Choosing Spiritual Reality

Theme: The Sacrifice of Christ purged sin and dedicated the New Testament while fulfilling the Old.  The New Covenant provides eternal redemption, thorough forgiveness of sin, and the anticipation of Christ’s return with full salvation. We have no need of any other religious system or supplements to Christ’s service to have a clear—guilt free— conscience with God.

Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. 2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. 3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; 5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. 6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. 7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: 8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. (Hebrews 9:1-10)

Describe the Tabernacle and its associated furnishings. (Heb. 9:1–5)

A.    It Was A Worldly or Earthly Sanctuary (9:1-2a).

1.      In (8:3) Paul made passing mention of the fact that every high priest must have something to offer. He is now ready to discuss the offering of our great High Priest and to contrast it with the OT offerings. To introduce the subject, he gives a rapid review of the layout of the tabernacle and of the regulations for worship.

2.      The tabernacle (9:2) was a tent-like structure in which God dwelt among the Israelites from the time of their encampment at Mount Sinai to the building of the temple.

                                                  i.      The area around the tabernacle was called the outer court. It was enclosed by a fence consisting of a series of bronze posts with linen cloth stretched between them. As the Israelite entered the tabernacle court through the gate at the east, he came to the altar of burnt offering, where the sacrificial animals were slain and burned; then to the laver, a large bronze stand containing water, in which the priests washed their hands and feet.

                                                ii.      The tabernacle itself measured about 45 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 15 feet high. It was divided into two compartments. The first, the Holy Place, was 30 feet long and the second, the Most Holy Place, was 15 feet long.

                                              iii.      The tent consisted of a wooden framework covered by goats’ hair curtains and weatherproof drapes of animal skins. These coverings formed the top, back, and sides of the tent. The front of the tabernacle was an embroidered veil.

B.     It was a Symbol with Spiritual Significance (9:2-5).

1.      Paul listed the furnishings of the tabernacle because each of these had a spiritual meaning. They were “patterns of things in the heavens” (Heb. 9:23). The Holy Place contained three articles of furniture:

                                                  i.      The “candlestick” (9:2) was a seven-branched golden lampstand; its seven arms reach upward to hold oil-burning lamps (Ex. 25:31–40; 27:20–21; 37:17–24). Since there were no windows in the tabernacle, this lampstand provided the necessary light for the priests’ ministry in the holy place. The nation of Israel was supposed to be a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6; 49:6). Jesus Christ is the “Light of the world” (John 8:12), and believers are to shine as lights in the world (Phil. 2:14–15).

                                                ii.      There was also a table of showbread (9:2), on which were twelve cakes of bread, representing the twelve tribes of Israel (Ex. 25:23–30; 37:10–16; Lev. 24:5–9). Each Sabbath, the priests could eat this bread, and they were required to eat it in the sanctuary.

1.      These cakes were called “bread of the Presence” because they were set before the face or presence of God.

2.      These loaves were called “the bread of presence” and the table was called “the table of presence.” It reminded the twelve tribes of God’s presence that sustained them. It also speaks to us today of Jesus Christ, the “Bread of Life” given to the whole world (John 6). –W. W. Wiersbe

                                              iii.      The golden altar (9:4) stood in the holy place just in front of the veil that divided the two parts of the tabernacle.

1.      The word “censer” means a device for burning incense (Heb. 9:4) and refers to the incense “altar.”  Here the holy incense was burned each morning and evening.  David suggests that it is a picture of prayer ascending to God (Ps. 141:2). It can be a reminder that Jesus Christ intercedes for us (Rom. 8:33–34).

2.      Verse 4 says that the golden censer was also in the Most Holy Place. The Greek word translated censer can mean either the incense altar (mentioned in Ex. 30:6 as being in the Holy Place) or the censer with which the high priest carried the incense. The best explanation is the latter. The writer regarded the censer as belonging to the Most Holy Place because the high priest carried it in from the incense altar into the Holiest Place on the Day of Atonement.—Believer’s Bible Commentary

2.      Behind the second veil was the Holiest of All or the Holy of Holies (9:3).

                                                  i.      Here God manifested Himself in a bright shining cloud. It was the one spot on earth where He could be approached with the blood of atonement.

                                                ii.      This second compartment of the original tabernacle contained the ark of the covenant (9:4), a large wooden chest overlaid on all sides with gold.

1.      The Holy of Holies contained only the ark of the covenant, a wooden chest three feet, nine inches long; two feet, three inches wide; and two feet, three inches high.–The Bible Exposition Commentary

2.      Inside the chest were the golden pot holding manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the two tables of the covenant. (When the temple was erected later, there was nothing in the ark but the tablets of the law—see 1 Kgs. 8:9).

                                              iii.      The gold lid of the ark of the covenant was known as the mercy seat (9:5).

