HEBREWS 9:1-152008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Hebrews 9:1-15

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. Here as we continue our study in the book of Hebrews, looking now at Hebrews chapter 9, the author of Hebrews is writing to us, he's writing to, well the Hebrews, but also speaking to us about the tabernacle.

Now the tabernacle was a very important part of the Jewish religion. It was a part of the old covenant and what God had established through Moses when we refer to the law, when we refer to the Old Testament. We're really talking about the services and things that were performed in the tabernacle, which later on became the temple.

Last week as we were dealing with this a little bit, talking about the priests and how they were serving the tabernacle, which was not the reality but the shadow. And I shared the example of a box. And it was a box for an Xbox 360 system that was purchased on eBay and shared some of the woes there. But I really think the illustration is good. And so I brought a box with me today.

so that maybe it will help you understand. Now, I don't have an Xbox 360, but I do have a PlayStation 2, and oddly enough, I kept the box. And this box is a good picture for us of really what the tabernacle was all about. As we'll see in chapter 9 this morning of the book of Hebrews,

The tabernacle was more than just a place that God had appointed for people to come and meet with him. It was really something that pointed towards and spoke of that which was to come. As we saw last week in chapter 8, it said that the tabernacle and the priestly service and all the things surrounding it, they were shadows and pictures that...

that pointed forward to what we would have under the new covenant and what would exist in Jesus Christ.

And so as we look at the tabernacle itself, now there's great detail that we won't go into, but there's particular detail that the author of Hebrews will give us here in chapter 9 and specific things that we'll focus on. But doing a study of the tabernacle is a lot like looking at this box for a PlayStation 2. Now this box is empty, there's nothing in it. And as we look at the tabernacle, that's really what we're looking at. The priests of the tabernacle served the shadows.

It was not meant to be the reality. It was not meant to be permanent. It was something that, well, it had a purpose and it pointed towards that which was to come under Jesus Christ, under the new covenant. And so it was like a box because the front of this box, as you can see, it has pictures.

And the pictures are of what is to come inside the box. And as you look at the tabernacle, you can see pictures of what is to come.

He goes on in chapter 9, he talks about how these things are symbolic and how the Spirit is using those things to speak a message to us today. And all throughout the tabernacle, if you were to take the elements and study through the different portions, and we'll see a glimpse of that this morning, you see pictures of Jesus Christ, pictures of what is to come, pictures of what God desires in a relationship with you and I.

Also on this box, depending on which side you're looking at, which aspect you're examining, there's a contents list. And on this box, it lists all of the contents of what comes in here, the system, a controller, and so on and so forth.

In the same way as we look at the tabernacle, as we look at what God had established there under the old covenant, we have really a list of contents, a list of what it is that we're talking about and the things that are included and the things that are not included. You know, packages say batteries not included. In the tabernacle, we have what's listed for us. We have the contents of what God is dealing with when it comes to salvation and a relationship with us.

We also have on this box details. Details about the system. Here on the back it gives all of the details about what it's capable of, what it's not capable of, the types of things you can do with it, the things you cannot do with it. It gives all of the details about the contents, about the reality that is supposed to be within the box.

Well, again, in the same way, as we study the tabernacle, as we look at chapter 9 and look back and remember some of the things that God had established in the tabernacle, we're looking at pictures of Jesus. We're looking at details about the system that God has set up that we might be able to come and have relationship with Him. We're looking at the contents of reality of

of what exists in heaven, that we might get a better understanding of what God desires to do in our hearts. And so as we look at chapter 9 this morning, we'll be looking at the tabernacle. And I'll continue to encourage you and remind you

The tabernacle itself of the Old Testament, it was a shadow. The reality is found in Jesus Christ. And the point of the passage this morning, the purpose of what he is writing, is for you and I then to experience the reality and not go back into the shadows, not go back and come up with a works-based religion, but to enter by faith in Jesus Christ and

into the presence of God. And that's really what it's all about. Entering into the holy of holies, or it's also known as the holiest of all, entering into this place where is the presence of God. Now, there's two things that keep Christians out of the presence of God. The first is ignorance.

And so part of the passage this morning, the author of Hebrews will be educating us, giving us instruction so that we are not ignorant, that we can know that we have access into the presence of God.

