The New Covenant-A Better Tabernacle
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
The Tabernacle
The Tabernacle
English Standard Version Chapter 9
Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
Last week we Mike culminated the reason’s why Jesus is a better High Priest. The next two weeks we are comparing the earthly “holy” places to the heavenly “holy” place. However, I want you to think about this phrase-Christ is better. This is a central premise of this book and it needs to be a constant reminder, even to us today.
Remember, a large portion of the New Testament is battling false teaching, one of the most prevalent false teaching was that of the Judiazers. These are the people who wanted to combine the Mosiac Law with Christianity. Hebrews shows that Christ fulfilled the Mosiac Law and is Superior to the Mosiac Law. This passage is no different, but I want you to notice something,
Christ was the plan from the beginning.
Now, I am assuming that the majority of you do not have a great deal of knowledge about the Tabernacle, so we are going to look at the Tabernacle. I am referencing the tabernacle because the passage is referencing the tabernacle. See verse 2.
Before I get to that, I need to make an important point.
The first covenant had regulations for worship.
This is consistent with the New Covenant. The Christian Church has different and fewer regulations for worship, we still have a requirement to have an orderly worship, this is best summarized by Paul in 1 Cor 14:40, “all things should be done decently and in order”. This is purposeful as God is orderly. We serve a God who has an order, not chaos. Be cautious of those who say chaos is from God.
The Tabernacle was a copy and shadow, this is confirmed in Hebrews 8:5. The Tabernacle plans were directly given to Moses on the mountain by God. So why did the author of Hebrews talk about the Tabernacle and the items contained in the Tabernacle. Especially when the context is comparing the first covenant to the new covenant. While this is not a specific diagram of the Tabernacle, it provides us enough information to compare to Christ.
The entire Tabernacle was pointing to Jesus
So work with let’s look at the items discussed in these verses:
Tabernacle (Tent):
The tabernacle was always situated at the geographical heart of Israel. The outside walls were white, forming a courtyard of 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. The whiteness of the walls were to remind everyone of the holiness of the tabernacle.
When you enter the inner courtyard, you immediately see the large bronze altar for the burnt offering. This was the point where a layman would lay his hands on a sin offering.
This was also the farthest point they could go.
Behind and just to the right, you see the bronze laver, where priests would wash before performing their duties.
When they did not wash, it would cost them their lives.
Just past that was the tabernacle, a flat roofed, oblong tent fifteen feet in height and width, going back forty-five feet. The tent was three layers and ornately woven.
Inside the tabernacle, there were two rooms, separated by an ornate veil woven with gold and embossed by cherubim.
The veil was supported by four golden columns on silver bases.
The first room was called the Holy Place.
The second room was called the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies
This is where God dwelt among the Israelites, it was where the people of Israel could see the glory of God.
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
This was an amazing time, as the glory of the Lord was visible to all of Israel. There was a visible prescesne, but there was not a closeness.
When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.
But Christ, who is also called Immanuel
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).
John 1:14 says the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us”, this is the same word usage for Tabernacle. (i.e. God’s dwelling place among Israel)
Just the construction of the Tabernacle is pointing us to Christ. As we will see the closer to where God “resides” the more limited the access. The outer courtyard was open for all Israelites, then the first section was for just the priests and the final section was only for the High Priest. Again this is a type pointing to Christ.
I will say this, but I want you to think about it first. All roads lead to God, but only one road leads to access to God. All people will face God, but how they face Him is different. They will either face God the Judge or God the Loving Father. This is the picture in the tent, you can face God trying to do it your way and be struck down or you can be covered in the blood of Jesus and have your sins forgiven.
The Lampstand: John 8:12 Jesus is the light of the world. Remember that the Tabernacle did not have windows, so the lampstand was the only light.
The Table and Bread of the Presence:
I am the bread of life.
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia explains “the twelve loaves are presented as a pledge of the eternal covenant between God and the twelve tribes of Israel. … the eating of the loaves by the priests symbolized the communion between God and the people to whom He was continually present”
The second curtain (the veil):
by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
Golden Altar of Incense: This was located outside the Holy of Holies, but was critical in the High Priest duties when he entered the Holy of Holies.
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Manna:
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Law:
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Mercy-Seat: the word used by the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) is hilastērion, this the same word used in the NT as propitiation.
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Also if you remember what occured at the Mercy Seat
There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.
This section closes with the statement “of these things we cannot now speak in detail”. Further reminding us that this was about the Tabernacle and not the temple. Remember the Ark of the Covenant was taken from the first temple never to be seen again.
The point was to show that we have a Heavenly Tabernacle, but more than that, we have a better Tabernacle through Christ. The writer then pivots from the structure and furniture to the actions of the Priests.
The Priestly Actions
The Priestly Actions
These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.
Notice the difference in the actions of the Priests
The priests had to sacrifice regularly
This was the first section of the Tabernacle. F.F. Bruce explains “ the outer compartment, the holy place, was in continual use. Day by day, morning and evening, the appointed priests entered it to trim the lamps on the lampstand and at the same time to burn incense on the incense altar. …Again, week by week the appointed priests enter the holy place to put fresh loaves on the table of showbread. These were the principle services which were discharged in the “first tent” and any member of the priesthood could discharge them.”
Notice that there were not any aspects of shedding of blood in this section or by these priests.
The High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year with an intense amount of preparation.
