The Faith of Jacob
11: 21

The faith of Jacob DIG: Does it surprise you that Jacob is in the Hall of Faith? Why? Why not? How would you characterize Jacob’s faith throughout his lifetime? What were Jacob’s failures? Then why is Jacob in the Hall of Faith? How do we know that the blessings Jacob gave to his two adopted sons is an example of faith concerning future things?

REFLECT: Do you know anyone who is a righteous person that others think badly of? Who are some contemporary “heroes of faith” that encourage you today? What does it mean to you to have your sins forgotten as far as the east is from the west? What kind of blessings have you given to your children? How will you be remembered?

The Bible says that those who are righteous will live their lives by faith (Hebrews 10:38 CJB quoting Habakkuk 2:4 CJB). Therefore, many people don’t understand why Jacob would be included in the Hall of Faith. After all, wasn’t he a liar, a deceiver? Didn’t he steal the birthright from his brother Esau? Well . . . Jacob certainly wasn’t perfect, but in contrast to his brother, Jacob was a righteous man (Genesis 25:27). The NIV says Jacob was a quiet man, and the NKJ says he was a mild man. But the Hebrew word tam is always translated elsewhere as righteous, perfect, or upright, whole, complete, blameless or without blemish. For example, when speaking of Noah, the Bible says: Noah was a righteous (tam) man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God (Genesis 6:9). ADONAI puts Jacob in the same company as Noah. And again, when the LORD was speaking to Satan He said: Have you considered my servant Job. There is no one like him; he is blameless and upright (tam), a man who fears God and shuns evil (Job 1:8). Again, ADONAI puts Jacob in the same company as Job. It does not mean sinless perfection, but it has the sense of righteousness, or a man whose heart is right towards God. As a result, the word tam is never translated quiet or mild anywhere else in the TaNaKh. Then why is it translated quiet or mild in most Bible translations? Not because it doesn’t make sense in the context, but because it does not fit people’s preconceived notions about Jacob. Here is the beginning of this trend that the way Jacob is portrayed by Scripture (tam) is the opposite of the way he has been portrayed by many pastors, commentators and even some Bible translators. This is a very dangerous proposition (Revelation 22:18-19).

Therefore, because Jacob was a righteous man, he stayed among the tents of his father (Genesis 25:27). Regrettably, Jacob is often portrayed as a mama’s boy, but this is not what it means at all. Jacob chose the same occupation as his father, that of a shepherd and shepherds lived in tents. This was true of Abraham and it was true of his father Isaac. Being a shepherd was not the job of a sissy. The Bible tells us how much suffering Jacob had to endure as a result of being a shepherd. David would be a shepherd, and it was no easy task, protecting his flock from both the lion and the bear (First Samuel 17:34-37). Jacob chose to be a shepherd, and work within the family unit and within the covenant, in contrast to being a hunter and a man of the world like his brother Esau. Unfortunately, the parents mirrored the conflict between the twin boys.

Two unwise parents only added fuel to the fire of any potential problems that Esau and Jacob might have had with each other. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau. Literally, the Hebrew reads that Isaac had game in his mouth. Because Isaac had a preference for wild game, he had a preference for Esau. Not exactly a spiritual outlook, but then again Abraham wasn’t sinless and neither was his son. With the understanding that Rebekah told her husband the prophecy of the LORD when she was pregnant, Isaac basically ignored the choice of God. At some point it seems as though Rebekah had also told Jacob of his destiny. ADONAI said: Yet I have loved, or chosen, Jacob, but Esau I have hated, or not chosen (Malachi 1:2b-3a). She initially favored Jacob because she wanted to follow the LORD’s will. And because she believed ADONAI, she knew that Jacob was the son of promise and not Esau. As a result, she and Jacob became kindred spirits, and Rebekah loved Jacob because God loved Jacob (Genesis 25:28).

The passing over of the firstborn is one of the most striking features of Genesis. Five times this happened: (1) with Seth being chosen over Cain, (2) Shem being chosen over Japheth, (3) Abraham being chosen over Haran, (4) Isaac being chosen over Ishmael, (5) Jacob being chosen over Esau, (6) Joseph being chosen over Reuben, and now (7) Ephraim over Manasseh. Jacob gave the birthright to Joseph by changing the status of Ephraim and Manasseh from grandsons to sons.³²³ In this way, Joseph inherited a double portion of the inheritance because his sons would then be included as equals among the brothers.

As previously stated, Jacob was far from perfect, and was sometimes a neglectful father (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Ib – The Rape of Dinah). But in the final analysis, Jacob’s sins where forgotten by ADONAI just like Abraham and Isaacs’ sins. As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our sins from us (Psalm 103:12 GNT). This is a very comforting Scripture for the believers of all ages. It doesn’t mean that we are perfect, or make mistakes, but in the final analysis we are declared righteous by the Creator.

So by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on top of his staff (quoting Genesis 47:31). As he was dying in Egypt (see the commentary on Genesis Kz – Then Isra’el said to Joseph: I am About to Die, but God Will Be With You), Jacob blessed his son Joseph through his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh (see the commentary on Genesis Kx – Jacob Adopted Joseph’s Two Sons Ephraim and Manasseh). After receiving the oath from Joseph that he would be carried out of Egypt and buried with Abraham and Isaac, Jacob continued to be bedridden with a lot of time on his hands. Alone on his bed, he must have frequently reminisced, recalling the amazing events of his long walk with the LORD. One day, when Joseph came to visit him with his two Egyptian sons, God inspired Jacob to prophesy over them. This resulted in Jacob adopting Ephraim and Manasseh and elevating them to the status of full Israelite tribes along with Joseph’s other brothers. Therefore, there were fourteen tribes of Isra’el, although no more than twelve are listed at any one time in the Bible. As we shall see, the Ruach ha-Kodesh has a specific reason for choosing some and omitting others, but many times Ephraim and Manasseh are included in the place of Joseph.

Then Isra’el (Jacob’s new name, see the commentary on Genesis Hw – Jacob Wrestles with God) said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you, and take you back to the Land of your fathers. And to you I give one more portion of land in Canaan than to your brothers” (Genesis 48:21-22a). Jacob believed that God was able to keep His promises, and he did not hesitate to give prophetic blessings to Ephraim and Manasseh. He worshiped as he leaned on top of his staff showing the weakness of his age. But he knew as he worshiped that in these blessing he was speaking the Word of God. As it was with Isaac, so it is with Jacob.³²⁴

This picture of Jacob worshiping (Greek: proskuneo, meaning to kiss the face) ADONAI as he leaned on top of his staff near the end of his life presents a beautiful picture of faith. It was fitting for Jacob to make this request in this way, for the staff was a sign of Jacob’s pilgrimage. It was characteristic for one who lived his life as a stranger and an alien. We see why the writer of Hebrews chose this passage to summarize Jacob’s life as a pilgrim believer who in the face of death, lays claim to the future through the exercise of faith.³²⁵

The Faith of Isaac
11: 20

The faith of Isaac DIG: Name the three basic features of the Abrahamic Covenant. Why do you think that although Isaac lived longer than either Abraham, Jacob, or Joseph, the book of Genesis devotes less space to his life than to theirs? What were Isaac’s failures? Why did God bless him anyway? Why did Isaac want to bless Esau even though he knew God told Rebekah that the older will serve the younger? As a result, how did Isaac put Jacob and Rebekah in a horrible position? How can we understand the situation that Isaac put them in? Describe how God brought about His plan despite the scheming of Isaac, Rebekah and Jacob? How did God finally get Isaac into the Promised Land?

REFLECT: God’s sovereignty was shown in His choice of Jacob over Esau. God is no less sovereign over the circumstances of your life. Spend some time this week thinking back over the events of your life. Praise God for the times He helped you through a difficult experience or blessed you. Than thank Him for all the difficult things He allowed you to go through, remembering that all trails in the life of a believer are for a purpose (James 1:2-4). Events that seem good to us (and those we don’t like), both fall under God’s sovereignty. Finally, thank God for His sovereignly choosing you to be saved, before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).³¹⁹

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. And those who are righteous will live their lives by faith (Hebrews 10:38 CJB quoting Habakkuk 2:4 CJB). Just as his father had done to him, Isaac passed on the blessings of ADONAI’s promise to his sons by faith. He was absolutely certain that those blessings would be realized. For the time being, the promises of God were the inheritance, which the patriarchs cherished as much as most people cherish material possessions, fame and power.

Isaac showed great faith by allowing Abraham to tie him up and place him on the wood as a burnt offering. He knew exactly what was going on, and could have easily resisted his father who was much older than he. But, by faith, he did not, as as a result, became a type of Messiah (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Fm – Take Your Only Son Isaac and Sacrifice Him as a Burnt Offering).

However,  it is interesting that Isaac lived longer than any of the other patriarchs, less space in Genesis and Hebrews is devoted to him than to the others. Whereas Abraham, Jacob and Joseph each have about twelve chapters in Genesis that center on them, Isaac has just over two and-a-half – Chapters 26 and 27 and about half of Chapter 25. Isaac was easily the least spectacular and the most ordinary of the four. He was less dynamic and colorful, being generally quiet and passive. And, overall, he seems to have had the weakest faith. But just like his father, Abraham, when Isaac blessed his sons in regard to their future in faith, it was credited to him as righteousness.

Nevertheless, we know more about his failures than we do about his successes. Because of a famine, God spoke to him in a remarkable and encouraging vision. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed (Genesis 26:3-4). In other words, the covenant promises to Abraham were passed on to Isaac directly by God. Those promises along should have kept Isaac from worry and fear, for ADONAI could not have fulfilled them if Isaac were not protected. Not only that, but YHVH specifically told him, “I will be with you and will bless you.”

Yet at the first sign of possible danger, Isaac proved faithless. When the men of Gerar became interested in Rebekah because of her beauty, Isaac said she was his sister instead of his wife, for fear that one of those Philistines might kill him in order to have her. In that, of course, he was merely following in his father’s footsteps, because Abraham had twice lied in the say way about Sarah (Genesis 12:13 and 20:2). Rebekah was beautiful and the Philistines were not above doing what Isaac feared. But rather than trusting ADONAI for protection, he lied. Not only that, but he seems to have been more concerned for himself than for Rebekah.

YHVH disclosed to Abimelech (a term like king or pharaoh) Rebekah’s true relationship to Isaac, and then he put them both under a protective order. Abimelech, a pagan Philistine, was more concerned about the ethics of the matter than was Isaac, a chosen man of God. He rebuked Isaac sharply, saying: What is this you have done to us? One of men might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us. ADONAI’s grace prevailed, though it was through an unbeliever, with no help from Isaac (see the commentary on Genesis Gp – Abimelech, King of the Philistines, Saw Isaac Caressing His Wife Rebekah).

But the LORD continued to bless Isaac, who became wealthy. The envy of the Philistines caused them to keep filling up his wells until he finally moved out of their land, which seems to have been what God wanted all along. At that point Isaac acknowledged Ha’Shem’s hand in the matter: Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the Land (See the commentary on Genesis Gq – Isaac Reopened the Wells of His Father Abraham). YHVH was gently, but firmly, leading Isaac back to Beersheba (see the commentary on Genesis Gr – Isaac Went Up to Beersheba. That Night the LORD Appeared to Him) and God repeated the covenant promises. By His sovereign will, God brought the prodigal home.³²⁰

Isaac was basically materialistic. He lived mostly by sight and taste. He was partial to Esau, who had always been his favorite son, while Jacob had been the favorite of Rebekah. Esau was a mighty hunter who would go out and bring home venison and cook it just the way Isaac liked it. Even when Isaac was old and about to die, he asked Esau to go out and kill some game and prepare a savory dish for him before pronouncing the patriarchal blessing on him. But Isaac was disobedient to wishes of the LORD, for ADONAI had told Rebekah that Jacob was to receive the blessing rather than Esau, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be strong than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). Isaac had to know about this, and he put both Rebekah and Jacob in a terrible position because of his disobedience.

It seems that the only way to understand their situation is to conclude that even though the way in which Jacob and Rebekah went about obtaining the blessing from Isaac was wrong, the sin of Isaac and Esau was greater. The LORD does not approve of lying; Jacob and Rebekah knew this. They were sensitive and spiritual people, but they had decided that, as bad as deception might be in the sight of ADONAI, it had become necessary in this case in order to prevent a greater sin, that of conveying the most holy of God’s promises to a man who neither wanted it nor would honor it. This was as much of a lapse of faith as when Abraham went to Egypt in Chapter 12, and when Sarah suggested that they have a child through her handmaiden Hagar in Chapter 16. Rebekah had already received the revelation from the LORD that the older would serve the younger. Here, then, Rebekah needed to trust that in ADONAI’s timing Jacob would receive the patriarchal blessing. But because of a lack of faith she felt that she needed to take matters into her own hands because it seemed that nothing could stop Isaac. Esau could have come back at any moment! We can only imagine how hopeless they felt. This was a desperate situation, but it wasn’t the first time that someone had lied to preserve God’s people.

The Hebrew midwives deliberately disobeyed Pharaoh and lied to him. Why? Because they feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do (Exodus 1:15-16 and 22). To do otherwise would have resulted in the deaths of countless Hebrew boys. Did the LORD punish these midwives for lying? No, Elohim was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own (Exodus 1:20-21).

Another example of ADONAI’s blessing on a lie was in the life of Rahab. She and her family and all that belonged to her were saved because she hid two Israelite spies and lied about it to the king of Jericho (Joshua 2:4-7 and 6:25). There are a number of other instances in the Bible in which godly men, in order to accomplish the will of God and to glorify Him, had to break another of His commandments. These are rare exceptions and can only be justified in very special and unusual circumstances as we have here with Isaac and the patriarchal blessing. Furthermore, the people in these examples never gain any financial advantage for themselves. In fact, Rahab and the Hebrew midwives risked their lives because of the lies they told.

Similarly, Jacob and Rebekah, in order to do what they thought was necessary to accomplish God’s will, were willing to risk the wrath and hatred of their own loved ones, and Jacob even to risk his life at the hands of his angry brother. Their action hardly had any financial advantage. Because Jacob was righteous (see Cr – The Faith of Jacob), he only cared about the spiritual ramifications of the blessing.³²¹

It wasn’t until Isaac had already blessed Jacob and knew the blessing couldn’t be reversed, did he began to show faith. If Jonah was the reluctant prophet, then Isaac was the reluctant patriarch. Only when he realized that the blessing was going to be on ADONAI’s man regardless, did he give in. Isaac finally, begrudgingly, said yes to God. The LORD had to box him into a corner before he believed; but believe he did, and when facing death, he blessed Jacob in faith knowing that the promises would be fulfilled.³²²

The Faith of Abraham
11: 8-19

The faith of Abraham DIG: What makes Abraham a good model of the life of faith? Was Abraham raised in a godly environment? What does salvation demand? Define worldliness. How is faith demonstrated in the three examples from Abraham’s life? What obstacles had to be overcome? What changed for him? What changed for his family? In what four ways did Abraham fail miserably in his life? Why don’t we read about those failures here in the Hall of Faith? In what way was Abraham’s patience seen in his life? What motivated Abraham to be patient in his faith?