The second thing that keeps people out of the presence of God is unbelief. And so he goes on in the latter part of the portion that we'll be dealing with this morning to deal with the reality of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the completeness of it, that we might believe and understand that by believing in Jesus, we have full access to

to the presence of God. That there is a reality to walking in, to dwelling in the presence of God in relationship with Him. But first he starts off in verses 1 through 5 and he shares with us all about the tabernacle. Let's look again at verse 1. In verse 1 it says, Then indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.

He begins saying, okay, we're going to be talking about

the first covenant and the tabernacle that had been set up, the earthly sanctuary that had been established. And I want to encourage you throughout, we're going to be looking at kind of a summary of the tabernacle, but I want to encourage you to study the detail of the tabernacle as the author of Hebrews in verse 5 will say, hey, we can't deal with all the details about these things right now, but you on your own can take some time to do that and I would encourage you to do so.

The tabernacle was something that was set up out in the wilderness. It was meant to be portable. It was not huge. In fact, it was not very big at all. And I'll show you that in just a few moments.

But it was something that God had established so that he could dwell in the midst of his people, that his people would be able to come and have relationship with him, although it was temporary, and although it was just really pointing towards that which was to come, it was the way that God had established for his people to have relationship with him until the reality had come, and the reality, of course, is Jesus Christ.

Well, the tabernacle was divided into two sections. There was the sanctuary, also known as the holy place, and then there was the most holy place, or the holy of holies. And so he deals with the first part here in verse 2. Verse 2 says, "...for a tabernacle was prepared, the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary."

He's describing for us the first part of the tabernacle and the contents of the tabernacle. And so what I want to do for those who are unfamiliar with the tabernacle and these things, I have some slides I want to show you that will hopefully help you get a picture and understanding of what the tabernacle was like. Excuse me.

Here on the screen we have a diagram of what the tabernacle would have looked like from the top down. This is kind of the layout, the floor plan of the tabernacle.

The children of Israel would be camped all around on the outsides of this. But this right here, this wall on the outside that you see, would all be made of different kinds of cloth and material that God had instructed. And they were hung up around. They were all basically just like sheets that would be laid down and performed as a divider, as a wall. And inside that would be the courtyard of the tabernacle.

Now, we're not talking about a huge area here. The wide side of the tabernacle was 100 cubits long. So 100 cubits long, which at 18 inches a cubit works out to be 150 feet long.

The shorter side, the width of it, the courtyard, was 50 cubits, which works out to be 75 feet. So we're talking about 75 by 150 for the full courtyard for the tabernacle. Now, just to give you a little bit of perspective, if you're not good with measurements, from the outside, the length of this building from corner to corner is a little over 60 feet.

So if you add on just a little bit, maybe go from this corner down to the sidewalk, you have about 75 feet.

So that's the one side of it. The other side, 150 feet, you could go from this corner to that corner and then go out to the entrance that you drove into when you came into the parking lot this morning. That driveway there, I'm just kind of ballparking, but that would be about 150 feet. So 75 feet this way and then it's...

Going that way 150 feet, it's almost to the door of the youth house across the way there. So this whole parking lot area just immediately outside of the building here is about the size of the courtyard of the tabernacle. So again, we're not dealing with a huge piece of property or something like that. Now,

Here, this blue area in the wall would be the entrance. So you wouldn't be able to enter from any side that you chose. You would only come in through this way. And as you came in, the first thing that you would come across is... Anybody know? I'm sure somebody knows. This square thing right here. You guys are all being shy. Yeah. Yeah.

That's where they sacrificed. Yes, that was the altar, the bronze altar, where they would sacrifice all of the things that were being brought, as they were being obedient to all the commands that God gave. And so they would offer the sacrifices here on the bronze altar. Here, the next major article would be the laver, where the priests would wash. And then you would have the tabernacle itself. Now,

the Jewish people in general could come and they could be in the courtyard of the tabernacle, but the tabernacle itself was off limits except for the priests. So only the priests could go in and they would only be the ones allowed to enter, but you could come and bring your sacrifices. You could come and worship the Lord there in the courtyard of the tabernacle. Now,

On this slide, we have kind of a model of what it would look like. It's not really exactly to scale, but just to give you maybe a little better visual of what it might look like. Here's the fence outlining the courtyard, and then the entrance there with the altar, the laver, and then the tabernacle building. The tabernacle building was walls made of wood overlaid with gold, and then the

and then they would spread out these and tie down these fabrics on top to provide a roof for it. And then that would set it aside and that would be how the tabernacle looked kind of from the outside. So again, this is a model just to help kind of give you a visual. You can see the lambs on the tables being offered and sacrificed over that, well, burned here, but more work's being done over there. We won't get into those details.

