Hebrews 9:23 

“Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

Hebrews is dealing with the superiority of Christ. Here in Chapter 9, we see Christ is clearly superior to the Old Testament sacrifices, for they must be offered continually, but He was offered once to take away sin. We are even told, while it is appointed for all men to die once, then to face judgment, Jesus took the penalty on the cross, rescuing all who believe in Him from the judgment to come.

In discussing the superiority of Christ, the furnishings of the Tabernacle are listed; we are told they are “copies of heavenly things.” In fact, the Tabernacle and it’s furnishings, become a perfect illustration of the way of salvation. In Exodus, as the Children of Israel…

Jeremiah 18:18
“Then they said, ‘Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.’”

The citizens of Judah no longer looked to the Word of God for direction in life. They had forsaken the Lord and His ways, seeking to become like the nations they were supposed to evangelize. Jeremiah arose to call the people back to the Lord. Over and over again, he reminded them of the folly of leaving the Lord, and the danger of sin. He compared life apart from the Lord to a shrub in the desert, while following the Lord was like being a lush and fruitful tree. He warned of the coming destruction on the…

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

There are certain bedrock principles within the Bible, upon which we can build our lives. One of those is recorded here. Jeremiah explains, the heart is deceitful and as a result cannot be trusted. Like today, many ancient cultures referred to the innermost being of a man as the heart. They were not referring to the organ that pumps blood through the body, but of the central place of emotions, affection and the will. It is common today to be encouraged to follow our hearts. If we are in a relationship and don’t know if we should move forward, we are told to “follow our heart.” The same is true of almost every decision in life. If we can learn the principle that Jeremiah is seeking to teach us, we will not only avoid…

Hebrews 8:1

“Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, . . .”

Under the Levitical priesthood, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies bringing atonement to the Lord on behalf of the people. His job was basically to represent the people to the Lord, and the Lord to the people. If memory serves me, I believe the Latin word for high priest means “bridge builder.” The role of the priest was to make a way for man to be right with God. Hebrews 8 reminds us, Christ is our High Priest and having made a way for us to be right with God, He is in heaven representing us to the Father.

As the…

Jeremiah 16:14-15
“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.”

Jeremiah’s message was a warning of coming judgment and a call to return to the Lord. He predicted the Babylonians would soon overthrow Israel and take the people captive. He promised that those who turned to the Lord would experience the mercy of God, and one day the nation would be allowed to return to the land. It is here that a wonderful promise is made to the backslider. He declares, God will be known to…

Jeremiah 15:6
“‘You have forsaken Me’, says the Lord, ‘You have gone backward…'”

When I first moved to Florida I was introduced to a surf spot called “Monster Hole.” The wave breaks about 1/4 mile offshore on a sand covered reef. To reduce our paddling time, we jumped into the water and road the outgoing current from the nearby inlet. Since this spot only breaks with a good swell, a few months went by before I was able to surf there again. I parked my car, ran north to the inlet, jumped in the water, put my head down and began to paddle with all my strength. What I did not consider was that the tide was actually coming in not going out. After a few minutes of vigorous paddling, I looked up only to find that I had been sucked backwards. Still determined, I stroked harder and harder, but…

Hebrews 7:1

“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, . . .”

Abraham and his nephew Lot experienced great blessings from the Lord. When they first arrived in Canaan, they had very little, but as the years passed, they acquired great wealth. As nomadic farmers, great success meant an increase in livestock, and increased livestock meant a need for larger pasture lands. Soon their wealth became so great they were forced to separate. Abraham chose to continue to live the simple life of a farmer, while Lot left the family business and began to dwell, with his family, in the city of Sodom. Sodom, and her sister city, Gomorrah, was known for the wickedness that was practiced within the city walls. The king of Sodom had been conquered by Chedorlaomer, a…

Jeremiah 14:10

“Thus says the Lord to this people:
“Thus they have loved to wander;
They have not restrained their feet.”

Jesus simplified life into two categories. He said we are either walking on the narrow road that leads to life or the broad road that leads to destruction. The way off the wide and unto the narrow is through the gateway of Christ. In fact, on one occasion, He even referred to himself as the door. The Gospel message is nothing short of offering us a ticket off the wide road to destruction, through the doorway of Jesus, on to the narrow road that leads to eternal life. Here Jeremiah warns of the danger of wandering off that road. He even explains what caused Judah to wander off.

“They have not restrained their feet.” 

Years ago, while working in youth ministry, I went on my first and only backpacking…

Jeremiah 13:1
“Thus the Lord said to me:’Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist…'”

Often the prophets were instructed to illustrate their messages. God so greatly desired His message to be heard that He would wrap it in packages that would be difficult to forget. In this case, Jeremiah was instructed to strut around town wearing a beautiful sash. Since the normal attire of a prophet was quite drab, this sash would certainly grab the people’s attention. After some time, Jeremiah buried the sash in the muddy banks of the Euphrates river. There it sat until it was ruined and could no longer serve its purpose. Jeremiah then dug it up, put it on and once again strutted through the city. As much as the beautiful sash had captured the attention of the people, this filthy, worn and tattered garment would be difficult to…