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6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. ~ Hebrews 9:6-10
Today, we return to Hebrews 9 where the writer of Hebrews is writing about the Tabernacle. It was a place that had three areas, the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for the sin of the people. Today, we learn about how the Tabernacle was designed of God to point us to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.6-7 of today's passage we read, "6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance."
Only the priests went into the Holy Place every day to trim the oil on the lampstand, to put the incense on the altar of incense. And, on every Sabbath day, the priest would go into the Holy Place to change the 12 loaves of bread out on the table of the Showbread.
The work of the Levitical priest was a never-ending work. Every day many sacrifices were made by the priests for the sins of the people who had knowingly sinned. And, all of this provided a perfect picture of the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ who does not cease lighting our way and feeding us through His Word. He also does not cease interceding on our behalf. His work is continual and never ceasing.
Only the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies once per year. And, when he went in there, he entered with the blood of the sacrifice for the sins of the whole nation, including the priests. Nothing pictures Christ more than this event. On the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, a sacrifice was made and the blood of the sacrifice was applied to the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies for the sins the people, even those sins they yet didn't realize they had done. On the Day of Atonement the sacrifice was needed because sin severed the Jews relationship with God, and only forgiveness through sacrifice could put it back together.
After the High Priest performed the sacrifice, he removed his robes made just for the occasion. He then bathed himself again from top to bottom so that he was completely clean, and then he put on a pure white linen garment with no decoration on it at all. This garment was a symbol of holiness and purity. A perfect symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ who in His work to make atonement for sinful man laid aside His glory and humbled Himself to being crucified on the cross. The garments of the Lord Jesus are always white, indicating He has never lost His holiness.
In v.8-10 of todays passage we read, "8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order."
The Holy Spirit ever lives to glorify the Son of God. It is He who shows the impossibility of access to God without a perfect priest and a perfect sacrifice and a perfect covenant. And, by allowing the people to go no further than the Outer Court and allowing the priest to go no further than the Holy Place, the Holy Spirit reveals to us the Old Covenant was limited to meet the most important needs of sinful man.
No Jew has ever gone to heaven because of the Judaistic system. Every Jew who has ever gone to heaven entered there because the Lord Jesus died and conquered sin through His resurrection. According to Luke 16:19-31, prior to Christ’s resurrection, Hades was divided into two realms: a place of comfort where Lazarus was (Abraham’s bosom) and a place of torment where the rich man was (Hell). The place that Lazarus was comforted is called "paradise" in Luke 23:43. The place of torment is called “Gehenna” in Mark 9:45. Between paradise and hell, there was "a great chasm" according to Luke 16:26. It wasn’t until the Lord Jesus died on the cross that He went to Sheol and gathered the believers and escorted them into God's presence in heaven.
The Old Testament High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies or the presence of God, but, the priest could not enter into the Holy of Holies until the Lord Jesus had perfected the sacrifice that ripped open the veil in the Temple from top to bottom. That’s why the Bible says they remained in that place called Paradise, Sheol, or Hades. When the Lord Jesus died, He descended and led the captives out of captivity and brought them into God's presence in heaven. That was the first time any sinner has had full access to God, and it was provided through the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
The Tabernacle was never intended by God to be permanent. It had built-in lessons about its own impermanence. God made the Tabernacle to be a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who when the fullness of time had come was born unto man. In fact, there was a spiritual expectation at the time of Christ's birth unlike any other time. The people of the earth were hungry for the Messiah to come. And so many were converting in different parts of the world in the first century, to Judaism. In fact, if you read your New Testament you know that the Centurion is spoken about favorably in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts. Many of them believed in the Lord Jesus who commended one particular centurion for having more faith than any Jewish person in the entire land.
The Lord Jesus never said follow my teachings. No, though His teachings are important. He said follow me. He never said, my teachings are the way, the truth, and the life. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." He came as 100% God and 100% man to redeem those who were under the Law of Moses, that we might receive the adoption as sons. I trust you have invited Him to be your Lord and Savior. If you have not, let me encourage you to talk to Him. Tell Him that you know that your sin has separated you from Him. Ask Him to come into your life.
