Hebrews 9 - The Importance of the Tabernacle Then and Now!

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Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle

9 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 

Today the author of Hebrews continues to present the differences in the Old Covenant with all of its laws and sacrificial system, with the New Covenant that Jesus brought to us. We have talked about many of these differences, including the permanent nature of the New Covenant, Jesus' superiority as the Most High Priest, and the once and for all nature of the sacrifice Jesus made as our High Priest. Today we are going to talk about the Tabernacle and the significance it played in the worship life of Israel and what it means for us today as those under the New Covenant. 

The writer calls the tabernacle an earthly sanctuary. It was actually a "movable tent", which moved as God directed the Israelites in the wilderness, by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.  There were all kinds of specifications for how the tabernacle was constructed and how worship was to be conducted. The general design was that different offerings were made in each room by different people, which led to the Holy of Holies, where God Himself dwelt.  

There were three zones: the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place (also known as the Holy of Holies). In the Outer Court were held the vessels and bowls for ceremonial cleansing. In the Holy Place were housed the Showbread (bread of the presence), the Golden Lampstand (Menorrah), and the Altar of Incense (incense prayers). The Most Holy Place was exclusively the place of the Ark of the Covenant. 

As mentioned before the Most High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, which was enclosed by a large hanging curtain. Then he offered the blood sacrifice of an unblemished Lamb for the forgiveness of the Israelites' sin. This happened once a year on Yom Kippur (the day of Atonement).   

Everything in the Tabernacle and the system for worship and sacrifices were a shadow of what was to come through Jesus as He introduced the New Covenant. For instance, the innocent animal blood sacrifice was a foreshadowing of the "once and for all sacrifice" Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, made on the cross. When the curtain was ripped in two right before Jesus had died, it showed that now all people could come into the Holy of Holies and be in God's presence through Jesus. The curtain was ripped at 3pm on Good Friday, right at the meoment Jesus cried out and yielded his Spirit. 

You could see how important the letter to the Hebrews was to the Jewish Christian helping them to connect their newfound faith in Jesus with their religious upbringing.  He was teaching them how New Covenant ushered in by Jesus, connected with the Old Covenant that they had known for centuries. 

There are two really interesting verses in John, which connect this idea of God dwelling in a tabernacle to Jesus. 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

You might say Jesus became a man and made a tabernacle in our midst. God's very presence, which was in the Holy of Holies, came to earth in the person of Jesus. 

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." 

Jesus promises for those who, "Believe in and obey his teaching", He and the Father will "tabernacle" with them. Again when you consider the purpose of the original tabernacle this is really quite an amazing and mind blowing truth. The God who dwelt in the Holy of Holies, now dwells in You through Jesus and our faith in Him. 

By the way this is why though it is important that we worship regularly, there is nothing spiritual about the buildings we worship in. They become special when they are filled with the Spirit when the body of believers comes to worship in Spirit and truth! That's why we can worship anywhere and the bible says, 

"Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with you."  - Matthew 18:20

Jesus, we thank you that you brought the living presence of God, our Father, to earth. By your death on the cross, you opened the way for us to enter the Holy of Holies. When we came to believe in You, You gave us the Holy Spirit, who now lives in us. As we abide in Your and Your Word, we know that you and the Father continue to dwell in us and speak through us! Amen.