Inside the Tabernacle

If you have your Bibles I would invite you to open them to Hebrews chapter 9, we're starting a new chapter this week and I'm gonna be looking starting in verse 1 all the way through verse 14. We have been taking relatively large chunks of Hebrews these last few weeks and the reason for this is that there is a larger overall context that we're trying to convey. If we look at these verses one or two at a time we run the risk of missing the bigger theological picture that God is conveying through he author of this book.

So please follow along with me as we read Hebrews 9:1-14

Hebrews 9:1–14 KJV 1900

1 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. 11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Our message this morning is the 3rd in our series Better Things and is entitled Inside the Tabernacle

Let’s Pray

Regulations

Temple worship was no way arbitrary. There is great detail in the description that God gave so that worship would be conducted in a way that pictured the heavenly reality. Verses one through five steps you through each piece of furniture in the tabernacle and ultimately the temple, being the more permanent version of the tabernacle.

Sections of the Tabernacle

The tabernacle was broke into two sections. The first section was called the holy place, or sanctuary and beyond that the holy of holies, or as we read it in our Bible this morning, the Holiest of all.

Now I realize this is covering some ground that we've already covered but I wanted to be fresh in your mind as we move forward through this chapter of Hebrews.

Furniture

Starting with the sanctuary first you have the lamp stands. Notice of Bible translated here as a candle sticks but really what we're looking at is a lampstand with six lamp holders. Regardless of any greater theological implication this was the source of light inside of this enclosed tent. Also in the first holy place was the table of showbread with it’s 12 cakes of bread sitting upon it. And finally the alter of incense. I think we're understanding this passage isn't clear but the altar of incense stood before you got to the veil to the holy of hollies. It was a piece of furniture that pertained to the holy of holies but it wasn't inside of it. What happens on the day of atonement once of year the priest would go to the altar of incense and he would take a call from the altar and bring it before the ark which resided on the other side of the curtain.

Which brings us to the holy of holies itself wherein sat only the Ark of the Covenant. The arc is one of these objects it tends to capture the imagination, we know some things about it that it was made of wood and then overlaid with gold and on top of it were to Golden cherubim with their wings arcing forward towards each other on either side. Between the chair of them was a place called the Mercy Seat.

Yearly Sacrifice

Once a year, on the day of atonement, the blood of the sacrifice would be brought into the holy of holies and sprinkled on this place of the Ark, a place where the expectation was that God would visit man and except the offering provided, demonstrating His mercy.

A Picture

All of this pictured a heavenly reality. And you and I looking back have to appreciate that there is no need for any of this any longer. I heard John MacArthur comment on this and he made a point that I thought was excellent, He said:

It’s like you having a long-lost person that you love with all your heart and you sit there and you look at the picture, and oh the picture means so much. You know when they’re not around and all of a sudden they show up and they come in and say, “Hello,” and you just keep looking at the picture. And they sit down and two weeks later you’re looking at the picture, and they’re saying, “But hello?” And you’re looking. That doesn’t make any sense.

God doesn’t Eat

And we certainly can’t think that the sacrifice is something that God needs from mankind. So many pagan religions, have this idea, that the sacrifices that they make are some sort of transference to their gods to meet their needs. In Psalm 50:12-15 God says

Psalm 50:12–15 KJV 1900

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the most High: 15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

All of this was done for the benefit of mankind, for our understanding and for our benefit. But, to the glory of God.

Access to God was impeded

The priests are constantly in and out of this first section of the tabernacle for the various sacrificial and ritualistic activities that were to be performed. But not so much that second area: the holy of hollies. Look with me again it verses 7 and 8

Hebrews 9:7–8 KJV 1900

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:

There was no access to God for the congregation as a whole, and there wasn't even direct access to God by the under priests. Only by the end of the high priest. This continues the picture that there was no access to God for mankind while this first tent still stood while there was a veil before the area where God could be accessed. First section symbolized this. That there was a need for a mediator, which is why it is so signficant what we read in the gospel of Matthew

Matthew 27:51 (KJV 1900)

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; .....

After the sacrifice of Christ there was no more need of another mediator and there was no more need of a veil to separate the holy of holies from the faithful under the new covenant. The veil ripping was the picture being updated to match the current reality.

Sacrifices were inadequate

I think we would be remiss to discount the value of the sacrifices being made entirely. We know and all of scripture seems to testify that they were not adequate for the salvation that was desperately needed by mankind. But they did still have great value.

Dealt with Outside Only

v13 tells us their purpose

Hebrews 9:13 KJV 1900

13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

It like everything else in that happened in the temple, it pertained to the flesh. And what it was, was an indication of the need for a cleansing that would be the future reality when the offering of Christ would be made in the true, spiritual temple in heaven.

Religion Alone

Pompey

There are 15 books that are sometimes included along with the 66 books we call our Bible. Those books are called the apocrypha. They are historically significant writings but are are not recognized as being inspired, meaning that these books are not the perfect communication of God to man.

