Hebrews 9:1 · World English Bible
Hebrews 9:1 Meaning Now Indeed Even the First Covenant Had
Now indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and an earthly sanctuary.
What does Hebrews 9:1 mean?
The worldly sanctuary is the physical body, the first and outer temple every person is given at birth. Its ordinances are the fixed workings of the flesh, the breath, the blood, the automatic rites of a creature living under natural law.
From the Esoteric reading below.
Hebrews 9:1 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Esoteric
ESOTERIC
Esoteric
The worldly sanctuary is the physical body, the first and outer temple every person is given at birth. Its ordinances are the fixed workings of the flesh, the breath, the blood, the automatic rites of a creature living under natural law. This is the first agreement, the arrangement of a soul with matter, and it is called worldly because it is built of earth and passes with the earth.
Behind this outer tent stands an inner one not made by hands, the state of consciousness that opens when a person turns from the ordinances of the flesh to the living service within. The first covenant is the body doing its unconscious work; the reading points past it to the sanctuary that is the awakened mind itself.
The worldly sanctuary: the physical body, the outer temple of flesh given at birth and dissolving with the earth The ordinances of divine service: the fixed automatic workings of the body, breath and blood and instinct performed without waking awareness
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Live Hebrews 9:1 today
- Sometime today, sit for two minutes and let your breathing keep going without you steering it. The body handles the whole arrangement on its own, and you are the one sitting there aware of it.
- When you are with someone this evening, look past the voice and the face for a second and remember there is someone home behind it. Then just listen normally, with that in the back of your mind.
- In a tense meeting or a slow line, your jaw tightens and your heart speeds up before you decide anything. Let it do that, and stay the person watching it rather than the one swept along.
Which part of me today was running on its own, and which part was actually awake?
The same truth in other traditions
Katha Upanishad
The body is spoken of as a chariot, the senses as horses, and the self as the rider who is not the vehicle. The arrangement works on its own until someone takes the reins.
Zen · Dogen
Sitting still with the body is the first gate, but the gate is not the house. The outer form is kept so that the awake mind inside it has somewhere to stand.
Stoicism · Epictetus
He called the body a small estate given on loan, governed by nature and returned without warning. What is actually yours is the part that watches it.
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