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Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven.
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There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, 1 the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.
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And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too.
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If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law.
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They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” 2
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But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.
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If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.
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But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord ,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel and Judah.
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This covenant will not be like the one
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant,
so I turned my back on them, says the Lord .
10
But this is the new covenant I will make
with the people of Israel on that day, 3 says the Lord :
I will put my laws in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
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And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
nor will they need to teach their relatives, 4
saying, ‘You should know the Lord .’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
will know me already.
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And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.” 5
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When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.