Adult Bible Study: Hebrews Lesson 23

1. We see that the law is important and not to be ignored or neglected, for it has __________  _______________________  ________   _________________   __________________  _______  ________________. v 1
2. Using Romans 6:14 explain why some might mistakenly think that the law has not impact or significance for believers today.
3. Use Romans 6:11-13 and Galatians 3:24 to explain the necessity and importance of the law to every person that comes to Christ.
4. Though the law has this great importance, it is only the “shadow” of the good things to come. Contrast the “shadow” with the “very image.”  v 1  See Hebrews 1:3 for understanding of “image.”
   What is the difference in their efficacy?  v 1
5. How often had the sacrifices of the law been offered?  v 1c
6. Because those sacrifices under the law were only a “shadow” of the perfect sacrifice to come, does it mean that there was no forgiveness of any kind possible under the Levitical system? Explain your answer.  Leviticus 4:20, 26, 31, 35
7. What did God intend for the people to learn by those sacrifices?  v 3NOTE: We should not believe that believers today will no longer be aware of any sin in their lives, for this is not true (as is falsely taught in some churches). The issue is one of guilt and possible judgment occurring as a result of being guilty. When we do sin, we are exhorted to confess it and repent of it, and remember that our Lord has removed the penalty and the power of sin to control us by his “once for all” sacrifice for sin. Hocking, D. (2007). The messiah of Israel. Tustin, CA: HFT Publications, p.257
8. What is the proof that the sacrifices prescribed by the law could not remove sins (make those that partook in them perfect)?  v 2a
9. If the sacrifices of the law had been able to cleanse from sin, what would have been the result in the lives of those who offered them?  v 2b
10. What is the reason that the sacrifices under the law could only cover sin, but were ineffective to remove sin?  v 4 
11. Verse 5 starts with the word “wherefore.” What is the contrast that is being shown between the previous verses and that which is to follow?  vv 1-4   v.s.   vv 5-8
12. Who is the “he” that is speaking in verses 5-9?  See verse 10.
13. Verses 5 and 6 and part of verse 7 are a quote taken from Psalm 40:6-8 which is a Psalm of David. God gave David this prophecy of the Messiah, Savior of the world, 1,000 years before it was fulfilled. Find Scripture that explains how it is possible to give exact details of what will happen in the future and explain what this ability proves.
14. Though the phrase “when he cometh into the world” is not a part of the quotation from Psalm 40, what does it connect to?  Matthew 1:20-23; 2:1-2
15. Relate the phrase “a body thou hast prepared for me” to Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:34-35.

NOTE: The phrase  ”mine ears hast thou opened” which is in the Psalm 40:6 passage is not repeated in the Hebrews 10 passage. It speaks to the point that God the Father had shaped the ears of the Messiah and made them responsive to His will. Hocking, D. (2007). The messiah of Israel. Tustin, CA: HFT Publications

16. List the 4 different words for the sacrifices which were offered according to the law that are used in this passage vv 6-8. Each is a different Greek word which denotes a different type of offering given.

___  ___  ___  ___  ___ ___  ___  ___  ___  =  refers to the animal itself –  “thusian”

___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___   =  refers to meal or drink offering –  “prosphoran”

___  ___  ___  ___  ___       ___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___  =  always refer to the voluntary offerings of dedication brought by those who had come to worship  –  “holokautomata”

___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___  ___       ___  ___  ___       ___  ___  ___   =  refer to the two sacrifices for sin, the sin and the trespass offering   –   “peri hamartias”          

17. What is declared about those sacrifices in both verse 6 and verse 8?

18. The nation of Israel, for the most part, had forgotten that the sacrifices offered according to the law could not save them. Of what did God remind Israel in the following verses?                                                                               Isaiah 1:11

Jeremiah 6:20

Amos 5:21-22

19. What did people of Israel offer their sacrifices to satisfy?   v 8d                                                                                        What did the LORD want from the people of Israel, so that the offering of sacrifice would fulfill the requirement of the law that He had given, and at the same time be pleasing to Him?  Hoses 6:6

20. But even if a person brought all that the law required, with a heart that pleased God, the Messiah must come to in order to ______________________________________________________________v 9

21. The bringing of the second covenant was what was needed to cleanse us from our sin. How?  v 10

Hocking, D. (2007). The messiah of Israel. Tustin, CA: HFT Publications, p.257