See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ” YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN. ” And this expression, “YET ONCE MORE,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Hebrews 12:25-27 (NAS)

For you have not come to a mountain that may be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,  and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word should be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, “IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED.” And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I AM FULL OF FEAR AND TREMBLING.” ~ Hebrews 12:18-21

Enshrinement In The Hall Of Fame Of Faith

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval-.By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Heb. 11:1-2, 5-6  (NAS)

“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.  But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” Heb. 10:35-39

The Lord Will Judge His People

“How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:29-31 (NAS)

Expectation of Judgment

“..and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.  For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, AND THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.”   Heb. 10:24-27

He Sat Down, Received the Crown, Now Satan’s Goin’ Down

“And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,  waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
Heb. 10:11-14 (NAS)

The Holy Spirit, as He  impelled the writer of Hebrews to emphasize the superiority of Jesus Christ as the eternal, perpetual (meaning only) High Priest of the New Covenant, utilizes not only direct quotes from the  Old Testament but also allusions to Old Testament passages.  Our text for today is one of those Old Testament allusions and not really a direct quote. But don’t be mistaken, the Hebrews who had turned to Christ in those days, and the saints of today, would and should have a well trained ear and eye to recognize language lifted from Old Testament scriptures. They’re all designed for our edification and to help us properly appraise and appreciate just who Jesus Christ is declared to be according to the Scriptures.

Behold, I Have Come To Do Your Will

“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,

‘SACRIFICE AND OFFERING THOU HAST NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY THOU HAST PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES FOR SIN THOU HAST TAKEN NO PLEASURE.  “THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME

(IN THE ROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO THY WILL, O GOD.’ “

Hebrews 10:4-7 (NAS)

The Superior Blood of the New Covenant

“Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.  For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.” And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood.  And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” – Hebrews 9:18-22

God’s Mercy Equals Sins Remembered No More

“FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM UPON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’ FOR ALL SHALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.” Hebrews 8:10-12

As we prepare to consider the last section of the quote from the prophet Jeremiah concerning the New Covenant which the writer of the letter to the Hebrews cites from Jeremiah 31:33-34, it would serve us well to remember the reason the Holy Spirit moved the writer to pen these words of Jeremiah. The Spirit was seeking to establish firmly for the Hebrew hearers at that time, and the modern day reader now, that Christ Jesus as the eternal High Priest has mediated “a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.” (Heb. 8:6b).