Friday, February 10th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 33-35

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 10:11-14

11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13 Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Jesus' job of being the perfect sacrifice is done!  And He signified that it was done by sitting down at the right hand of God.

And when Jesus died, He dealt a deathblow to His enemies - over Satan and all the fallen angels, and over all who reject Him. Death is Satan's greatest weapon, and Jesus completely destroyed it.

It was a one time act, and it was the most magnificent masterpiece of all time.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 10:15-18

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 36-38

Thursday, February 9 ~ Miriam

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 30-32.

Today's scripture focus is  Hebrews 10:5-10.

⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

   “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
   but a body you prepared for me;
⁶ with burnt offerings and sin offerings
   you were not pleased.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
   I have come to do your will, O God.’”^[a]

 ⁸ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Wow, this passage is so clear and concise and to the point.  Sacrifices and offerings were necessary in the meantime, until Christ came, but no more.  One ultimate sacrifice paid our penalty and made us holy, by the will of God and the obedience of Jesus.  

I've been marveling at that a lot lately.  Jesus knew what was required of him, and he came to do it and he DID do it, but as I think of him in the Garden of Gethsemane and the prayer and the blood sweat I realize he must have dreaded it terribly and been in anguish over the prospect when the time was near, but he still said "Here I am, I have come to do your will," and he was obedient.  Makes some of the things I struggle to be obedient about seem pretty dumb.

Do you struggle with obedience?  Some people feel, or seem to feel, that once they've accepted Christ that's all they need to do.  There's no more to it than that.  They can go on with their life the way it was, because they were pretty good people anyway, and when they die they'll go to heaven.  Accepting Christ as our saviour may be the only way to get to heaven, but it is only the first step of the journey as a living, growing member of the family of God.  Jesus said "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."  The first step is accepting God's gift of forgiveness and salvation, and there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn it and no way to work our way in, but if that sacrifice that Jesus made for us is worth something to us, and if we truly want to be a shining light for God, we must have a relationship with Him and we must be obedient.  

Tomorrow's scripture focus:  Hebrews 10:11-14.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage:  Exodus 33-35.

Wednesday, February 8th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 28-29

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 10:1-4

1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 If it could, 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. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4 because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

The sacrifices of the OT could not give people full access to God, the veil always remained - until Jesus died and it was ripped from top to bottom.  (I love that!)

However, the system was still valuable because it was, at least, a shadow, pointing people to God and to the hope of salvation.  It was also valuable because it was a constant reminder of the seriousness of sin and of God's holiness.  And it maintained an external fellowship with God, covering sin.

But the sacrifices could only cover sin, they could not remove sin.  It's impossible for the blood of animals to take away sin - if that worked, there would've been no reason for Jesus to die.  The the blood of animals was not enough.  The death of Jesus was the requirement for our salvation.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 10:5-10

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 30-32

Tuesday, February 7th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 25-27

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 9:23-28

23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

We know Jesus was the better and perfect sacrifice because when it was done He was able to enter into the presence of God.  And the sacrifice never had to be repeated.

Jesus did away with sin - not just my sin, not just your sin, but sin as a principle.  He did away with sin!

He appeared on the cross as our sacrifice, He appeared in heaven as our mediator and intercessor, and He will appear again to take us home.

He had to die in order for His will to take effect, He had to die because forgiveness demands the shedding of blood, He had to die to be our substitute in judgment.

He took my place.

Thank you Jesus.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 10:1-4

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 28-29

Monday, February 6th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 22-24

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 9:16-22

16 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19 When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

The writer of Hebrews tells us the reasons the Messiah had to die. First, His will demanded it.

According to MacArthur

A will is not a bargain between two people. A will is something made out by one person, and the other person either takes it or leaves it. 


And so He is saying here, God has promised an inheritance. And that inheritance depends upon the death of the one who made it, in order for it to be received. That's a simple truth. And that's really all He's saying. A will cannot operate until the one who made it dies. Therefore, Jesus had to die. He had to die to release the legacy of God to men. The kingdom of heaven is bequeathed to all believers. Such is God's will and testament. And Jesus' death released it to our possession. And some of it is ours now, and it will be ours in its fullness when we go to be with Him. So the first reason for death, then, is simply that. Testament demands death.

Even the first/old/Mosiac covenant was ratified with blood (the Abrahamic covenant was too for that matter!).  Which means the second/new covenant also needed to be ratified with blood - the blood of Christ.  There is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.