Here's the tabernacle itself. Now, as we look at verse 2, he says, Here's what he's dealing with. This section right here, this first section on the right-hand side, is the first part.

The first part, again, like the courtyard, you would only enter in from one side, which was this right side here. There would be a veil, a cloth that would come down, and the priest would enter in through here. And this first part contained three things. It contained a lampstand, the altar of incense, and then it contained the table of showbread. And so he's laying out for us what is within, what's contained in the tabernacle.

Then the second part, what is beyond the second veil, so on here on the right, this is the first veil. They would enter in through that veil.

And any priest could come in and serve. In fact, they would take turns coming and serving there in the holy place. The second veil is right here, partitioned off the last section of the tabernacle. Only the high priest could go in there, and only one time a year. And then inside this area here is known as the Holy of Holies, or the holiest of all, or the most holy place there.

or the inner sanctuary, lots of names for it, but it's the place where the presence of God dwelt. And so that's why it was off limits for the most part, except for the high priest once a year. Now to give you an idea of the size of the tabernacle itself...

again, it's not a huge building. And although Israel had maybe, you know, 2 million or so people coming out of Egypt, they wouldn't come and sit in service like this. There would be no way because this building right here would actually just about be able to fit within the sanctuary that you're sitting in right now. In fact, the holiest of all, this section right here,

is about the size, we're off by a few inches, but it's about the size of this stage right here.

That would be the size. It's like 14 feet, so it'd be a little bit wider and a couple feet longer to make it square. It'd be about 15 feet square. And so this stage right here, this would be about that. There would be a veil right here at the end of the stage, and that would be this section here. This section here would continue on then, and if you go all the way back to the wall of the sanctuary right here of this room that we're in,

That would be it. So from this wall to that wall that you can see right there would be the length of the tabernacle itself, and it'd be just a little bit wider than this stage here all the way back. So we're not talking about a huge thing because it wasn't an area for the people to gather inside. It was an area for the priests to come in and minister here in the holy place. And then once a year...

they would enter into the most holy place. And that's what he's talking about in verse 3. He says, behind the second veil. The second veil here is very important, and that's what he's dealing with. The veil and this most holy place here in chapter 9.

So verse 4, he's talking about the holiest of all, he says, which had the golden censer, the Ark of the Covenant, which was overlaid on all sides with gold, and in it were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. So this is the Ark of the Covenant here in the most holy place, in the holiest of all.

the Ark of the Covenant was the Ten Commandments, was the pot that had the manna. God instructed them in Exodus chapter 16 to save some of the manna as a reminder for how God provided for them in the wilderness. And so that was contained as well in the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant, by the way, was just a square box. It had four sides. It had a bottom. It didn't have a top. Well, it did, but...

That's a separate piece that we'll talk about in a second. And so they would put these things in there. And then also would be inside of it Aaron's rod that had budded. In Numbers chapter 17, we have that story. You can check it out on your own time. God caused a miracle to happen. His rod, his staff budded to prove that he was the one that God had chosen to be high priest. And so those three things were contained inside the Ark of the Covenant.

And then verse 5, and above it, that's on top of the Ark of the Covenant, where the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.

And so the lid, essentially, for the Ark of the Covenant was this mercy seat, which had on top of it these angels that faced one another. They were not real angels. They were, you know, formed out of gold. And it was there on top of the mercy seats between the angels that God's presence dwelt. And it was there that he was able to dwell amongst his people. And that was the whole purpose of this tabernacle, for his people to have relationship with him.

The next slide is, again, it's a model of what it might have looked like on the inside. Now, this is if the wall was taken out, and so you can kind of see inside of it. This right here is the most holy place, and so if you were a priest and you were entering in, you'd come in from the right section here that's really off the screen. You have the table of showbread, the lampstand, which had seven lamps upon it that were lit

There were oil lamps, and then you also had the altar of incense.

