Hebrews 9

Heb 9:1-28.

INFERIORITY OF THE

OLD TO THE

NEW

COVENANT IN THE

MEANS OF

ACCESS TO

GOD:

THE

BLOOD OF

BULLS AND

GOATS OF

NO

REAL

AVAIL:

THE

BLOOD OF

CHRIST

ALL-SUFFICIENT TO

PURGE

AWAY

SIN,

WHENCE

FLOWS

OUR

HOPE OF

HIS

APPEARING

AGAIN FOR

OUR

PERFECT

SALVATION.

1. Then verily--Greek, "Accordingly then." Resuming the

subject from

Heb 8:5.

In accordance with the command given to Moses, "the first covenant

had," &c.

had--not "has," for as a covenant it no longer existed,

though its rites were observed till the destruction of Jerusalem.

ordinances--of divine right and institution.

service--worship.

a worldly sanctuary--Greek, "its (literally,

'the') sanctuary worldly," mundane; consisting of the elements

of the visible world. Contrasted with the heavenly sanctuary.

Compare

Heb 9:11, 12,

"not of this building,"

Heb 9:24.

Material, outward, perishing (however precious its materials were), and

also defective religiously. In

Heb 9:2-5,

"the worldly sanctuary" is discussed; in

Heb 9:6,

&c., the "ordinances of worship." The outer tabernacle the Jews

believed, signified this world; the Holy of Holies,

heaven. JOSEPHUS calls the outer, divided

into two parts, "a secular and common place," answering to "the earth

and sea"; and the inner holiest place, the third part, appropriated to

God and not accessible to men.

2. Defining "the worldly tabernacle."

a tabernacle--"the tabernacle."

made--built and furnished.

the first--the anterior tabernacle.

candlestick . . . table--typifying light and

life

(Ex 25:31-39).

The candlestick consisted of a shaft and six branches of gold, seven in

all, the bowls made like almonds, with a knop and a flower in one

branch. It was carried in Vespasian's triumph, and the figure is to be

seen on Titus' arch at Rome. The table of shittim wood, covered

with gold, was for the showbread

(Ex 25:23-30).

showbread--literally, "the setting forth of the loaves," that

is, the loaves set forth: "the show of the bread" [ALFORD]. In the outer holy place: so the Eucharist

continues until our entrance into the heavenly Holy of Holies

(1Co 11:26).

which, &c.--"which (tabernacle) is called the holy place," as

distinguished from "the Holy of Holies."

3. And--Greek, "But."

after--behind; within.

second veil--There were two veils or curtains, one before the

Holy of Holies (catapetasma), here alluded to, the other before

the tabernacle door (calumma).

called--as opposed to "the true."

4. golden censer--The Greek, must not be translated

"altar of incense," for it was not in "the holiest" place "after

the second veil," but in "the holy place"; but as in

2Ch 26:19,

and Eze 8:11,

"censer": so Vulgate and Syriac. This

GOLDEN censer was only used on the day of

atonement (other kinds of censers on other days), and is therefore

associated with the holiest place, as being taken into it on

that anniversary by the high priest. The expression "which had," does

not mean that the golden censer was deposited there, for in that case

the high priest would have had to go in and bring it out before burning

incense in it; but that the golden censer was one of the articles

belonging to, and used for, the yearly service in the holiest

place. He virtually supposes (without specifying) the existence of the

"altar of incense" in the anterior holy place, by mentioning the

golden censer filled with incense from it: the incense answers to

the prayers of the saints; and the altar though outside the

holiest place, is connected with it (standing close by the second

veil, directly before the ark of the covenant), even as we find an

antitypical altar in heaven. The rending of the veil by Christ has

brought the antitypes to the altar, candlestick, and showbread of the

anterior holy place into the holiest place, heaven. In

1Ki 6:22,

Hebrew, "the altar" is said to belong to the

oracle, or holiest place (compare

Ex 30:6).

ark--of shittim wood, that is, acacia. Not in the second temple,

but in its stead was a stone basement (called "the stone of

foundation"), three fingers high.

pot--"golden," added in the Septuagint, and sanctioned by

Paul.

manna--an omer, each man's daily portion. In

1Ki 8:9;

2Ch 5:10,

it is said there was nothing in the ark of Solomon's temple save the

two stone tables of the law put in by Moses. But the expression that

there was nothing THEN therein save the two

tables, leaves the inference to be drawn that formerly there were the

other things mentioned by the Rabbis and by Paul here, the pot of manna

(the memorial of God's providential care of Israel) and the rod of

Aaron, the memorial of the lawful priesthood

(Nu 17:3, 5, 7, 10).

The expressions "before the Lord"

(Ex 16:32),

and "before the testimony"

(Nu 17:10)

thus mean, "IN the ark." "In," however, may be

used here (as the corresponding Hebrew word) as to things

attached to the ark as appendages, as the book of the law was

put "in the side of the ark," and so the golden jewels

offered by the Philistines

(1Sa 6:8).

tables of the covenant--

(De 9:9; 10:2).

5. over it--over "the ark of the covenant."

cherubim--representing the ruling powers by which God acts in

the moral and natural world. (See on

Eze 1:6;

Eze 10:1).

