The Challenge of Hebrews

This week in Burning Hearts, our 2026 bible reading plan, we are reading from the letter to the Hebrews. There’s so much to say about Hebrews, and so much said in it! It’s kind of a perfect letter to be mentioning right now – as we move from the “Beginnings” series to the “Redemption” series in the “Stories that Gave Us Jesus” year – because Hebrews is SO obviously built off of Old Testament (Hebrew bible) images, stories, themes, and concepts. In fact, you can rightly read Hebrews as example after example of Old Testament ‘stories that give us Jesus’.  Although all the New Testament writings utilize echoes and themes from the Old, Hebrews is basically impossible to understand unless you grasp much of the Old Testament.
 
The thing I both struggle with – and love – about the letter to the Hebrews is how much Old Testament familiarity it assumes of us as readers. It’s a struggle because I find myself thinking, ‘gosh, I wish I KNEW the Old Testament better’ when I’m reading it, but I also love it because it makes me want to flip back and read and re-read who Abraham and Enoch and Rahab and Melchizedek were.
 
Take, for instance, this mysterious character of Melchizedek. He features prominently in Hebrews, especially in yesterday’s reading (chapter 7). But who the heck is this guy? Does he actually matter? It turns out, at least according to Hebrews, he does matter…a lot, because of how he ‘gives us Jesus’. If you’d like to learn more about Melchizedek, who he is, and why he matters – check out this important article: it is 1000x better than what I could ever say about him!
 
Or, there’s a lot in Hebrews about the sacrificial system, the Law, the tabernacle, and the sanctuary. It’s a lot of keep track of, and a lot to get confused about. So, for as much as I encourage you to read more and more from the Old Testament to get a hold of it, I know it’s a lot to read (and retain) – so I encourage you to check out these amazingly helpful videos from the Bible Project that give overviews of topics like sacrifice and atonement, the temple, the law, and the covenants.
 
I guess what I’m saying is that Hebrews encourages and challenges me to become a student of the Hebrew bible more and more, and I want to encourage you to do the same. Because the more we ‘get’ the Hebrew bible, the more we truly do ‘get’ Jesus.
 
Oh, and while you’re at it, check out the Bible Project’s video on Hebrews…it sure is helpful.
 
Have a great week of reading and reflecting. If you have any questions, or want to learn to read the bible, please let me know. Or, come to a bible study next week!