Then there would be this second veil, and inside that second veil, this would be the Holy of Holies, the most holy place where the Ark of the Covenant was. You can see there the two angels spreading out. This is an artist's rendition of what it might have looked like. And hopefully that gives you a good idea of what the tabernacle was. Now, he says at the end of verse 5, "...of these things we cannot now speak in detail."

And I share the same thing this morning. I can't really go into much more detail. That's about the best we can do this morning. So I encourage you on your own to study the detail. There's great things here that God wants to speak. And he's going to focus on one particular element, one particular area of the tabernacle and show us some great significance there.

But the rest of the tabernacle has similar significance and great details that God has included as symbolically to speak to us and minister to us. And so if you're inclined to do so, Exodus chapters 26 through 40 give all of the instructions and the details for the putting together of the tabernacle.

And there's lots of things that God can speak to you through that. There's significance in the different pieces of furniture and the metals that were used and the different parts and the colors and the fabrics and each element and the sacrificial system and the way that the priests were able to serve and so on and so forth. And I encourage you to take some time and study the detail. And now might be a good time for me to encourage you to, if you've never read through the Bible,

Pray about joining us in 2009. Every year I encourage the body to do this. We read through the Bible together in a year. We start in Genesis. We read all the way through three to four chapters a day. And you'll get to go through all of these things and see them develop as you go through the Old Testament and then see them revealed and brought to light in the New Testament. It's a wonderful experience, a wonderful way for God to speak to you. So I encourage you to start praying about that. And you'll hear much more from me in regards to that in the coming weeks.

But so the first thing here that we see in verses 1 through 5 is just the basic layout of the tabernacle. He's naming the elements, showing where everything is, encouraging us, hey, there's more details, we're not talking about them, because he wants to focus on a particular element. And what is that particular element? We find it in verses 6 through 8. And it's talking about the way in to the presence of God. And I want to challenge you and encourage you this morning today

To always enter God's presence. To dwell in the presence of God. That's what this is all about. Look at verse 6. Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priest always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. Verse 7. But into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance."

So as we start here in verses 6 and 7, he's talking now about what it required or what it took to enter into the most holy place.

And I understand you and I could feel maybe a little bit of a disadvantage. The author of Hebrews is writing to Hebrews and they were, you know, raised up and brought up in these traditions and so they'd have a good understanding. But also understand that they were not able to see the tabernacle either. At this time as he was writing, it was the temple which became the permanent place for all of the elements here. And

They were not able to enter in. It was only the priests that were allowed to enter in. So, you know, for pretty much, for the most part, you and I have about the same understanding of what exactly it looked like on the inside and how those things were laid out as the normal Jewish person of that day because they were never allowed to enter in. Only priests could enter. Now, he says, when these things had been prepared, when the tabernacle had been set up,

He says the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle. They were always coming into this area here, the most, I'm sorry, the holy place or the sanctuary here.

and they were performing the services. They would always need to enter because the altar of incense, well, it needed to be replenished. There needed to be new incense put forth upon it. And so morning and evening, they would go and they would burn incense upon the altar of incense. The oil lamps had to be maintained. They had to be refreshed with oil. The wicks had to be trimmed. They had to, God had commanded that those lights be

keep shining perpetually. And so those seven lamps had to be constantly monitored and maintained. Every morning and evening they would take care of them so that they would continue to burn brightly within the tabernacle.

The showbread upon the table had to be replaced weekly. They would bake 12 loaves of bread, symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel, and every week they would replace that with fresh bread, and it was something they had to do. And so the author is saying, look, every day, all the time, the priests were always entering the sanctuary, entering the holy place in order to perform the services that God had required.

but he's drawing a contrast here. The second part, the most holy place where the Ark of the Covenant was, he says the high priest went alone once a year, and so it wasn't a place where any priest could go. It wasn't a place where the high priest could go whenever he wanted. It was only the high priest on a very specific day known as the Day of Atonement. And the details for that are in Leviticus 16.

And it gives the details there that on that day, only on that day, the high priest could enter. But before he entered, he had to offer a sacrifice for himself. He had to offer a bull as a sacrifice for his sin.