Hence sometimes they answer to the ministering angels; but mostly to

the elect redeemed, by whom God shall hereafter rule the world and set

forth His manifold wisdom: redeemed humanity, combining in, and with

itself, the highest forms of subordinate creaturely life; not angels.

They stand on the mercy seat, and on that ground become the

habitation of God, from which His glory is to shine upon the world.

They expressly say,

Re 5:8-10,

"Thou hast redeemed us." They are there distinguished from

the angels, and associated with the elders. They were of one piece

with the mercy seat, even as the Church is one with Christ: their sole

standing is on the blood-sprinkled mercy seat; they gaze down at it as

the redeemed shall for ever; they are "the habitation of God through

the Spirit."

of glory--The cherubim were bearers of the divine

glory, whence, perhaps, they derive their name. The Shekinah, or

cloud of glory, in which Jehovah appeared between the cherubim

over the mercy seat, the lid of the ark, is doubtless the reference.

THOLUCK thinks the twelve loaves of the showbread

represent the twelve tribes of the nation, presented as a

community before God consecrated to Him (just as in the Lord's

Supper believers, the spiritual Israel, all partaking of the one bread,

and becoming one bread and one body, present themselves before the Lord

as consecrated to Him,

1Co 10:16, 17);

the oil and light, the pure knowledge of the Lord, in which the

covenant people are to shine (the seven (lights), implying

perfection); the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God's kingdom in

the old covenant, and representing God dwelling among His own; the ten

commandments in the ark, the law as the basis of union between God and

man; the mercy seat covering the law and sprinkled with the blood of

atonement for the collective sin of the people, God's mercy [in Christ]

stronger than the law; the cherubim, the personified [redeemed]

creation, looking down on the mercy seat, where God's mercy, and God's

law, are set forth as the basis of creation.

mercy seat--Greek, "the propitiatory": the golden cover

of the ark, on which was sprinkled the blood of the propitiatory

sacrifice on the day of atonement; the footstool of Jehovah, the

meeting place of Him and His people.

we cannot--conveniently: besides what met the eye in the

sanctuary, there were spiritual realities symbolized which it would

take too long to discuss in detail, our chief subject at present being

the priesthood and the sacrifices. "Which" refers not

merely to the cherubim, but to all the contents of the sanctuary

enumerated in

Heb 9:2-5.

6. The use made of the sanctuary so furnished by the high priest

on the anniversary of atonement.

ordained--arranged.

always--twice at the least every day, for the morning and

evening care of the lamps, and offering of incense

(Ex 30:7, 8).

went--Greek, "enter": present tense.

7. once every year--the tenth day of the seventh month. He

entered within the veil on that day twice at least. Thus "once"

means here on the one occasion only. The two, or possibly more,

entrances on that one day were regarded as parts of the one whole.

not without blood--

(Heb 8:3).

offered--Greek, "offers."

errors--Greek, "ignorances": "inadvertent errors." They

might have known, as the law was clearly promulged, and they were bound

to study it; so that their ignorance was culpable (compare

Ac 3:17;

Eph 4:18;

1Pe 1:14).

Though one's ignorance may mitigate one's punishment

(Lu 12:48),

it does not wholly exempt from punishment.

8. The Holy Ghost--Moses himself did not comprehend the typical

meaning

(1Pe 1:11, 12).

signifying--by the typical exclusion of all from the holiest,

save the high priest once a year.

the holiest of all--heaven, the antitype.

the first tabernacle--the anterior tabernacle, representative of

the whole Levitical system. While it (the first tabernacle, and

that which represents the Levitical system) as yet "has a

standing" (so the Greek, that is, "has continuance":

"lasts"), the way to heaven (the antitypical "holiest place")

is not yet made manifest (compare

Heb 10:19, 20).

The Old Testament economy is represented by the holy place, the New

Testament economy by the Holy of Holies. Redemption, by Christ, has

opened the Holy of Holies (access to heaven by faith now,

Heb 4:16; 7:19, 25; 10:19, 22;

Isa 33:24;

Re 11:19; 21:2, 3)

to all mankind. The Greek for "not yet" (me po) refers to

the mind of the Spirit: the Spirit intimating that men should not

think the way was yet opened [TITTMANN]. The

Greek negative, "ou po," would deny the fact

objectively; "me po" denies the thing subjectively.

9. Which--"The which," namely, anterior tabernacle:

"as being that which was" [ALFORD].

figure--Greek, "parable": a parabolic setting forth of

the character of the Old Testament.

for--"in reference to the existing time." The time of

the temple-worship really belonged to the Old Testament, but

continued still in Paul's time and that of his Hebrew readers.

"The time of reformation"

(Heb 9:10)

stands in contrast to this, "the existing time"; though, in reality,

"the time of reformation," the New Testament time, was now

present and existing. So "the age to come," is the phrase

applied to the Gospel, because it was present only to believers,

and its fulness even to them is still to come. Compare

Heb 9:11,

"good things to come."

in which--tabernacle, not time, according to the

reading of the oldest manuscripts. Or translate, "according to which"

parabolic representation, or figure.

were--Greek, "are."

gifts--unbloody oblations.

could not--Greek, "cannot": are not able.

him that did the service--any worshipper. The Greek is

"latreuein," serve God, which is all men's duty; not

"leitourgein," to serve in a ministerial office.

make . . . perfect--perfectly remove the sense of

guilt, and sanctify inwardly through love.

as pertaining to the conscience--"in respect to the

(moral-religious) consciousness." They can only reach as far as the

outward flesh (compare "carnal ordinances,"

Heb 9:10, 13, 14).

