August 13 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The gospel is God's last word, also because it is the news about the last priest who presented the last sacrifice. And this priest lives forever to save forever all who seek access to God through him.

A priest is a person who helps people come to God. All nations and religions have had priests. They would bring people into contact with God by sacrifices, secret arts, rituals, and prayers. The human race has always known that there is a God, and people have universally realized that they need help to be restored to this God.

The author of Hebrews disregards the world religions. He speaks only about the religion of Israel. He surveys the long line of the sons of Levi and the sons of Aaron, and he shows the imperfection of their priestly work. Then he contrasts them with the perfect priest who brought a complete and final sacrifice. This priest is Jesus Christ.

The priests under the old covenant brought sacrifices repeatedly and endlessly. The smoke went up and the blood flowed. Bullocks and goats and lambs. More and more, never enough. The very repetition seemed to say: "Not enough, not enough." But then came the last sacrifice of the last priest, the real priest. "It is finished!" No more the bleating cry of the dying lambs, for the Lamb of God has taken away the sins of the world.

Jesus became our everlasting priest. He does not need to be replaced. The succession of the sons of Levi came to an end. Christ lives forever in the holy place of God to save forever all those who come to God through him. The last priest is the everlasting priest.

By implication, all other priests of all other religions are declared ineffective. All efforts to come to God must fail. We can find God only through the priestly work of Jesus.

REFLECTIONS

Jesus is your everlasting high priest. What comfort and security does this give you?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.