The Epistle to the Hebrews was written by a Jewish follower of Jesus to a primarily Jewish audience that was experiencing some friction for their faith in Jesus alone. Hebrews was written to encourage its readers to hold firmly to their faith by pointing out the superiority of Jesus alone over everything else that these Jewish believers might be tempted to put their faith in.
Whether they’re being tempted to put their faith in Moses, or the Law of Moses, of the Temple with its priests and sacrifices, etc., it’s all inferior to Jesus. The author is trying to get his readers to recognize and turn away from their desire to maybe compromise their faith in Jesus alone.
He’s arguing for the superiority of Jesus over Moses, the Law of Moses, and the Temple with its priests and sacrifices, etc.. And the reason he’s trying to convince them of the superiority of Jesus over those things, is because those are the very things that his readers are being tempted to drift toward. They’re drifting away from the Gospel of Jesus, and towards the Mosaic religious system they grew up under and were accustomed to.
Their unbelieving Jewish family and friends were giving them a hard time for wanting to follow Jesus alone. The Mosaic religious system wasn’t given because of its intrinsic value in and of itself. It was given to point towards Jesus. All of what was given under the Sinai Covenant was just a shadow of the things to come.
And now that Jesus has come, our focus has to be on Him and His Gospel. He’s greater than everything that came before Him. Jesus was the point of it all. Seems that some people nowadays still tend to get that priority out of whack.
Believers in Jesus through Paul’s gospel of grace have salvation by faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. That shouldn’t minimize the fact that Israel is still God’s chosen people who have an earthly destiny. God made His covenants with Israel, and only God can initiate and fulfill those covenants. God will complete His covenant program with Israel, as per scripture. If God were done with Israel, then God would be a liar.
The regathering predicted by the prophets will be fulfilled. The Old Testament prophesies and promises haven’t yet been fulfilled; none of the covenants have been completely fulfilled; Israel hasn’t yet become a nation of priests; the kingdom on earth in which Israel will be pre-eminent is unfulfilled; Jews don’t have their King Messiah yet; all Israel is not yet saved; and God’s wrath on Israel, Jacob’s Trouble, hasn’t yet occurred.
Romans 11 makes it clear that God hasn’t cast Israel aside. Everything God promised Israel through the covenants will be fulfilled when Jesus returns to set up His kingdom. God will NEVER forsake the nation of Israel, and Israel will last forever. In addition, the Jews will be brought back to their land in accordance with God’s promises in the Abrahamic Covenant.
