Hebrews 7: 18-28 explains the Messiah’s role as High Priest: “For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. And inasmuch as it was not without an oath (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “YAHWEH HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND, ‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER’”; so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”

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Today’s Bible Feature

Exodus Chapter 30—Note: today I am switching to the New American Standard Bible. Keep in mind that when “the LORD” appears with all the letters in LORD capitalized, the Name Yahweh belongs there. Also, when you see the phrase “the Lord GOD” with all the letters in GOD capitalized, Yahweh belongs there as well. I have inserted Yahweh’s Name where it belongs. See His Name is Yahweh for details.

“Moreover, you shall make an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.
“Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit, it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be of one piece with it.
“You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it.
“You shall make two gold rings for it under its molding; you shall make them on its two side walls—on opposite sides—and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.
“You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
“You shall put this altar in front of the veil that is near the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you.
“Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps.
“When Aaron trims the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before Yahweh throughout your generations.
“You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it.
“Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to Yahweh.”
Yahweh also spoke to Moses, saying,
“When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to Yahweh, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them.
“This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to Yahweh.
“Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to Yahweh.
“The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to Yahweh to make atonement for yourselves.
“You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before Yahweh, to make atonement for yourselves.”
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.
“Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it;
when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to Yahweh.
“So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.”
Moreover, Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty,
and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin.
“You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.
“With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,
and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,
and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand.
“You shall also consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy.
“You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me.
“You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.
‘It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same proportions; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
‘Whoever shall mix any like it or whoever puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people.’”
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each.
“With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.
“You shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you.
“The incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for Yahweh.
“Whoever shall make any like it, to use as perfume, shall be cut off from his people.”

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SnyderTalk® Commentary

Today, I want to focus on Exodus 30: 9-10: “You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it. Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to Yahweh.”

The sacrifices made by the priests were holy and so was the altar. The sacrifice mentioned in verse 10 is the Yom Kippur sacrifice, or the atonement sacrifice. It was offered once a year by the high priest who was acting symbolically as the Messiah. After making the sacrifice, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the Ark of the Covenant. That was the only day of the year anyone was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, and no one except the high priest was ever allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. As Yahweh said, the atonement sacrifice is “most holy to Yahweh.”

Hebrews 7: 18-28 explains the Messiah’s role as High Priest: “For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. And inasmuch as it was not without an oath (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “YAHWEH HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND, ‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER’”; so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”

As you can tell, the sacrifice made by the high priest only symbolized the sacrifice the Messiah would make on our behalf. David prophesied about it in Psalm 40: 6-7—“Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of Me.’”

In verse 9, Yahweh warned the priests not to offer strange incense on the altar. The reason was simple. The smoke from the burning sacrifice represented the Messiah, and His sacrifice was pleasing to the Father. In the Old Testament, Yahweh refers to it as a “pleasing aroma,” and He warned the priests not to present anything on the altar that was unholy or improper. Paul talked about this in 2 Corinthians 2: 14-16—“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.” Stated another way, when the Father looks at us, He sees His Son. When He smells us, He smells His Son. We are “a fragrance of the Messiah to God.”

Paul gives more details about the atoning sacrifice in Romans 3: 21-26—“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

All of us have sinned, and we deserve to die. The Messiah was different. He did nothing wrong yet He willingly and lovingly sacrificed Himself for us, and He is our atoning sacrifice. Propitiation means atoning sacrifice. The Messiah atoned for our sins.

In Hebrews 2: 17, Paul explained it this way—“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

John explained it like this in 1 John 2: 2—“and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” In 1 John 4: 10, John said, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

I hope you get the main point in 1 John 4: 10. Yahweh didn’t save us because of the love we showed toward Him. He saved us because He loves us, and all we have to do to receive his salvation is place our faith in Him. There is no other way. The Messiah said it best in John 14: 6—“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

And what is the Messiah’s Name? Jeremiah told us plainly—“Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His Name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” In Hebrew, it’s Yahweh Tsidkenu. He is our righteousness, and apart from Him we have no righteousness.

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News Items of Interest

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His Name is Yahweh

There is a wealth of material available for free download on www.hisnameisyahweh.org including the book His Name is Yahweh. His Name is Yahweh is also available at Amazon on Kindle for just $5. If you haven’t read His Name is Yahweh, you should. The importance of Yahweh’s Name is becoming more apparent with each passing day.

HNIY bookcover in JPEG Kindle edition