10. Which--sacrifices.

stood--consisted in [ALFORD]; or,

"have attached to them" only things which appertain to the use of

foods, &c. The rites of meats, &c., go side by side with the

sacrifices [THOLUCK and WAHL]; compare

Col 2:16.

drinks--

(Le 10:9; 11:4).

Usage subsequently to the law added many observances as to meats and

drinks.

washings--

(Ex 29:4).

and carnal ordinances--One oldest manuscript, Syriac and

Coptic, omit "and." "Carnal ordinances" stand in apposition to

"sacrifices"

(Heb 9:9).

Carnal (outward, affecting only the flesh) is opposed to

spiritual. Contrast "flesh" with "conscience"

(Heb 9:13, 14).

imposed--as a burden

(Ac 15:10, 28)

continually pressing heavy.

until the time of reformation--Greek, "the season

of rectification," when the reality should supersede the type

(Heb 8:8-12).

Compare "better,"

Heb 9:23.

11. But--in contrast to "could not make . . .

perfect"

(Heb 9:9).

Christ--The Messiah, of whom all the prophets foretold; not

"Jesus" here. From whom the "reformation"

(Heb 9:10),

or rectification, emanates, which frees from the yoke of carnal

ordinances, and which is being realized gradually now, and shall be

perfectly in the consummation of "the age (world) to come." "Christ

. . . High Priest," exactly answers to

Le 4:5,

"the priest that is anointed."

being come an, &c.--rather, "having come forward (compare

Heb 10:7,

a different Greek word, picturesquely presenting Him before us)

as High Priest." The Levitical priests must therefore retire.

Just as on the day of atonement, no work was done, no sacrifice was

offered, or priest was allowed to be in the tabernacle while the high

priest went into the holiest place to make atonement

(Le 16:17, 29).

So not our righteousness, nor any other priest's sacrifice, but Christ

alone atones; and as the high priest before offering incense had on

common garments of a priest, but after it wore his holy garments of

"glory and beauty"

(Ex 28:2, 40)

in entering the holiest, so Christ entered the heavenly holiest in His

glorified body.

good things to come--Greek, "the good things to

come,"

Heb 10:1;

"better promises,"

(Heb 8:6;

the "eternal inheritance,"

Heb 9:15;

1Pe 1:4;

the "things hoped for,"

Heb 11:1).

Translate, "Through the . . . tabernacle" (of which we

know) [ALFORD]. As the Jewish high priest passed

through the anterior tabernacle into the holiest place, so

Christ passed through heaven into the inner abode of the unseen

and unapproachable God. Thus, "the tabernacle" here is the heavens

through which He passed (see on

Heb 4:14).

But "the tabernacle" is also the glorified body of Christ (see

on

Heb 8:2),

"not of this building" (not of the mere natural "creation, but

of the spiritual and heavenly, the new creation"), the Head of

the mystical body, the Church. Through this glorified body He

passes into the heavenly holiest place

(Heb 9:24),

the immaterial, unapproachable presence of God, where He intercedes for

us. His glorified body, as the meeting place of God and all

Christ's redeemed, and the angels, answers to the heavens

through which He passed, and passes. His body is opposed to the

tabernacle, as His blood to the blood of goats, &c.

greater--as contrasted with the small dimensions of the earthly

anterior tabernacle.

more perfect--effective in giving pardon, peace, sanctification,

and access to closest communion with God (compare

Heb 9:9;

Heb 10:1).

not made with hands--but by the Lord Himself

(Heb 8:2).

12. Neither--"Nor yet."

goats . . . calves--not a bullock, such as the

Levitical high priest offered for himself, and a goat for the people,

on the day of atonement

(Le 16:6, 15),

year by year, whence the plural is used, goats

. . . calves. Besides the goat offered for the people the

blood of which was sprinkled before the mercy seat, the high priest led

forth a second goat, namely, the scapegoat; over it he confessed the

people's sins, putting them on the head of the goat, which was sent as

the sin-bearer into the wilderness out of sight, implying that the

atonement effected by the goat sin offering (of which the ceremony of

the scapegoat is a part, and not distinct from the sin offering)

consisted in the transfer of the people's sins on the goat, and their

consequent removal out of sight. The translation of sins on the victim

usual in other expiatory sacrifices being omitted in the case of the

slain goat, but employed in the case of the goat sent away, proved the

two goats were regarded as one offering [ARCHBISHOP MAGEE]. Christ's death is

symbolized by the slain goat; His resurrection to life by the living

goat sent away. Modern Jews substitute in some places a cock for

the goat as an expiation, the sins of the offerers being transferred to

the entrails, and exposed on the housetop for the birds to carry out of

sight, as the scapegoat did; the Hebrew for "man" and "cock"

being similar, gebher [BUXTORF].

the heavenly Holy of Holies to Him. The Greek is forcible,

"through THE blood of His own" (compare

Heb 9:23).

once--"once for all."

having obtained--having thereby obtained; literally,

"found for Himself," as a thing of insuperable difficulty to all save

Divine Omnipotence, self-devoting zeal, and love, to find. The access

of Christ to the Father was arduous

(Heb 5:7).