REFLECT: If ADONAI has forgotten Abraham’s sins as far as the east is from the west, what does that mean for you and your sins? Just as Abraham was a foreigner and a stranger in the Promised Land, so believers are strangers in this world. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and our earthly existence is only temporary. Do your priorities reflect that fact, or are you in danger of being so earthly minded that you’re no heavenly good? Are your goals in life different from those of your worldly friends, or are you pursuing the same things they are? Meditate on Matthew 6:33 this week, and ask God if your priorities match up with His program: Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.³¹¹

The B’rit Chadashah makes it clear that Abraham was the first true man of faith. Since his time, everyone who trusts God, Jew or Gentile, is spiritually a child of Abraham. Therefore, be sure that it is those of faith who are sons and daughters of Abraham (Galatians 3:7 and 29). Those who trusted God before the Flood – such as Abel, Enoch and Noah – were only partial examples of faith. Abraham was the first established man of faith, and he is the pattern, the prototype, of faith for people of all ages. But those who are righteous will live their lives by faith (Hebrews 10:38 CJB quoting Habakkuk 2:4 CJB).³¹²

But Abraham failed miserably and demonstrated a lack of faith four times in his life. First, he stayed in Haran when he should have gone to the Promised Land (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Dq – Terah Became the Father of Abram, Nahor and Haran). Second, Abram left the land of Canaan and went down to Egypt (see the commentary on Genesis Dv – Now There Was a Famine in the Land, and Abram Went Down to Egypt to Live). Third, he listened to his wife instead of waiting on the Lord, which resulted in the birth of Ishmael and untold problems (see the commentary on Genesis Ei – Sarai Took Hagar and Gave Her to Abram to be His Wife). Fourth, his lapse of faith continued as he refused to trust God for his and his wife’s safety when he lied to Abimelech for the second time (see the commentary on Genesis Fd – Abraham Said of His Wife: She is My Sister). So why am I talking about all his failures in the Hall of Faith? I am glad you asked.

When Abram looked up to the heavens and believed that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, it was credited to him as righteousness (see the commentary on Genesis Ef – Abram Believed the LORD and He Credited It to Him as Righteousness). At that time his relationship to YHVH changed immediately. And when we accept Yeshua Messiah as our Lord and Savior our relationship also changes (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith).

Once saved, when God looks at us, He doesn’t see or sin; He sees His Son who lives inside of us (Ephesians 1:3, 7, 11-12). As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our sins from us (Psalm 103:12 GNT). How far is the east from the west? It can’t be measured. Therefore, even though Abraham failed miserably at four critical times in his life, when we get to the Hall of Faith, the Holy Spirit doesn’t even mention them! The same is true for you and I. Praise Adonai, for He is good, for His lovingkindness (see the commentary on Ruth Af – The Concept of Chesed) endures forever (Psalm 136:1-26 TLV). Thus, lets take a look a the three reasons why Abraham is listed among the faithful.

First, by faith Abraham, when was being called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going (Hebrews 11:8 quoting Genesis 12:1). In other words, as soon as he understood what God was saying, he started packing. It was instant obedience. It may have taken several days or weeks to make final preparation for the trip, but in his mind he was already on the way. He separated himself from the worldliness of Ur, the wanting to do things that were sinful, wanting the praise of others, and desire to live like the rest of the world.

Abraham was a sinful heathen who grew up in an unbelieving and idolatrous society. We do not know exactly how or when Ha’Shem first made Himself known to Abraham, but he was raised in a home that worshiped other gods (Joshua 24:2). His native city of Ur was in Chaldea, in the general region called Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It was a fertile land and was culturally advanced. It was near where the garden of Eden was located (Genesis 2:14) and was some 140 miles from where Babylon would one day be built.³¹³ When he left Ur, and later Haran, he didn’t know where he was going. He only knew that God was telling him to go. In the account in Genesis 12:1-3, ADONAI simply told Abraham to go to a land that He would show him. Abraham was to keep on walking until YHVH told him to stop. Therefore, Abraham shows the pilgrimage of faith.³¹⁴

By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. The three, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are mentioned because they cover the entire period of the sojourn in Canaan. The secret of Abraham’s patience was his hope in the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise. For the rest of his life, from the time he entered the Promised Land until he died, he lived in tents. All of his life Abraham walked up and down the Land that YHVH had promised him, yet he never owned more than a small plot in which to bury Sarah (Genesis 23:9-20). The land of Canaan was promised, but which was never given. His ultimate Promised Land was heaven, just as ours is. He was patient because his eyes were on the City with foundations, whose architect and builder is God (11:9-10). As important as the earthly land was to him and to God’s promise, he looked up toward the heavenly land, which he knew he would inherit without fail (see the commentary on Revelation Fu – The New Jerusalem had a Great, High Wall with Twelve Gates).³¹⁵

Second, by faith Abraham, in association with Sarah, who was past childbearing age, received power to bare children (Greek: eis katabolen spermatos, meaning literally to lay down seed, the depositing of sperm) because she considered Him faithful who had made the promise (11:11). A woman, however, does not lay down seed that produce conception. This phrase, therefore, must refer to Abraham, making him the subject of the sentence. The Ruach ELOHIM is referring to Abraham’s faith. It was Abraham’s faith that gave Sarah the ability to conceive, and in that sense, she became one with Abraham in faith.

Then verse 12 gives us the result. Therefore, from this one man, Abraham, who was as good as dead, meaning that he himself had become sterile, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore (Hebrews 11:12 quoting Genesis 15:5-6, 22:17, 32:12; Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10 and 10:22). Abraham had become not only the father of the Jewish nation, but also all the Jewish and Gentile believers to ever be born. His descendants are truly as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.³¹⁶

In God’s eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success, and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity. All these people (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth (Hebrews 11:13 quoting First Chronicles 29:15). Far from being a lament, however, this is a positive declaration that these men died in the assurance that their promises would be fulfilled. They did not see the fulfillment of these promises but they had the faith to greet them from a distance. They knew if they died and the promises were not fulfilled, they would be fulfilled in another lifetime. The Patriarchs were willing to live out their present lives as strangers on the earth, and as such, they were without the right of citizenship, and as foreigners, they had no possessions. Your time on earth is not the complete story of your life. You must wait until heaven for the rest of the chapters. It takes faith to live on earth as a foreigner.

An old story is often repeated of a retiring missionary coming home to America on the same boat as the president of the United States. Cheering crowds, a military band, a red carpet, banners, and the media welcomed the president home, but the missionary slipped off the ship unnoticed. Feeling self-pity and resentment, he began complaining to God. Then the LORD gently reminded him, “But my child, you’re not home yet.” You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, “”Why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary. What was I thinking? Why did I waste so much time, energy, and concern on what wasn’t going to last?”

When life gets tough, when you’re overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet. At death you won’t leave home . . . you’ll be going home.³¹⁷

People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a City for them (11:14-16). These men of faith did not know what to expect. ADONAI had given them no inside information, no word as to when or how the promises would be fulfilled. He only gave them promises, and that was enough. They had a sampling of the Promised Land. They walked on it, and pastured their flocks on it, and raised their children on it, but were not impatient to possess it. It was enough to possess it from a distance, because their primary concern was for a better country – a heavenly one.³¹⁸

Third, by faith Abraham, when God tested (Greek: peirazo) him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. The construction in the Greek makes it clear that while the testing of Abraham was still in progress, he had passed the test by the act of his obedient will through faith in God. The proof of Abraham’s faith was his willingness to give back to God everything he had, including Isaac, the son of promise, whom he had miraculously received as a direct result of his faith. He knew, therefore, that Ha’Shem would do whatever was necessary, including raising Isaac from the dead, to keep His Covenant. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son (11:17), even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned” (Hebrews 11:18 quoting Genesis 21:12). Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from the dead (11:19).

The story of the Akedat-Yitzchak, the “Binding of Isaac” (see the commentary on Genesis Fl – Abraham Tested), is read in the synagogue as part of the liturgy for the second week of Rosh-Hashanah (some versions of the Siddur also include it in the first part of the daily morning prayers); and its musaf service contains this prayer.

“Remember unto us, Adonai our God, the covenant, the lovingkindness and the oath which You swore to Avraham our father on Mount Moriah. May the binding (‘akedah) with which Avraham our father bound his son Yitzchak on the altar appear before you, how he overcame his compassion in order to do Your will with a perfect heart.”

It is highly appropriate that the ‘akedah should be remembered at this season, when Jewish people are concerned with sin and its punishment, death, as symbolized by sacrifices (see, for example, the Un’tanneh Tokef prayer). Indeed the great Rabbi Rashi comments on Genesis 22:14 (“on this day”): YHVH will see this ‘akedah to forgive Isra’el every year and rescue them from trouble; so that it will be said, “On this day,” in all coming generations, “on the mountain of ADONAI is seen” the ashes of Yitzchak heaped up and serving for atonement.

Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from the dead (11:19). This verse explains that the events of the ‘akedah prefigure the atoning death of Yeshua Messiah. The ‘akedah is referred to again in the B’rit Chadashah: The Jews then responded to Yeshua, “What sign can you show us to prove Your authority to do all this (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Iv – Jesus Entered the Temple Area and Drove Out All Who Were Buying and Selling)? Jesus answered them: Destroy this Temple, and I will rise it up again in three days. They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and You are going to raise it in three days?” But the Temple He had spoken of was His body. After He was raised from the dead, His apostles recalled what He had said. Then they believed in the Scriptures and the words that Yeshua had spoken. Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in His name (John 2:18-23).³¹⁸

The Faith of Noah
11: 7

The faith of Noah DIG: How is faith made visible in a person’s life? In what way was Noah’s faith made evident? What made it difficult for Noah to believe there would be a flood? What was the basis of Noah’s faith? What was the content of the message Noah preached? In what way was Methuselah a display of God’s grace (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Bv – Enoch was the Father of Methuselah and Walked with God for 300 Years)? Did God give a fair warning to the people of Noah’s day before sending the Flood? How similar was Noah’s day to us today?

REFLECT: It was 120 years from the time God warned Noah that the Flood was coming until it came. It would have been easy for Noah to have given up during that time, but he didn’t – he preserved in his faith. Have you been waiting on the Lord for something for so long that your faith is beginning to waver? Perhaps you are involved in a ministry that has borne little fruit. Or maybe you’ve been praying for someone’s salvation for many years, and that person seems no closer to God than when you first began. If you are tempted to give up, remember Noah’s patient faith, and memorize Hebrews 10:23 this week: Let us continue holding fast to the hope we acknowledge, without wavering; for the One who made the promise is trustworthy.³⁰⁶

But those who are righteous will live their lives by faith (Hebrews 10:38 CJB quoting Habakkuk 2:4 CJB). True faith always has actions to support its claim. Faith without works is dead (James 2:26). If you really believe in YHVH, there will be evidence of it in the way you live, in the things you say, and in the things you do. Abel illustrates the worship of faith, and Enoch the walk of faith. Noah, perhaps more than any other person in history, illustrates the work of faith – obedience. For 120 years he worked faithfully in an undertaking that, from a human perspective, looked totally absurd and absolutely impossible.

Three things in Hebrews 11:7 give proof that Noah’s faith was genuine. First, he responded to God’s word. That is always a characteristic of true faith. Second, he condemned the world. Noah was such a man of God that his very life was a rebuke to the wicked people that surrounded him. Third, he received ADONAI’s righteousness. These are the classic hallmarks of true faith. God also declared Job, Abraham and Jacob righteous.

Job was a righteous man. When the LORD was speaking to the Adversary He said: Have you considered my servant Job. There is no one like him; he is blameless and upright (Hebrew: tam), a man who fears God and shuns evil (Job 1:8).

Noah was a righteous man. When speaking of Noah, the Bible says: Noah was a righteous (Hebrew: tam) man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God (Genesis 6:9).

Abraham was a righteous (Hebrew: tam) man (Genesis 15:6).

And Jacob was a righteous (Hebrew: tam) man (Genesis 25:27). The NIV says Jacob was a quiet man, and the NKJ says he was a mild man. But the Hebrew word tam is always translated elsewhere as righteous, perfect (KJ), or upright, whole, complete, blameless or without blemish. It does not mean sinless perfection, but it has the sense of righteousness, or a man whose heart is right towards God. As a result, the word tam is never translated quiet or mild anywhere else in the TaNaKh.

Additionally, after Esau was born, Jacob came out with his hand grasping his brother’s heel (Genesis 25:26a). And just as Esau was named by his appearance, Jacob was named by his action, so he was named Jacob, which is the same root word for heel. The primary meaning of his name is the one who takes by the heel, or heel holder. And there is no negative connotation here. But the secondary meaning of his name is supplanter, which is a neutral term to be determined by the context (Genesis 27:36; Jeremiah 9:4). So his name should never be translated “deceiver” because Jacob was a righteous man.

Noah responded to God’s word: When Ha’Shem told Noah that He was getting ready to destroy the world because of its wickedness and instructed him to build an Ark (Genesis 6:13-14), Noah dropped everything and started building. It undoubtedly sounded very strange to Noah, but he was obedient. To devote all his time and effort to building a giant ship took a special kind of commitment. He probably had no idea hat an ocean-going ship looked like. He had no experience in shipbuilding, no easy access to building supplies, and no help except for his sons. Even they were not able to help for many years after the Ark was started because they were not born until after Noah was 500 years old (Genesis 5:32).³⁰⁷

By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, namely, of course, the Flood, in holy fear built an Ark to save his family (11:7a). The word fear gives the reader the wrong impression. The Greek word eulabeomai, which means to act cautiously, with reverence, or to stand in awe of in this context. The basis of building the Ark was that he was warned by God. Until the time of Noah, it had never rained upon the earth and there had never been a flood. Nevertheless, Ha’Shem said it would happen, and Noah believed God. He showed his faith and built the Ark. As the result of the building of the Ark, Noah accomplished two things.³⁰⁸

Noah condemned the world: First, by his faith he condemned the world (11:7b). Noah’s faithfulness included his passing on to the rest of the world Ha’Shem’s message of judgment. In Second Peter 2:5, he is called a preacher of righteousness. God called Noah to preach while he built. His message was, “Judgment is coming.” The preaching was probably more difficult than the building. Hard jobs are always easier to deal with than hard people. But, like Enoch, Noah walked with God (see the commentary on Genesis Cd – Noah Was a Righteous Man, Blameless Among the People of His Time and He Walked With God).

The times in which Noah lived in were among the most evil and corrupt in human history (see the commentary on Genesis Ca – The Sons of God Married the Daughters of Men). Then Adonai saw that the wickedness of humankind was great on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil all the time (Genesis 6:5 TLV). If anyone had reason to regret the time in which he lived it was Noah. He didn’t complain, he merely obeyed and warned the wicked people of his time that Ha’Shem would soon judge them because of their evil and unbelief. The people had ample warning of judgment, and they also had sufficient knowledge of the truth. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (Romans 1:20). The people had no excuse for their sin before Noah began building the Ark, and they had even less of an excuse after he finished.

Perhaps the saddest lesson from Noah’s day is that people today have not changed their attitude toward ADONAI since then, and will not change until our Lord returns. When the Rapture occurs, it will happen while there are normal conditions on the earth. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man, to all those who live on the face of the whole earth. For in the days before the Flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the Ark. While normal conditions existed on the earth, they knew nothing about what would happen until the Flood came and took [swept] them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:37-39). In the same way, while there will be normal conditions on the earth, the Rapture will happen suddenly and without notice.

