Obsolete and Outdated

Hebrews 8:13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

For some people the Old Testament is an embarrassment, all that killing and bloodshed. Even in the first family, one brother killed the other brother! Talk about dysfunction! They needed some serious therapy even way back then.

I choose to see the Old Testament as a portrayal of actual events which demonstrate the mercy and grace of God to an obstinate and rebellions people. The LORD is the hero. He is faithful even when all fall away. He is the pursuer of humanity. He brings the opportunity for reconciliation.

So what is the role of the Old Testament Law? It was the teacher, teaching us about the condition of our heart and the promise of the Solution, Jesus the Messiah. The Law was not meant as a means to salvation, but a means to a desperate cry for mercy to the One who is able to make us right with Himself.

But once Jesus came, died and rose again, the ultimate picture of the extent of our rebellion was made known and plain for all to see. We don’t need the older, dimmer examples of God’s faithfulness. We have Jesus demonstrating everything we need to know about the Creator of the Universe, though certainly not everything there is to know about the Creator. We know enough to turn and not burn.

The letter to the Hebrews demonstrates repeatedly the superiority of Jesus over all the Old Testament images of reconciliation. Jesus is “better than” them all. He completed the circle. His sacrifice made all the others superfluous. When we have Jesus, we don’t need blood sacrifices. We don’t need a priesthood. Jesus fills those roles to the fullest extent.

And the writer anticipates the destruction of Jerusalem and the elimination of Temple sacrifices as he writes about the new covenant. That is why he writes that the old is obsolete and outdated. They fulfilled their purpose in their time, but now with Jesus, the purpose has been fully met in Him.

And the whole old order is about to disappear. Jerusalem, the center of God’s activity before Jesus, is going to become a ruin. That is because the center of God’s activity has moved to the Church, His Body. God’s activity moves about with us, encompassing the whole world. There are not limits to His presence, His power, His working. No matter where we go, He is with us.

And this is the message of Advent. He is here! He is coming again, to take His people to be His own. He will once again walk in the Garden with us. And we will rule and reign as we were designed to do in a new Heaven and new Earth.