None before had trodden the path.

eternal--The entrance of our Redeemer, once for all, into

the heavenly holiest place, secures eternal redemption to us;

whereas the Jewish high priest's entrance was repeated year by year,

and the effect temporary and partial, "On redemption," compare

Mt 20:28;

Eph 1:7;

Col 1:14;

1Ti 2:5;

Tit 2:14;

1Pe 1:19.

Heb 9:13-28.

PROOF OF AND

ENLARGEMENT ON, THE

"ETERNAL

REDEMPTION"

MENTIONED IN

Heb 9:12.

For His blood, offered by Himself, purifies not only outwardly, as the

Levitical sacrifices on the day of atonement, but inwardly unto the

service of the living God

(Heb 9:13, 14).

His death is the inaugurating act of the new covenant, and of the

heavenly sanctuary

(Heb 9:15-23).

His entrance into the true Holy of Holies is the consummation of His

once-for-all-offered sacrifice of atonement

(Heb 9:24, 26);

henceforth, His reappearance alone remains to complete our redemption

(Heb 9:27, 28).

13. if--as we know is the case; so the Greek indicative

means. Argument from the less to the greater. If the blood of mere

brutes could purify in any, however small a degree, how much more shall

inward purification, and complete and eternal salvation, be wrought by

the blood of Christ, in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead?

ashes of an heifer--

(Nu 19:16-18).

The type is full of comfort for us. The water of separation, made of

the ashes of the red heifer, was the provision for removing ceremonial

defilement whenever incurred by contact with the dead. As she

was slain without the camp, so Christ (compare

Heb 13:11;

Nu 19:3, 4).

The ashes were laid by for constant use; so the continually cleansing

effects of Christ's blood, once for all shed. In our wilderness journey

we are continually contracting defilement by contact with the

spiritually dead, and with dead works, and need therefore continual

application to the antitypical life-giving cleansing blood of Christ,

whereby we are afresh restored to peace and living communion with God

in the heavenly holy place.

the unclean--Greek, "those defiled" on any particular

occasion.

purifying--Greek, "purity."

the flesh--Their effect in themselves extended no further. The

law had a carnal and a spiritual aspect; carnal, as an

instrument of the Hebrew polity, God, their King, accepting, in minor

offenses, expiatory victims instead of the sinner, otherwise doomed to

death; spiritual, as the shadow of good things to come

(Heb 10:1).

The spiritual Israelite derived, in partaking of these legal rights,

spiritual blessings not flowing from them, but from the great antitype.

Ceremonial sacrifices released from temporal penalties and

ceremonial disqualifications; Christ's sacrifice releases from

everlasting penalties

(Heb 9:12),

and moral impurities on the conscience disqualifying from access

to God

(Heb 9:14).

The purification of the flesh (the mere outward man) was by

"sprinkling"; the washing followed by inseparable connection

(Nu 19:19).

So justification is followed by renewing.

14. offered himself--The voluntary nature of the offering gives

it especial efficacy. He "through the eternal Spirit," that is, His

divine Spirit

(Ro 1:4,

in contrast to His "flesh,"

Heb 9:3;

His Godhead,

1Ti 3:16;

1Pe 3:18),

"His inner personality" [ALFORD], which gave a

free consent to the act, offered Himself. The animals offered had no

spirit or will to consent in the act of sacrifice; they were

offered according to the law; they had a life neither enduring,

nor of any intrinsic efficacy. But He from eternity, with His divine

and everlasting Spirit, concurred with the Father's will of

redemption by Him. His offering began on the altar of the cross, and

was completed in His entering the holiest place with His blood. The

eternity and infinitude of His divine Spirit (compare

Heb 7:16)

gives eternal ("eternal redemption,"

Heb 9:12,

also compare

Heb 9:15)

and infinite merit to His offering, so that not even the infinite

justice of God has any exception to take against it. It was "through

His most burning love, flowing from His eternal Spirit," that He

offered Himself [OECOLAMPADIUS].

without spot--The animal victims had to be without

outward blemish; Christ on the cross was a victim

inwardly and essentially stainless

(1Pe 1:19).

purge--purify from fear, guilt, alienation from Him, and

selfishness, the source of dead works

(Heb 9:22, 23).

your--The oldest manuscripts read "our." The Vulgate,

however, supports English Version reading.

conscience--moral religious consciousness.

dead works--All works done in the natural state, which is a

state of sin, are dead; for they come not from living faith in,

and love to, "the living God"

(Heb 11:6).

As contact with a dead body defiled ceremonially (compare the allusion,

"ashes of an heifer,"

Heb 9:13),

so dead works defile the inner consciousness spiritually.

to serve--so as to serve. The ceremonially unclean could

not serve God in the outward communion of His people; so the

unrenewed cannot serve God in spiritual communion. Man's works before

justification, however lifelike they look, are dead, and cannot

therefore be accepted before the living God. To have offered a dead

animal to God would have been an insult (compare

Mal 1:8);

much more for a man not justified by Christ's blood to offer dead

works. But those purified by Christ's blood in living faith do

serve

(Ro 12:1),

and shall more fully serve God

(Re 22:3).

living God--therefore requiring living spiritual service

(Joh 4:24).

