Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.
Hebrews 9:1[1]
Everything in this life seems to have a beginning. There’s a beginning to life. The beginning of school. You get your license and start driving. There’s the first day at every job. You have the first date with the person you marry.
It’s also true about all the technology we use. There was that first day you used an oven to bake a cake or chicken. When you put on your first watch. The first time you set your alarm clock to wake you up. The first time you turned on a computer. Your first call with a cell phone.
The funny thing about all these firsts, at least for me, is that voice in the back of my head. “So, Chet. Did you do it right? Did you follow all the directions? Did you skip an important step that’s going to make it useless? Did you ruin it?
In case you didn’t notice, I’m really insecure. I might have this outer shell that makes it look like I’ve got all the confidence in the world. That I’ve got all my stuff together. That I have everything under control. That I can handle any situation. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Just the other day, I was trying to install one of those Amazon Fire TV Sticks[2]. We’re having friends and family visit, and I wanted them to be able to watch TV in their bedrooms. I bought two and started installing them.
Now, just in case you’ve never installed something like this, it’s about as simple as falling off a log. You attach it to the TV; you plug it in and install two batteries in the remote. That’s it. You then just do whatever shows up on the screen. That is, if anything appears on the screen.
I did everything right and nothing showed up on the screen. I then read the directions, which are more like a comic book because they’re so simple and retried everything. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I looked to make sure that electricity was flowing.
So, I thought, maybe it’s defective. I then unpacked the second one and retried. Nothing. The feelings of insecurity and inability to do the most basic things just overwhelmed me. So, I took one of the Fire TV Sticks and installed it on another TV. Perfection! It worked like a champ.
I can’t tell you how good this made me feel. This meant that the problem wasn’t with me, but with the TV itself. After doing some research, I figured out what was wrong. I got an adapter for about $9 and now everything is working fine.
So, what was the problem? The rules that the Fire TV Stick used were different than the what the TV used. Or, to put it another way, they spoke different languages and needed an interpreter so they could talk with one another. If they use different rules, or speak different languages, nothing’s ever going to work.
To see anything on the screen, or to hear anything from the speakers, the Fire TV Stick has to use the rules and language by the TV. You can jump up and down. You can keep plugging and unplugging all day long. You can keep unplugging and plugging it in till your fingers fall of. It doesn’t matter. If you don’t follow the rules of the TV, nothing’s going to happen except for you to get frustrated.
This is what the writer is starting to tell the Hebrews. When it comes to communicating with God, he sets the rules. He’s in charge. We may think our ways are great. What could possible be wrong with doing it our way. But God has an opinion about our ways that’s not going to make us comfortable.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8,9
When it comes to God, he’s always the one who starts the relationship. He’s God and we’re not. Since he’s the one who created the universe and us, he gets to set the rules. And in his first agreement, he made all the regulations. He put all the rules in place for us to have a great, loving, transparent, and intimate with him.
And when we turned away from him in our pride, we deeply hurt him. Has anyone done that to you? How did that make you feel? What did you want to do to hurt them back? To lash out at them? To put them in their place. To let them know that they don’t deserve you.
We deserved all that and more. But instead of dropping an atomic bomb on us, Jesus took what we deserved so that there might be a way back to God. We deserved nothing but pain and eternal separation from God. But instead, God reached out to us. He didn’t stop at the first covenant. He kept coming for us.
Noodling Questions
Describe an important and memorable first. How confident were you?
When failure comes, do you blame yourself or others first. Explain.
How does God starting our relationship with him make you feel? Describe.
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Bible references are from the New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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