The parallels of Noah’s day to our own are sobering. In Noah’s day God’s message was rejected, as it is today. In his day, wickedness, immorality, violence, lewdness, vulgarity, profanity, lying, killing and blasphemy were rampant, as they are today. In Noah’s day a remnant found grace, just as a remnant believes today. In his day, or shortly before it, Enoch was taken up to be with YHVH (see Cn – The Faith of Enoch), picturing the rapture of believers when the Lord returns, which could be in our day. We can be sure as they should have been that the judgment is coming, because God has promised it just as clearly and the people of today deserve it just as much. Someone has said, “If God doesn’t destroy our world, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”³⁰⁹ Again, the only security we have is refuge in Messiah (see the commentary on Genesis Ce – The Ark is a Type of Christ),

Noah received God’s righteousness: And secondly, Noah became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith (Romans 1:17, 3:22, 4:13, 9:30). The words he became heir in the Greek text here mean simply that he became the owner, but underneath the words, the idea familiar to the Jewish mind infer that the spiritual blessings are a heritage given by the LORD. We must be careful here to note that the righteousness mentioned here is not the justifying righteousness that comes at the moment of salvation, but sanctifying righteousness comes as we are separated for holiness (John 17:16-19) and conformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

What is the difference between being justified and being separated for holiness? Justification is a one-time act, accomplished by ADONAI (see Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith). It is always spoken of in the past tense because we already belong to God, paid for by the blood of Christ. However, sanctification, or being separated for holiness is a process that takes a whole lifetime. It is the work of God in which you cooperate (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 12:3-4; 1 Peter 5:8-9); and is a process Ephesians 4:11-16), trusting in God, apart from whom we can do nothing (John 15:5; Ephesians 3:16; Colossians 1:11; Hebrews 2:18 and 4:14). He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6). Even Rabbi Sha’ul, as a mature believer, struggled with sin until the end of his life (Romans 7:14-25 CJB). As a result, all of Messiah’s righteousness was transferred to Noah’s spiritual bank account when he believed (Romans 3:22), and then he demonstrated his belief by building the Ark.

Noah not only believed that judgment was coming, but he also put his faith into practice by building the Ark. We often say we believe God – as long as He doesn’t put us in a position where we have to trust Him! As you study Hebrews 11 ask yourself how all the people named there put their faith in YHVH into practice. Then ask ADONAI to show you some concrete ways in which you can put your faith into action this week.³¹⁰

The Faith of Enoch
11: 5-6

The faith of Enoch DIG: Why was God pleased with Enoch? What reward does God promise for those who seek Him? Will God ever turn away from those who come to Him with genuine faith? Is it possible for someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus to please God? What is meant by the word “walk” in the New Covenant? What must take place before we can walk with God? Why can’t sinful people have fellowship with Ha’Shem? What message did Enoch preach? What are some of the reasons YHVH took Enoch into His presence?

REFLECT: Jude tells us that Enoch confronted the false teaching and ungodliness of his day. We also live in an ungodly society saturated with false teaching. Like Enoch we are responsible to confront it, both with our lives (Phil 2:15) and our words (Second Timothy 2:24-26). Can you make the commitment to live a life-style that will be a rebuke to false teaching, then confront false doctrine when the opportunity arises?

The second person in the hall of faith is Enoch. Whereas Abel exemplifies worshiping by faith – which must always come first – Enoch exemplifies walking by faith. But those who are righteous will live their lives by faith (Hebrews 10:38 CJB quoting Habakkuk 2:4 CJB). Adam and Eve had walked and talked with God in the garden of Eden, but they fell, they were thrown out of the Garden and ceased to walk with Him any longer. The ultimate destiny of mankind was reinstated with Enoch, who represents for all of us what it means to be in fellowship with ADONAI. In Enoch, our true destiny is again reached, as he experiences the fellowship with YHVH that Adam and Eve forfeited (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Bv – Enoch was the Father of Methuselah and Walked with God for 300 Years).

I believe that Enoch’s faith included everything that Abel’s included. In other words, Enoch had to have offered a blood sacrifice to God, symbolic of the ultimate sacrifice of Messiah, because a blood sacrifice is the only way into the presence of ADONAI. He could not have walked with God if he had not first made a blood offering to Him. That principle has not changed from the days of Abel and Enoch until today.³⁰¹

Enoch believed that God existed: And without faith it is impossible (Greek: adunatos) to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists (11:6a). The first step to faith is simply to believe that He exists. God was pleased with Enoch because he believed in Him. This is where the walk of faith begins. Both covenants are filled with teaching that YHVH not only can be found, but that it is His great desire to be found. David said to his son Solomon: If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever (First Chronicles 28:9); I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me will find Me (Proverbs 8:17); You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). Yeshua was very clear: For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Luke 11:10 and Revelation 3:20).

Without faith it is impossible (Greek: adunatos) to please God. But only believing in the One true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the Bible, counts. And since we have never seen Him, our belief in Him must come by faith. No one has seen God at any time (John 1:18). Nor can we know ADONAI by reason. Two chapters of the book of Job (38-39) are dedicated to the LORD’s forceful and colorful illustrations of how we cannot even fathom how nature works. How much less can we understand God Himself by our own observations and reasonings.³⁰²

Enoch sought God’s rewards: Anyone who comes to God must believe that He is and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (11:6b). The reward that YHVH gives for faith is salvation. Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33). In other words, every good thing that ADONAI has, including eternal life, constitutes a reward for belief. For faith we receive forgiveness, a new heart, eternal life, joy, peace, love, heaven (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith). When we trust in Jesus Christ, we become mutual heirs with Him. All that God’s own Son has is ours as well.³⁰³

Enoch walked with God: Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years (Genesis 5:22a). Believing that YHVH exists is the first step toward faith. Believing that He rewards those who trust in Him is the first step of faith. Trusting fully in Yeshua Messiah as Lord and Savior is only the beginning of the faithful life in ADONAI. Walking with God requires a holy lifestyle. To continue to please God, we must fellowship with Him, walk with Him, just as Enoch did. The word walk in the B’rit Chadashah basically refers to the manner of daily conduct. For example, an unbeliever walks according to the things of the world, and a believer walks in the Spirit. Enoch walked daily in the presence of the LORD.

Enoch was reconciled with God: The first thing implied in Enoch’s walk with ADONAI is reconciliation. Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so (Amos 3:3)? Obviously not! Walking together, then, assumes both are in harmony. Since Enoch walked with YVHV, he was obviously in agreement with Him. However, since Adam fell, everyone born into this world has been in rebellion against Ha’Shem. We do not grow into rebellion or fall into rebellion, we are born into rebellion. We have a sin nature from conception; therefore, we are by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). The purpose of salvation is to restore our broken relationship with God. Because of his faith, Enoch was reconciled with ADONAI; and because his reconciliation, he could walk with God.

Enoch had the same nature God: The second truth implied in Enoch’s walk was that Enoch and God had corresponding natures. It is impossible for an unbeliever to have fellowship with God. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement can there be between the Temple of God and idols (Second Corinthians 6:14-16a)? Even an unbeliever is created in God’s image, but that image has been so shattered by sin, his nature is corrupted, and as a result, fellowship with God in not possible. There is no common ground in which he and ADONAI can agree. When we are saved, we become citizens of a new domain. We are still on earth, but our true home, or real citizenship, is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). As Peter says: we participate in the divine nature (Second Peter 1:4). When we are saved we are given a heavenly nature, Messiah’s own nature, and therefore we can fellowship with God. Because Enoch walked with God, he must have had a nature that corresponded with God’s.

Enoch surrendered his will to God: The third truth implied in Enoch’s walk with God was that he had a surrendered will. We cannot have a new nature unless God takes away our sin. When we walk with God it means our sin has been forgiven and that we are justified and counted righteous by ADONAI. Only when all of God’s righteousness has been credited to us, at the moment of salvation, can we move into His presence and begin walking with Him. Because ADONAI cannot tolerate to be in the presence of sin, He can only walk in holiness. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin (First John 1:6-7). The only people the LORD walks with are those who are cleansed of sin. Since Enoch walked with God, he had to have been forgiven of his sin and declared righteous.³⁰⁴

Enoch Prophesied About God: We only learn that Enoch prophesied about God from the book of Jude (see the commentary on Jude At – Enoch, the Seventh Generation from Adam, also Prophesied about These People). Jude’s report of Enoch’s prophesying puts to rest any notion that he lived in an easy time. It seems that he was surrounded by false teachers and false teaching. We do not know if he had the fellowship of any other believers, but we do know that he lived in the midst of a godless society. It would have been impossible for him to prophesy as strongly as he did without considerable opposition. He battled against his generation in the same way that Noah would later battle against his generation. Enoch let them know that they were ungodly, and that Ha’Shem was going to judge them. I believe that YHVH was pleased with Enoch because his faith was not just something he felt in his heart. It was heard on his lips and seen in his life. His faith was active and dynamic, vocal and fearless.

Enoch entered into God’s presence: By faith Enoch was taken up from this life so that he did not experience death. “He could not be found, because God had taken him away” (Hebrews 11:5a quoting Genesis 5:24). For before he was taken up, he was commended as one who pleased God (Hebrews 11:5b). Finally, after three hundred years of faithfully walking with God and prophesying about Him, Enoch went to be with the LORD in a wonderfully unique way. ADONAI just took him up to heaven without experiencing death (see the commentary on Revelation Dc – I Will Give Power to My Two Witnesses and They Will Prophesy for 1,260 Days). He pleased YHVH so much that God just reached down and lifted him up to heaven. One moment he was there, and the next moment he was no more, because God took him away (Genesis 5:24).

We don’t know the reason Ha’Shem waited three hundred years before taking Enoch to be with Him in heaven. Perhaps it was to allow enough time for him to prophesy and witness to the hard and unbelieving generation in which he lived. Additionally, we do not know why ADONAI took Enoch in such an unusual way. Possibly it was to spare him further ridicule and persecution. Maybe it was simply that God wanted to be even closer to the one who pleased Him so much: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His faithful servants (Psalm 116:15). Enoch was so precious to God that He bypassed the death of His servant.³⁰⁵

Enoch is commended for his exemplary walk with God and his witness in a godless and unbelieving world. We also live in an ungodly society saturated with false teaching. Like Enoch, we are commanded to confront it, both with our lives (Philippians 2:15) and our words (Second Timothy 2:24-26). As believers, we too should be examples to the world of what it means to walk with God. Our God is so wonderful! Let us make time to share His great love and holiness.

The Faith of Abel
11: 4

The faith of Abel DIG: Why did God regard Abel’s sacrifice as being better than Cain’s (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Bj – Your Brother’s Blood Cries Out to Me from the Ground)? Why is it significant that God made cloaks of animal skins for Adam and Eve? How did Abel’s sacrifice point to Christ’s ultimate sacrifice in a way that Cain’s did not? In what way was Cain the father of all false religion? What is the basis of our faith? What did God do for Abel, after accepting his sacrifice? What was Cain’s reaction when his sacrifice failed to receive God’s approval?

REFLECT: Cain’s problems began when he offered God unacceptable worship. When you go the your messianic synagogue or church, is the worship you offer to God acceptable? Ask yourself: Am I sincere? Is my attention focused on ADONAI? Am I coming to worship YHVH, knowing His acceptance of me is based solely on what Messiah has done for me at the cross? Am I coming with a pure heart, having dealt with any sin in my life? Am I coming to be a spectator or a participant?²⁹⁵

James Moffatt wrote, “Death is never the final word in the life of a righteous man. When a man leaves this world, be he righteous or unrighteous, he leaves something in the world. He may leave something that will grow and spread like a cancer or a poison, or he may leave something like the fragrance of perfume or a blossom of beauty that permeates the atmosphere with blessing.” Man leaves this world either a Rabbi Sha’ul or a Nero.

It is significant that the writer chooses Abel as the first example of what faith can do for the one who exercises it. But those who are righteous will live their lives by faith (Hebrews 10:38 CJB quoting Habakkuk 2:4 CJB). In the case of Abel, it was his personal salvation that is in view, as was also the case with the unbelieving Jews in the midst of the Messianic congregation to which the letter to the Hebrews was written (see Ag – The Audience of the book of Hebrews). If Abel’s salvation was by means of faith, it had to be shown to those unbelieving Jews that from the very beginning, faith was the only way they could be counted as righteous. Not through the Temple sacrifices.²⁹⁶

Dead men do tell tales. They are not silent, but still speak to those who will listen. From many thousand years ago, Abel speaks to us in the twenty-first century. He lived when the earth was new and he has something to teach modern, sophisticated, technological mankind. He lived in a far distant age, in a far different culture, with far less light from YHVH than we have. But what he has to tell us is more relevant than anything we are likely to read today.²⁹⁷

Adam and Even could not have been people of faith in the same way as their descendants. They had seen Ha’Shem face-to-face, fellowshipped with Him, talked with Him, and had lived in the garden of Paradise. Until they sinned, they had no need of faith because they lived in God’s very presence. Even after they sinned, they had the memory and knowledge of this unique and beautiful relationship they had with their Creator. Their children were the first to have need of faith in its fullest sense. Abel was the first man of faith, and it is important to understand what his faith had to do with his personal salvation. Abel’s faith led to three successive things: true sacrifice, true righteousness, and true witness.

Abel made a true sacrifice: By faith Abel brought God a better sacrifice than Cain did (11:4a). This verse takes us back to Genesis, where we read about Abel’s sacrifice. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to ADONAI. And Abel also brought an offering – fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor (Genesis 4:3-5a). Cain and Abel must have been taught well by their parents Adam and Even because they knew specifically of a time to worship, a place to worship, and most importantly, a way to worship.

A place to worship: Because they brought offerings, some sort of altar must have been used on which to make the sacrifice. There is no mention of their building an altar at this time, and it may be that an altar already existed near the east side of the garden of Eden, where ADONAI had placed the cherubim with the flaming sword to prevent people from entering. It seems perfectly reasonable with God’s grace that, from the beginning, He would have provided for some means of worship. Perhaps the altar here was a forerunner of the mercy seat, a place where mankind could come for forgiveness and atonement. Very early in mankind’s history, God promised a future Deliverer, and very early He provide a temporary means of worship and sacrifice.

A time to worship: There seems also to have been a time for worship. In the course of time, means literally, at the end of days, that is, at the end of a certain period of time. It may be, therefore, that ADONAI had designated a special time for sacrificing. God is a God of honor, and we know that in later centuries He did specify definite times and ways of worshiping (see the commentary on Exodus Fb – The Five Offerings of the Tabernacle: Christ, Our Sacrificial Offering). The fact that Cain and Abel came to sacrifice at the same time also suggests that Ha’Shem had specified a particular time.

A way to worship: Cain and Abel would know nothing about the need, place or time for a sacrifice, much less the way, had they not been told by God through their parents. It is especially significant that the first recorded act of worship was sacrifice, a sin offering, and the supreme act of worship in all of God’s covenants with His people. Abraham sacrificed to YHVH, and Moshe revealed the Levitical sacrifices in the Torah. The heart of the B’rit Chadashah is Yeshua’s perfect, once-for-all sacrifice on the cross. Ha’Shem accepted only the one kind of sacrifice, a blood sacrifice, and established it as a pattern for worship.

The life of faith begins with a sacrifice for sin (see the commentary on Exodus Fc – The Sin Offering). It begins with believing YHVH that we are sinners and that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a), that we need forgiveness, and that the only acceptable sacrifice was one whose blood was shed. It was in such faith that Abel offered his sacrifice to God. And it was because of such faith that ADONAI accepted his sacrifice.

Abel brought God a better sacrifice than Cain did because it was a blood sacrifice. He obeyed Ha’Shem, as if saying: Not what I will, but what You will (Matthew 26:39c; Mark 14:36b; Luke 22:42b). Cain believed in God or he wouldn’t have brought Him a sacrifice. But Cain is an example of one who thinks he can choose his own way to God. Abel gave what God wanted, while Cain gave what he wanted. Able was obedient, but Cain was disobedient. Able acknowledged his sin. Cain did not. He didn’t mind worshiping ADONAI as long as it was on his own terms.

Cain’s disobedience and setting up his own standards of living were the beginning of the Adversary’s world system (see the commentary on Genesis Dl – The Tower of Babel), and culminating in MYSTERY BABYLON (see the commentary on Revelation Dd – I Saw a Woman Holding a Golden Cup, Filled with the Filth of Her Adulteries). Cain went out from the presence of ADONAI (Genesis 4:16), into a life of continuous self-will, which is the heart of worldliness and unbelief. By his own decision he turned away from God’s way to his own way. The vast majority of the world does the same thing today. Jude says: Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain (see the commentary on Jude Aq – They Have Taken the Way of Cain, Rushed into Balaam’s Error). Cain is an example of the religious natural man who believes in God and in religion; but only religion that follows his own will and he also rejects redemption by blood. Rabbi Sha’ul says of such people that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they do not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit themselves to God’s righteousness (Romans 10:2-3).

