Hebrews 10:6
"In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins thou hast had no pleasure."
This almost flies in the face of most of our thinking concerning the Old Testament doesn’t it? But go all the way back to Psalms 40, where even the Psalmist makes it so plain; in fact, here is where Paul is quoting from. You want to remember, a lot of the things David said were not regarding himself, but regarding David’s seed the Messiah, the coming Christ. By his action he reveals that yes from as far back as Seth man had a knowledge of God's plain though not fully revealed but none the less seen in a shadowy form. All right, in Psalms 40 verse 6, here’s where Paul quotes from. And I just want you to see that all of this was not just something that came on the scene in Paul’s time, but it was from antiquity.
Psalms 40:6-7a
"Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; (that’s not what God was looking for) mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering thou hast not required. Then said I, Lo, I come [this is Jesus speaking as Christ, the Messiah]: in the volume of the book it is written of me, (this is the Messiah speaking.) I delight to do thy will,…"
In Christ’s earthly ministry, what was He always praying to the Father? "Thy will be done." Not His, but the Father’s. So this is already declared back through the lips of the Psalmist.
Psalms 40:7-9
"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is written within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest."
Who is the great congregation? The Nation of Israel? Not so, for there are many who will to become His brethren, and they are more then can be numbered. And Christ came and proclaimed Himself as the answer to all their needs through this One Who had been born in Bethlehem.
All right, all the way back to Hebrews again, if you will. So God prepares a body with which he can minister to the congregation, to the Nation of Israel, the Hebrews. But, in the long term it’s going to be that supreme sacrifice. That all will or are required to have passed through it requires a crisis of death in order to have the resurrection into being born again. That was the whole purpose of His coming, so that His sacrifice would end all sacrifices under the Levitical Law, commandments and the Prophets. And end all religiousness of Judaism's legalism through His vicarious death on behalf of all man kind not just for the lost Hebrew. Remember too that God has by now separated the Israel of God from Judah, or those who practice Judaism as their religion. For this is the teaching of this Epistle.
Hebrews 10:8
"Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offerings for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;"
In other words, I want you to be constantly aware that we are talking about that Temple worship, the bringing in of these sacrifices. Now verse 9.
Hebrews 10:9
"Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will O God, (that’s why I took you back to Psalms 40, it’s the Messiah speaking) He taketh away the first, (the system of Levitical Law, the shadow) that he may establish the (what?) second."
Now, from the very beginning of Hebrews, over and over this is what we’re seeing. Yes, that which was past was good as far as it went. But oh, this is so much better. And it is so much better that most of us just cannot comprehend it. But, we can have the slightest notion that we can attain to all that God has provided for us. But, I’ll come to that a little later. For now we just have to realize that all these sacrifices aren’t what made God pleased with. Quite the opposite. But, it was what God laid down as the prerequisite for the Hebrews to find salvation, to cover their sin as an expression of their faith, even though most of it was done without trust, but it’s going to fade away so that something far better can come and take its place. All right, now verse 10.
Hebrews 10:10
"By the which (that is the second, the better economy that has come) will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Now look at that again. "By the which" (this second economy). Now when I use the word economy, I’m not talking about money. I’m talking about a system of mans devices. The Old Testament economy was that Old Testament system which included the Levitical Laws and Temple worship and sacrifices and what have you. Our economy is that we’re saved by trust through God’s Grace plus nothing. We become a new creation, we become a different person. We now have new goals, we have new priorities, we have new desires. So that’s the better economy I’m speaking of, the present economy of Grace, as found in the person of Christ Jesus, and it’s as difference as daylight and darkness, of Endless Life and eternal separation from the Living and Life giving and creative God.
Hebrews 10:10
"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
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