1.      On top of it were two golden figures known as cherubim. They faced each other, with wings overspread, and with heads bowed over the cover of the ark.

2.      On the top of this chest was a beautiful “mercy seat” made of gold, with a cherub at each end. This was the throne of God in the tabernacle (Ex. 25:10–22; Pss. 80:1; 99:1). On the Day of Atonement, the blood was sprinkled on this mercy seat to cover the tables of Law within the ark. God did not look at the broken Law; He saw the blood. Christ is our “mercy seat” (“propitiation” in 1 John 2:2; Rom. 3:25). But His blood does not just cover sin; it takes away sin.–The Bible Exposition Commentary

3.      The writer stops with this brief description. It is not his purpose to go into great detail, but merely to outline the contents of the tabernacle and the way of approach to God which it depicted. –MacDonald, William; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary

4.      No doubt many spiritual truths are wrapped up in these pieces of furniture, and all of them are of value. But the most important truth is this: all of this was symbolism and not the spiritual reality. It was this fact that made the tabernacle of the Old Covenant inferior. –The Bible Exposition Commentary

Under the old covenant with its earthly tabernacle, who could approach God and how free was their access? (Heb. 9:6, 7)

A.    Only Priests Had Access to the Court and Holy Place (9:6).

1.      Since Paul is going to contrast Christ’s offering with the offerings of Judaism, he must first of all describe those which were required by the law. There were many he could choose from, but he selects the most important in the whole legal system, the sacrifice which was offered on the great Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). If he can prove Christ’s work to be superior to that of the high priest on the outstanding day of Israel’s religious calendar, then he has won his point.

2.      The priests had access to the outer tent, that is, the Holy Place. They went there continually in the performance of their ritual duties. The common people were not permitted in this room; they had to stay outside.

3.      We must not get the idea that the Jews assembled in the tabernacle for worship. The priests and Levites were permitted into the tabernacle precincts, but not the people from the other tribes. —W. W. Wiersbe

B.     Only the High Priest Had Access into the Holiest of All Once Annually (9:7).  

1.      Only one man in the world could go into the Most Holy Place—the high priest of Israel. And that one man, out of one race, out of one tribe, out of one family, could enter on only one day of the year—the Day of Atonement.

2.      When he did enter, he was required to carry a basin of blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance. –MacDonald, William; Farstad, Arthur: Believer’s Bible Commentary

3.      In contrast, the heavenly tabernacle is open to all of the people of God, and at all times! (Heb. 10:19–25)

What was the Holy Spirit saying to people about access to God through the arrangements of the Old Covenant? (Heb. 9:8)

A.    God Could Only Be Approach Through A Mediator with Sacrificial Blood.

1.      There were deep spiritual truths connected with this. The Holy Ghost was teaching that sin had created distance between man and God, that man must approach God through a mediator, and that the mediator could approach God only through the blood of a sacrificial victim.

2.      It was an object lesson to teach that the way into God’s presence was not yet opened for worshipers.

B.     This Was the Only Legitimate Approach to God Until Christ’s Death.  Imperfect access continued while the first tabernacle was yet standing.  

1.      The tabernacle was displaced by the temple during the reign of Solomon, but it still had a standing until the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The principles it proclaimed concerning approach to God were still valid until the veil of the temple was ripped in two from the top to the bottom. –MacDonald, William; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary

2.      The fact that the outer court (“first tabernacle,” Heb. 9:6) was standing was proof that God’s work of salvation for man had not yet been completed. The outer court stood between the people and the holy of holies! As long as the priests were ministering in the holy place, the way had not yet been opened into the presence of God. But when Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matt. 27:50–51) and the way was opened into the holy of holies. There was no longer any more need for either the holy place or the holy of holies, for now believing sinners could come into the presence of God. –The Bible Exposition Commentary

The division of the tabernacle into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies showed the limitations of the Levitical system, and kept the people from coming directly to God. The Holy Place barred both priests and people from the Holy of Holies.

When the new order of things was brought into being by the death of Messiah on the Cross, thus fulfilling the typical sacrifices, God rent the inner veil of the temple which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, making of the two rooms, one. There was, therefore, no more “within the veil.” This was God’s object lesson to the Aaronic priesthood that its ministry was now over, that the temple was to be closed, that a new Priest had arisen after the order of Melchisedec. But, Israel in its apostasy, repaired the veil, kept on offering sacrifices, until God in His wrath, sent Rome to destroy the city of Jerusalem and scatter His chosen people to the ends of the Roman empire.

The way into the Holiest of all, into heaven itself and the presence of God, had been opened at the Cross. God made it impossible for the high priest in Israel to enter within the veil, all of which was enough to show Israel that the true High Priest, the Messiah, had entered the heavenly Holy of Holies, and that the earthly one was to be a thing of the past. –Wuest, Kenneth S.