And he would take the blood of that sacrifice, he would take it into the sanctuary and take it into the most holy place and he'd sprinkle it on the altar of incense, he'd sprinkle it on the Ark of the Covenant and he would atone for himself in that way. And then he would come back out and he would offer a goat as a sacrifice in obedience to God. The goat would be the sacrifice for the whole people, for the whole nation on this day of atonement that their sin would be atoned for.

And then he would take some of the blood from there and again go and sprinkle it on the altar of incense and sprinkle it on the Ark of the Covenant. Now, why is the author pointing all this out? He's talking about what needed to take place for the high priest to be able to enter into the most holy place. Why is the author pointing this out? Again, these are Jewish people. They grew up in the Jewish religion. They knew what it meant. They knew about the Day of Atonement.

Why is he pointing these things out? Well, he's sharing them. He's declaring them because there's more than meets the eye in this. It's not just rituals. It's not just a ceremony. It's not just a religious thing. There's a reality here that exists and that is meaningful for you and I. And so he's writing these things and pointing them out because look at verse 8. He says, "...the Holy Spirit indicating this."

The reason why he's pointing that out, because the Holy Spirit was speaking something through the setup of the tabernacle and the way that the priest was allowed to enter in. And what was the Holy Spirit indicating? He goes on in verse 8, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. So the whole setup, the whole system, Leviticus chapter 16, the day of atonement,

All of that was established by the Holy Spirit to speak a very specific message, and that message was, the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, or it was not yet revealed. The construction and layout of the tabernacle, the services that were performed in the tabernacle, and the once a year entering into the holiest of all was all a message from the Holy Spirit.

And the message was that the way in to the presence of God was not yet revealed. You okay so far? Okay, turn with me then to Mark chapter 15. We'll come back to Hebrews in just a moment. But in Mark chapter 15, we have an important continuation. It's part two of the Holy Spirit's message from the tabernacle.

In Mark chapter 15, we're jumping in right in the middle of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He's there upon the cross. There's been darkness for three hours as he's hung upon the cross. He's cried out, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And he's about to breathe his last. In fact, verse 37 of Mark chapter 15 says this.

Then look at verse 38. So as Jesus is there upon the cross, he's being crucified, he breathes his last, takes his last breath, he dies. Then in verse 38 it tells us that the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

The veil in the temple that is being referred to is the veil that existed between the holy place, right here, and the most holy place. It's talking about the veil, although it was in the temple, the permanent structure at that time, and although Herod had kind of overdid it a little bit and made much more, the dimensions were a little bit different, it was a little bit bigger, the veil was quite a bit thicker than the original, the veil was quite a bit thicker

There had been some modifications, but it was the same layout, same principles. And so the veil in that temple that separated the most holy place where any priest could go... I'm sorry. The holy place where any priest could go and the most holy place where only the high priest could go only once a year, all the old covenant which was still in force until the death of Jesus Christ, the veil that separated those two was torn from top to bottom. So...

Track with me for a moment here. If by the setup of the sanctuary and the most holy place, by the layout of the tabernacle, if the Holy Spirit was indicating through that that the way into the holiest was not yet revealed, then what do you think the Holy Spirit is indicating by the veil being torn from top to bottom when Jesus Christ is crucified? I think it's quite clear. It's pretty apparent.

The Holy Spirit is indicating that the way is now revealed. Jesus Christ dies, the way is revealed. That by Jesus Christ, through faith in Jesus Christ, the way into the presence of God is now revealed. It's now been made apparent. It's now been made known. See, the message is...

That you and I, we can experience the presence of God. That we can dwell in relationship with God. Not just an acknowledgement of God. Not just a hypothetical, only when we feel it, we're in God's presence. But in a reality. The power of the presence of God. The power that comes from a real and personal and intimate relationship and walk with God.

That's where the power of the Christian life comes from, from us really knowing God, from Him really speaking to our hearts, from us being in His presence, entering into the holiest of all. That's why in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16, the author of Hebrews says, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Because the way has been opened. It has been revealed by faith in Jesus Christ. We can come boldly to the throne of grace. The way into the holiest of all, into the holy of holies. The way into the presence of God is opened by Jesus. And so my challenge to you and what the author is going to continue to challenge us throughout the book of Hebrews is enter into God's presence. Always. Now consider the contrast again. The priest...

