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18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. 20 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’” 22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. ~ Hebrews 7:18-22
We return today to Hebrews 7 where God has been proving to us that the Lord Jesus had to come to earth not only to be the sacrifice for all of man's sin, but He also had to come to be the High Priest on the behalf of all who would ever believe that He is the Messiah.
In v.18-19 of today's passage we read, "18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God."
In these verses the writer of Hebrews explains exactly why the Levitical priesthood was done away with and how, precisely, the Lord Jesus meets our need as the Savior. "The former regulation" is a reference to the Law of Moses which God gave Him on Mount Sinai in the desert. In that law the details for the priests were given. It was set aside because it was weak and useless. The law was weak because it appointed weak priests who died. Therefore, ultimately, it was useless to get the job that was needed done. Couple with that the complete inability of man to obey God perfectly, and we get at the same conclusion: the Law was weak and useless. This is why it is utterly senseless for us to think that we could ever earn the favor of God through our good behavior.
The need of sinful man is perfection but the Law of Moses made nothing perfect. The second part of v.19 describes what the Lord Jesus has done for us. He, as our great High Priest, ushered in "a better hope" through His death, burial, and resurrection. And, it is through this hope that we draw near to God. To "draw near" means our sin has been taken on and defeated by the Lord Jesus through His work on the cross and we have been given a personal relationship with God.
In v.20-21 of today's passage we read, "20 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: 'The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.'"
In the old covenant the priest never took an oath because the Law was given with a temporary purpose. It was always the ultimate goal of God to set man right again with Himself. Though the Law of Moses could only accentuate our sinfulness, the cross of the Lord Jesus made us acceptable into God's presence for eternity. Through the cross of the Lord Jesus, God met our need to be what He intended us to be. He met it by giving us the kind of High Priest we needed. In Christ the permanent program has become, therefore His ministry was confirmed with an oath made by God. This means God will never change His mind.
The "it" in v.20 is the oath that God made to the Lord Jesus recorded in Psalm 110:4. No oath was ever involved in the ordination of the Levitical priesthood because it was a part of the Law of Moses. But, the Lord Jesus was given the oath that He is the forever priest. This means the oath is better than the Law and guarantees our salvation for eternity. Actually, the oath guaranteeing our salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
This is why God says in v.22, "Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant." The Law was unable to make anyone perfect enough to have a personal relationship with God. The Law points the finger of God's judgment at us because we can not be good enough to measure up to acceptability before Him. But, the Lord Jesus is the believer's guarantor. That word "guarantor" is the Greek word "enguos" which means "surety." The Lord Jesus Christ is the reason we have arrived in relationship to God. We lack nothing spiritually in Christ. Every believer in Christ is perfectly thrilling to God because He poured out all of His wrath for our sin on His Son, even though God knows we will sin egregiously tomorrow.
With the Lord Jesus as our "guarantor" we do not have to obey God. That's right, we do not have to obey God. But, do you know what? Once we truly get to know His heart for us, we will want to obey Him because He is so good. And, by the way, obeying God does not improve our straight A status on His life chart for us. We can not add to what the Lord Jesus has earned on our behalf. And, now that we know Him through His Son, the key is learning to live out of our perfect status in Christ.
