Coming Clean

 

 

"Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. ² For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. ³ Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, ⁴ having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; ⁵ and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

⁶ Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, ⁷ but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. ⁸ The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, ⁹ which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, ¹⁰ since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; ¹² and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

Hebrews 9:1-14

 

Good Morning my beloved,

 

Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!

We would like to welcome all of our beloved brothers and sisters, from all around the world, who have been prompted to join us today. We are glad to have you here! I do not believe it was by coincidence, I believe that you were lead here by Almighty God Himself.

 

In our society, we have adapted a view of guilt, as something to be cast off, many even boast about their shameful deeds. Politicians, celebrities and sadly even Christians alike, who have fallen into sin explain how they have come to feel good about themselves in spite of their failures. They complain about self-righteous, judgmental Christians who won’t accept their "shortcomings." Yet, in spite of all of our effort, to deny or overcome our guilt, we still cannot quite seem to shake it. Which, I find rather surprising, as
fundamentally irreligious a culture as ours is, that the sense of guilt should be as deep rooted as it is. 

Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Allow me to quickly sum that up for you, You're guilty! The Holy Scripture teaches us that guilt is more than just a feeling of self loathing. It is true moral culpability that alienates us from God and brings us under His judgement and eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Thankfully, God has provided a remedy for our guilt. Forgiveness.

When Adam first sinned in the Garden Of Eden, and the eyes of he and his wife were opened, God met them with the skins of the first sacrifice for man’s sin, and the importance of the Blood was first introduced to impact man’s life forever. 

 

In the Bible, from the book of Genesis to Revelation, it is the central theme in expressing God’s love for man and the necessity of a sacrifice to redeem man back to his Creator. It was offered to Cain as the only choice for obtaining salvation from sin, to the Israelites in Egyptian bondage on the eve of the Exodus as their Passover to dissuade the Angel of Death from taking their first-born, to Moses on Mt. Sinai as the seal of the First Covenant with blood, to the Old Testament high priest as the yearly sacrifice for the sins of a needy people, and on throughout the pages of the Old Testament as a Promise of a Someday Better Sacrifice for man’s sin. Through the blood of His own Son, Jesus Christ. It pleased God to bruise Him, according to the prophet Isaiah, for God knew that the remissions of sins could not have been effected without the Effusion of Blood on the Cross.

 

Isaiah chapter 1 tells us us, "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats." For God from the beginning of sin equated the sin offering as the same--even choosing to limit the vocabulary of sin and sin offering to the same word, so that man would always know that with any sin, He had before the foundation of the world prepared Himself a better Sacrifice.

 

I believe that it is vital that we each understand and apply this remedy personally. Jesus Christ, who offered His own blood to obtain for us eternal redemption and a clean conscience. 

 

Let us bow our heads in prayer.

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Father, we are so grateful for Your Word for us today, thank You for this great truth. Lord, as we open up Your Word, we pray that You would open our hearts to be taught of the Holy Spirit. Strip away our preconceived notions, our blindness and our prejudices.Bind these truths to our hearts, that they would eternally be ours. And may we give the glory to Jesus Christ.

In His name we pray

Amen

 

Today's Message: Coming Clean

 

As we continue in our study of the book of Hebrews, we have not only been studying the truths of the New Testament but we have been studying the truths of the Old Testament, I hope that you are enjoying it as much as I am, its so wonderful, so rich. Today,we come to the ninth chapter of this marvelous book of Hebrews. It feels as though we have just begun, and we are already on the ninth chapter, and there is only 13 of them. I know that some of you may be saying to yourselves, "Thank God!"  I know that some of it has been a bit difficult to understand, but what a blessing it has been.I pray that it will have made a lasting impression on you.

 

Open with me, if you would, your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 9 verses 1-14. Interestingly, the Bible only devotes two chapters to the story of creation, however, it gives us about 50 chapters to the tabernacle. The reason is, because it was the center of Jewish worship under the old covenant. The author mentions the tabernacle rather than the temple because the tabernacle was introduced immediately after the old covenant was instituted. As a footnote, the tabernacle was more temporary than the temple, which better suits the author’s narrative here.

