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On Monday morning of this week, I switched on the radio just after eight o’clock, and there it was, already playing: the beautiful, soul-stirring music of Sibelius’ ‘Finlandia’. It made me think about the hymn that draws on one of the themes of this piece:

We rest on thee, our Shield and our Defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
strong in thy strength, safe in thy keeping tender,
we rest on thee, and in thy name we go;
strong in thy strength, safe in thy keeping tender,
we rest on thee, and in thy name we go.

Yea, in thy name, O Captain of salvation!
In thy dear name, all other names above:
Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,
our Prince of glory and our King of love,
Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,
our Prince of glory and our King of love.

We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
and needing more each day thy grace to know:
yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
“We rest on thee, and in thy name we go”;
yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
“We rest on thee, and in thy name we go.”

We rest on thee, our Shield and our Defender!
Thine is the battle, thine shall be the praise;
when passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
victors, we rest with thee, through endless days;
when passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
victors, we rest with thee, through endless days.

 I always associate these words with Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian, the five young Christian men who were martyred by the Auca Indians, in Ecuador, in January 1956. I believe they sang these words as they prepared to go and meet members of the tribe for the first time. They knew how potentially dangerous their mission was.

It may be that these words today find you at something of a cross-roads. A new beginning lies before you. The prospect may not seem all that threatening, but perhaps the thought of it is daunting? May you find comfort and strength today in the words of Edith Cherry’s wonderful hymn. She said of her verse that it was given to her, and all she had to do was write it down.

 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Isaac Watts took the truth of these verses and expressed them in the lyrics of a wonderful hymn:

Not all the blood of beasts,
  On Jewish altars slain,
Could give the guilty conscience peace,
  Or wash away its stain.

But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,
  Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name,
  And richer blood than they.

My faith would lay her hand
  On that dear head of Thine,
While like a penitent I stand,
  And there confess my sin.

My soul looks back to see
  The burdens Thou didst bear
When hanging on the cursed tree,
  And knows her guilt was there.

Believing, we rejoice
  To see the curse remove;
We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
  And sing His bleeding love.

‘The blood of Christ is God’s answer to man’s disturbed conscience. He can be cleansed and know he is forgiven. For all its sophisticated ceremonial rites, first-century Judaism knew no experience of freedom and release from the consciousness of sin.’ Raymond Brown: ‘Christ above all’, p.158.

After this was set up, the priests went about their duties in the large tent. Only the high priest entered the smaller, inside tent, and then only once a year, offering a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people’s accumulated sins. This was the Holy Spirit’s way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can’t just walk in on God. Under this system, the gifts and sacrifices can’t really get to the heart of the matter, can’t assuage the conscience of the people, but are limited to matters of ritual and behaviour. It’s essentially a temporary arrangement until a complete overhaul could be made. The Message.

Under the Old Covenant there was not only (as Raymond Brown says) restricted access to God’s presence, but also partial cleansing and limited pardon. This we see in today’s reading. The sacrificial system couldn’t really touch the inside of a person. Any cleansing was outward and ceremonial.

Also, as the ‘New International version renders verse 7, the sacrifices offered by the high priest were ”for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.”

The Old Testament law could do nothing for people who are, in P.T. Forsyth’s words: ‘not even stray sheep, or wandering prodigals merely; we are rebels taken with weapons in our hands.’

Our problem is that we have what John Bunyan called ‘a wounded conscience.’ We need a sacrifice that can deal with this. Thank God that in Jesus we have ”a high priest” who ”truly meets our need” (Hebs.7:26a).

‘The sacrifices and offerings of the old covenant could not purify the heart or clear the conscience of the worshiper. Without a clear conscience no one can draw near to God. Only through Christ’s sacrifice and through the Holy Spirit dwelling within us can our consciences be cleared, cleansed.’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.866. (See 10:2, 9:14 and 10:22)

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. ⁷ But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

The reference to the structure and furnishings of the Tabernacle provides a foundation for a description of the annual ‘Day of Atonement.’ For this one day only, each year, only the High Priest could enter the most Holy Place, taking with him the blood of animal sacrifice. (As we have seen previously, he had to sacrifice for his own sins as well as the people’s).

So here we come to the first of three reasons why a better covenant was needed: under the Old Covenant there was limited access to the presence of God.

This was the Holy Spirit’s way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can’t just walk in on God. The Message

‘The very presence of that outer tent symbolized the restricted way and limited ministry of the old covenant. A heavy curtain kept ordinary priests out of the inner sanctuary.’ Raymond Brown: ‘Christ above all’, p.153.

May we never lose the sense of wonder and privilege of what Jesus has done for us:

So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body. Hebs.10: 19-21: The Message.

I read an article in which a pastor was saying, ‘In our church I encourage people to gather for prayer, saying, We get to pray!

Perhaps prayer meetings would be more popular if we really understood how remarkable it is to have immediate access to God through the blood of Jesus? Do we just take it for granted?

Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. ² A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. ³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, ⁴ which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

Only a few decades ago, it was not unusual for books to be written and sermons to be preached about the various details of the Old Testament tabernacle. These usually came at the subject typologically, demonstrating how Christ fulfilled everything. They were often illuminating, even inspiring. But as Raymond Brown says in his commentary, most interpretations revealed ‘more of the expositor’s ingenuity than the message of Scripture.’

He goes on to quote Calvin:

‘Since nothing is enough for inquisitive men the apostle cuts out any opportunity for subtleties…in case too much discussion of these things might break the thread of his argument…philosophizing beyond reasonable bounds (as some do) is not only futile but also dangerous…we must show discretion and moderation in case we desire to know more than it has pleased God to reveal.’ (‘Christ above all’, p.152).

The comment at the end of verse 5 is quite tantalising. We might wonder what he would have said had he chosen to go into detail. (Rather like we may think, ‘I wish I could have been there for that Bible study Jesus gave the two on the road to Emmaus’: Luke 24: 27&32). But the writer of Hebrews intends to continue with his main aim: to demonstrate the superiority of the substance we have in Christ, over all the Old Testament shadows.

⁷ For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. ⁸ But God found fault with the people and said:

‘The days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
⁹ It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
¹⁰ This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
    after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
    and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
¹¹ No longer will they teach their neighbours,
    or say to one another, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.
¹² For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.’

¹³ By calling this covenant ‘new’, he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

A few years ago my dear Uncle Richard passed away. He was a very influential churchman and lay preacher in the Lancaster area, and a kindly encourager to many. At his funeral service one of my cousins paid a tribute in which he said, ‘My father believed in internal life!’ At least, that’s how I heard it. He obviously meant to say ‘eternal life’, but it came out as ‘internal’. As reflected on this, however, I recognised that it is an appropriate description of the life God gives to His New Covenant people.

What was ”wrong” with the Old Covenant was the people (see verses 7,8). Their hearts were all wrong. They needed internal reconstruction. They required an ‘inside job’. This is what God provided in and through the coming of Jesus. We are no longer a people just trying to keep external laws; we are internally transformed. We are renewed within. We have a new power supply: new appetites, new desires, new ambitions and longings, new abilities. I like to say that the Holy Spirit gives us the want to and the can do.

This is why we can say that in Jesus we have ”a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). Jesus is a better Priest, from a better order of Priesthood, and He has inaugurated a better covenant. Why would anyone go back from Him?

‘The old covenant is like the light of a candle; when the sun rises, it is no longer needed.’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.865.

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: we do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

³ Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. ⁴ If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. ⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: ‘See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’⁶ But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

‘Worldly men suppose that the only real and true things are the things which they can see or feel. They think that heavenly things are only imaginary and don’t really exist. But the man who is spiritual knows that this world is passing away. He knows that only heavenly and spiritual things are ultimately real and lasting. This is why the writer says here that the earthly sanctuary built by the Jews is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary built by Jesus.’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.864.

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: we do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

³ Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. ⁴ If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. ⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: ‘See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’⁶ But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

“We don’t choose what we will do for God; He invites us to join Him where He wants to involve us.”
― Henry T. Blackaby, 

The highlighted words in the Hebrews text provide the template for effective ministry. This is true for every generation. It is not about asking God to bless our plans, but waiting on Him to know His plans, and seeking to implement them. Prayer is not about getting man’s will done in heaven, but seeing God’s will done on earth.

“Jesus was the Son of God. Yet He never took the initiative to dream a dream or launch a new ministry. He lived His life in absolute dependence upon His Father. If Jesus was that dependent on the Father, then you and I should realize how ludicrous it is for us to set out on our own without any direction or guidance from the Father.”
― Henry T. Blackaby,

May my cry come before you, Lord;
    give me understanding according to your word.
¹⁷⁰ May my supplication come before you;
    deliver me according to your promise.
¹⁷¹ May my lips overflow with praise,
    for you teach me your decrees.
¹⁷² May my tongue sing of your word,
    for all your commands are righteous.
¹⁷³ May your hand be ready to help me,
    for I have chosen your precepts.
¹⁷⁴ I long for your salvation, Lord,
    and your law gives me delight.
¹⁷⁵ Let me live that I may praise you,
    and may your laws sustain me.
¹⁷⁶ I have strayed like a lost sheep.
    Seek your servant,
    for I have not forgotten your commands.

Verse 170 reads like this in ‘The Message’:

Give my request your personal attention,
    rescue me on the terms of your promise.

One major implication of taking God’s Word seriously is that we take His promises seriously. I found George Mueller’s biography inspiring and instructive when I first read it – probably close to 30 years ago. I saw how, in his experience of God, the Bible and prayer went hand in hand. He read the Bible diligently, looked to the Holy Spirit to be His Teacher, and his faith-filled prayers were fuelled by what he knew God had said. He prayed according to God’s promises. The Lord still has much to teach us through him today.