15. for this cause--Because of the all-cleansing power of His

blood, this fits Him to be Mediator

(Heb 8:6,

ensuring to both parties, God and us, the ratification) of the new

covenant, which secures both forgiveness for the sins not covered by

the former imperfect covenant or testament, and also an eternal

inheritance to the called.

place." At the moment that His death took place, the necessary effect

is, "the called receive the (fulfilment of the) promise" (so

Lu 24:49

uses "promise";

Heb 6:15;

Ac 1:4);

that moment divides the Old from the New Testament. The "called" are

the elect "heirs," "partakers of the heavenly calling"

(Heb 3:1).

redemption of . . . transgressions . . . under

. . . first testament--the transgressions of all

men from Adam to Christ, first against the primitive revelation,

then against the revelations to the patriarchs, then against the law

given to Israel, the representative people of the world. The "first

testament" thus includes the whole period from Adam to Christ, and not

merely that of the covenant with Israel, which was a concentrated

representation of the covenant made with (or the first

testament given to) mankind by sacrifice, down from the fall

to redemption. Before the inheritance by the New Testament (for

here the idea of the "INHERITANCE," following as

the result of Christ's "death," being introduced, requires the

Greek to be translated "testament," as it was before

covenant) could come in, there must be redemption of

(that is, deliverance from the penalties incurred by) the

transgressions committed under the first testament, for

the propitiatory sacrifices under the first testament reached only as

far as removing outward ceremonial defilement. But in order to obtain

the inheritance which is a reality, there must be a real propitiation,

since God could not enter into covenant relation with us so long as

past sins were unexpiated;

Ro 3:24, 25,

"a propitiation . . . His righteousness for the remission of

sins that are past."

might--Greek, "may receive," which previously they

could not

(Heb 11:39, 40).

the promise--to Abraham.

16. A general axiomatic truth; it is "a testament"; not

the testament. The testator must die before his testament

takes effect

(Heb 9:17).

This is a common meaning of the Greek noun diathece. So

in

Lu 22:29,

"I appoint (by testamentary disposition; the cognate Greek verb

diatithemai) unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed

unto me." The need of death before the testamentary appointment takes

effect, holds good in Christ's relation as MAN to us; Of course not in

God's relation to Christ.

be--literally, be borne": "be involved in the case"; be

inferred; or else, "be brought forward in court," so as to give

effect to the will. This sense (testament) of the Greek

"diathece" here does not exclude its other secondary senses in

the other passages of the New Testament: (1) a covenant between

two parties; (2) an arrangement, or disposition, made by God

alone in relation to us. Thus,

Mt 26:28

may be translated, "Blood of the covenant"; for a

testament does not require blood shedding. Compare

Ex 24:8

(covenant), which Christ quotes, though it is probable He

included in a sense "testament" also under the Greek word

diathece (comprehending both meanings, "covenant" and

"testament"), as this designation strictly and properly applies to the

new dispensation, and is rightly applicable to the old also, not in

itself, but when viewed as typifying the new, which is properly a

testament. Moses

(Ex 24:8)

speaks of the same thing as [Christ and] Paul. Moses, by the term

"covenant," does not mean aught save one concerning giving the heavenly

inheritance typified by Canaan after the death of the

Testator, which he represented by the sprinkling of blood. And

Paul, by the term "testament," does not mean aught save one having

conditions attached to it, one which is at the same time a

covenant [POLI, Synopsis]; the

conditions are fulfilled by Christ, not by us, except that we must

believe, but even this God works in His people. THOLUCK explains, as elsewhere, "covenant

. . . covenant . . . mediating victim"; the

masculine is used of the victim personified, and regarded as

mediator of the covenant; especially as in the new covenant a MAN (Christ) took the place of the victim. The

covenanting parties used to pass between the divided parts of the

sacrificed animals; but, without reference to this rite, the need of a

sacrifice for establishing a covenant sufficiently explains this

verse. Others, also, explaining the Greek as "covenant,"

consider that the death of the sacrificial victim represented in all

covenants the death of both parties as unalterably bound to the

covenant. So in the redemption-covenant, the death of Jesus

symbolized the death of God (?) in the person of the mediating victim,

and the death of man in the same. But the expression is not "there must

be the death of both parties making the covenant," but

singular, "of Him who made (aorist, past time; not

'of Him making') the testament." Also, it is "death," not

"sacrifice" or "slaying." Plainly, the death is supposed to be

past (aorist, "made"); and the fact of the death is

brought (Greek) before court to give effect to the will.

These requisites of a will, or testament, concur here: (1) a testator;

(2) heirs; (3) goods; (4) the death of the testator; (5) the fact of

the death brought forward in court. In

Mt 26:28

two other requisites appear: witnesses, the disciples; and a

seal, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the sign of His

blood wherewith the testament is primarily sealed. It is true

the heir is ordinarily the successor of him who dies and

so ceases to have the possession. But in this case Christ comes to life

again, and is Himself (including all that He hath), in the power of His

now endless life, His people's inheritance; in His being Heir

(Heb 1:2),

they are heirs.

17. after--literally, "over," as we say "upon the death

of the testators"; not as THOLUCK, "on the

condition that slain sacrifices be there," which the Greek

hardly sanctions.

otherwise--"seeing that it is never availing"

[ALFORD]. BENGEL and

LACHMANN read with an interrogation, "Since, is it

ever in force (surely not) while the testator liveth?"