Ha’Shem is not unreasonable, or fanciful, or unpredictable. He was not playing a game with Cain and Abel. He did not hold them accountable for what they could not have known or could not have done. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted because he knew what God wanted and he obeyed. Cain’s was rejected because he knew what God wanted, yet he disobeyed. To obey is righteous; to disobey is evil. Abel was of ADONAI; Cain was of the Adversary (First John 3:12). Abel brought God a better sacrifice because it represented the obedience of faith. Therefore, Abel’s sacrifice foreshadowed the way of the cross.²⁹⁸

Abel obtained true righteousness: Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed His approval of his blood sacrifice (11:4b NLT). The blood of Abel’s offering spoke symbolically of the Sacrifice for sin that Yeshua made on the cross. But it was not the blood sacrifice that made Abel righteous. What made Abel righteous was his faith, and the evidence of his faith was that he of offered the type of sacrifice that YHVH required – Blood.²⁹⁹

Abel was just as sinful as Cain was. But it is quite possible that Abel was a better person than Cain. He was probably more moral, more dependable, more honest, and even more likeable than Cain. But those qualities didn’t make Abel’s sacrifice acceptable, or lack of those qualities that made Cain’s offering unacceptable. The difference was how they approached God; one in obedient faith; the other in disobedient unbelief.

It is also likely that ADONAI showed His approval of Abel’s sacrifice by causing it to be consumed. On at least five other occasions recorded in the Bible, Ha’Shem showed His approval of a sacrifice by sending fire to consume it.

First, when Aaron and his sons began their priestly ministry, the LORD appeared, the Sh’khinah glory appeared to all the people. After Moshe and Aaron came out of the Tabernacle, fire came out from the presence of ADONAI and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the bronze altar (Leviticus 9:24).

Second, when Gideon requested a sign to confirm God’s promise to save Isra’el from the Midianites, the Angel of the LORD, the preincarnate Messiah, touched the meat and unleavened bread that Gideon had placed upon on a rock, and fire consumed the meat and bread, thus providing the sign Gideon had requested (Judges 6:21).

Third, when Elijah entered a contest of calling down fire on an offering with the prophets of Ba’al to end a three-and-a-half year drought, Ba’al did not answer. But when Elijah prayed that ADONAI would answer him to prove that He is God, the fire of Ha’Shem fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil (First Kings 18:38).

Fourth, when David sinned and took a census against the wishes of ADONAI, the judgment of the Angel of the LORD stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. There, David built an altar to ADONAI there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on Mount Moriah. (It was the place where the Temple would be built.) David called on the LORD, and God answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of the burnt offerings and it was consumed (First Chronicles 21:26).

And fifth, before King David died he had made all the preparations for his son Solomon to build God’s Temple. When all the work Solomon had done was finished, he dedicated the Temple. And when he finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the Sh’khinah glory of ADONAI filled the Tempe (Second Chronicles 7:1).

Abel is a true witness: And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead (11:4c). When ADONAI confronted Cain after Abel’s murder, God said: What have you done? Your Brother’s Blood Cries Out to Me from the ground (Genesis 4:10). So the first time Abel spoke after his death was to ask Ha’Shem that his murder be avenged. Like the souls under the altar who had been slain because of the Word of God, Abel cried out: How long, ADONAI, holy and true, until You avenge my blood (Revelation 6:9-10)?

God also spoke to Cain, “Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:11-12). Every time Cain’s feet touched the ground, he would be reminded of his evil deed. The earth, in effect, rejected Cain as he had rejected YHVH and his brother. Although dead, Abel continued to speak to his brother.

The primary meaning of Hebrews 11:4, however, has to do with Abel’s speaking to later generations of believers and potential believers. He still speaks and has three things to say to us. First, we come to God by faith, not by works. You don’t get to heaven by what you do; you get to heaven by what you believe. Second, We must accept and obey God’s Word above our own reason and self-will. And third, wickedness is punished severely. This is Abel’s timeless three-point sermon to the world, which he has been preaching for thousands of years to those who will hear: The righteous will live by faith.³⁰⁰

The Hall of Faith
11: 4-40

Four observations can be made concerning this chapter.

First, the author’s main point is that since the righteous of the TaNaKh exercised faith, to depart from faith is to depart from the righteous of the TaNaKh.

Second, in 10:35-39, he encouraged the Jewish believers to exercise patient endurance. Therefore, in this chapter he draws many examples from the TaNaKh to show how the people in the Dispensation of the Torah exercised patient endurance. They won the battle through patient endurance and now the first century believer must win it the same way.

Third, the author stated earlier: We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised (6:12). So in this chapter, he will give many examples of those whom the readers can imitate.

Fourth, the key word in the chapter is faith. It is used twenty-four times and always translated faith except once where it is translated as faithful, and once where it is translated as believe, which is basically the same thing. Faith, trust and belief all come from the same Greek root pistis, have a wide semantic range, and are thus interchangeable.²⁹⁴

Now Faith is the Assurance of Things Hoped For
11: 1-3

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for DIG: What were the connections between 10:35-39 and the themes of Chapter 11? In the definition of faith, what two verbs describe it? What is the object of both of these verbs? Is our faith directed toward the future, toward the past, or both? Why do you conclude this? What is the difference between spiritual faith and natural faith? Why must all views on the origin of the universe be based on faith? Write your own definition of faith as you try to capture the meaning of this verse. How is faith a certainty of what we do not see?

REFLECT: What are the invisible things you have faith in? Habakkuk 2:4 says: The just shall live by faith/trust/belief. What does “living by faith,” mean to you? What are some examples of not “living by faith?” Describe a time when you have seen someone’s faith change their circumstances. Give some examples of circumstances you may face this week that will require faith on your part?

Between the statement of the faith principle, and the long list of the righteous of the TaNaKh who illustrated it, is a brief definition of this faith.

In the form of old Hebrew poets often used, the writer expresses his definition of faith in two parallel and almost identical phrases as seen below. It is not a full theological definition, but it emphasizes certain basic characteristics of faith that are important in understanding the message that the writer is trying to get across.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1a NASB quoting Habakkuk 2:4). The righteous of the TaNaKh had to rest on the promises of Ha’Shem. God had told them of a coming Messiah, a Deliverer who would take away their sin (see the commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Iy – The Death of the Suffering Servant). He told them that one day all Isra’el would be made clean and be ruled by this righteous Messiah (see the commentary on Isaiah Db – The Nine Missing Articles in Messiah’s Coming Temple). ADONAI’s faithful believed in His promises, as incomplete and vague as many of those promises were. They didn’t have a great deal of light, by New Covenant standards, but they knew it was God’s light, and they put their full trust and hope in it. That’s what faith is . . . living in a hope that is so real that is gives absolute assurance.²⁸⁶

Faith is not a wistful longing that something may come to pass in an uncertain future. True faith is an absolute certainty, often of things that the world considers imaginary and impossible. The faith of the believer is a hope in YHVH against the world – not belief in the improbable against chance. If we follow God whose audible voice we have never heard and believe in Yeshua whose face we have never seen, we do so because our faith has a reality, a substance, an assurance that is unshakable. In doing so, Jesus said we would be blessed: Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (Yochanan 20:29).²⁸⁷

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who had their Hebrew names changed to the Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego, were confronted with the choice of obeying Nebuchadnezzar, whom they could see very well, or YHVH, whom they had never seen. Without hesitation, they chose to obey ADONAI. Our human response is to trust in our physical senses, to put our faith in the things that we can hear, see, taste and touch. But as the children of God we put our trust in something more durable and more dependable than anything we will ever experience with the senses. Senses may lie; God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

The word assurance deserves our attention. It is hupostasis, made up of stasis, meaning to stand, and hupo, meaning under, thus, that which stands under, or a foundation. It speaks of the ground on which we build our hope. Faith, then, provides the firm foundation on which we stand, waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise. Assurance is not a mere wish, or dream, or fantasy. Our faith is the present essence of a future reality. And this reality must have a firm foundation, and that foundation is the Word of God.

The things hoped for (Greek: elpizomenon) can also be seen in Romans 8:24-25 where we read: For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently. If you believe that the future ADONAI has promised is assured, then you will wait patiently. You won’t get upset, rattled or worry – you’ll just wait. That’s faith.

Believers are not masochists. Quite the contrary, we live for ultimate and permanent pleasure. We live in the certainty that whatever discomfort or pain we may have to endure for Christ’s sake on this earth, will more than be compensated for by an eternity of unending bliss, of pleasure we cannot now imagine.

The righteous of the TaNaKh were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance (11:13). They saw the fulfillment of God’s promise with the eye of faith. They held on to the promise as their ultimate reality, as the most certain thing in their existence.²⁸⁸

And the conviction (Greek: elegchos, meaning proof, evidence, or that by which a thing is proved or tested) of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1b NASB quoting Habakkuk 2:4). This conviction carries the same truth a bit further, because it implies a response, an outward display of the inward assurance. The children of God live out their belief. Their lives are committed to what their mind and their spirit are convinced is true.

Noah, for example, truly believed YHVH. He could not have started the humanly ridiculous task God gave him without having faith. When the LORD predicted rain, Noah had no concept of what rain was because it had never rained before the Flood. But Noah believed Ha’Shem and acted on His instructions. He had both assurance and conviction – true faith. His outward display of building the Ark reflected his inward belief that the rain was coming and that God’s blueprint was sound and the boat would float. His faith was based on the word of ADONAI, not on what he could see or what he had experienced. For 120 years he preached in faith, hoped in faith, and built in faith.

The natural man or woman, however, cannot comprehend that kind of spiritual faith. We see Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27), but unbelievers do not see because they are spiritually blind. The natural man or woman does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned (First Corinthians 2:14 ESV; also see John 1:5). Because they have no spiritual senses, they do not believe in God or the realities of God’s Kingdom. They are like someone who is blind and refuses to believe light because they have never seen light.

Yet even the natural man or woman operates in the realm of faith. Our society is based on a foundation of faith. We drink out of a public water fountain, with the confidence that it will be safe. We eat food in a restaurant, confident that the food isn’t contaminated. We willingly receive our pay in the form of a check or paper money – neither of which has any real value at all. We accept them because of our faith in the person or the company or the government that issues them. We put our faith in a surgeon, and in medical science in general, though we may not have the least training, competence of experience in medicine ourselves. We submit to the surgeon’s knife entirely on faith. The capacity for faith is created within us.

Spiritual faith operates in the same way. It willingly accepts and acts on many things it does not understand. Spiritual faith, however, is radically different from natural faith in one important way. It is not natural , as is our trust in water, money, food, or the doctor. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Just as natural faith comes by a natural birth, so a spiritual faith comes from a spiritual birth. It comes from God.²⁸⁹

Now this faith is what the righteous of the TaNaKh (to be listed shortly) were commended for (Hebrews 11:2 quoting Habakkuk 2:4). In Greek, this statement is passive. This does not mean that the righteous of the TaNaKh bore witness of the life of faith, but that the life of faith of the righteous of the TaNaKh was observed by others, and there was a witness to the fact that their faith was genuine. They received a promise from God; they claimed that promise, and, they patiently endured until the promise was fulfilled. ADONAI also bore witness that their faith was genuine.²⁹⁰

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible (11:3). The writer finishes his argument with one devastating example of faith. Creation is something that must be accepted by faith because no one was around to observe it. Moshe was not present to record it. Not only is faith to be exercised in a future event like the Second Coming, which cannot be seen; not only is faith to be exercised in a present event, which is not seen; but faith must also be exercised in a past event which was not seen. Creation shows that something did come out of nothing, but the physical universe, is something that only God controls.²⁹¹

The writer is saying to the Jews who had not yet trusted in Messiah, “You already have a certain faith in ADONAI. You believe that He created the universe and everything in it” (Genesis 1:1). They believed this unquestionably, even though they were not there when God created it. They could not see His act of creating, but they could see His creation and they believed in the Creator. Their own Scriptures taught it and they believed it.

The child of God insists that all truth is God’s truth. Some of it – the natural world – we can discover with our eyes, ears, smell, touch and intellect. Much more, however, can only acquire by faith, for which the believer should make no apology. The very attempt to explain the universe, or our own being and nature, apart from Ha’Shem is foolish. These things we can only understand by faith in the revealed Word of God. Faith comprehends that which the human mind, no matter how brilliant, cannot understand. What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived – the things of God has prepared for those who love Him (First Corinthians 2:9-10).²⁹²

As believers, our faith has context. It is not a blind leap of faith, but is based on specific facts, grounded in evidence. How well do you know the facts upon which your faith rests? Are you familiar with the evidence showing that Yeshua was an actual historical person who rose from the dead? Could you explain to an unbeliever why you accept the reliability of the Scriptures? How would you answer someone who claimed evolution was a proven scientific fact that makes faith in God irrelevant?

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1 NASB).

Faith is trusting in what the eye can’t see.

Eyes see the prowling lion . . . but faith sees Dani’el’s angel.

Eyes see storms . . . but faith sees Noah’s rainbow.

Eyes see giants . . . but faith sees Canaan.

Your eyes see your faults . . . but your faith sees your Savior.

Your eyes see your guilt . . . but you faith sees His blood.

Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure, and a promise-breaker. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.²⁹³

Faith in Action
11: 1-40

In the first ten chapters of Hebrews, the writer has proven over and over again that the New Covenant in Yeshua’s blood is better and takes the place of the First Covenant in animal blood. He showed the superiority of the Son to the three pillars of Judaism: angels, Moshe, and the Levitical priesthood. Now, having proved this proposition, he tells this first century Jewish unbeliever how to step over the line from knowledge to faith.

The first century Jew saw everything as a matter of works. Even after being shown the basic truths of the B’rit Chadashah, the tendency was for them to try to fit those new principles into the mold of works righteousness.

By the time of Christ, Judaism was no longer the supernatural system that YHVH had originally given. It had been perverted into a works system, withal kinds of legalistic requirements called the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ei – The Oral Law). It was a system of self-effort, self-salvation, and self-glorification. It was far removed from the system of faith ADONAI had originally given. In many ways it was a religious cult based on corrupted ethics.

As with all systems of works, Ha’Shem despised it. Especially because it was a corruption of the true system He had given. YHVH has never redeemed mankind by works, but always by faith (Habakkuk 2:4). As this chapter makes clear, from Adam on, God has honored faith, not works. Good works have always been a by-product of faith, never a means to salvation. The LORD doesn’t tolerate any self-imposed system as a means of reaching Him.

This theme of faith connects with Chapter 10, where the writer has already presented the principle of salvation of faith, of which the righteous of the TaNaKh named in Chapter 11 are examples. He quoted from Habakkuk, a Jewish prophet, reinforcing the truth that this was the principle of redemption that God has always honored: But those who are righteous will live their lives by faith (Hebrews 10:38 CJB quoting Habakkuk 2:4 CJB). Faith is the only way to ADONAI, there has never been any other way.²⁸⁵

Let Us Draw Near to God
10: 19-25

Let Us Draw Near to God DIG: Based on Christ’s sacrifice (10:19-20, 9:1 to 10:18) and Messiah’s priesthood (10:21, 7:1 to 8:13), what attitudes and actions should all believers have? Note the four “let us” statements in these verses. What does each let us mean? What incentives are given? How do these verses parallel 4:14-16? Why might the human author, under the inspiration of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, need to stress this to his readers? Explain why we can boldly enter into YHVH’s presence as believers. What does it mean to have a sincere heart? What is the promise to those who seek God with all their heart (Deuteronomy 4:29)? When were our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience? Why is it important to worship within a congregation rather than being a loner in your relationship with God?