A beautiful thought from MacArthur...

when you put these things all together, they have to allow for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He had to die to release His will. He had to live to make it operate. He had to die to ratify the covenant. He had to live to keep the terms of it. And so the resurrection is implied in all of it.

Here he just says it all straight out (emphasis mine)....

You can't enter into God's presence by being good. You can't enter into God's presence by being a fine citizen. You can't enter into God's presence by going through religious mogus. You can't enter into God's presence by reading the Bible, by going to church, by being a member, by thinking sweet thoughts about God. The only way you'll ever enter into God's presence and into participation in the new covenant is by the death of Jesus Christ and your faith and belief in His shed blood on the cross in your behalf. That's the only way. That's the only access.

God set the rules. "The soul that sins, it shall die." And then God, in grace, moved right back in and provided a death substitute. Jesus' death is the only thing that satisfies God, you see. Because He requires death. And all over the Old Testament He splattered blood in order that they might be constantly made aware of the fact that bloodshed was the only expiation for sin.

Forgiveness is a costly, costly thing.

God did not just forgive glibly - His character prohibited it.
He cannot break the moral laws of His nature. He cannot violate the moral laws of His universe, and He built into His universe the fact that sin demands death, and, finally, He's the one that had to pay the price. And He paid it.

Forgiveness is a costly, costly thing - and Jesus paid it for me.  And how many times am I guilty of sinning, knowing that God will forgive me when I repent?  How many times have I stomped on the grace of God?

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 9:23-28

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 25-27

Sunday, February 5th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 19-21

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 9:15

15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those 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.

My Life Application Bible says this about today's verse...
People in Old Testament times were saved through Christ's sacrifice,although that sacrifice had not yet happened. In offering unblemished animal sacrifices, they were anticipating Christ's coming and his death for sin. There was no point in returning to the sacrificial system now that Christ had come and had become the final, perfect sacrifice.

Christ's sacrificial death is what qualified Him to become the mediator of the new and better covenant.

The Old Testament saints were granted forgiveness "on credit" so to speak.  God forgave them, knowing that Christ would be the perfect sacrifice.  In the past, God saved them knowing Christ would bear their sins in the future.  Now God saves us knowing Christ bore our sins in the past.

According to MacArthur, OT saints went to Sheol when they died (because Jesus had not died yet), and according to Ephesians 4:8,9 after Jesus' death He gathered those saints from Sheol and brought them into the presence of God.  That's also what v15 is referring to here.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 9:16-22

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 22-24

Saturday, February 4th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 16-18

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 9:11-14

11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, 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, having obtained 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

The old system cleansed externally.  It cleaned up the outside.  But, because of Christ, we`re not just cleansed externally - we are a brand new creation, cleansed on the inside!

Tomorrow's scripture focus:  Hebrews 9:15

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 19-21

Friday, February 3rd

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 13-15.

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 9:1-10.

1 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, the table and the 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. 


6 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. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

John MacArthur has a fascinating sermon on this passage called The New Covenant Part 2 - and if you have the time I`d highly encourage you to read it or listen to it.

He describes in detail how the tabernacle and everything in it, pointed to Jesus Christ.  There are 50 chapters in the OT about the tabernacle and only 2 about creation.  The tabernacle is important.  And it is important because it all points to Jesus Christ.  Fascinating sermon, but too long to really summarize here.  Well, maybe just a few really quick ones.
The tabernacle had only one way to get into it, with only one door.  Jesus is the only way to God, He is the only door to God.
The courtyard was for everyone just as all are invited to join in the new covenant with Jesus.
The altar in the courtyard was a picture of Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for sin.
The laver, or wash basin, is the picture of Jesus as the cleanser of His people.
The Holy Place was only for priests, just as the work that Jesus does in heaven is only for believers.
In the Holy Place the lampstand is a picture of Jesus being the light of life (no longer the light of the world - but only the light to those who believe, He lights our path and lights the Word for us)
There is also the table of bread which is a picture of Jesus being our sustenance - He sustains us daily with His Word.
There is the altar of incense which is a picture of Jesus being our intercessor for us in heaven.
And there`s so much more - definitely read it if you have the time.

The point though, is the fact that the tabernacle and all it`s trappings, though divinely appointed at the time, were not enough.  They were a picture of what was to come in Jesus, the new and better high priest, the new and better sacrifice, with a new and better covenant by a new and better mediator in order to finally grant us full access to God.

