The Messianic Patterns of the Old and New Testaments
11/13 Reading Portions: 1 Chronicles 1-2; Hebrews 8; Amos 2; Psalm 145
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
11/13 Reading Portions: 1 Chronicles 1-2; Hebrews 8; Amos 2; Psalm 145
Hebrews 8:5
They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”
COPY
While the apostle presents to us the reality of Christ’s eternal priesthood as He sits upon “the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb 8:1), by the illustration of the tabernacle set up in the wilderness, He explains that Christ and His gospel are the “true tent” (Heb 8:2), established by the Lord, in the same way the Lord Jesus is the “true Vine” (John 15:1), because fruitful vines and vineyards on earth are merely emblems of the heavenly reality. In other words, all the lives, events, objects, and commandments recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures were designed to illustrate the person and work of God’s Messiah in one way or another. The tent erected by Moses, for example, served as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. Note: things, not merely a heavenly place. This is why Moses was instructed to make everything according to the pattern that was shown him. First, the tent was a visible representation of the dwelling place of God. Second, it was also a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, as He is the meeting-place between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). Thirdly, the tent represented a type of Christ in His church; that is, the communing place of the Lord Jesus with all believers saved by grace through faith (John 1:14; 17:21; 1 Jn 1:3). Because heaven is the reality, and the Word of Christ continues to minister in a fallen earth, this presents to us another assurance of the necessity of Christ’s promised return— to join us forever with the true heavenly reality, whereas, even what we experience now in our saved and sanctified lives is a copy and shadow of what is to come. While we are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6), our physical bodies are not actually there. One day, however, the copy will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor 15:50-54), and the shadow will disappear into glorious light. Hallelujah! What a true Savior!