18. Whereupon--rather, "Whence."

dedicated--"inaugurated." The Old Testament strictly and

formally began on that day of inauguration. "Where the

disposition, or arrangement, is ratified by the blood of

another, namely, of animals, which cannot make a covenant, much

less make a testament, it is not strictly a testament,

where it is ratified by the death of him that makes the arrangement, it

is strictly, Greek 'diathece,' Hebrew

'berith,' taken in a wider sense, a testament"

[BENGEL]; thus, in

Heb 9:18,

referring to the old dispensation, we may translate, "the first

(covenant)": or better, retain "the first (testament),"

not that the old dispensation, regarded by itself, is a

testament, but it is so when regarded as the typical

representative of the new, which is strictly a

Testament.

19. For--confirming the general truth,

Heb 9:16.

spoken . . . according to the law--strictly adhering

to every direction of "the law of commandments contained in ordinances"

(Eph 2:15).

Compare

Ex 24:3,

"Moses told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the

judgments; and all the people answered with one voice," &c.

the blood of calves--Greek, "the calves," namely, those

sacrificed by the "young men" whom he sent to do so

(Ex 24:5).

The "peace offerings" there mentioned were "of oxen"

(Septuagint, "little calves"), and the "burnt offerings" were

probably (though this is not specified), as on the day of atonement,

goats. The law in Exodus sanctioned formally many sacrificial

practices in use by tradition, from the primitive revelation long

before.

with water--prescribed, though not in the twenty-fourth chapter

of Exodus, yet in other purifications; for example, of the leper, and

the water of separation which contained the ashes of the red heifer.

scarlet wool, and hyssop--ordinarily used for purification.

Scarlet or crimson, resembling blood: it was thought to

be a peculiarly deep, fast dye, whence it typified sin (see on

Isa 1:18).

So Jesus wore a scarlet robe, the emblem of the deep-dyed sins He bore

on Him, though He had none in Him. Wool was used as

imbibing and retaining water; the hyssop, as a bushy, tufty plant

(wrapt round with the scarlet wool), was used for sprinkling it. The

wool was also a symbol of purity

(Isa 1:18).

The Hyssopus officinalis grows on walls, with small

lancet-formed woolly leaves, an inch long, with blue and white flowers,

and a knotty stalk about a foot high.

sprinkled . . . the book--namely, out of which he had

read "every precept": the book of the testament or covenant. This

sprinkling of the book is not mentioned in the twenty-fourth chapter of

Exodus. Hence BENGEL translates, "And (having

taken) the book itself (so

Ex 24:7),

he both sprinkled all the people, and

(Heb 9:21)

moreover sprinkled the tabernacle." But the Greek supports

English Version. Paul, by inspiration, supplies the particular

specified here, not in

Ex 24:7.

The sprinkling of the roll (so the Greek for "book") of

the covenant, or testament, as well as of the people, implies that

neither can the law be fulfilled, nor the people be purged from

their sins, save by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ

(1Pe 1:2).

Compare

Heb 9:23,

which shows that there is something antitypical to the Bible in heaven

itself (compare

Re 20:12).

The Greek, "itself," distinguishes the book itself from

the "precepts" in it which he "spake."

20.

Ex 24:8,

"Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has

made with you concerning all these words." The change is here made to

accord with Christ's inauguration of the new testament, or covenant, as

recorded in

Lu 22:20,

"This cup (is) the new Testament in My blood, which is shed for you":

the only Gospel in which the "is" has to be supplied. Luke was

Paul's companion, which accounts for the correspondence, as here

too "is" has to be supplied.

testament--(See on

Heb 9:16, 17).

The Greek "diathece" means both "testament" and

"covenant": the term "covenant" better suits the old dispensation,

though the idea testament is included, for the old was one in

its typical relation to the new dispensation, to which the term

"testament" is better suited. Christ has sealed the testament with His

blood, of which the Lord's Supper is the sacramental sign. The

testator was represented by the animals slain in the old dispensation.

In both dispensations the inheritance was bequeathed: in the new by One

who has come in person and died; in the old by the same one, only

typically and ceremonially present. See ALFORD'S

excellent Note.

enjoined unto you--commissioned me to ratify in

relation to you. In the old dispensation the condition to be

fulfilled on the people's part is implied in the words,

Ex 24:8,

"(Lord made with you) concerning all these words." But here Paul

omits this clause, as he includes the fulfilment of this condition of

obedience to "all these words" in the new covenant, as part of God's

promise, in

Heb 8:8, 10, 12,

whereby Christ fulfils all for our justification, and will enable us by

putting His Spirit in us to fulfil all in our now progressive, and

finally complete, sanctification.

21. Greek, "And, moreover, in like manner."

The sprinkling of the tabernacle with blood is added by

inspiration here to the account in

Ex 30:25-30; 40:9, 10,

which mentions only Moses' anointing the tabernacle and its vessels. In

Le 8:10, 15, 30,

the sprinkling of blood upon Aaron and his garments, and upon his sons,

and upon the altar, is mentioned as well as the anointing, so that we

might naturally infer, as JOSEPHUS has distinctly

stated, that the tabernacle and its vessels were sprinkled with blood

as well as being anointed:

Le 16:16, 20, 33,

virtually sanctions this inference. The tabernacle and its contents

needed purification

(2Ch 29:21).

