Hebrew writer said (1)
Church attendance was down, spirits were low and getting lower, disappointment was in the air and some were drifting away from the Christ and going back; listening to the backward call of an old environment. But, as Thomas Long observed, it wasn't a pep-talk the Hebrew offered this depressed community or a new programme that would help the church to grow. It was one of the richest theological works in existence.
The Hebrew writer said to these discouraged people, "What you had was true but fragmentary what you now have is the whole Story. What you had was brought to you by prophets and angels but what you now have was brought to you by a Son who is part of the Godhead. What you had was real but was still only a shadow of what was to come; what you now have is the real thing. Where you were going as you travelled was wonderful but where you are now going takes the breath away and beggars description. The covenant you had was glorious but the one you now have outshines it as the sun outshines an oil lamp. The fellowship you enjoyed was huge and wondrous but the fellowship you’re part of now embraces the universe of beings. Who you followed was heroic and majestic but who you follow now towers above him like a mountain over an ant hill. You once followed a faithful house servant but now you follow the Son in the house and the builder of it.
All that is greatest and best in what you had is gathered up, cherished and brought to the fullness to which it pointed. All that was glorious and permanent in your former life is treasured and deepened beyond imagination. The sacrifices that spoke profound truths are now swallowed up—not despised—in the one sacrifice to which they bore witness. The city you so rightly prized and stood as a beacon of light to the world has been made more splendid by transformation and association with the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The faith that made your history and nation great—as reflected in people like Abraham, Sarah, Jochebed and Moses, Joshua and Deborah and in events at the Red Sea and heroism in chains—that history brought you to these days. The faith that brought your ancestors through until now has brought your ancestors to you for only with you who have placed your faith in Jesus, the Messiah, are they made perfect.
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.