And the writer of Hebrews never uses put downs in his comparisons.  Jesus is better than Aaron, but Aaron was still a great high priest.  Jesus is better than Joshua, but Joshua was still a great leader.  Jesus is better than angels, but the angels are still magnificent.  Not only is it wrong to build someone or something up at the expense of tearing someone else down, it doesn`t work because Jesus is not just better than a ho-hum priest - He`s better than the best high priest!  By elevating the angels, Aaron, Joshua, the priesthood, and then proving that Jesus is even better, he elevates Jesus even more.

But that doesn`t mean the old law was useless.  It was useful for many things, one of which was to be a picture of Jesus.  A promise anticipating the coming of a new covenant, a new high priest, a new sacrifice, a new mediator who could finally bring us into full access to God.  The old covenant was never meant to be permanent (and the transient nature of the tent of the tabernacle illustrated that beautifully).  A new, better, permanent covenant would come, and has come, in Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow's scripture focus:  Hebrews 9:11-14

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 16-18

Thursday, February 2 ~ Miriam

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 10-12.

Today's scripture focus is Hebrews 8:10-13.

¹⁰ This is the covenant I will make with the house 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 a man teach his neighbor, 
   or a man his brother, saying, ‘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.”^[a]

 ¹³ By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

From Gracepoint Devotions:

Let us consider what the new covenant is. It is, as expressed above, grounded in Judaism (8:10). Consequently, any adequate understanding of Christianity must grasp its Jewish roots and the implication of those roots for Christian belief. It is about the internalization of religion, not merely the external practice of religion (8:10). God’s laws are written on the minds and hearts of true Christians. As such, transformation and intrinsic motivation form powerful, foundational elements of Christian life and living. The new covenant is about relationship with God (8:10 – 11), not merely service for God. Finally, the forgiveness of sins forms the basis for this new covenant relationship (8:12).

Any conception of Christianity, therefore, that neglects the idea of sin and forgiveness has departed from the understanding of covenant expressed in Hebrews 8 via the prophet Jeremiah. So the new covenant, in essence, has to do with a relationship with God established by the forgiveness of sins, lived out by the internalization of God’s laws, and conceptually set against the backdrop of God’s working through the people of Israel.

We should also pause to reflect on misconceptions about Christianity that could flow from a misuse of this passage.

The new covenant does not mean that Christians need not give attention to external practices such as morality, kindness, and church attendance. Hebrews 8 cannot be used to suggest that believers should just “follow their hearts” in attempting to discern proper behavior. For example, the author of Hebrews later challenges his hearers to love fellow believers in tangible terms, to be sexually pure, and to reject greed (13:1 – 6). Believers are encouraged to perform “good deeds” (10:24; 13:16), with which God is well pleased.

[…] when Jeremiah proclaims that God forgives the wickedness of those under the new covenant and remembers their sins no more, this neither implies that true Christians cease from sin completely nor provides us with a license to sin. Elsewhere the author encourage us to “throw off … the sin that so easily entangles us” (12:1) and warns that a flippant attitude toward sin brings about imminent judgment (10:26 – 27). Moreover, that those under the new covenant “know the Lord” does not remove our need to grow in our relationship with God, since growth is a hallmark of true Christian faith (e.g., 5:11 – 6:3).

Tomorrow's scripture focus:  Hebrews 9:1-10.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage:  Exodus 13-15.

Wednesday, February 1 - Kathryn

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 7-9

Today's scripture focus is: Hebrews 8:7-9

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^[a]:

   “The time is coming, declares the Lord,
   when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
   and with the house of Judah.
⁹ It will not be like the covenant
   I made with their forefathers
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.

It's interesting to be on the other side of the new covenant.  We have the benefit of the New Testament with the backdrop of the Old Testament for understanding.  Which is why I get irritated when I see 'bibles' with only the New Testament.  The New doesn't make much sense without the Old!  Anyway.

The last portion of this reading makes me wonder and think if there is anything we could do to make God turn away from us.  I mean, God did a lot of forgiving and taking back of the Israelites.  They did a lot of prostituting themselves away from God.   I guess this brings to mind the question: Can one lose their salvation?  If we do not remain faithful to the covenant, even the New where we are under grace, can we lose our salvation?  What do you think?

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Hebrews 8:10-13

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 10-12