A Torah Verse By Verse Commentary Of Paul's Epistles by Re'tzon Ha'El - HTML preview

Chapter 10

V1-2 Absolutely crucial to note that the law was NOT a shadow of good things to come. The Holy Spirit through the author ensured no room for ambiguity. It quite expressly states that the law HAD a shadow of good things to come. That shadow of good things to come was temporary and would be replaced by that good thing that was to come. The shadow was additionally not the very image of that which was to come. Lastly to identify what this shadow was within the law that needed replacing by that which was good, the verse relates the shadow to the sacrificial system of animal blood for cleansing of sins, which proved futile as it needed repetition as it failed to permanently purge the sins from the conscience. It is abundantly clear from the preceding chapters that the Aaronic order of High priesthood is that shadow within the Torah that was not the very image of Yeshua our High priest, whose order is that of Melchizedek. 

V3-4 This is further confirmation that the shadow referred to is specifically that of the Aaronic High priest as opposed to the regular priests nor anything else for that matter, as it was the Aaronic High priest who carried out the ritual for cleansing of sins on that day of atonement annually. As is the style of Paul’s epistles, different angles and points of view are utilized to amplify and drive home the message. He repeats to redundancy the point that the blood of goats and bulls sacrificed in the Aaronic high priestly rites could never take away sins.

The innocent, blameless animals used were merely a substitute for the sinner, but the sin remained in the conscience of the sinner. Animals have no concept of morality and hence could not remove sins from our moral conscience. Sinful man is immoral by nature of transgressing and hence was unsuitable as a sacrifice for us. Yeshua on the other hand was a fully moral man and hence His blood was sufficient to remove sins from our moral conscience.

V5-6 Ps 40:6 LXX Yeshua is the individual referred to here who came into the world and was the good thing anticipated in v1. Thelo oo is translated ‘thou wouldest not’ and in our modern vernacular is better rendered ‘thou desirest not’. Katartizo, translated ‘hast thou prepared’ is better translated ‘perfectly joined together’. The gist of the statement is that YHVH did not desire sacrifices and offerings of goats and bulls, but rather fitly joined together the perfect body of Yeshua, which was prepared for the all sufficient sacrifice. Note also that the Masoretic text has a different rendering of the quote of Ps 40:6 further proving as all other quoted scripture in the New Testament that Yeshua and the early church used the Septuagint LXX Bible in their time, hence to some degree seemingly more reliable a source to utilize than the Masoretic texts.

V7 Ps 40:7-8 Note the rest of v8 of Ps 40 which ends in ‘yea thy Torah is in my heart!’ Yeshua was filled with the Holy Spirit and hence had the law written in His heart. This is what was the provision of the promised new covenant for believers post-Pentecost Ez 36:26-27, Jer 31:31-33. It is what the disciples in the upper room in Acts 2:1-4 were expectant of. Hence it is asinine to contemplate that Torah was ever abolished at calvary. The volume of the book is the whole Tanakh/Old Testament scriptures in which was the embodiment of Messiah. By fulfilling prophecy and obeying the Torah of YHVH written in His heart, and ultimately dying for us to take away our sins through the order of Melchizedek, Yeshua indeed did the will of Elohim.

V8-9 Joining the two verses together, the author cleverly elucidates that by Yeshua coming in the volume of the book to fulfil prophecy regarding establishment of the Melchizedekian High priesthood, He was effectively doing away with the sacrificial system of the Aaronic High priesthood. Nowhere does he claim that Torah itself was abolished. One must bear in mind that Ps 40:8 clearly stipulates that Torah was and is in the heart of Yeshua, as much as it now is in the hearts of believers thanks to the enactment of the order of Melchizedek.

V10 Hagiazo/Sanctification effectively is the removal of sin from one’s conscience by the redemptive blood of Yeshua via the perfect High priestly order of Melchizedek. This ultimately is the will of Elohim.

V11-12 The Levitical priesthood begged for the priests to never find rest in offering sacrifices daily for substitution of sins. The superior High priesthood of Messiah however only required a once and for all sacrifice of Yeshua in the heavenly sanctuary, after which He no longer was obliged to be on his feet as a servant, sacrificing daily, but rather sat down as the Priestly King at the right hand of the Father.

V13-14 cf Ps110:1 The one offering was final and needed no repetition. Yeshua from thenceforth concentrated on making his enemies His footstool, which is yet to be fulfilled. The word perfected in v14 is the Greek word teleioo and is in the active perfect tense, meaning that it is a continuous participle. In simple English this means that the redemptive blood of Yeshua continuously cleanses the believer for as long as he abides in Yeshua Jn 15:1-10.

V15-17 cf Jer31:31-34 The Holy Ghost is referred to as our witness as it is through Him that men were inspired to pen scripture 2 Tim 3:16. I must repeat for the umpteenth time that Torah was never abolished. Instead it was placed in the hearts and minds of believers in Messiah. Because the conscience of our souls is in the hearts and minds, Torah being perfect, could not be placed in there before the resurrection of Messiah, as our consciences retained the memory of sin and dead works. By Yeshua’s all-cleansing blood, our consciences are purged continuously keeping us in a sanctified state for as long as we abide in Him. By so doing perfect Torah is able now to reside in our perfected consciences of heart and mind hallelujah! Verse 17 reiterates that in a purged conscience is there no remembrance of sin.

V18 If the conscience has no recollection of sin, it follows then that the need to offer anymore for sin is totally removed, as there no longer is sin in the conscience to remove!