REFLECT: In what specific ways could you spur another believer on toward love and good deeds? How have others spurred you on in your worship community? Whose exhortation, example, or encouragement has meant the most to you?

When a Gentile believer like the Philippian jailor is dealt with about his soul, the approach is: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved (Acts 16:31). But when a Jew is appealed to, the approach is quite different. The appeal to enter the Most Holy Place in heaven by the blood of Yeshua would bring the Jewish reader’s mind the picture of the high priest in Isar’el on the Day of Atonement, entering the Tabernacle on his behalf. The Jewish person “stood” in the Most Holy Place, not physically, but by means of being represented by the high priest. The high priest also stood in the Most Holy Place by means of his being represented by the true High Priest-who was to come, Yeshua. The high priest had offered sacrifices first for his own sins and so was therefore accepted by YHVH, and then he offered sacrifices for the sins of the people. The individual Israelite who believed in ADONAI for the covering of his sins, also believed that God would some day offer a sacrifice that would pay for his sins. As a result, the high priest symbolized the coming Messiah who would one day be the true High Priest.²⁷²

Therefore, in light of what has been said in the theological section (1:1 to 10:18), and since the readers have access to the presence of ADONAI, they need to learn to use it. This section is addressed to fellow-believers: Brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Yeshua, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body (10:19-20), we now have access to the heavenly Tabernacle.

God chose a special word, rich in meaning and profound, for the word new in the Greek text. It is prosphaton, made up of pros meaning near to, and phatos from pephamai the perfect of phenein meaning to kill. The original meaning of the total word is newly-slain. Here the contrast is between the “old-slain way” of the earthly Tabernacle where the high priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial animal seven times as he approached the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place (Leviticus 16:14), and the “freshly-slain way” into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly Tabernacle, sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb of God. It is through this new way that the readers of Hebrews are urged to come. The old way to the Mercy Seat in the Temple in Jerusalem was over with. There was no life there. It was all symbolic, an index-finger pointing to the reality of Yeshua Messiah. The new way, however, was life for them.

And since we have a great Priest (Hebrew: cohen) over the house of God, let us draw near to God as we worship Him with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that comes from trusting (Hebrews 10:21-22a). This is a Greek present imperative tense, meaning we should continue drawing near. The present tense emphasizes continuous action, but it is an imperative, meaning it is also an obligation, let us keep drawing near. There are two ways we draw near are, first, with a sincere heart (Greek: proserchometha), meaning with a real devotion, to be sincere without superficiality. Secondly, we should draw near to ADONAI in the full assurance that comes from trusting (Greek: pisteos), meaning a ripe faith, a vigorous faith. The believer lives by faith (Greek: pisteos) in what YHVH has promised because He is willing and able to perform that which He has guaranteed.²⁷³

It would have been nice if God had let us order life like we order fast food. “I’ll take good health and a high IQ please. I’ll pass on the music skills, but give me a fast metabolism.” That would have been nice. But it didn’t happen. When it came to your life on earth, you weren’t give a voice or a vote. But when it comes to life after death, you were. That seems like a good deal. Wouldn’t you agree?

Have we been given any greater privilege than that of choice? Not only does this privilege offset any injustice, the gift of free will can offset any mistakes. You’ve made some bad choices in your life, haven’t you. We all have. You’ve chosen the wrong friends, maybe the wrong career, even the wrong spouse. You look back over your life and say, “If only . . . if only I could make up for those bad choices.” You can. One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth. The choice is yours.²⁷⁴

Having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience is a beautiful picture of deliverance, already mentioned earlier: Then how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Holy Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God (9:14). Our conscience condemns us and brings guilt. Guilt or condemnation can never be removed until the sin is removed. When Yeshua died, His blood removed our sins and, consequently, our conscience becomes free from guilt. From God’s perspective, when you were saved, your sin was forgiven. You were sprinkled, just as the blood was sprinkled on the first Passover (see the commentary on Exodus Bv – The Egyptian Passover), when the angel of death passed by. Having been sprinkled, Ha’Shem’s justice has been thoroughly satisfied.

The other part of the cleansing, having our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:22b quoting Ezeki’el 36:25), does not refer to baptism, but has to do with our daily walk, how the Ruach changes our lives (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:26). These two aspects are inseparable. When we come to Christ they both take place. Messiah’s death pays the penalty for our sin and YHVH is satisfied; and the cleansing of the Ruach begins to change us on the inside and He is satisfied. So the believer can come into God’s presence with confidence.²⁷⁵

Let us continue holding on to the hope we acknowledge (10:23a CJB). The second part of a positive response to the gospel is hope. A person who is genuinely hopeful will hold fast. Holding on does not keep us saved, any more than good works will make us saved. But both are evidence that we are saved. Many people who have confessed Christ continue to give evidence, by their lives, that they have never known Him. Holding on is the human side of eternal security (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). This is an antimony, two things that seem to be opposite, but both are true. God sovereignly chooses those who are saved, but He will not save anyone who does not believe. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them (John 6:44), as well as: If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples (John 8:31). True believers will be around in the end. They may become discouraged or frustrated, and occasionally fall into a sinful habit. But they will hold on to God without wavering, for the One who made the promise is trustworthy (10:23b CJB). A true believer’s faith is never in vain, because his or her hope is in Christ, who is faithful to His promises: The one who chose you can be trusted, and He will do this (First Thessalonians 5:24 CEV).

And let us continue to consider how to motivate one another to love (Greek: agape, meaning good will) and good deeds (10:24 ISV). The specific kind of love mentioned here is fellowship love. Some of the Jewish unbelievers within the Messianic community were having a hard time breaking with the Temple and the Levitical sacrifices. So the author is telling them that one of the best ways to hold on to the things of God – the real things of God that are only found in Yeshua Messiah – is to be in the fellowship His people, where they could love and be loved, serve and be served. There is no better place to hold on to Messiah than in the local Messianic community or church, His Body.²⁷⁶

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day of the Lord (see the commentary on Isaiah Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah) approaching (10:25). The only place where we can remain steadfast until He comes is with His people. Deep fellowship is built with confidentiality. Only in the safe environment of warm acceptance and trusted confidentiality will people open up and share their deepest hurts, needs and mistakes. Confidentiality means that what is shared with another stays with that person. Also, deep fellowship is built with frequency. You must have frequent, regular contact with people in order to build genuine fellowship with them. Fellowship requires an investment of your time. Real fellowship takes effort. Don’t be a spiritual lone wolf.²⁷⁷

Are your disappointments too heavy? Read the story of the Emmaus-bound disciples. The Savior they thought was dead was walking beside them. He entered their house and sat at their table. And something happened in their hearts. It felt like a fire burning in us when Jesus talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us (Luke 24:32). Next time you’re disappointed, don’t panic. Don’t give up. Just be patient and let God remind you He’s still in control. In ain’t over till it’s over. Let us continue holding fast to the hope we acknowledge, without wavering; for the One who made the promise is trustworthy (10:23).²⁷⁸

Messiah’s Sacrifice Opens the Way to God
10: 19-39

When people hear the gospel, the good news of salvation from sin through Yeshua Messiah, and understand, believe, and commits themselves to it, then they will either go on to be a true believer or will finally reject the gospel and become apostate. These are the only two possible consequences. Here in this section, we are going to consider both of these.

First, we will consider the positive response – salvation. If we know, understand, and surrender to the truth of the good news, committing our life to Christ, then we have made a positive response to the truth. This particular response begins in 10:19 with the word therefore. The word therefore always points backwards. It is like the writer is saying, “On the basis of what I’ve said up to this point, you must respond.” After ten chapters of basic doctrine about the deity of Messiah, the author finally says to the unbelievers within the Messianic community to whom he was writing, “Here’s the opportunity for you to make a decision for Christ” (to see link click Ch – Let Us Draw Near to God).

Second, we will consider the negative response – apostasy (see Ci – If We Deliberately Keep On Sinning, No Sacrifice For Sins is Left). When someone knows all there is to know about the gospel, and hears all the truth there is to hear, and does not repent, but continues to walk in the ways of the world, he or she becomes an apostate. Apostasy is a rejection of the Spirit of God, for which there is no forgiveness (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Em – Whoever Blasphemes Against the Holy Spirit Will Never Be Forgiven).

The Practical Application
of the Supremacy of the Son
10:19 to 13:25

In the first major section 1:1 to 10:18 (to see link click Ah – The Superiority of the Son in His Person and Work), the author of Hebrews dealt with theological issues. He showed the superiority of the Son to the three pillars of Judaism: angels, Moshe, and the Levitical priesthood. Now, in the second major section of the book, he is going to deal with the practical application of the superiority of the Son in the walk of the believer. This practical application is based upon the theology previously discussed. In contrast with the first major section, however, this section is primarily application with some theology.²⁷¹

I Will Write My Torah on Their Hearts
10: 15-18

I will write My Torah in their hearts DIG: What does the prophecy of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34 show? Where was the First Covenant written? How did that work for the nation of Isra’el as a whole? Where did they end up? Why does the B’rit Chadashah need to be written on both the heart and the mind? Why can God forget the sins of the righteous believer? How far is the east to the west? Why was a Levitical offering now no longer necessary for the righteous of the TaNaKh?

REFLECT: How do you feel when you hear that God will remember you sins and wickedness no more? Does that mean you can sin all the more? Or are you grateful and wanting to please your heavenly Father all the more? What offering did Jesus make for you? How do you feel about that? What can you tell others?

The insufficiencies of animal sacrifices are continue to be compared to the sufficiency of Messiah’s sacrifice. His sacrifice is shown to be better in seven different ways.

Seventh, Yeshua’s sacrifice is better because it fulfills the promise of a New Covenant: And the Ruach ha-Kodesh also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant which I made with them after those days,” says ADONAI; “I will write my Torah on their hearts, and write it on their minds” (Hebrews 10:15-16 CJB quoting Jeremiah 31:33 CJB). In other words, the new sacrifice had to be made and it had to be effective because YHVH promised in His Word that it would be. Although the New Covenant was indeed new, it was not a new revelation, but the fulfillment of an old one. Now that it had been revealed, the Jews, more than any other people, should have welcomed it with open arms. The promise was not only Jeremiah’s, but also the very witness of the Ruach ha-Kodesh.

He then adds, “And their sins and their wickedness I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17 CJB quoting Jeremiah 31:34). In verses 16-17, the Spirit of God quotes Jeremiah 31:33-34. In Chapter 8, the Ruach quoted this in more detail, but now he does not need to quote the whole passage because he wants to point out only two things here: First, under the B’rit Chadashah there is no remembrance of sin, and secondly, there is no more consciousness of sin. For that reason, under the New Covenant, there is no more need for the Levitical sacrifices. This should have been the final proof that the Jewish unbelievers would need to embrace Yeshua as Messiah for He fulfills the promises that the prophet Jeremiah had written about.

Those Jewish unbelievers within the congregation (to see link click Ag – The Audience of the book of Hebrews – Group Three: Unbelieving Jews) were in checkmate. They had to make a decision one way or the other. It was if the Holy Spirit was saying through the human writer, “Look, you cannot accept the teaching of your own beloved prophet Jeremiah and yet reject the B’rit Chadashah that he prophesied about.” To accept Jeremiah was to accept Jesus Christ; to reject Jesus Christ is to reject Jeremiah (not to mention all the other prophets who spoke of the Messiah) and to reject the Ruach ha-Kodesh Himself.²⁶⁸

This provides the conclusion to the entire discussion: Now where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sins is no longer needed (10:18 CJB). This is the last, decisive word on the matter. Since Jesus brought perfection and complete forgiveness, sin, as far as ADONAI is concerned, cannot even be remembered; what further need is there for the Levitical sacrifices? The very fact that those Jewish unbelievers within the congregation have already had their sins paid for, there was no further need for an offering for their sins. The work of sacrifice was done. There will be no more. Why would anyone want to go back to the Levitical sacrifices, which were never finished and never effective. To reject Jesus Christ would be to abandon all hope of ever having their sins fully forgiven . . . ever. With this statement, the writer concludes the first major part of the book, which primarily dealt with the theological issue and provided some practical application.²⁶⁹

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9). Salvation – glorious and perfect salvation – is promised in the First Covenant and purchased in the New Covenant.²⁷⁰

Messiah’s Sacrifice was Once For All Time
10: 11-14

DIG: Because of God’s holy nature, what must be removed for someone to have access to God? What is the twofold significance of the fact that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God? What is the significance of the contrasts between the Levitical sacrificial system and the sacrifice that Christ made? How did Jesus’ one sacrifice for sins make future sacrifices unnecessary? What is the difference between positional sanctification and practical sanctification? What did the death of Messiah on the cross guarantee? What proved that the Adversary couldn’t defeat Yeshua?

REFLECT: What is the standard for getting into heaven? When were you made perfect? When does the process of being made holy end? Can you reach perfection in this life? In what way is ADONAI calling you to practice greater holiness? If you were asked to memorize one verse from 10:1-14, which one would you choose and why?

We continue to show the insufficiencies of animal sacrifices by comparing them to the sufficiency of Messiah’s sacrifice. His sacrifice is shown to be better in seven different ways.

The Levitical priests were still ministering in the Temple in Yerushalayim, which shows that the book was written before 70 AD, at which time Tziyon was destroyed by the Romans (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD).²⁶³

Fourth, Yeshua’s sacrifice is better because it removes sin: Day after day every the Levitical priest (Hebrew: cohen) stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this Cohen, Yeshua Messiah, had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He “sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:11-12 quoting Psalm 110:1). Messiah’s sacrifice was better because it removes sin, which the Levitical sacrifices could never do. The B’rit Chadashah went from daily sacrifices to one sacrifice, from many ineffective sacrifices to one perfect sacrifice. These two verses are a series of contrasts – the many priests to the one Priest, the continual standing of the Levitical priests with the sitting down of the Great Priest, the repeated sacrifices with the once-for-all-time sacrifice, and the ineffective sacrifices that only covered sin with the effective sacrifice of Jesus Christ that completely removes sin. The Levitical priests always stood because their ministry was never finished. But Yeshua didn’t need to stand up because His work was completed. The Levitical priests, with all their repetition, could never take away sins, however, Jesus’ one sacrifice took away sins of believers for all time.²⁶⁴

Fifth, Christ’s sacrifice is better because it destroyed His enemies: And since that time He waits for “His enemies to be made His footstool” (Hebrews 10:13 quoting Psalm 110:1). Christ’s sacrifice was better because it conquered His enemies. All the Levitical sacrifices did nothing to get rid of the Adversary. They had absolutely no effect on him at all, nor on the godless demons and people who serve him. But when Jesus died on the cross, was resurrected and ascended to the heavenly Tabernacle, He dealt a death-blow to all His enemies. First, He conquered him who holds the power over death – that is, the devil (Hebrews 2:14b). Second, Yeshua also triumphed over all the other fallen angels (Colossians 2:14-15). Third, Jesus disarmed and triumphed over all the rulers and authorities throughout the ages who have rejected and opposed ADONAI (Colossians 2:15). Now He only waits “His enemies to be made His footstool,” that is, until they acknowledge His lordship by bowing at His feet (Philippians 2:10).