22. almost--to be joined with "all things," namely almost all

things under the old dispensation. The exceptions to all things

being purified by blood are,

Ex 19:10;

Le 15:5,

&c.; 16:26, 28; 22:6;

Nu 31:22-24.

without--Greek, "apart from."

shedding of blood--shed in the slaughter of the victim,

and poured out at the altar subsequently. The pouring out of the

blood on the altar is the main part of the sacrifice

(Le 17:11),

and it could not have place apart from the previous shedding of

the blood in the slaying. Paul has, perhaps, in mind here,

Lu 22:20,

"This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."

is--Greek, "takes place": comes to pass.

remission--of sins: a favorite expression of Luke, Paul's

companion. Properly used of remitting a debt

(Mt 6:12; 18:27, 32);

our sins are debts. On the truth here, compare

Le 5:11-13,

an exception because of poverty, confirming the general rule.

23. patterns--"the suggestive representations"; the typical

copies (see on

Heb 8:5).

things in the heavens--the heavenly tabernacle and the things

therein.

purified with these--with the blood of bulls and goats.

heavenly things themselves--the archetypes. Man's sin had

introduced an element of disorder into the relations of God and His

holy angels in respect to man. The purification removes this

element of disorder and changes God's wrath against man in heaven

(designed to be the place of God's revealing His grace to men and

angels) into a smile of reconciliation. Compare "peace in heaven"

(Lu 19:38).

"The uncreated heaven of God, though in itself untroubled light, yet

needed a purification in so far as the light of love was obscured by

the fire of wrath against sinful man" [DELITZSCH

in ALFORD]. Contrast

Re 12:7-10.

Christ's atonement had the effect also of casting Satan out of heaven

(Lu 10:18;

Joh 12:31,

compare

Heb 2:14).

Christ's body, the true tabernacle (see on

Heb 8:2;

Heb 9:11),

as bearing our imputed sin

(2Co 5:21),

was consecrated

(Joh 17:17, 19)

and purified by the shedding of His blood to be the meeting place of

God and man.

sacrifices--The plural is used in expressing the general

proposition, though strictly referring to the one sacrifice of

Christ once for all. Paul implies that His one sacrifice, by its

matchless excellency, is equivalent to the Levitical many sacrifices.

It, though but one, is manifold in its effects and applicability to

many.

24. Resumption more fully of the thought, "He entered in once

into the holy place,"

Heb 9:12.

He has in

Heb 9:13, 14,

expanded the words "by his own blood,"

Heb 9:12;

and in

Heb 9:15-23,

he has enlarged on "an High Priest of good things to come."

not . . . into . . . holy places made with

hands--as was the Holy of Holies in the earthly tabernacle (see on

Heb 9:11).

figures--copies "of the true" holiest place, heaven, the

original archetype

(Heb 8:5).

into heaven itself--the immediate presence of the invisible God

beyond all the created heavens, through which latter Jesus

passed (see on

Heb 4:14;

1Ti 6:16).

now--ever since His ascension in the present economy (compare

Heb 9:26).

to appear--To PRESENT

HIMSELF; Greek, "to be made to appear."

Mere man may have a vision through a medium, or veil, as Moses had

(Ex 33:18, 20-23).

Christ alone beholds the Father without a veil, and is His perfect

image. Through seeing HIM only can we see the

Father.

in the presence of God--Greek, "to the face of

God." The saints shall hereafter see God's face in Christ

(Re 22:4):

the earnest of which is now given

(2Co 3:18).

Aaron, the Levitical high priest for the people, stood before

the ark and only saw the cloud, the symbol of God's glory

(Ex 28:30).

for us--in our behalf as our Advocate and Intercessor

(Heb 7:25;

Ro 8:34;

1Jo 2:1).

"It is enough that Jesus should show Himself for us to the

Father: the sight of Jesus satisfied God in our behalf. He brings

before the face of God no offering which has exhausted itself, and, as

only sufficing for a time, needs renewal; but He himself is in person,

person, now and for ever freed from death, our eternally present

offering before God" [DELITZSCH in

ALFORD].

25. As in

Heb 9:24,

Paul said, it was not into the typical, but the true sanctuary, that

Christ is entered; so now he says, that His sacrifice needs not, as the

Levitical sacrifices did, to be repeated. Construe, "Nor yet

did He enter for this purpose that He may offer Himself often,"

that is, "present Himself in the presence of God, as the high

priest does (Paul uses the present tense, as the legal service

was then existing), year by year, on the day of atonement, entering the

Holy of Holies.

with--literally, "in."

blood of others--not his own, as Christ did.

