And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)Here, Paul is alluding to an ancient ordinance that was performed in the tabernacle and later in the temple:
And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. (Numbers 19:19)Speaking of how the rites of the law of Moses and animal sacrifice were supplanted by the sacrifice of the Savior, Paul shows how the old law was preparatory to the new one.
In v.5-7 Paul quotes Psalm 40:6-8 as the words of the Lord:
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.Paul further explains that in fulfilling the law, Jesus, having sacrificed himself for sin, now acts as the high priest as we would see in the tabernacle or the temple under the old law of Moses. Thinking of Him in that role, we are to "draw near" as would an ancient worshiper in the tabernacle; and have "our hearts sprinkled" and our "bodies washed".
The difference now that Jesus is the high priest is that this is not a mere anticipatory formality, but real, because His real sacrifice was performed.
Paul uses this allegory to show the Hebrews at the time (in a way that they would understand) how Jesus fulfilled the law and opened the door for full faith and repentance. The important part of the allegory is to see Jesus as the master who we can trust "with faith unwavering" because of His sacrifice on our behalf.
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