Yeshua Messiah will stand above all those who were His enemies. He won the victory over them at the cross. There, all the enemies of God throughout the ages gathered together to inflict on Him their worst, which was death (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lv – Jesus’ Second Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of God). But Jesus conquered death just as He conquered the other enemies. He also conquered death for all who ever have and ever will believe in Him. Yeshua turned the Adversary’s worst into YHVH’s best.²⁶⁵

Sixth, Messiah’s sacrifice is better because it perfects believers forever: For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (10:14). The word perfect is the translation of the Greek teleo, which means to bring to a state of completion. Here the Ruach ha-Kodesh emphasizes that completion means salvation. The sinner receives everything needed for salvation is received by faith in Messiah’s sacrifice. The death of Christ on the cross removes sin forever for those who belong to Him. We are totally secure in our Savior (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). The forgiveness is permanent because the sacrifice is permanent.

Underline the word perfect. Note that the word is not better. Not improving. Not on the upswing. God doesn’t improve . . . He perfects; He doesn’t enhance . . . He completes. Now I realize that there’s a sense in which we’re imperfect sinners. We still err. We still stumble. We still do exactly what we don’t want to do. And that part of us is, according to the verse above, being made holy. But when it comes to our position before God, our standing before ADONAI, we’re perfect. When He sees each of us, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees us as one who has been made perfect through the One who is perfect – Jesus Christ.²⁶⁶

Those now being made holy in their practical sanctification, from God’s viewpoint, have been perfected forever in their positional sanctification. This verse is good for showing the contrast between practice and position. Earlier (see Cc – The Sufficiency of Messiah’s Sacrifice), we dealt with positional sanctification: because believers are in Christ, Ha’Shem views them as being permanently sanctified, and are already made perfect in His sight. They are not perfect because of how they live their lives, but because of what they are in Christ. In practice, they still sin; therefore, the Spirit of God is slowly conforming them into the image of ADONAI.²⁶⁷

Like salvation, sanctification has a past, present, and future aspects. Past: Because of Christ, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time (Hebrews 10:10). Present: For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:14). Sanctification is also a life-long process. Future: At the same time sanctification is something that we will fully experience only in our resurrection. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed (First Corinthians 15:51-52). Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure (First John 3:2-3).

The Sufficiency of Messiah’s Sacrifice
10: 5-10

The sufficiency of Messiah’s sacrifice DIG: Explain the manner in which Isra’el offered sacrifices that displeased God? Rather than meaningless ritual without any reality, what does God want from those who worship Him? When was the plan to send Messiah into the world determined? In what was God not pleased, and what caused Him to be pleased (Matthew 3:17)? In what ways does Messiah’s sacrifice better than the Levitical sacrifices? How does the obedience of Jesus relate to our holiness? What does it mean to be sanctified?

REFLECT: What keeps you from accepting that Christ’s work of salvation is finished? List some things you look forward to about Yeshua’s return?

Even though the Levitical sacrifices were only a shadow of the reality of Messiah (to see link click Cb – The Insufficiency of the Levitical Sacrifices), they still required faith for the covering of the Israelites’ sin to take place. The person who did not sacrifice out of a broken and contrite heart was not covered even temporarily (Amos 4:4-5, 5:21-25). It was the kind of sacrifice that YHVH did not desire. The people had taken what was meant to be a symbol of genuine faith, and turned it into a mockery. They thought they could use God for their own ends. It came in the form of magic, wherein they thought that the prescribed words or actions would automatically produced the result they desired (see the commentary on Jeremiah Cc – False Religion is Worthless).

As Samuel reminded Sha’ul: To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams (First Samuel 15:22). To sacrifice without obedience, to go through the ritual without faith and devotion to ADONAI, was mockery and hypocrisy that was worse than no sacrifice at all. In Psalm 51 David describes the only kind of sacrifice acceptable to YHVH, even during the Dispensation of Torah: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, You, O God, will not despise. Isaiah says much the same thing. Instead of pleasing God, their sacrifices became an abomination that He hated (see the commentary on Isaiah Aj – Stop Bringing Meaningless Offerings).

The insufficiencies of animal sacrifices are now compared to the sufficiency of Messiah’s sacrifice. His sacrifice is shown to be better in seven different ways.

First, Christ’s sacrifice is better because it reflects God’s will: Therefore, when Messiah came into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not delight. Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about Me in the scroll – I have come to do Your will, My God’ (Hebrews 10:5-7 TLV quoting Psalm 40:6-8).” God planned the incarnation before the world came into being: You have prepared a body for Me. When Messiah was ready to be born of human flesh, standing on the edge of heaven, if you will, talking to God the Father, He acknowledged that His own body was to be the sacrifice that would be pleasing Ha’Shem.

Second, Jesus’ sacrifice is better because it replaced the Burnt and Sin sacrifices: Notice that God does not take away the Torah; rather, He takes away, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor were You pleased with them” (10:8), even though they were offered in accordance with the eternal Torah. Moreover, it is not necessary to suppose that this “taking away” prohibits all animal sacrifices by the Levitical priesthood. The author’s point relates only to the burnt offering and the sin offering during the Dispensation of Grace because Christ’s sin offering was effective in a way that the burnt and sin offerings never were.²⁵⁸ It was as if on the cross Yeshua was saying, “Father, I know You are not satisfied with the Levitical sacrifices, but I know You are satisfied with Me and with My sacrifice. So I will gladly pay the price of obedience.”²⁵⁹

During the Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom, however, sacrifices and offerings will be reintroduced as a memorial for Jewish believers: King David will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites (Ezeki’el 45:17). Jewish believers ask, “Since the Messiah has already died for our sins, why would the sacrificial system be reinstituted during the Millennial Kingdom?” Four points should be noted.

First, during the Dispensation of Torah animal blood never took away sin (Hebrews 10:1-4) they merely covered sin. They pointed to a more complete sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb, Yeshua Meshiach, which would take away sin.

Secondly, Ezeki’el is not the only one who talks about a millennial system of sacrifice (Isaiah 56:5-7, 60:7-13, 65:20-23; Jeremiah 33:18-22; Zechariah 14:16-21). Consequently, these prophecies need to be taken literally because we have several prophets saying the same thing.

Thirdly, this is not a reinstitution of the sacrificial system of the Dispensation of Torah. While there are some similarities, there are simply too many differences, too many contradictions, with the Mosaic system. For example, in the Ezeki’el system there is no high priest and no ark of the Covenant (see the commentary on Isaiah Db – The Nine Missing Articles in Messiah’s Coming Temple). The Dispensation of Torah has come to an end because of the death of Messiah.

Fourthly, the millennial sacrificial system is a memorial. During the Dispensation of Grace Jewish believers are instructed to participate in a physical observance, or communion, in remembrance of the death of Messiah. But for Isra’el in the Kingdom there will be a different memorial: the sacrificial system in the Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom will serve the same purpose as communion did in the Dispensation of Grace. It will be the, do this in remembrance of Me for Jewish believers (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gs – God Shows a Vision of the Millennial Temple).²⁶⁰

The writer continues his commentary on Psalm 40:6-8. Then He said, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will.” He sets aside the first system, the Levitical sacrifices, to establish the second system, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross (10:9). His point is to show the Jewish unbelievers who were being tempted to return to Jerusalem and the Temple that the Levitical sacrifices were not then, never had been, and never could take away sin. They were not meant to be permanent, only temporary and symbolic. God’s ultimate desire was take away their sin, not merely cover it. Whatever purpose and validity the Levitical sacrifices once had, is now past. They are no longer valid. YHVH has set them aside forever. Only faith in Christ could take away their sin. All this repeated emphasis reveals a pleading heart, calling the readers to salvation in Yeshua Messiah.

Third, our Lord’s sacrifice is better because it makes the believer holy: And by that will, we have been sanctified, or to be made holy, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once-for-all-time (10:10). The word will here refers to the will of ADONAI that Messiah came to do. Because of Messiah’s willingness to die, believers have been made holy forever (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). This is what is called positional sanctification: because of the blood of Jesus, in God’s sight believers are in a permanent, continuous state of holiness because we are now in Christ (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith). In the Greek text, the author uses a perfect participle with a finite verb that grammatically emphasizes that believers are in a permanent, continuous state of salvation and sanctification. Messiah’s blood saves us and makes us holy. That’s good news.²⁶¹

Only the holy will see God. Holiness is a prerequisite to heaven. Perfection is a requirement for eternity. We wish it weren’t so. We act like it isn’t so. We act like those who are “decent” will see God. We suggest that those who try hard will see God. We act as if we’re good if we never do anything toooooo bad. And that goodness is enough to qualify us for heaven. That sounds right to us, but it doesn’t sound right to God. And He sets the standard. And the standard is high. You must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). You see . . . in God’s plan, God is the standard for perfection. We don’t compare ourselves to others; they are just as fouled up as we are. The goal is to be like Him . . . anything less is just comes up short.²⁶²

Our positional sanctification before Ha’Shem and our practical standing before Him are, however, two different things. If we are in Christ, we are positionally set apart, specifically, to the holy use and purposes of God. But our practical holiness, as we all know, doesn’t always match our holy calling. Speaking to the believers in Colossae, Rabbi Sha’ul wrote: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But not you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: ager, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips (Colossians 3:5, 7-8). All of the believers to whom Rabbi Sha’ul was talking were positionally set apart and holy, but all of them were in different stages of practical holiness.

Our practical sanctification starts once we are saved. At that point we start to mature as believers. It is the work of God in which you cooperate (Romans 12:1-2; First Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 12:3-4; First Peter 5:8-9); and is a process (Ephesians 4:11-16), trusting in God, apart from whom we can do nothing (John 15:5; Ephesians 3:16; Colossians 1:11; Hebrews 2:18 and 4:14). He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6). It is a process that takes a lifetime. It is a goal that we never really achieve. Christ is perfect and although we strive to be like Him, to be conformed into His image (Romans 8:29), we ultimately fall short of perfection. There were some men around 1900 that claimed to have reached perfection in this life. So B.B. Warfield (1851-1921), one of America’s greatest theologians, wrote a book called Perfectionism, in which he dismissed the idea of perfectionism. He probably could have written another book if he would have just talked to the wives of those men who claimed to have been perfected!

But even Rabbi Sha’ul, as a mature believer, struggled with sin until the end of his life: For we know that the Torah is of the Spirit; but as for me, I am bound to the old nature, sold to sin as a slave. I don’t understand my own behavior – I don’t do what I want to do; instead, I do the very thing I hate! Now if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am agreeing that the Torah is good. But now it is no longer “the real me” doing it, but the sin housed inside me. For I know that there is nothing good housed inside me – that is, inside my old nature. I can want what is good, but I can’t do it! For I don’t do the good I want; instead, the evil I don’t want is what I do! But if I am doing what “the real me” doesn’t want, it is no longer “the real me” doing it but the sin housed inside me. So I find it to be the rule, a kind of perverse “torah,” which is operating in my various parts. What a miserable creature I am! Who will rescue me from this body bound for death? Thanks be to God, [He will rescue me] through Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord (Romans 7:14-25 CJB).

What is the result of being separated for holiness? And we all, who in contrast to Moshe, with unveiled faces continually contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed (to change the inward reality into something new), into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (Second Corinthians 3:18). Therefore, the inward result is peace (Isaiah 32:17); the outward result is fruit (Second Corinthians 9:8; Second Peter 1:5-11); and the upward result is to honor ADONAI (Matthew 5:16; Yochanan 15:8).

The Insufficiency of the Levitical Sacrifices
10: 1-4

The insufficiency of the Levitical sacrifices DIG: What was the redeeming factor in the sacrifices during the Dispensation of the Torah? What did the sacrifices show the Israelites that they needed to look forward to? Of what did they serve to remind them? According to Hebrews 10:2, what would have happened if the sacrifices actually removed sin? Who is the most sensitive person in the world of sin? Why was blood such a significant part of the sacrifices in the Torah? Why was it impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins?

REFLECT: The sacrifices in the First Covenant did not remove sin; they merely covered their sins. They reminded the Israelites of their sin. What do you do to remind yourself that you have sin that needs to be dealt with? We are not sinners because we sin . . . we sin because we are sinners. What does that mean? Why do you agree of disagree with that statement?

The Jewish people have often thought of themselves as having a love relationship with the Torah. Among the greatest honors a synagogue may bestow on one of its own is to designate a person the Khatan Torah (Bridegroom of the Torah). That title is bestowed with all the pageantry associated with a real wedding. This is done in honor of being called forward to read the opening or closing line of the Torah during Simchat Torah, the festival of rejoicing over the Torah.

It is not uncommon to hear the rabbis speak of the Torah as the marriage contract that binds Adonai, Isra’el’s Husband, to His Hebrew bride. God never breaks His contract (because He is totally faithful), but what of sinful humanity?

The Kabbalah, Isra’el’s secret book of mysticism from the Middle Ages, was once read by many. Its mysterious writings are connected with attaining intimate knowledge of the Almighty, however its thoughts are obviously human. The title Kabbalah means tradition – rather than revelation. This mystical book defines a principle that has governed Jewish orthodoxy since the time of Moshe: kol ha-mosif gorea (to add is to detract). In reference to the Scriptures, you dare not enlarge on that which God has communicated. The command is found in Deuteronomy 4:2 and in Revelation’s final warnings (Revelation 22:18). It is an instruction the many, in their zeal to find redemption through the Torah, have disregarded.

The author of the Kabbalah held that the Torah is the binding link between God and His people, “You should know that the 613 commandments from the Torah form a compact with the Holy One – blessed be He – and with Isra’el (Kitzur Sh’lu page 2, column 2). Most importantly, he went on to state that, “No one is perfect (and therefore worthy of being at Abraham’s side) unless he has thoroughly observed all of the 613 commandments.”

But the question is then raised, “If this this is true, who is he and where is he that has observed all the 613 commandments? For even the lord of the prophets, Moshe or Rabbi – peace be upon him – had not observed them all.” The author of the Kabbalah was then forced to make an adjustment in his thinking. “Therefore, every Israelite is bound to observe only those of the 613 commandments that are possible for him; and such as he has not observed, in consequences of difficulties arising from unpreventable causes, will be credited to him as if actually performed.” But this was like cheating on a test. In this scenario the teacher would say, “Answer all the questions, but any of them you get wrong, I’ll assume you had some difficulty in learning the right answer (through no fault of your own), and I’ll give you credit as if you actually got the answer right. You don’t need to feel guilty about it”

Yet reaching a point where people would no longer have felt guilty for their sins (10:2) could only be achieved by accepting their word over God’s Word. We are forever clinging to mankind’s lesser standard lest the achievement of perfection remain an elusive dream to us. How we feel about ourselves seems to be more important than God’s objective, honest evaluation of us. Yet the constant religious activity of priests and populace in first century Judaism, or even today, could draw attention to the reality that even cheating on the test could make perfect those who draw near to worship (10:1b).²⁵⁰

Under the Dispensation of the Torah (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Da – The Dispensation of Torah), the priests were busy all day long, from dawn to sunset, slaughtering sacrificial animals. It is estimated that at Passover as many as two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand lambs would be slain within a week. The slaughter would be so massive that blood would run out of the Temple ground through specially prepared channels into the Brook Kidron, which seemed to be running with blood. But no matter how many sacrifices were made, or how often, they were insufficient. They failed in three ways: they could not bring access to God, they could not remove sin, and they were only external.²⁵¹

They could not bring access to God: The great cry in the hearts of the righteous of the TaNaKh was to be in the presence of God (Exodus 33:15; Psalm 16:11). But they really had no way of getting there. Even the high priest on the Day of Atonement could not take the people inside the veil, where, symbolically, YHVH dwelt. All the old ceremonies and sacrifices, though offered continually, year after year, could never make perfect those who draw near. They could never bring access to ADONAI.

