Having never lived through the Old Covenant period it is often difficult for us to grasp what obedience to the law cost the israelites. Or what the effect in their lives was.
The Tabenacle was split into two sections the first section was the Holy Place and the second section called the Most Holy Place. This passage in Hebrews helps to shed light on this set up. The Holy Place was where the priests would go regularly to perform their ritual duties of gifts and sacrifices. But these gifts and sacrifices were only about keeping the outside clean. They were all about purification of the flesh and avoidence of the temporary judgement. But despite that fact that these sacrifices and gifts cost, blood was shed, they could never 'perfect the conscience'. These rituals never dealt with the israelites deepest need of a 'purification of the conscience from dead works'. That work, the work of atonement, could only be done in the Most Holy Place the shadow of which was played out once a year by the high priest. In this the Israelites were being shown through the Holy Spirit that the way into the Most Holy Place was not yet open whilst the inperfect sacrifices of the Holy Place continued. In this way there was a constant remeinder of the hoplessness of the situation and that the only hope lay in the perfect and complete sacrifice of the one to come. What a privaliage position we find ourselves in that have a knowledge of that perfect sacrifice where Christ our high priest entered once and for all into the Holy Places not with the blood of goats and bulls but his own blood, the perfect sacrifice. In the first section he dealt with the sin of the flesh and in the second section he made atonement for our spiritual state and thus purifying the flesh and the conscience that we can be free from our dead works and free to serve the living God, free to enter the Most Holy Place through the curtain of Jesus sacrifice on our behalf.
So as the israelites awaited eagerly the fullfilling of the Old Covenant we too wait eagerly for the fullfilment of the New Covenant that we might be fully redeemed and be removed not only from the power of sin but the presence of sin also. As the Israelites lived in the truth that the sacrifice system would one day be fulfilled let us live knowing that what we suffer now because of sin will one day pass away. Let us consider it an honour that we can share in the sufferings of of Christ and not live for the power, security, sucess and praise that this world offers but the weakness, need, morning and rejection of the kingdom of heaven.
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