26. then--in that case.

must . . . have suffered--rather as Greek, "It

would have been necessary for Him often to suffer." In order to "offer"

(Heb 9:25),

or present Himself often before God in the heavenly holiest place, like

the legal high priests making fresh renewals of this high priestly

function. He would have had, and would have often to suffer. His

oblation of Himself before God was once for all (that is, the

bringing in of His blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies), and

therefore the preliminary suffering was once for all.

since the foundation of the world--The continued sins of men,

from their first creation, would entail a continual suffering on earth,

and consequent oblation of His blood in the heavenly holiest place,

since the foundation of the world, if the one oblation "in the

fulness of time" were not sufficient. PHILO

[The Creation of the World, p. 637], shows that the high priest

of the Hebrews offered sacrifices for the whole human race. "If there

had been greater efficacy in the repetition of the oblation, Christ

necessarily would not have been so long promised, but would have been

sent immediately after the foundation of the world to suffer, and offer

Himself at successive periods" [GROTIUS].

now--as the case is,

once--for all; without need of renewal. Rome's fiction of an

UNBLOODY sacrifice in the mass, contradicts her

assertion that the blood of Christ is present in the wine; and

also confutes her assertion that the mass is propitiatory; for, if

unbloody, it cannot be propitiatory; for without

shedding of blood there is no remission

(Heb 9:22).

Moreover, the expression "once" for all here, and in

Heb 9:28,

and Heb 10:10, 12,

proves the falsity of her view that there is a continually repeated

offering of Christ in the Eucharist or mass. The offering of Christ was

a thing once done that it might be thought of for ever (compare

Note, see on

Heb 10:12).

in the end of the world--Greek, "at the consummation of

the ages"; the winding up of all the previous ages from the foundation

of the world; to be followed by a new age

(Heb 1:1, 2).

The last age, beyond which no further age is to be expected before

Christ's speedy second coming, which is the complement of the first

coming; literally, "the ends of the ages";

Mt 28:20

is literally, "the consummation of the age," or world

(singular; not as here, plural, ages). Compare "the fulness of

times,"

Eph 1:10.

appeared--Greek, "been manifested" on earth

(1Ti 3:16;

1Pe 1:20).

English Version has confounded three distinct Greek

verbs, by translating all alike,

Heb 9:24, 26, 28,

"appear." But, in

Heb 9:24,

it is "to present Himself," namely, before God in the heavenly

sanctuary; in

Heb 9:26,

"been manifested" on earth: in

Heb 9:28,

"shall be seen" by all, and especially believers.

put away--abolish; doing away sin's power as well by delivering

men from its guilt and penalty, so that it should be powerless to

condemn men, as also from its yoke, so that they shall at last sin no

more.

sin--singular number; all the sins of men of every age are

regarded as one mass laid on Christ. He hath not only droned for

all actual sins, but destroyed sin itself.

Joh 1:29,

"Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin (not merely

the sins: singular, not plural) of the world."

own sacrifice"; not by "blood of others"

(Heb 9:25).

ALFORD loses this contrast in translating, "by His

sacrifice."

27. as--inasmuch as.

it is appointed--Greek, "it is laid up (as our

appointed lot),"

Col 1:5.

The word "appointed" (so Hebrew "seth" means) in the case

of man, answers to "anointed" in the case of Jesus; therefore "the

Christ," that is, the anointed, is the title here given

designedly. He is the representative man; and there is a strict

correspondence between the history of man and that of the Son

of man. The two most solemn facts of our being are here connected

with the two most gracious truths of our dispensation, our death and

judgment answering in parallelism to Christ's first coming to die for

us, and His second coming to consummate our salvation.

once--and no more.

after this the judgment--namely, at Christ's appearing, to

which, in

Heb 9:28,

"judgment" in this verse is parallel. Not, "after this comes the

heavenly glory." The intermediate state is a state of joyous, or else

agonizing and fearful, expectation of "judgment"; after the

judgment comes the full and final state of joy, or else woe.

28. Christ--Greek, "THE Christ"; the

representative MAN; representing all men, as the

first Adam did.

once offered--not "often,"

Heb 9:25;

just as "men," of whom He is the representative Head, are appointed by

God once to die. He did not need to die again and again for each

individual, or each successive generation of men, for He represents

all men of every age, and therefore needed to die but once for

all, so as to exhaust the penalty of death incurred by all. He was

offered by the Father, His own "eternal Spirit"

(Heb 9:14)

concurring; as Abraham spared not Isaac, but offered him, the son

himself unresistingly submitting to the father's will

(Ge 22:1-24).

to bear the sins--referring to

Isa 53:12,

"He bare the sins of many," namely, on Himself; so "bear" means,

Le 24:15;

Nu 5:31; 14:34.

The Greek is literally "to bear up"

(1Pe 2:24).

"Our sins were laid on Him. When, therefore, He was lifted up on the

cross, He bare up our sins along with Him"

[BENGEL].

many--not opposed to all, but to few. He, the One,

was offered for many; and that once for all (compare

Mt 20:28).

look for him--with waiting expectation even unto the end

(so the Greek). It is translated "wait for" in

Ro 8:19, 23;

1Co 1:7,

which see.

appear--rather, as Greek, "be seen." No longer in the

alien "form of a servant," but in His own proper glory.

without sin--apart from, separate from, sin. Not bearing the sin

of many on Him as at His first coming (even then there was no

sin in Him). That sin has been at His first coming once for all

taken away, so as to need no repetition of His sin offering of Himself

(Heb 9:26).

At His second coming He shall have no more to do with sin.

unto salvation--to bring in completed salvation; redeeming then

the body which is as yet subject to the bondage of corruption. Hence,

in

Php 3:20

he says, "we look for THE

SAVIOUR." Note, Christ's prophetical

office, as the divine Teacher, was especially exercised during

His earthly ministry; His priestly is now from His first to His

second coming; His kingly office shall be fully manifested at,

and after, His second coming.