The Torah has in it a shadow of the good things to come, but not the realities themselves (10:1a). They were shadows and could only reflect the realities of the good things to come, which were the realities of the privileges and blessings of salvation. The Levitical sacrifices were only shadows. Those rituals and practices were a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ (Colossians 2:17). The Torah was not a true representation and there was no reality in it because of its failure to permanently deal with the issue of sin. The reality was yet to come.²⁵²

For this reason the Torah could never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship (10:1b). The words made perfect are a translation of the Greek word teleo, which means to bring to a state of completeness. The idea here is that the Levitical sacrifices could not actually save the believer because its work was always short of perfection.²⁵³ The repetition of the Levitical sacrifices is a theme that is repeated many times in Hebrews. However, you can pile shadow upon shadow upon shadow, and you still have no substance. Repetition of a symbol is like multiplying with zero. No matter how many times you repeat the process, the result never increases.

Why then did Ha’Shem establish the Levitical system with its shadow ceremonies, shadow rituals and its shadow sacrifices? What was the point? Well, even a shadow reflects something real. First, it pointed to the real salvation that was to come. It was to make God’s people expectant. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searching intently and with great care (1 Peter 1:10). A shadow of something – certainly a God-given shadow – is infinitely better than no evidence at all.

Second, the purpose of the shadow sacrifices was to remind God’s people that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The blood that flowed from the bronze altar (see the commentary on Exodus Fa – Build an Altar of Acacia Wood Overlaid with Bronze) came from animals that were killed as sacrifices for sin. The people were constantly being reminded that the wages of sin is death, because death was going on all day long, all week long, all month long, and all year long – year after year – as animals were being slaughtered.

Third, ADONAI gave His people the sacrifices as a temporary covering for sin. When properly offered from a true heart of faith, the Levitical sacrifices removed the immediate physical judgment from YHVH. To reject the sacrifices was to be cut off from His people and to suffer some physical judgment, because it revealed an unbelieving, disobedient heart. Those sacrifices were physical and so they had some physical effect and value. They could not bring a person into the presence of God, but they were important to maintaining a demonstration of a person’s covenantal relationship with Him.²⁵⁴

They could not remove sin: With their shadow, the animal sacrifices could never remove sin. However, removal of sin is what mankind needs. Sin and guilt eat away at us. But the Levitical sacrifices could not remove sin or guilt. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins (10:2-3). Even the covering of sin was temporary. It lasted only until the next sin. A clean conscience didn’t last very long. All the sacrifices did was to serve as a constant reminder that their sin was not removed.

It is always the believer who is sensitive to sin. We have just as much sensitivity to sin as unbelievers; it’s just that we are delivered from the fear of judgment. We are released from the feelings of guilt from the Levitical sacrifices. Those taking on the yoke of the Torah were never freed from the presence of awareness of guilt or from the anxiety and tension that it brings. Romans Chapters 5 and 6 gives us a good picture of this. It is a wonderful blessing for believers to know there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). It is a wonderful thing to be free from guilt and to recognize that our sins are continually being forgiven by the grace of God through the death of Messiah.²⁵⁵

They were only external: It is impossible (Greek: adunatos) for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (10:4). Its something like a person whose kidneys are failing and who has to go on a dialysis machine three times a week. The treatments cleanse the blood temporarily and keep the patient alive. But the fact that the treatment must be repeated over and over again is a constant reminder how ill he truly is.²⁵⁶ The blood of bulls and goats, were “interest only” payments. It could only buy time, but not forgiveness. That is why when Yeshua died, He died for the sins of the righteous of the TaNaKh as well as for those sinners after the cross. Animal blood was insufficient to take away sins. They were only covered. Kafar is the regular Hebrew word for covering. The same word is used when Noah was told to coat the ark with pitch (kafar) inside and out (see the commentary on Genesis Ce – The Ark is a Type of Christ). The blood-sacrifice of animals did not take away sins, it only covered them. This covering symbolized that sin was out of God’s sight so that He could temporarily forgive the sins of the righteous of the TaNaKh. However, sin could not be permanently removed until the Messiah came, suffered, died and ascended to the right hand of the Father in the heavenly Tabernacle.²⁵⁷

Messiah, the Perfect Sacrifice
10: 1-18

The writer to the Hebrews has made his case. God’s revelation in Yeshua is better to that given through Moshe. Jesus’ High Priesthood is better than that of the Levitical priesthood. The Dispensation of Grace that Messiah administers is better than the Dispensation of the Torah. As our High Priest, Christ ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, while Isra’el’s priest ministered in an earthly Tabernacle, a mere copy and shadow of the true one. And the Lord’s sacrifice of Himself has accomplished what the blood of bulls and goats could never do. But like a good attorney, as the writer is about to move on to the lifestyle of the believer, he closes this section of the book by going over key points once again. If what we read in Hebrews 10:1-18 sounds familiar, it’s because it is familiar. But it’s also vital. And the writer wants to be sure there’s no mistake about the core truth’s he’s taught. After all, our life depends on them.²⁴⁹

The Better Tabernacle Purified with Better Blood
9: 23-28

The better Tabernacle purified with better blood DIG: Because God was so satisfied with Yeshua’s sacrifice, what did He do for Him (see Philippians 2:9)? Why was the tax collector justified rather than the Pharisee in the story in Luke 18? For whom did Christ appear in the presence of God? What are two proofs that are found in verses 24 and 25 that show that Messiah’s sacrifice was a better one? If Jesus’ sacrifice had not been sufficient, what would have to happen? The perpetual offering of Christ by the Roman Catholic Church contradicts what biblical truth?

REFLECT: The author used analogies from the TaNaKh to explain the meaning of Messiah’s death to the Israelites. What analogies might you use to explain it to people you know? Does the fact that Yeshua died to take away your sins free you to serve Him more? Or make you spiritually “lazy?” Why?

There are three results of the Messiah’s sacrifice. The third result of His sacrifice is His ministry in the heavenly Tabernacle. In the preceding file, the author focused on the use of blood for the purifying and remission of sin. Now, the use of blood in preparation for the way of approach is going to be enlarged. The author shows that Yeshua purified the heavenly Tabernacle through His own blood unlike Moshe who purified the earthly Tabernacle with the blood of bulls and goats. Therefore, Yeshua dwelt in a better Tabernacle, and purified it with better blood . . . His own blood.

Because, as seen previously, without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins (9:22 CJB), this is how the copies of the heavenly things had to be purified, but the heavenly things themselves require better sacrifices than these (9:23 CJB). The purifying of the heavenly Tabernacle pictures the purifying of the earthly Tabernacle. The copies of the heavenly things are the earthly Tabernacle, its seven pieces of fixtures and all its furnishings. The use of animal blood had to be used to purify the earthly Tabernacle because they were only copies and animal blood was sufficient to purify them. However, the heavenly Tabernacle is the original, and it was necessary to purify it with better blood, the blood of Jesus. Although the sacrifice that Yeshua made was a one-time sacrifice, the term sacrifices (Greek: thusiais) is plural. It is a generic or intensive plural that shows all the sacrifices made during the Dispensation of the Torah were fulfilled in the one sacrifice of Messiah. His sacrifice had to be better because the heavenly Tabernacle required better purifying in keeping with its better nature.²⁴¹

This raises the obvious question: Why did the heavenly Tabernacle need to be purified? First, when the Adversary rebelled against God, he did so while he was still in heaven and, thus, Satan’s rebellion brought sin into heaven itself (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezeki’el 28:11-19). The Ezeki’el passage states that he desecrated the sanctuary in heaven. As a result, heaven was not pure (Job 15:15, 25:5). Second, mankind is untied with creation. When Adam sinned, his sin reached up to heaven. When Jesus died, He reconciled things in heaven as well as on earth: He reconciled all things to Himself, whether on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:20)

In verses 24-26 the Ruach HaKodesh deals with Messiah’s once-for-all entrance into God’s presence for us, and points out three key truths. First, Christ entered into heavenly Tabernacle. Messiah entered into the heavenly Tabernacle and not into the Most Holy Place on earth. For the Messiah has entered the Most Holy Place that is not made with human hands and merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, in order to appear now on our behalf in the very presence of God (9:24 CJB). On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (see the commentary on Exodus, click to see link Go – The Day of Atonement), the high priest entered the Most Holy Place alone, and, in essence his work there was a secret ministry. What’s more, before he did so, the smoke from the Altar of Incense preceded him into the Most Holy Place so that his face was hidden. That smoke protected him from looking at the Shechinah glory, the visual manifestation of God’s presence. So while the high priest entered into the earthly Most Holy Place in secret and hidden by smoke, Jesus Christ entered boldly into the heavenly Most Holy Place. He did not enter the Most Holy Place made with human hands, but made by YHVH alone. When Jesus entered in, He went in for us. Isn’t it beautiful to realize that when He went in, we went in with Him? Because we’re in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), we were ushered into the presence of God with Him.²⁴²

The second truth is that Yeshua entered with a finished atonement. Again a contrast is made between the once-for-all-time offering of Messiah compared with the yearly offering of the high priest. Further, He did not enter the heavenly Tabernacle to offer Himself over and over again, like the high priest who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Yeshua would have to suffer death many times – from the founding of the universe on (9:25-26:a CJB). If Jesus’ sacrifice had not been once-for-all-time, He would have had to suffer from the founding of the universe. He would have to die continuously, as it were, since the time Adam sinned. Like the work of the Levitical priesthood, His atoning work would have never be finished. But praise God, His sacrifice doesn’t have to be repeated – not even once. It is completely finished.

The Roman Catholic idea of the perpetual sacrifice of Messiah is a heretical doctrine that for many centuries has contradicted this, and many other clear biblical teachings about the finished work of Christ. It maintains that, inasmuch as the priesthood of Jesus is perpetual and sacrifice is an essential part of His priesthood, therefore the sacrificial offering of Christ must also be perpetual.

Ludwig Ott, a Roman Catholic theologian, explains this perpetual sacrifice dogma, which was made official by that church at the Council of Trent in the middle of the sixteenth century. “The holy mass,” he writes, “is a true a proper sacrifice. It is physical and propitiatory (meaning the averting of God’s wrath by means of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus that satisfies every claim of God’s holiness and justice so that He is free to act on behalf of sinners), removing sins and conferring the grace of repentance. Propitiated by the offering of this sacrifice, God, by granting the grace of the gift and the gift of Penance, remits trespasses and sin however grievous they may be.”²⁴³

Roman Catholics who take their church membership seriously and who, in most cases, have had it drilled into them from infancy that in the mass a daily sacrifice is offered to them, find it extremely hard to leave the Roman Church precisely because in the Messianic community, or in the evangelical church, they find no mass. And they fear that without the mass they will lose their salvation. A devout Roman Catholic regards this matter of salvation through the mass far more seriously than most messianic Jews or believing evangelicals realize. But when one begins to read the Bible thoughtfully and prayerfully, he discovers that Christ made the only sacrifice necessary for salvation on the cross of Calvary, and the mass cannot possibly be a continuing sacrifice.²⁴⁴

No doubt some Catholics are saved, but in holding to the doctrine of the perpetual offering of His sacrifice, they undermine the power and significance of Messiah’s once-for-all-time sacrifice. This false doctrine is plainly reflected in the crucifix, the ubiquitous symbol of Roman Catholicism. Whether in pictures, in statues, the cross is rarely empty in Catholic representations. To Catholics, Yeshua is still being crucified. In communion, or the Lord’s Supper we remember Christ’s sacrificial death, as He commanded us to do. But He is not re-sacrificed. Our Lord commanded His disciples to remember His death (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kj – Breaking the Middle Matzah).²⁴⁵

The third key truth is that having entered into heaven with a finished atonement, Jesus conquered sin forever. But as it is, Messiah had appeared once at the end of the ages in order to set aside sin through the sacrifice of Himself (9:26b CJB). Having entered into heaven with a completely finished atonement, Jesus did away with sin forever in the sense that the believer is justified at the moment of faith (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith). The timing was at the end of the ages. This expression means it was at the end of the Dispensation of the Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah), similar to what Rabbi Sha’ul states: But when the appointed time arrived, God sent forth His Son. He was born from a woman, born into a culture in which legalistic perversion of the Torah was the norm (Galatians 4:4 CJB).

When ADONAI’s timetable reached the proper moment, Christ was born (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Aq – The Birth of Jesus). The key purpose was to do away with sin. He would not merely achieve forgiveness, or temporary covering of sin, which the righteous of the TaNaKh achieved, but now the sins of the righteous would be set aside (Greek: athetesin, meaning it was no longer in effect). Just as the Levitical priesthood was set aside (7:18), so Yeshua also came to set aside sin. Unlike the temporary work of the Levitical priests, Messiah did one perfect work and set aside sin forever through the sacrifice of Himself. Not by blood that was not His own, but by His own blood.

There were Jewish unbelievers in the Messianic congregation to which the author was writing. He had warned them that they were in danger (see Ag – The Audience of the book of Hebrews). But, here again, writer warns them that just as people are destined to die just once. Everyone has to die, and our death is by divine appointment. This is the Bible’s refutation of the concept of reincarnation, which is found in most Eastern religions and incorporated into a number of recent Western imitations. And after that to face the judgment (9:27 CJB), which is also appointed by God. Since we are not able to atone for our own sins, Ha’Shem’s judgment demands that we pay for them ourselves, or have a substitute pay for them.

Like everyone else, Yeshua Messiah was divinely destined to die just once. But unlike us, He will never face judgment. Because He took out sins upon Himself, He took our judgment upon Himself. But the judgment was for our sins, not His, for He had none. He was our substitute. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). He dies the one death that judgment demanded.

On the Day of Atonement, the people waited eagerly to see the high priest come out from the Most Holy Place. If he did anything wrong, if he failed to follow Ha’Shem’s precise instructions, he would die. So there was always a sight of relief, for their own sakes as well as his, when he reappeared.

That was the situation being alluded to here in 9:28. If the people were so eager to see the former high priests reappear from the earthly Most Holy Place, how much more should believers look eagerly for their great High Priest, Yeshua Messiah, to reappear from the heavenly Most Holy Place? This will occur at the Second Coming (see the commentary on Isaiah Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah).²⁴⁶

So Messiah was sacrificed once to bare the sins of many (Hebrews 9:28a quoting Isaiah 53:12); and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to deliver those who eagerly await Him (9:28b CJB). Here is the clearest statement in the Bible of the relationship between Yeshua’s First and Second Comings. His First Coming fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (see the commentary on Isaiah Iy – The Death of the Suffering Servant), which predicted that Messiah would die as an atonement for human sin and be raised from the dead, so that He could appear a second time to fulfill such prophecies as Isaiah 2:2-5 and 9:6-7, which say that Messiah will bring peace to the world and deliver His people once the leadership of Isra’el asks Him to come back (see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ).²⁴⁷

You can’t forgive me for my sins nor can I forgive you for yours. Two kids in a mud puddle can’t clean each other. They need someone clean. Someone spotless. We need someone clean us too. That’s why we need a Savior. Trying to make it to heaven on our own goodness is like trying to get to the moon on a moon beam . . . nice idea, but try it and see what happens. Listen. Quit trying to quench your own guilt. You can’t do it. There’s no way. Not with a bottle of whiskey or perfect attendance at Hebrew School or Sunday School. Sorry. I don’t care how bad you are. You can’t be bad enough to forget it. And I don’t care how good you are. You can’t be good enough to overcome it. You need a Savior. A Substitute. We all do!²⁴⁸

Forgiveness Demands Blood
9: 15-22

Forgiveness demands blood DIG: How were people saved during the Dispensation of the Torah? Describe the purpose of the animal sacrifices? What two things did God declare about His character when He sent Messiah to be the ransom for sin? How far back in time was Yeshua’s superior sacrifice effective? What is necessary for a will to go into effect? What had to happen for Christ to release His inheritance to His fellow heirs? How does the writer of Hebrews show that bloodshed in the B’rit Chadashah was not unusual and only to be expected? What did Jesus identify as the confirming sign of the New Covenant on the night before His death?

