The Law is Only a Shadow of the Good Things that are Coming

Hebrews 10 starts off with a very interesting statement..."The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves."  The word "shadow" speaks loudly to me. If you think about it...a shadow is just a reflection of an object or person. It is not the object or person.

So what is this passage saying about the Law?  It is saying that the Law is not God...it is just a reflection of God.  His word tells us much about God...and God speaks through His Law...His word.  But it is not God Himself. The illustration was a good reminder in Biblical times and it is a good reminder today.

We tend to latch on to earthly things...good things...and confuse them with God Himself.   We hang onto religious traditions, church buildings, preachers, crosses, religious symbols, Bibles and worship them as if they are God themselves.  These thing are just shadows of the living God....not the reality of God.

These things can be good....but God is so vastly awesome...these thing do not even compare. Take for instants the example of earthly sacrifices: "It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."  This old covenant act was just a "shadow" of the new covenant which was superior: " ...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

So what is the lesson?  Jesus has done for us what we can't do for ourselves.  We constantly wrestle with confusing earthly shadows of Jesus...with Jesus Himself.  Let  us hold on to Jesus...not His shadow. Put your hope in the "real thing."