While the Outer Tabernacle Still Stands

Earthly Sanctuary - vs.1-5

Continues the thought from chapter 8 concerning the first covenant that is obsolete, growing old, and ready to disappear

First covenant had regulations for divine worship and the earthly sanctuary (holy place)

First - not outer - tabernacle had a first room with a lampstand and table for sacred bread

Behind the veil was a tabernacle called the Holy of Holies (holiest of all) - 1 Tim 6:15

1 Timothy 6:15 ESV

which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

It has altar of incense (in front of veil, but associated with the room behind the veil - Lev 16:11-14, 18-19

Leviticus 16:11–14 ESV

“Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

Leviticus 16:18–19 ESV

Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.

It has the ark of the covenant with the jar of manna, the rod of Aaron, and the tablets of the covenant

Cherubim were special angels charged with guarding the glory of God - Gen 3:24; Exod 25:17-20; Ezek 1:5-11; 10:1-2

Genesis 3:24 ESV

He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Exodus 25:17–20 ESV

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.

Ezekiel 1:5–11 ESV

And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies.

Ezekiel 10:1–2 ESV

Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne. And he said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in before my eyes.

There were many more details, but they are not pertinent to the subject at hand

Symbols of divine worship - vs.6-10

The priests (of the Mosaic covenant) continually entered into the first tabernacle (room of the tabernacle) to perform this worship

The second room was off limits, even to the priests and the high priests except for the Day of Atonement

That room required a blood sacrifice for his sins and the ignorant sins of the people

The Holy Spirit is showing that man is still excluded from the presence of God while this first tabernacle remains standing, which is the present age (at the time of the writing of this book)

So the sacrifices and offerings of the Mosaic covenant (still being offered at the time of writing) are incapable of making the worshiper perfect in conscience (remove the guilt of sin)

That is because those sacrifices were physical in nature, regarding the body

They were designed only to bridge until the time of reformation (recreation)

Preparation for the Fullness of Time

All the narrative of Hebrews to this point has been preparation for what the Messiah has come to do

Paul calls it the primary message of the gospel - 1 Cor 15:1-4

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 ESV

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

What comes next is the central message of this book, the High Priest bringing His sacrifice before God to make His people perfect