| 1. The
Earthly Tabernacle (Heb 9:1-5) The
author continues his reasoning on the superior priesthood of Christ by
demonstrating the inferiority of and limitations associated with the earthly
tabernacle. As the basic floor plan and furniture of the tabernacle is
described, one notes the material make-up of the structure. Though many
things were made of or overlaid with gold, it was still a man made, temporal
structure – a far cry from heaven itself where our present High Priest
currently serves. 1. Over what were the wings of the cherubim stretched? What
is its significance? 2. Symbolic Rituals of the Tabernacle (Heb 9:6-10)
Services relative to the tabernacle allowed daily activities in the outer
chamber and very limited access to the inner chamber. There only the high
priest could enter, and then only once a year, and “not without blood” (Heb
9:7). These restrictions did more than signify the holiness of God; they
indicated “that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest
while the first tabernacle was still standing” (9:8). That is, on its own
mer-its, the tabernacle worship “cannot make him who performed the service
perfect in regard to the conscience” (9:9). Spiritual access to heaven, i.e.,
full fellowship with God, was unattainable by the ordinances of Moses. A
genuine Israelite should have been aware that ultimate forgiveness was yet in
the future, and that in his present time he was grant-ed a favorable position
by God’s grace via these “fleshly ordinances.” How this should have made him
long for the “the Lamb of God” to take away his sins! 2. Who is said to be
teaching deeper spiritual truth through tabernacle worship? 3. The fleshly
ordinances of the tabernacle were imposed until when? 3. The Perfect
Tabernacle (Heb 9:11-15) The author’s argument reaches its full force in this
section. The shadows and symbolism of the earthly priesthood and tabernacle
were finally dispelled in the coming of Jesus. He serves in the tabernacle
“not made with hands, that is, not of this creation” (Heb 9:11). He entered
the Most Holy Place “not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own
blood” (9:12). His sacrifice surpasses the “purifying of the flesh”; it is
able to “purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God”
(9:14). His nature and accomplish-ments make him “the Mediator of a new
covenant” (9:15), a covenant of the “better promises” of eternal redemption
and eternal inheritance (8:6; 9:12, 15). But what is it exactly that sets the
sacrifice of Jesus apart from all others? It involved the free-will offering
of an eternal spirit (9:14).
Translators added the capital “S” according to their own opinion, thus
obscuring the meaning. The blood of animals had nothing to do with free will,
the spirit or moral purity. They were fine physical specimens of no moral
sig-nificance slaughtered against their own will. While this satisfied God’s
requirements of ritual purification (see, for example, Lev 12), there was no
ultimate cleansing of the con-science from transgression. The sacrifice of
Jesus, on the other hand, was morally pure, eternal spirit freely offering
Himself for the sins of others. Not only was this offering effective, it was
eternally effective – “once for all” (9:12). This was the ultimate plan of
God before the world began – to redeem sinful men to Himself by the blood of
His Son. 4. What kind of redemption did Jesus obtain with His own blood? 5.
What effect does the blood of Jesus have upon sins under the first covenant?
6. From what is our conscience purged by the blood of Jesus? 4. Death and the
New Covenant (Heb 9:16-22) The phrase “Mediator of the new covenant, by means
of death” (Heb 9:15) is now fur-ther developed. The author makes three points
to establish the necessity of the death of God’s Son – a huge stumbling block
to the Jew. First, having just described salvation as an “eternal
inheritance,” he notes that a will only goes into effect when the testator
dies (9:16-17). |