Every priest was able to enter into the holy place all the time. They always went. They were in and out. There was work to be done. They were in and out there. But now that division has been removed. It has been torn and taken out of the way. And so it grants every priest, and you and I, entrance into the presence of God, entrance into his throne room. Andrew Murray, in his commentary here in the book of Hebrews, says,

In this chapter, chapter 9, he says this, Many believers, never in experience, enter into this life of the inner sanctuary, or the holiest of all. He says, The more complete and abiding nearness to God. They have, in the outer court, seen the altar and received the pardon of sin.

And I would ask you this morning, does that describe you? Are you a Christian who really does not know what it means to walk in the presence of God, to enter into the most holy place? Remember I shared that two things keep people out of the presence of God. Right here we're dealing with ignorance.

Some people don't enter into the presence of God. They don't experience the fullness of God's presence entering into the holiest of all because, well, they just don't know that it's possible. They don't know that God offers it. They don't know that it's available. But here he's giving to us all of this instruction. He's sharing with us all of the symbolic elements of the tabernacle so that we will not be ignorant. That we can know that, hey, I can be in the presence of God.

I can dwell in his presence. We have access into the presence of God. In fact, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19, he'll deal with this again. He says in verse 19 of Hebrews 10, "'Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus.'"

This is something that is real. It's not hypothetical. We're not just talking about an imaginary thing. This is for real. There's a reality to the presence of God that you and I have access to through Jesus Christ. Do you enter into His presence? Do you always enter into the holiest of all? The Holy Spirit has laid all this out so that we would know that the way has been opened. Two things keep people out of the presence of God. The first is ignorance. The second is

is unbelief. And that's what we want to deal with here in verses 9 through 15. Verse 19 says, As we look at Hebrews chapter 9 verses 9 through 15, we're dealing with the third section of our portion this morning.

dealing with the cleansing of the conscience. And as we look at these things, I want to encourage you to believe in the completed work of Jesus Christ. The cleansing of the conscience comes by believing in the completed work of Jesus Christ. He says there at the beginning of verse 9, it was symbolic. Again, the layout of the tabernacle, the services that were performed there, all the things that took place there, they were symbolic for what time? For the present time.

For right now, for today. It's a message for you and I that we would know. As this letter was written, as he's writing to the Hebrews, the temple was still standing and sacrifices were still going on. But he's highlighting here the problem with that. He says the problem is they cannot make a perfect conscience. They cannot make a perfect conscience because the priests, the sacrificial system, was all in regards to the shadow.

Again, it was the box. The reality was not there. It pointed to, it had pictures of the reality that was to come. It gave some details about it, the contents of it, but it was not the reality itself. And so the sacrificial system and the things that were taking place, they could not, they cannot make a person perfect in regard to the conscience.

It was the shadow, not the reality. So the impact was very limited. Continuing on in verse 10. The law deals with the external things, he's explaining. It's all things on the outside. Now, here's the real issue.

Why could you not enter into the most holy place, even though you'd participated, even though you'd been good and participated in the sacrificial system? Because those sacrifices were limited to the external. They could not perfect your conscience. They couldn't clear your conscience. Couldn't change your heart. And what does God see?

Remember what God told Samuel when he went to anoint David as king? David goes to Jesse's house and Jesse has several sons and Samuel sees the first one. He says, oh, this must be the king. He looks great. He's handsome. He's tall. He's the eldest. He looks like a king. And God says, don't be fooled. The Lord doesn't see as man sees. He says, man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

It's the heart that God sees. It's the heart that the Lord is interested in. It's the heart that is important. The law dealt with the external things, but couldn't change the heart. And it couldn't perfect in regard to conscience. Couldn't change within. But that's what God sees. And so access was not granted into his presence because the heart was not changed. The sacrifices were limited in what they could do for a person. They could not change the heart.

Remember in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7, Jesus goes on that discourse, the Sermon on the Mount. He says, you've heard it was said, this and that, but I tell you, and he says this and that, and the difference is the outward things and then the issues of the heart. You've heard it said, thou shalt not kill, but I say to you, he who hates his brother is guilty. Within, it was the heart that God was interested in. It was the heart that God was concerned with. It was the heart that God wanted to deal with.

