Daily Morning Watch

November 28, 2021

Just one! The Jewish high priest had to make atonement every day, over and over, and then especially on the great Day of Atonement. Jesus was sacrificed just once, for all people, for all time. No more is necessary. Except...that we say yes! In verses 19-25, what are the things we are told to do, to live in that new reality? Why do we have to enter into the Holy Place with Jesus in order to accomplish these things?

November 27, 2021

Just as the earthly tabernacle was only a shadow of what was to come, so the old covenant was only a shadow of better things. Always, from before the foundation of the earth, God's plan had been to send a perfect Redeemer to put Himself in our place. The sanctuary system was given to keep God and His promises in the people's minds, and to point forward to that perfect sacrifice and perfect High Priest. He has come! Yet...in the very last verse of this chapter, we are still waiting...What are we waiting for?

November 26, 2021

If you wondered about the main point, here it is—just as we discovered in the last chapter, but laid out in so many words. Try rewriting verses 1 and 2 to say the same things, but in your own words. Jesus is the one and only High Priest in the real sanctuary—the one in heaven, which no human built. Even the one human did build, according to the pattern given them by God, was only a pale picture of the real one, with real, living angels, and a real throne of God and a real mercy seat where we can go. Have you been there today?

November 25, 2021

This is a difficult chapter. Melchizedek was the priest to whom Abram (even before he became Abraham) paid tithes of all the spoil from his mission to rescue Lot and the others who had been captured. The main point in this chapter is simply that human priests are priests only for a period of time, but Jesus lives forever and is our High Priest forever. What would you like to tell your High Priest today? He is listening.

November 24, 2021

This is a fascinating passage. If you were asked to list the most basic “baby food” facts of the gospel of salvation, what would you list? Notice the four or five things that are listed here, in verses 1 and 2. They're kind of surprising, aren't they? For example, nowadays we seem to have trouble getting so far as “repenting (repenting!) from our works,” yet here that's considered baby food! We know we can't work for our own salvation, but do we really have to repent from trying to? What do you think?

November 23, 2021

Earthly high priests, no matter how faithful and godly they were, still had sins of their own to make atonement for, besides the sins of the people. When they made sacrifices, they were sacrificing for themselves as much as for the people. Not Jesus. He was Himself both the perfect High Priest and the perfect Sacrifice. It's impossible for human minds to fully understand. That's why it's compared to solid food, as opposed to the milk we give babies, which is easy to eat and digest.

November 22, 2021

This is a beautiful side note on the beauty and fullness of God's promised rest. Since it is written to the Hebrews (that is, to the Jews), they already knew about the Sabbath, of course. But they had made it a burden instead of a rest. Here, we are told that it is meant to be a peaceful rest. Then that rest is used as an example of the complete rest we are invited to enter into by grace: to rest from our works as God did from His. What do you think this means?

November 21, 2021

Several chapters of this book will be devoted to the priesthood of Christ. This is the beginning of the discussion. Moses was faithful as a leader of his people, the passage says, and Christ also was faithful to His Father, and is the leader of all the people of God. But Moses wasn't a priest. He couldn't make sacrifices. Jesus can—in fact, He gave Himself as the sacrifice for all time! We will learn more as we read the rest of this book.

November 20, 2021

This chapter goes into more proofs of Jesus being fully God, and in authority over all things. Then it says He “is not ashamed to call us brothers”! That's amazing, isn't it? (Of course, it means sisters, too.) You are a little brother or sister of Jesus, who made the whole world, including you! How can you help your friends to realize this great truth?