 

I invite you to follow along with me as I read to you to settle the text in our mind as we prepare our hearts for a Word from the Lord. Hebrews 9:1-14.

 

"Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

Before we begin, I'd just like to say, apart from Jesus Christ, there is no access to God. It is only because of Christ, that men have access to God. And, as I am sure that you are all aware, the Holy Spirit is concerned with presenting Jesus Christ in the book of Hebrews. If you are unwilling to come to Christ, you have cut off all access to God.

 

In the first six chapters of the book of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit deals with the preeminence of his person, then the preeminence of his priesthood, then the preeminence of his sacrifice, then the preeminence of his covenant. Then, in the seventh chapter, He addresses the new covenant, a better covenant. That is the theme of the book of Hebrews; His priesthood, His sacrifice and His covenant, and through Him, there is access to God.

 

In verses, 1-14, He presents a contrast between the old and the new. So, let's look at verse 1, "Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary." God instituted the old covenant, so it had divine service, even though it was an earthly sanctuary. Though it had divine services, it was temporary. The fact that it was an earthly sanctuary alone indicates that even though its service was divine, it was also temporary. The old covenant, was so beautifully ordained of God, right down to every last detail, that they present to us, a very clear picture of Messiah in every detail. So,
He begins by establishing the fact that these services were divine.

 

As an interesting footnote, Hebrews draws comparisons, they are constant throughout the book. He compared Israel’s prophets to Christ, angels to Christ, Moses to Christ, Joshua to Christ, Aaron to Christ, and so on. But never once, have you heard him depreciate any of those others by comparison. He never does that. Instead, He exalts the prophets. He exalts the angels. He exalts Moses. He exalts Joshua. He exalts Aaron. And, He exalts the old covenant as far as it can be exalted. And so, the more they are magnified, the more Jesus is magnified when He is proven to be superior. He never depreciates it, His words are always gracious.

 

Now, in verses 2 through 5, we see the sanctuary. "For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail."

 

Here, He's talking about the old covenant, the ceremonies and rituals of Israel. There was a tabernacle, and He’s dealing here with the tabernacle rather than the temple, because he wants to pull out the primary things that God placed initially in that tabernacle, and it was the earthiest of the two between the tabernacle and the temple. Back in chapter 8:5, we saw the design of the tabernacle and its worship was not left up to human ideas, but God revealed everything in great detail to Moses on the mountain. The tabernacle was an Old Testament portrait of Jesus Christ. So, this is very important. And, I dare say many Christians  don’t know nearly as much about it as they ought. God laid out all the plans, and everywhere you look, is Christ. 

 

So, let's start with it was very large. It was 150 feet long and it was 75 feet wide. However,  there was only one gate, and it was on the east. And it was 30 feet wide, seven-and-a-half feet high, and many people could go through it. That is a perfect picture of Jesus Christ who said, "I am the way," He also said, " am the door." This is significant because the tabernacle was the place of God and how many doors did it have? One. How many ways are there to God today? One, Jesus Christ. Christianity is very exclusive, men only come to God through Jesus Christ.

 

So outside was a curtain that was not covered, the, we would move into the courtyard, the outer court of the tabernacle.There was some furniture there, which He doesn't mention, because they would have been familiar with it. Going in from the east, we would come to the brazen altar, which was made of acacia wood. And, it was seven-and-a-half feet square, so it was pretty large. It stood four-and-a-half feet off the ground. The top was covered by a brass grate, and the coals were underneath the grate and the sacrifice was placed on the grate. On four corners of the alter were the horns of the altar to which the animal was bound when it was being sacrificed. So, the brazen altar is a perfect picture of Jesus Christ, the One Who was a sacrifice for sin. Do you see it? 

 

Continuing west, we would come to the next piece of furniture that is in the court, and that is the wash area, or a large basin called the laver, which is made of brass. In it the priest washed their hands and their feet as they went about the bloody services of sacrifice. Again, this is a picture of Jesus Christ, Who is the cleanser of his people. And it’s really a wonderful picture when you put the two pieces together. Once we have come to the brazen altar and received forgiveness for sins, we are not finished though. We still need to go to the laver for the daily cleansing that brings about restoration and the pure joy of full fellowship. So both of these are a picture Jesus. And together they are portrait of the work of Christ on earth, as He provided the forgiveness and the cleansing in the cross. Still going west, we come to the tabernacle itself, which was 45 feet long, 15 feet wide, 15 feet high. Now, so you have a clear picture, the holy place took up two-thirds of it, which meant that the holy of holies was a perfect cube, 15 by 15 by 15, the other 15 by 15 by 30.