And the external things and the things of the law and foods and drinks and washings, those are things that were important on the outside, but they couldn't change the heart. And so the way into the holiest was not yet opened. It wasn't yet revealed when there was not a way to change the heart. He says it was imposed there at the end of verse 10 until the time of reformation. So those earthly things, those washings, the law, the Levitical system, they were important, but

for a time, for a season. They were imposed until the time of reformation. And what was the time of reformation? Well, when Jesus, sitting there with his disciples, says, this is the blood of the new covenant. This is my body which is broken for you. Until the new covenant was established, until Jesus Christ was crucified, the way into the holiest of all was not available because there was not a way for the conscience to be cleansed and for the heart to be changed.

But now through Jesus Christ, it's a different story. Look at verse 11. But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is not of this creation. Verse 12. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Verse 13.

So he goes on now to give again the contrast that Jesus came under the new covenant and where the old covenant failed, Jesus succeeded. The old covenant was again based upon the shadow. It wasn't the reality. It was the box that pointed towards that which was to come.

The tabernacle that was part of the old covenant was made with hands. It was part of creation. Because it was part of creation, it was subject to the fall of sin. And because it was made with hands, it was subject to the imperfections. Although God gifted the artisans and those who worked on it, it was not perfect. It was very limited. It was also dedicated, and the service of it was with the blood of goats and calves. Now in contrast to that, Christ came...

with the greater and more perfect tabernacle. How far superior do you think it is, do you think the heavenly tabernacle, the reality that exists in heaven, how far greater do you think that is than this tent that was set up in the wilderness?

I don't think we have words to really describe, and that would be appropriate for the difference, how much greater the heavenly one is. It's greater, it's far more perfect, it's made by God, it's not part of creation, so it's not subject to sin, to the effects of sin. And this new covenant is based upon not the blood of goats and calves, but upon his own blood. Now again I ask you, how far superior do you think the blood of Jesus is?

How far superior do you think Jesus' blood is over the blood of goats and calves? The blood of goats and calves or the blood of the only begotten, perfect and holy Son of God. His blood is far superior. And so his blood is far more effective. His sacrifice, because of his nature and who he is, is able to do far more work.

than what was able to be accomplished under the old covenant. Look at verse 13. Here he goes on to say, look,

if the blood of bulls and goats, the ceremonies of the law, if they were effective for the purifying of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Jesus Christ be able to cleanse your conscience? The effectiveness of the blood of bulls and goats was limited, but it was enough for the purifying of the flesh so that under the old covenant you could have relationship with God.

but it wasn't the fullness of what God desired. It was temporary until that which was perfect came, Jesus Christ. It was sufficient for cleansing the external, but it wasn't sufficient for changing the heart, for cleansing the conscience, which is what God desired to do. Jesus' blood is infinitely better, and so the sacrifice that he offered cleanses infinitely more. So much so that by faith in Jesus Christ, we are justified.

God deals with us and relates to us just as if we had never sinned. We're clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He's cleansed our conscience. And as a result, the way into the holiest of all is opened. Now we can enter into the presence of God because our heart has been taken care of. Our sin has been taken care of. Our conscience has been cleansed. And that's why it's so important for us to believe in the completed work of Jesus.

Because again, two things keep people out of the presence of God. Number one, ignorance. If you just don't know that God invites you into His presence. Number two, unbelief. Sometimes unbelief keeps us out of the presence of God. Because we do not believe in the completeness of His sacrifice and His blood. Of the work that He accomplished for us upon the cross.

Just as unbelief kept the Israelites out of the promised rest, we saw that in Hebrews 3 and 4, unbelief keeps Christians out of the presence of God. See, you need to understand. I need to understand. We need to remember. We have access to the presence of God not because we're good, not because we work hard, not because we've earned it, not because we deserve it. We have access to the very person of God, the very presence of God. We have access into the holiest of all because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

And his sacrifice is so significant that our conscience is able to be cleansed, that we're able to be changed, that we're able to be washed completely and wholly from every sin. We have a clean conscience by faith, by believing in the completed work of Jesus Christ, understanding and receiving that he did it all. He took care of it all. The things even that I've done today today,

in regards to sin, are taken care of. And so even if that guy cut you off and you responded in the flesh and got all angry and upset, you, you still have the same access into the presence of God.