R. Kent Hughes describes the ritual of what the High Priest would do before the Day of Atonement. “During New Testament times, the high priest underwent rigorous preparation for that day. Seven days before the Day of Atonement, the priest left home and stayed day and night in the temple. During the week he practiced what he would do on that great day, so he would make no mistake. He was especially cautious not to come close to anything that would make him ceremonially unclean. then on the morning of the Day of Atonement, the high priest offered a burnt offering. Following this, he ritually bathed his entire body, and then instead of putting on his tradition gorgeous robes, donned a sacred white linen tunic with white undergarments and a white sash and white turban-thus symbolizing that he was free from defilement.
He would then lay his hands on the head of a bull, selected as a sacrifice for his own sins and those of his family.
He then turned to two goats, one designated for Jehovah and the other for Azazel (the scapegoat). A piece of crimson thread was tied to the horns of the scapegoat.
The high priest then sacrificed the bull, then fills a censer with burning coals, takes two handfuls of incense and puts them on the coals. This is to fill the Holy of Holies with a cloud of incense to cover the mercy seat. He then takes the bull’s blood and sprinkles it on the mercy seat, then seven times on the ground.
He then takes the goat designated for Jehovah and sacrifices it. Repeating the same ritual as the bull in the Holy of Holies. When he comes out, he mixes the blood of the goat and bull together, puts it on the horns of the altar and sprinkled the altar seven times to consecrate it from the uncleanliness of the Israelites. Then he lays both hands on the scapegoat, confesses all the iniquities of the people of Israel and all their transgressions and all their sin. The goat is then lead into the desert to be released.
This was the regulations for worship, but it was not adequate.
This is the continual message of Hebrews, Jesus is Better!
He had to enter the Heavenly Tabernacle with His blood to fully open our access to God. This is again stated that the former regulations could not cleanse the consience, it could not make us righteous.
There is something the old gifts and sacrifices could never perfect: premeditated, willful sin.
So, I am going to take a quick poll, who has willfully sinned? Who has commited a premeditated sin? Well then, in the Mosiac covenant, you would be in trouble. Do not believe me?
But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”
He had to enter the Heavenly Tabernacle with His blood to fully open our access to God. This is again stated that the former regulations could not cleanse the conscience, it could not make us righteous.
Hebrews 11 will talk about how there was salvation through faith in Christ in the Old covenant, by looking forward to Christ’s sacrifice, but the regulations as detailed and ornate as they were, they could not cleanse sin. It could only cover it.
Remember the Mosiac covenant was designed to point to the Savior. It was to so accuse us of our sin, that we cry out for a Savior.
Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Interesting note, did you know that if you are a believer in Christ, you are part of a covenant promise?
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
We have this hope and promise in Christ, that His work made us righteous in the sight of God.
But more than that, we went from being enemies of God to children of God.
I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
How did this happen? How did we go from enemies to heirs? This is explained by the author of Hebrews and further shows how Jesus is better!
The Blood of Christ
The Blood of Christ
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Christ performed His High Priestly duties, but the difference was that He was the offering of sacrifice.
It is important to note, that the word for blood here means life
Listen to what John MacArthur says about this
“Our Great High Priest who didn’t pass through the tabernacle, didn’t pass through the temple on a temporary basis and have to leave again, He passed through the heavens; and when He got there He sat down, and God said, ‘I’m satisfied.’” And Jesus Christ accomplished the atonement of all sins of all time for those who come by faith and accept what He did for them.
But that’s the point, you’ve got to believe it, you’ve got to come all the way to total faith in Jesus Christ so that it applies in your behalf. The millions of gallons of blood that ran all over the altars of Israel for hundreds and hundreds of years, the sprinkled blood that stained and crusted on the mercy seat year after year couldn’t do what the one Great High Priest did in one great act for all time, and then entered into heaven into the heavenly Holy of Holies, showed the sacrifice to the Father, and sat down on His right hand forever. And you know why He’s sitting there? Because He’s interceding for us, isn’t He.
But shedding of blood means much more than simply bleeding. Bleeding and dying are two different things. But bleeding and dying are not two separate elements of Christ’s sacrifice, both of which accomplish salvation. His sacrifice for sin was one act that involved both His dying and His pouring out of His blood. Sacrificial death was the essential element, and references to blood are symbolic references to the death He died.
Now all Old Testament sin offerings were bloodshed. That’s how the killing was done, violently. And the animals were pictures of the coming final sacrifice of Christ who would die a violent death for sin. That was God’s plan. Sin was to be paid for by death. The price of ransom was to be blood, sacrificial death.
And the reason – and I just want to make it clear – the reason it speaks so often in the New Testament of Christ’s blood being shed is not telling us that Jesus bled to death. He did not bleed to death. Do you know how He died? He willed Himself dead. Don’t ever forget that. He said, “No man takes My life from Me, I” – what? – “I lay it down by Myself.”
Christ’s sacrifice purifies our conscience and moves us from death to life
Our status before Christ in clearly defined as dead.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The greek word used in Ephesians means dead. We are dead apart from Christ.
We produce dead works.
Isaiah says it best
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
The words polluted garment literally means used menstrual cloths, this is powerful imagery of what our best efforts look like to God.
Praise Jesus who cleanses up from our sin
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
It is because of the blood of Christ that we are counted as righteous
For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What the efficacy of Christ’s blood is; it is very great. For, First, It is sufficient to purge the conscience from dead works, it reaches to the very soul and conscience, the defiled soul, defiled with sin, which is a dead work, proceeds from spiritual death, and tends to death eternal. As the touching of a dead body gave a legal uncleanness, so meddling with sin gives a moral and real defilement, fixes it in the very soul; but the blood of Christ has efficacy to purge it out. Secondly, It is sufficient to enable us to serve the living God, not only by purging away that guilt which separates between God and sinners, but by sanctifying and renewing the soul through the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, purchased by Christ for this purpose, that we might be enabled to serve the living God in a lively manner.