Two of those books detail the events that happened during the Maccabean revolt. First and second Maccabees. For seven years the Jewish people had fought for their independence, this was around 70 years before Christ birth. And they won. For almost 10 years the Jewish people had autonomy.

But, in the year 63 BC the Roman general Pompey the Great set out to recapture Jerusalem and sieged the city for 4 months. When Pompey succeeded he forced his way not only into the temple but all they way into the holy of holies. The historian Tacitus wrote that Pompey “as victor claimed the right to enter the temple”

But Pompey was shocked at what he found beyond the veil. Absolutely nothing. This is a shock to Pompeii because as a pagan he was used to seeing some sort of idol that would reside inside the temple. That is what he was expecting. If you and I would expect Pompey to find the Jewish temple lacking in graven images, but he also didn’t find the Ark of the Covenant there either.

See, the Ark had been missing over 500 years, since the Babylonian exile.

Beautiful Facade

When they had returned to their land, and temple worship was restored, there was no mercy seat to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice upon. When the high priest Caiaphas entered to sprinkle the blood on the day of atonement, he sprinkled the blood on the ground, in an empty room. He sprinkled it upon the empty foundation, between the posts where the Ark was supposed to be.

The temple was beautiful. The smoke rose up daily from the sacrifices, and the things of the Jewish religion continued on. But the mercy seat wasn’t there. Temples are supposed to be places where people believed their god’s dwelt, and for so long this was the place where God met man, but now, it was just a facade.

Reformation

Whited Walls

I find the state of the temple remarkably similar to words spoken of Jesus towards the religious leaders of the time.

In Matthew 23:27 we read

Matthew 23:27 KJV 1900

27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

White Washing

If a Jewish person came into contact with dead body they would be considered ceremonial unclean, and if this happened before passover then they wouldn’t be able to participate.

As a safeguard, before passover, the Jewish people would paint all of the tombs white so that they would be easily distinguished from an ordinary rock.

The graves would be beautiful to look at, but the reality is that it was just a thin coat of paint veiling the reality of death and rot contained within.

That is what Jesus and Paul alike said of the Sadducees and Pharisees. They had all of the ornament of religion but inside they were wicked and rotten.

It’s what is inside that defiles a man

In Matthew 15 Jesus was speaking and we read in v10

Matthew 15:10–12 KJV 1900

10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. 12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

The Pharisees were so caught up in their ritual and their tradition that they missed the point entirely. They were made distasteful to God because they ate things that were ceremonially unclean. No they were distasteful to God because what came out of their mouth was nothing short of the manifestation of the wickedness of their heart.

Jesus didn’t say in vain what he said, recorded in Matthew 12:34

Matthew 12:34 KJV 1900

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Defilement before God isn’t a matter of how the outside looks, its a heart matter, and the mouth is always betraying the ugliness of the heart.

No amount of religious activity is going to change that. You can’t dress the right way, and listen to the right kind of music, and show up to the right services, and think that whitewash of religion is going to do anything to change the ugliness on the inside.

Christian Guilt

There are things we do as Christians, that are good things, that ought to be done. Being faithful in your attendance, that is a good thing. Giving back in our tithes and offerings, that is a good thing as well. Singing in worship, that also, is certainly a good thing. Reading your bible, I could go on and on and I am sure you can think of many many church things that you could do, that are physical acts of worship.

But you know what, deciding to participate in those things might make you look Christian on the outside but they can’t do anything for your conscience.

Even the most self righteous modern day pharisee, just going through the motions isn’t going to have their conscience free of guilt unless they have truly given their hearts to christ. Not their bodies, not their time and not their money. Their hearts.

I am going to close with the last two verses of this mornings passage:

Hebrews 9:13–14 KJV 1900

13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

There are a lot of things that give indicators of someones spiritual health. Some of those physical things I listed earlier are on that list. But those are things that can be faked.

What I know for sure is that if someone is spiritually healthy on the inside and their conscience is free from the guilt of sin, then those other things will flow out of it.

How does v14 end? Our conscience is purged of dead works why? to serve the living God?

Closing

This morning if you are just going through the motions of your faith and you conscience is burdened by your sinfulness, then maybe it’s time to get real about your faith. Maybe it is time to really surrender your life to your savior and follow after him.

But, maybe if you are truly a believer maybe you have lost the point along the way somewhere. Your conscience is cleaned just for your own benefit, but it is cleaned so that you can serve God.

I don’t know where you are in all of this, but we are going to close in prayer in just a moment, and as we close I want you to ask yourself these questions: Is my heart for serving God the motivation that drives my actions, or am I going through the religious motions. And if you can honestly say that your heart has been given to the Lord, and that your conscience is clear. Are you using your purged heart to serve God?

If you have any questions about this message or just want to talk to someone about our faith, after we close in prayer, please come meet with me after. I would love to tell you more about our savior.

Pray