The Final Reality Is Here

Devotion

“Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. . . . They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”

— Hebrews 8:1–2, 5

We’ve seen it before. But there’s more. Christmas is the replacement of shadows with the real thing.

Hebrews 8:1–2, 5 is a kind of summary statement. The point is that the one priest who goes between us and God, and makes us right with God, and prays for us to God is not an ordinary, weak, sinful, dying priest as in the Old Testament days. He is the Son of God — strong, sinless, with an indestructible life.

Not only that, he is not ministering in an earthly tabernacle with all its limitations of place and size while getting worn out and being moth-eaten and being soaked and burned and torn and stolen. No, Hebrews 8:2 says that Christ is ministering for us in a “true tent that the Lord set up, not man.” This is not the shadow. It’s the real thing in heaven. This is the reality that cast a shadow on Mount Sinai for Moses to copy.

According to Hebrews 8:1, another great thing about the reality which is greater than the shadow is that our High Priest is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. No Old Testament priest could ever say that.

Jesus deals directly with God the Father. He has a place of honor beside God. He is loved and respected infinitely by God. He is constantly with God. This is not shadow-reality like curtains and bowls and tables and candles and robes and tassels and sheep and goats and pigeons. This is final, ultimate reality: God and his Son interacting in love and holiness for our eternal salvation.

Ultimate reality is the persons of the Godhead in relationship, dealing with each other concerning how their majesty and holiness and love and justice and goodness and truth shall be manifest in a redeemed people.

©Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-final-reality-is-here

Prayer

“Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

— Isaiah 7:11-14

Dear heavenly Father, the more often and the more carefully I read your Word, the more I discover how little of your goodness I actually “get.” Your irrepressible love shows up everywhere. “Immanuel”—“God with us,” is one of the most well known and beloved titles in our Advent vocabulary; yet I’m reminded today that you gave this promise of your nearness and advocacy at a most unlikely time and to a most ill-deserving people.

What a compassionate and generous God you are. What a story of immeasurable mercy and grace you are telling in the gospel. It was a time of local and international crisis, and King Ahaz had every opportunity to repent and rely on you. You sent Isaiah with words of wisdom and hope. But he refused. Feigning piety, King Ahaz remained addicted to his illusion of control and self-sufficiency.

Father, as I read this story, I realize how much I’m like King Ahaz. Often I go through the motions of acknowledging you on the outside, but on the inside, especially in times of fear and threat, I shift my trust from you to me—and it never works out well. I grieve this illusion of control and self-sufficiency, and I ask you to free me from my unbelief and orphan-like fears.

That’s why the promise of Immanuel is so precious to me. Father, you’ve proven yourself to be a God who is not only with me in Jesus, but a God who is so very much for me in Jesus. Your love for us in the gospel is not only unconditional, it’s contra-conditional; for you’ve met every condition necessary to fulfill your commitment to redeem your pan-national people and restore your broken creation. How praise, bless and adore you!

King Jesus, though I don’t have the Assyrian army outside my door threatening my existence, I do have a number of challenges in front of me this Advent season. By faith, I purpose to rely on you for all the wisdom and strength I will need. You are with us and you are for us, and that’s enough of which to be certain. So very Amen I pray, in your holy and loving name.