starts with the Father calling the Son to sit on His throne until His enemies are made His footstool. This is of course a position of victory; His enemies are under His feet. But the footstool […]
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Meeting God
The book of Hebrews shows how the Old Covenant types and shadows are all fulfilled in Christ. The Old Covenant saints received the promises, but “did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” This “something better” that these saints […]
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The Gift of Testing
It is instructive to look at God’s call to Abraham to offer up Isaac in light of James. James says, “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Isaac, the son of the promise, was […]
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Blood Covering
Leviticus 4 lays out the ritual of the sin offering, which deals with “unintentional” transgressions – the sin of wandering or being led astray. This is not the high-handed sin of open rebellion and refusal to repent. In this offering, the primary element is the blood, which covers the sin of the people. It’s important […]
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Thine only son
God’s call to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac did not come in a vacuum. It is set within a greater context of all God’s prior dealings with Abraham. In chapter 12, “Yahweh said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I […]
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Into the fire
Leviticus 1 deals with the `olah or ascension offering, which is usually translated “burnt offering”. Different animals could be offered depending on who was bringing the offering. A ruler of the people, such as the king or high priest, would need to bring a bull, a male from the herd. Regular citizens would bring a […]
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Christus Victor
Joshua’s conquest of Canaan is a foreshadowing of the great commission, the call to the church to go out into the world and bring it into submission to the King. God gave Joshua the authority of Moses and told him – go in, take the land that I have promised to give you, be careful […]