V19 YHVH is Holy and that which is holy cannot allow the unholy to be within its midst, as holiness immediately destroys that which is unholy as poor Uzzah had the misfortune of experiencing cf 2 Sam 6:3-7. Also, cf 1 Jn 1:6-7. Because we are sanctified by purging of our consciences, we have the boldness to draw near the Father without fear of destruction.

V20-21 The way of cleansing sin restricted to that of the flesh was through repeated sacrifices through the Aaronic priestly order. This was the old and now obsolete way which left our conscience filled with the memory of dead works. The new way of that once and for all sacrifice that purges the conscience continuously from sin to serve the living Elohim, whom we may approach with boldness, is far superior and is provided by us passing through the flesh of Yeshua which is the antitype of the veil separating the holy place from the holy of holies. Access was made at calvary and was physically seen in the temple of Herod Matt  27:51. Yeshua was not at all allegorizing when he declared that He is the bread of life, for indeed His body, the bread does give us access to eternal life when we move by and through Him into the holy of holies, where we may have communion with the Father YHVH Elohim. This also was represented in the last supper. Cf Jn 6:33-35.

V22 Strong’s concordance defines the kardia/heart as the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavours. The conscience clearly resides in the heart and one can only draw near to Elohim with a true heart free of an evil conscience, as provided by the cleansing blood of Yeshua, the sins of our bodies being cleansed by the living water of Yeshua. It is important to remember that not only did Yeshua sacrifice His blood at calvary for remission of our sins of the conscience, but also water gushed out of His pierced side, which washes our bodies too cf Jn 19:34. The only requirement on our part is to have faith and belief in Yeshua as our Saviour.

V23 homologia is better translated confession to place this statement in context. We absolutely need to confess our faith with our lips that Yeshua is our Lord and.Saviour, aklines/firmly, unmoved, unwavering i.e. never to deny Him even to the death Rom 10:9. By so doing will our heavenly Father who made the promise of eternal life through His Son be faithful Jn 3:16.

V24 -25 Fellowshipping is critical to encourage each other to eschew sin and remain faithful in Messiah. Good works are displayed by obeying Torah written in our hearts and minds. Faith justifies us, but requires good works to be efficacious in our lives, lest the faith be futile Jm 2:14,17-24. The day approaching refers to Yeshua’s return to take us into eternal life 1 Thes 4:16-17.

V26-27 The Mosaic law never catered for wilful sinning, even with its inferior method of cleansing of sins by substitution of innocent animal blood. How much more of an insult it would be for one to take for granted the ineffable sacrifice of Yeshua for us, which cleanses us throughout and causes no remembrance of sin in our conscience, something that the blood of goats and bulls failed to eliminate. Yeshua’s perfect sacrifice was a one-time event, and He shall never go through that ordeal again. Hence once redeemed of our sins by faith in Him, how can we wilfully sin again and expect Yeshua to go back to calvary for us? It is with much trepidation that one should hold onto the faith as salvation is only guaranteed to those who remain in it till the end, lest one face the same destiny as those who never accepted Messiah from the outset. These are the adversaries referred to in v27. Cf Num 16:35,26:10.

V28-29 cf Deut 29:18-21. In v29 the word koinos translated unholy is better rendered common and the word enubrizo translated hath done despite is old English for insult. The sense of the statement is that one would be insulting the Spirit of grace, if they were to consider Yeshua’s work on the cross a common thing. To do so would inevitably attract the wrath of the Father who through grace offered His only begotten Son for our sins, compassion of which we never ever deserved.

V30 cf Deut 32:35-36. The Hebrew word dun in Deuteronomy translated judge means to plead the cause. In Heb 10:30 the Greek word is krino which means to condemn or call in question. When Deut 32 is read in context from v35 through to 43, the wrath of Elohim upon those that take for granted the blood shed by His Son for us, sends nothing short of terror at the anticipation of insulting Yeshua’s one-time sacrifice should we continue to wilfully sin i.e. break Torah commandments. The once saved always saved doctrine is a dangerous falsehood.

V31-34 The author surely had to be Paul as only he used such a style of literature, whereby he repeated himself for maximal effect of the message. Additionally he tended to mention his gratitude to those who had compassion for him in his bonds/imprisonments cf 2 Tim 1:16; Philip 1:7. Note in v32 that after enlightenment to truth, the true Christian walk will inevitably attract much affliction from Satan’s kingdom in their endeavour to suck you back into sin, or to kill you outright for steadfastness in the faith cf Rev 2:8-11. Many Christians of today have never known tribulation in their lives, as they have been lulled into false security, and even worse have enriched themselves materially through peddling false gospels cf Rev 3:14-19.

V35-37 The promise of eternal life does not immediately come into one’s life after submitting to Yeshua through faith. Patience is key especially in the wake of evil men prospering on this earth, which may dishearten us and tempt us to throw in the towel cf Ps 37:7

V38-39 Faith in Yeshua attains justification but is not enough to attain salvation by itself. One needs to persevere and complete the race of life in complete Torah obedience, enduring all manner of persecution without hupostello/withdrawal from the stiff battle we face. It is abundantly made clear that drawing back, backsliding or whatever current terminology is used in Christendom to describe compromising the faith, leads to none other than apoleia/perdition, destruction i.e. hellfire of the SOUL. Those who persevere to the bitter end through belief are eventually saved.