Hebrews 9 - Tuesday 24th September

Today’s reading is Hebrews 9

Tom writes:

The acted symbol of the temple showed Israel again and again that the culmination of their hopes, the pinnacle of their dreams, the foundation of their identity was to be with God. Each time they sacrificed animals, sprinkled blood, or passed by the tent they were reminded that Yahweh Elohim was their map, their mentor and their maker. The sacrificial system was a rhythm of reminders to come and be with God. A lot of Israel were like blind men or stiff-necked animals - they failed to follow the symbol to its source. “Where is the man who seeks God?” the psalmist wailed. But for those who were alert to God, the rituals of redemption led them again and again into repentance towards God, hunger for God, devotion to God. Tabernacle worship was good as far as it went. But the symbols created a demand they could not satisfy. Like passengers on a perpetually circling aeroplane, they could see the airport out the window, but couldn’t land or disembark. Then Jesus came. The revelation of Hebrews 9 - the revelation it revels in - is that Jesus landed that plane and opened wide the doors. True forgiveness of sins was now achieved. Anyone could now enter the actual Holy of Holies.

Anyone could now actually come and be with God. So do we? Most of us have ditched the rhythm of reminders and rituals of redemption. That’s OK if we are actually entering the presence. So are we entering the presence? Are we coming to God and finding him as our map? Are we making God our mentor in the mornings? Are we stewarding our sleeps so we can liaise with our Sustainer? Modern life seems to have such a bias away from being with God. Are we forgetting what the point of being human is all about? Are we being stiff necked or blind men? Jesus has come so we can be with him. He will come so we can be with him, if we are eagerly waiting for Him. Oh I want being with God to be my passion once again.

Question for reflection

How would you know if you are stiff necked?