But very often what we do is we, well, we got to try to stay away from God for a little bit and kind of earn our way back up and then we can go back into the presence of God. Let me tell you, hey, when you blow it, if you stay out of the presence of God, if you stay away from God, if you don't enter into relationship with God and in His presence because you have a guilty conscience, it's because you do not believe in the completeness of the work of Jesus Christ.

No, don't stay down. Don't stay away. By faith in Jesus Christ, go back into the presence of God. Continue to walk in relationship with God because his sacrifice was sufficient to take care of all of our sin, to wash us completely. God, the Holy Spirit, spoke all of this through the tabernacle, how the way was not yet revealed, but now through Jesus Christ, the veil has been torn.

And you and I, because of Jesus Christ, were able to enter in to the presence of God. And so he concludes here in verse 15, And for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant, by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Because of the significance of his sacrifice, because of who he was,

His blood that was shed that could accomplish this cleansing of the conscience. Because of all that, He is the mediator of the new covenant. He's the means by which we have access to God for redemption, being purchased back from the debt that we owed because of our transgressions, that we may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Jesus Christ is the mediator of this covenant because He gave Himself as an offering.

Because his blood is far more valuable and able to cleanse our conscience and open the way for us into the holiest of all. He is the mediator of the new covenant. We come to God by faith in Jesus Christ. It's as simple and as plain as that.

And so this morning, by looking at the tabernacle, I encourage you on your own, you can look at some of the other, we're just looking at the veil, we're just looking at the holy place and the entrance into it, just one part of the tabernacle and the service there. Study the detail, there's much more God would love to share with you. But the specific thing this morning is that the way in has been revealed. So always enter into God's presence. Don't stay away from his presence. Don't stay away from him. Walk in relationship with him.

Your conscience is cleansed if you believe in the completed work of Jesus Christ. The veil was a message of the Holy Spirit for the present. What are you doing about it? Are you abiding in the vine? Are you abiding in Jesus Christ and abiding in the presence of God? Do you know what it's like to dwell in His presence, to experience God, to hear His voice, to experience what it means to really have relationship with Him? This is not hypothetical experience.

We're not talking about, you know, okay, say this chant, repeat these specific words, and you know, you're entered into His presence. If you don't know what it means to enter in, if you don't know how to enter in, you really need to seek the Lord. You need to believe in the completed work in Jesus Christ. You need to ask Him to show you. Ask Him to take you into His presence. Be persistent. Believe.

Because the work's already done. You don't have to earn it. It's not like, you know, well, maybe after 20 years as a Christian, you'll get to experience the presence of God. Right now, it's available. It's like the fruit I shared about last week. It's really hard to describe. I can kind of give you these things, and we can look at the pictures of the tabernacle. But for you to really understand all this, you must experience it yourself. And so I challenge you, I encourage you, I exhort you, please enter into the presence of God.

Know what it means to come in contact with the true and living Almighty God by faith in Jesus Christ. He's real. He's right here with you. And He's inviting you in to the most holy place. Amen? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that You would help us to believe You at Your Word. God, You went through great lengths to build into the Old Testament this message for us today. Lord, that we would know that it's not...

Lord, it's not this imaginary thing, but there's a reality to it. Lord, you gave us this much detail and this much background so that we could understand that this is for real. You really do want relationship with us. You really do want us to enter into your presence. So God, I pray that you would take us in. Lord, we believe in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. We receive his sacrifice on our behalf. We thank you, Lord, for that. We thank you for your work and how you transform us

You change us from the inside out. God, we pray that you would continue the work that you've begun in us. Draw us close to you and help us to stay there. Lord, even in the times of stumbling, even when we blow it, Lord, may that not be another wilderness wandering for us, that we start running from you, that we keep ourselves from you. But Lord, may we believe in the completeness of Jesus' sacrifice. Help us, Lord, to enter right back into your presence.

to come right back before your throne, to walk with you continually. Help us, Lord, to come boldly to the throne of grace that we might find mercy and grace to help in time of need. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.