Hebrews 9 and Ephesians 2

I have not been very faithful to this study of Hebrews. Just a confession. I started saying, 'Well, it's summer...let's take it slow and casually and I'll do a chapter every few days.' I should have known better. I'm not that disciplined. I need to do something every day or every other day with regularity or it just won't happen.

So, with a certain level of guilt, I opened up Hebrews 9 today. What a great surprise! After studying Ephesians 2 and having this image of an impenetrable wall, Hebrews 9 paints a picture that is very similar and is too close to be coincidental.

The Writer begins by comparing the 'old' worship with the 'new' worship. Only priests could get near to God and only the High Priest could enter the place where God dwelt and then only once per year.

But not, because of Jesus, there has been a permanent breach in the barrier that separated us. Verses 24 and 26 summarize: "For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf...As it is, he appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself."

Verse 12 says that Jesus "entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption."

Jesus breached the separating barrier! Maybe I just see walls everywhere now!

Take a look and see for yourself.