Wrapping up our series in Hebrews, we come to chapter 13. This seems like possibly the author getting out his final thoughts and recommendations for living righteous before he seals his letter, but it’s so much more connected to the rest of the book than that. He has spent 12 chapters making the case how Jesus is better than all else and is the fulfillment of all they had been hoping for. In chapter 12 he referenced Mount Sinai, where God gave the Law AFTER rescuing them from slavery. Now that they’ve come to a new kind of mountain, Mount Zion figuratively, he is reminding them of how they can live now that Jesus has set them free.
The Better Mountaintop
Mountaintops were seen in the ancient near eastern world as places where humans could climb to meet the divine; heaven and earth could touch. In the Old Testament we have a story of Israelites trembling with fear before Mount Sinai because the glory of God came down with fire, clouds, thunder, and lightning. Hebrews 12 tells us we have not come to that kind of mountain, but Mount Zion where we celebrate with an army of spiritual beings as we delight in God. So — what changed? Why can we now approach this mountaintop?
The Better Father
A loving father disciplines his children. For some, we may have this experience to relate to. For others, we hear that word and flinch. We think of cruel punishment. No matter your experience with a human father, we have one who is far better and His discipline is perfect. It is not angry punishment, but corrective guiding leading us to the path of life and goodness.
The Better Faith
Chapter 11 of Hebrews is perhaps one of the more well known chapters in the whole bible. Often referred to as the ‘Hall of Faith’, it lists off a number of people from Israel’s history who “by faith” lived a certain way. If we take a deeper look at each of their lives we will also find a lot of failures and acts of disobedience. Yet, there is one who showed an even better faith — the pioneer and perfecter of our faith — who has given us the gift of a better faith to live by now.
The Better Way
This world offers many ways to live, but really there are two: find what seems right or feels good to you, or live by faith in Jesus. One way leads to life, the other to destruction. One way is fulfilling and brings ultimate joy and satisfaction, the other brings chaos and sorrow.
When we say Jesus is better, we don’t mean he is subjectively a slightly better option, though any option is fine. We mean he is the only option if you want to experience life and life to the full.
The Better Delight
What's the difference between delight and desire? Both are often talked about in the biblical narrative and seem to be key to the story. When delight and desire are misdirected and misplaced, destruction and even death can result. But when we desire what is good and delight in what we already have access to, this leads to flourishing. How can we rightly align our desires and delight? Only through first seeing God desires to be with us and delights over his people!
The Better Blood
The sight of blood is alarming. It signals that something is wrong, because blood belongs in the body. Life is in the blood. But for the ancient Israelite culture, blood also signified something else: cleansing. The thought of blood being used to clean anything now is more than strange to us, but there was a cultural and spiritual significance to it for the Israelites. As we seek to understand why, we may begin to understand even more what the blood of Jesus has done for us.
The Better Covenant
A covenant is the deepest form of promise between two people, intertwining them together. Hebrews 8 shows us that Jesus has brought a new and better covenant, one that fulfills and completes where the old one fell short. The old covenant was good in that it pointed us toward the coming of the new covenant, but only by the new covenant can we completely enter into God’s presence. This new covenant has been made available to us by the sacrifice of Jesus, our high priest.
The Better Melchizedek
Melchizedek is a mysterious character who only has a couple short sentences written of him in the Old Testament, but the author of Hebrews keeps bringing him up and seems to think he has a great deal to do with Jesus. Who is this guy? What is the connection to Jesus?
As we explore chapter 7 of Hebrews, we see that God has been giving us a preview of what would come fully in Jesus all throughout history and that Jesus is the fullness of everything we need.
The Better Anchor
Storms come in life. That is a certainty. When you hold onto an anchor, you will still feel the push and pull of the waves from the storm, but you will also be held secure where you are supposed to be. Our culture and even religion offer many anchors that end up not really being planted securely into a firm foundation. There is only one anchor for your soul that will truly hold you securely and he is Jesus.
The Better Instruction
The Better Priest
God rescued Israel from the Egyptians, but He also made a way to rescue them from their own wickedness and rebellion. He allowed them to make sacrifices and draw near to His temple through ceremonial cleansing. God allowed these things to be mediated through people with a specific role, called priests. However, these priests also had their own sin and faced their own mortality as well. Jesus has now come as our better high priest, making full sacrifice once and for all and mediating eternally on our behalf so we can draw near to God.
The Better Rest
When God rescued His people out of slavery to Egypt, He called them to follow Him through the wilderness into a land He promised them — a land of rest. Many did not believe God’s promise and because of that, they failed to enter into His rest. Yet, God is inviting us into a deeper and fuller rest now through His Son, Jesus. May we listen. May we not harden our hearts as the Israelites did in the wilderness, but follow God’s invitation into His good rest.
The Better Builder
God was building a nation and a people through Israel, and he used His servant Moses to start the work. But the true Builder was not Moses. Jesus has come to finish the work of building a people and a kingdom. He is the better builder who is the foundation and completion of what God is establishing.
The Better Human
The Better Message
In the past, God spoke to His creation through various methods and messengers. But now He has spoken fully through His own Son, Jesus. Jesus is not only the better messenger, but the message of God himself, come to us in the flesh fully revealing who God is and what He is up to in His world. Are you listening to His message?
Psalm 100
Psalm 92
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.
This is the only psalm of 150 that is directly meant to be sung on the sabbath day. And yet, nowhere in the psalm does it give a command to rest, nor is the word rest even mentioned. What we do see in this psalm is a reminder of the works God has already accomplished. It is out of God’s work that we find rest, not our own. This psalm is an invitation to look to the works of God and rest in Him.
Coming Kingdom
God gives a promise through Haggai to Zerubbabel: the other nations’ kingdoms will be destroyed one day and God’s kingdom will reign, and Zerubbabel will be the sign of this coming kingdom shaking the heavens and earth.
But we know historically that Zerubbabel never sat on the throne crowned as king. He died. And Israel remained under the power of other nations long after he passed. What message was God giving to his people? What could this prophetic word be pointing us to? And what does it look like for us to live in that promised kingdom now?