Hebrews 4:1-16
Do you remember in Genesis 2, on the 7th day, God rested from His labors of creation? That was a picture of how the Christian can rest after salvation.
The difference is that we don’t rest because of OUR work. We can rest because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We stop our own striving and trust His salvation.
The Jew who was following God in the Old Testament never truly experienced this rest. God gave them a complicated formula for following Him and for the promise of Heaven. There was many laws, rituals, practices that God knew would be good for them to follow, and these are included in their worship.
The sacrifices were particularly critical for the covering of their sins. The priests at the temple officiated a yearly sacrifice for every person’s sins.
Once a year.
Can you imagine keeping a list of every sin for a year before they could be covered by the blood of your sacrifice? You were also responsible to raise or buy the perfect lamb, turtle dove, bull or goat to be that sacrifice too. If there was any blemish, deformity, or imperfection in that animal, your sacrifice would not be sufficient to cover your sins.
What an awful way to live!
And Scripture tells us in Hebrews 10:4 that it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. The sins were covered, but they were still there. The conscience was never clean. The guilt remained.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Hebrews 10:4
There was no rest!
But God provided His Lamb to be a great High Priest for us. Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice. He was tempted to sin just like we are, but HE NEVER SINNED.
When we accept the sacrifice of blood that Jesus provided, by accepting Him as our Saviour, our sins are purged. (Hebrews 1:3) They are purified, forgiven, carried away, cleared, removed and erased.
That’s why we can’t be saved and go to Heaven by worshiping like the Jews worshiped. We must come to God through the death and sacrifice of His Son. That’s the only way our sins can be forgiven today.
Sacrifices of animals, or following the Old Testament Law, WILL NOT save you! You must come through Jesus.
