“But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry…established on better promises.” (Hebrews 8:6)
Most of us didn’t grow up Jewish. We didn’t go to the synagogue. We didn’t have a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah. We weren’t taught the Torah. If you’re like me when you read the Old Testament Law, especially in regards to God’s instructions for building the Tabernacle–the ornaments, the priest’s clothes, the rituals, you find yourself so disconnected from them, not understanding what they were all about and what they represented.
As it is often said at Harbor Church, the Bible is all about Jesus, Old and New Testaments, the stories, events, miracles, and even little things like bread and wine…they all represent Christ. As Hebrews 8:5 states, “these serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.” The tabernacle (and subsequently, the Temple) was built on earth, made with human hands to God’s exacting specifications, because they were meant to represent God’s perfect and better, the One True Tabernacle, made in heaven by God Himself.
Jesus, our Brother, who qualified as our High Priest by His perfect obedience to the Law became the One in heaven to offer “gifts to God” on our behalf. These are in part gifts of thanksgiving to God the Father for His glorious grace in granting us access to Him and life eternal, through the priestly sacrifice of His Son as a perfect substitute for our sins. This “better” covenant, one that is completed, personal, and eternal, as it turns out was God’s plan all along as we will see in the next passage.