REFLECT: How is Christ’s mediation like a ransom for your soul? Were you a hostage? Hostage to what? What is the ransom price? Are those who lived and died before Jesus somehow covered by this ransom also (see Romans 3:25)? How is Messiah’s death like a will made good for you? What is your inheritance? What puts the will in force? Why the emphasis on shed blood? What for? How extensive is the application? How effective?

There are three results of the Messiah’s sacrifice. The second result of His sacrifice is the ratification of a New Covenant. In Chapter eight the author stated that the New Priesthood is based upon a better covenant (to see link click Bm – A Better Covenant). Now he will show how that covenant was signed.

Since the blood of the Messiah cleanses our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God (9:14), certain things are true. First, Messiah is the mediator of a New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15 CJB quoting Jeremiah 31:31 CJB). A mediator is one who intervenes between two people either to make peace and friendship or to ratify a covenant; in this case, ratifying the New Covenant is seen to be in contrast with the First Covenant (the Mosiac Covenant). While the Mosiac Covenant was able to point out 613 transgressions, it could never bring the inheritance of the promised blessing of complete forgiveness of sin and eternal life. That is why a New Covenant was needed . . . and He is the mediator of this Covenant.

Secondly, the death of Jesus paid the ransom for the redemption of the sins committed under the First Covenant. The truth is that the sacrifices during the Dispensation of the Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah) did not remove the sins of the righteous of the TaNaKh. The Hebrew word kippur for atonement simply means to cover. Animal blood could not remove the sins of the righteous of the TaNaKh. It only covered them temporarily. That is why when the righteous of the TaNaKh died, they could not go directly to heaven. Instead they went down to Paradise or Abraham’s side (one section of sh’ol), and waited for the death of Yeshua. It was then that the sins of the righteous of the TaNaKh were removed. When Messiah died, He did not simply die for all the sins to be committed after His death, He also died for all the sins that were committed before His death . . . for the sins committed under the First Covenant. The same point is made by Rabbi Sha’ul: God presented Him as a propitiation (Greek hilasterion, meaning the covering of the ark that was sprinkled with the blood of a sacrifice on the Day of Atonement) through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed (Romans 3:25 HCSB).²³⁴

Consequently, the righteous of the TaNaKh who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the First Covenant (9:15 CJB). The death of Jesus provided the means for their promised eternal inheritance. These words can be traced throughout the TaNaKh as they outline one its major themes. God promised Adam eternal life, conditional on obedience (Genesis 2:16-17 and 3:22). ADONAI’s covenant with Noah includes many promises and is called everlasting (Genesis 9:16). YHVH promised Abraham and his seed the Land of Isra’el forever (Genesis 13:15), and the term inherit is first used in the Bible in connection with this promise (Genesis 15:7). Ha’Shem’s promises to Avraham are reconfirmed in the covenant with Moshe (Galatians 3:6 to 4:7, constitute an indispensable commentary on this verse), but people’s sins disqualified them from receiving what had been promised. Those who accept Yeshua’s eternal dealing with sin, as explained in these chapters, may receive the promised eternal inheritance.²³⁵

A will demands a death: Now the writer switches in his thinking from the concept of a Covenant to the concept of a will. The connection between the two is the concept of inheritance. A will provides for an inheritance. For where there is a will, there must necessarily be produced evidence of its maker’s death, since a will goes into effect only upon death; it never has force while its maker is still alive (9:16-17 CJB). The Greek word for covenant, diatheke, closely corresponds to our present-day will. A will does not take place until the one who made it dies. Until that time, its benefits and provisions are only promises, and necessarily in the future. The point the writer is making here is simple and obvious to us today. But its relevance to the Torah was anything but obvious to the Jews being addressed here. So the writer briefly explains how it applies. Building on verse 15, he is saying that God gave an eternal inheritance to Isra’el in the form of a covenant, or a will. As with any will, it was only a type of promissory note until the provider of the will died. At this point, no mention is made of who the deceased is or how Christ fulfills that role.²³⁶

Now, a will is one-sided, but a covenant is two-sided. Obviously it was not God, who set the terms of these covenants with Adam, Abraham, and Moshe, who died. Rather, it was, in every instance, the receiver of Ha’Shem’s covenant who died – not actual physical death, but spiritual death through identification with the shed blood. In the God’s covenant with Moses, the dead animals represent the people of Isra’el as having died to their former sinful way of life; while the sprinkled blood represents the new life offered through the Torah – the life is in the blood (see the commentary on Leviticus Da – The Life is in the Blood). The necessary connection between deaths and covenants in the TaNaKh means, literally, to cut a covenant. One day ADONAI would cut a covenant with Abram that his descendants would inherit the Land, then Abram cut animals in pieces and saw a smoking firepot with a blazing torch pass between them (see the commentary on Genesis Eg – I am the LORD, Who Brought You Out of Ur of the Chaldeans to Give You This Land).²³⁷

Forgiveness demands blood: Now the writer illustrates the principle and reverts back from the concept of a will to the concept of a covenant. The background for these verses can be found in Exodus 24:3-8. This is why the First Covenant too was inaugurated with blood (9:18 CJB). Here, too, a death had taken place, but it was the death of an animal. The Mosaic Covenant was ratification by the shedding of blood, but the blood was animal blood. So it was not so shocking that second covenant should be ratified the same way. But Yeshua ratified the New Covenant with His own blood. His blood being better than animal blood. As in the case of the Mosaic ratification, where the death of an animal gave validity to the First Covenant and made it unchangeable, the same thing is true of the New Covenant.

After Moshe had proclaimed every command of the Torah to the people, he took the blood of the calves with some water and used scarlet wool and hyssop to sprinkle both the scroll itself and all the people (9:19 CJB). The Testator of the First Covenant was YHVH, for it was God who was the source of salvation during the Dispensation of the Torah. But the LORD was not yet ready to come in the Person of His Son and die on the cross for mankind. Therefore, He provided a substitute that would represent Him in death, a death that would make the Covenant effective. The substitute was an animal. In fact, according to the Torah, one must almost say that everything is purified with blood (9:22a).²³⁸

Moses used a solemn blood ceremony to seal the First Covenant after he had spoken the words of the Torah (Exodus Chapters 20 through 23). Then he ratified the First Covenant by sprinkling both the Book of the Covenant and the people with blood (see the commentary on Exodus Ek – The Ratification of the Sinai Covenant). He used the blood of an animal. This sprinkling of blood meant that the people were to obey, and if they obeyed, ADONAI would bless them.²³⁹

And he said, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you” (Hebrews 9:20 CJB quoting Exodus 24:8 CJB). The blood was the confirming sign. Do you remember the startling words of Yeshua: This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me (Matthew 26:27-28; Mark 14:23-24 Luke 22:20; First Corinthians 11:25). Messiah was ratifying the New Covenant after the pattern of Exodus 24:8, except that it would be confirmed through the shedding of His own blood, symbolizing His atoning death for sin.

Likewise, he sprinkled with the blood both the Tabernacle and all the things used in tis ceremonies (9:21 CJB). Since the Tabernacle was not yet built when Moshe ratified the First Covenant, his sprinkling of both the Tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with blood were obviously meant to be anticipatory. The blood he sprinkled at the initiation of the First Covenant continued, in a sense, to be sprinkled by the priests of the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, as long as the First Covenant was in effect.

The purpose of the blood was to symbolize sacrifice for sin, which brought about cleansing from sin. Indeed, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (9:22b). Forgiveness is very, very costly. The Father doesn’t forgive sin by looking down and saying, “Well, It’s all right. Since I love you so much, I’ll overlook your sin.” ADONAI’s righteousness and holiness will not allow Him to do that. Sin demands payment by death. And the only death great enough to pay for all of the sins of mankind is the death of His Son. And if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). God’s great love for us will not lead Him to overlook our sin, but it has led Him to provide the payment for our sin, as Yochanan 3:16 so beautifully reminds us. YHVH cannot ignore our sin; but He will forgive our sin if we trust in the death of His Son for that forgiveness.²⁴⁰

The Insufficiency of the Blood of Bulls and Goats
9: 13-14

The insufficiency of the blood of bulls and goats DIG: What was the best the Levitical cleansing could do? What is the significance of the red cow to Isra’el? What message is the writer to the Hebrews sending to those unbelievers in the congregation? Why and when did those washings stop? What is the Temple Institute trying to do? What difference will it make? How is the cleansing of Christ distinguished from the Levitical cleansing?

REFLECT: Is there anything that has become a “holy cow” in your life? How can you get back to worshiping the “holy Messiah?” What is the difference between external and internal cleansing in your life? Do you know someone who needs to hear this?

There are three results of the Messiah’s sacrifice. The first result of His sacrifice was the purification. From early times, every Jewish community has had a mikveh, a pool for ceremonial cleansing. Immersion in its waters is never more important than just prior to Yom Kippur. Being clean before ADONAI is the concern of every true worshipper.

The TaNaKh has many examples revealing mankind’s defilement. Our first parents knew the shame of defilement when they sinned against God’s command (Genesis 3:10).

Aaron and his sons had to wash their hands and feet whenever they drew near to worship YHVH; failure to obey this lasting ordinance would result in death (Exodus 30:17-21).

Concern for purity extended to one’s livestock; ADONAI would not receive a sacrificial offering that was blemished or defective in any way (Exodus 12:5). And only a select group from among the twelve tribes – the priests – could bring those acceptable offerings to Ha’Shem. The high priest alone was permitted to enter the holiest place beyond the Tabernacle’s inner veil, once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Go – The Day of Atonement).

There was a cleansing, but not enough thorough cleansing. The writer reminds the Hebrews that under the Levitical priesthood the best they could hope for was a limited holiness (Hebrew: kedushah), for the blood of goats and bulls could never really accomplish deep internal cleansing. The Tabernacle was a symbol for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered there were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper (9:9).

In addition, there was an extraordinary form of ritual cleansing Moshe was given a regulation that became an increasingly significant part of Isra’el’s worship experience. Numbers 19 describes the ceremony a perfect red heifer (Hebrew: parah adumah), which had never been yoked, and was slaughtered outside the camp of Isra’el. After sprinkling its blood seven times in front of the Tabernacle, the animal was consumed by fire and its ashes stored for mixing with water. This water of cleansing (Hebrew: me niddah) containing those ashes was applied to those who had been defiled as a result of coming near or touching a dead body. The high priest was no exception; he was sprinkled with the purifying waters twice during the week immediately preceding Yom Kippur, just in case he unknowingly became ceremonially defiled.

Oddly enough, this is the only sacrifice where God commands that the ashes of the burnt animal be kept. And this was for a unique purpose as the red heifer was the key sacrifice for purifying the priesthood and their sacred utensils from sin and uncleanliness (see the commentary on Numbers Cy – The Red Heifer). As the Passover lamb was essential to bring our people into covenant relationship with our Heavenly Father, the red heifer was that which kept us cleansed in our service to Ha’Shem.

After the destruction of the Temple and its sacrificial altar in 70 AD, the water for these washings could no longer be made. According to the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law), the last priest to kill a red heifer was the high priest Ishmael ben Phabi ten years before the destruction of Jerusalem. And 12 chapters of the Oral Law (an entire tractate called Parah) are devoted to this strange ritual!

The Samaritans, who viewed Jerusalem’s Temple indifferently, continued slaying red heifers until the fourteenth century, using those ashes for generations afterwards. Maimonides (a twelfth century scholar) believed that the red heifer ritual would be resumed with the coming of the Messiah.

The problem is that this, like so many of Isra’el’s rituals, dealt with the externals of religion. The sometimes elaborate and impressive procedures could not touch the inner defilement that prevented fellowship with the Holy One of Isra’el.²³³

Speaking to the unbelievers in the messianic congregation the writer says: The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of red [heifer] sprinkled on those who are ceremonially clean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean (9:13). Some of the Hebrews in the Diaspora continued to look to the blood of bulls and goats as a means of gaining a right relationship with ADONAI. But that sprinkling only achieved the purifying of the flesh, not the cleansing of the conscience.

There is considerable excitement about the red heifer in Isra’el today. There is an organization called the Temple Institute that is dedicated to establishing the Third Temple. It’s long term aims are to build the third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount, on the site currently occupied by the Islamic Dome of Rock and reinstate the Levitical sacrifices. Members of the Temple Institute have been working on this for decades.

In order to carry out this project, the Temple Institute has joined forces with an experienced Israeli cattle rancher who is an expert in the science of animal husbandry, under the halakhic supervision and guidance of the rabbis of the Temple Institute. The cattle rancher is utilizing the technique of implanting the frozen embryos of the Red Angus cattle, which originally come from North America and Israeli domestic cattle. The end result of this program will be the introduction of the Red Angus breed into Isra’el. But before we get too carried away, we need to realize that even if the Temple Institute can produce a perfect red heifer, it would still only produce an external cleansing! Thus, the importance of the red heifer sacrifice lies in that it serves as a Torah picture of the cleansing sacrifice accomplished by the Messiah. If on the non-Messianic rabbis would understand this, they would not be in so much darkness about this special sacrifice.

While many seem to be caught up in the recent commotion, a question is posed to those of us, Jews and Gentiles, who believe in Yeshua Messiah. What does all this mean to us? On the one hand, I am sure many believers are also excited that things keep moving closer to the end of the present age. As we see some of these events of the Scriptures come into focus, we realize anew that Mashiach is coming! Yet, I believe we miss an important point if we feel the need for a red cow in order to be cleansed before God. In fact, such excitement about the red heifer seems to imply that Yeshua is not the Messiah and that we must have the cleansing of our sins through the sacrifices of the rebuilt Temple. The New Covenant scriptures remind us of the opposite truth; namely, that Jesus Himself fulfilled the ministry of the red heifer in His first coming to Jerusalem. Significantly, the writer to the Hebrews states: Then how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Holy Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from works that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God (9:14). The blood of Jesus does exactly what the blood of the red heifer could not do – it cleanses the conscience.

Numbers 19:1-13 points out that the red heifer sacrifice could only cleanse the flesh. Yeshua’s sacrifice, however, could penetrated much deeper – to cleanse our defiled consciences from acts that lead to death. Contact with a physically dead person rendered a person tam’ei, or impure. But here the writer to the Hebrews reveals that our contact with works that lead to death renders all of us unfit to enter God’s presence. What are works that lead to death? They are the works done by a person who is spiritually dead in an attempt to gain spiritual life. It never works (no pun intended)!  Only a blood sacrifice can accomplish what is necessary to clear the conscience of a sinner – attempting to do good works is never acceptable to ADONAI, nor does it relieve one’s guilty conscience.

Thus, Messiah’s sacrifice goes beyond the red heifer’s to which He is compared. It does so because the red heifer’s sacrifice could never cleanse a dead soul from his dead works. It only cleansed one from contact with a dead body. Yeshua’s sacrifice provided spiritual cleansing. Just as contact with the realm of death prohibited one form being in the intimate presence of the Holy One, personal “contact” with the realm of spiritual death prohibits the sinner from an intimate personal relationship with God.

Indeed, the death of Yeshua Messiah is a beautiful fulfillment of the symbolism associated with the red heifer. He was sinless and without defect. Like the red heifer, Yeshua’s death took place outside the camp. The ongoing effect of His sacrifice, similar to the ashes of the heifer, cleanses His people for priestly service. As interesting as all the recent events are, it seems Messianic believers, whether they be Jew or Gentile, have even a better reason to be excited. Instead of getting caught up in the “holy cow”, I hope we are more caught up in the “holy Messiah“! Are you ready for His return? Are you fulfilling your calling as a priest cleansed to serve the Living God?