 

So, on the left side was the golden lampstand. The seven-lit golden lampstand that the pure olive oil that was placed there for the fire. This golden lampstand was beaten out of solid gold. Then we would look to the right and we would see the table of showbread. Which was made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, it was three feet long, one-and-a-half feet wide and about two and a quarter feet high off the ground. And, every Sabbath they laid on it 12 loaves, one for every tribe in Israel, six in two rows. And at the end of the week the priests ate it, by the way, only the priests were allowed to eat it. In the center, there was the Altar of Incense, again, made of acacia wood, encased in gold. It was one-and-a-half feet square, three feet high. And on it, were placed the burning coals from the brazen altar, way out in the courtyard where sacrifice was to be made. 

 

All of the things in the outer courtyard are connected with salvation and the cleansing of sin. This is again, a wonderful portrait of Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus accomplished salvation and the cleansing of sin, on earth, outside the courtyard of God. And, the fact that the outer court was accessible to all people, is a beautiful illustration of Christ in the world, openly manifesting Himself before men. The golden lampstand is Christ, Who is the light of life, not the light of the world. To make sure that you don't confuse that.

Let's look at John chapter 8. In verse 12, "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." Jesus
is the light of life. He is the light that directs our paths. He is the one who through the Holy Spirit, illumines our mind, He understands spiritual truths. The indwelling Spirit that guides us through the world of darkness. Then, the table of showbread represents Jesus, Who is our sustenance. He is the one who sustains us, and he sustains us with the Word. He feeds us every day. Then, there is the altar of incense, which pictures the sacrificial coals placed there and the incense smoke rising, this is Jesus interceding for us. The perfect sacrifice Who became the intercessory. And so all three are a portrait of  Jesus’ work in heaven for us. 

 

Now, let's look at verse 3-5, "Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail." The Ark of the covenant, contained Aaron’s rod that budded, and it contained manna, and it contained the tables of law. It was simply made of acacia wood. It was also overlaid with gold about 3 feet 9” long, 2 feet 3” wide, and about 2 feet high and on top of the lid, it had the golden censer on it.

 

A number of scholars debate why the author of Hebrews seems to place the altar of incense inside the Holy of Holies, rather than just outside in the holy place. There are some who claim that he was mistaken, but this is ridiculous, because every Jew would have known the arrangement of these basic pieces of furniture. Others say that the reference is not to the altar itself, but to the censers that the priests used to carry incense into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, which the author obviously has in mind. But then the author would have omitted mentioning a major piece of furniture in the holy place. I believe that the best option, is that the author is connecting the liturgical function of the altar of incense with its close association with the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. In Revelation 8:3, this same close connection is portrayed, where the golden altar of incense, representing the prayers of the saints, is "before the throne." 

 

And in verse 5, "and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail." The mercy seat was made of gold; the angels were solid gold. And it was between the wings of those angels on the mercy seat that God met men. So we see the sanctuary. It had divine services, but it was earthly, and it was so temporary and passing and it never provided true access to God. He communes with men there, because they come to Him in the name of Jesus Christ.

 

Now, in verses 6 and 7, we see the services, "Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance." Verse 7, refers to the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur.  This is important, because what happens in Israel historically is important to us, because so much of it pictures Christ. But nothing pictures Christ more than this event. We know that God had a relationship with Israel, but every time Israel sinned, the relationship was broken. Every day they’d come and they’d make sacrifices and it would be kind of reconnected. But all throughout the year, sins would pile up that you forgot about, and ones that you didn’t know you committed; so the Day of Atonement was kind of a catch up day. All of those sins would all be covered in the sacrifice of the Day of Atonement for the whole nation. So it was a great day of liberty of the conscience.

 

So, when Jesus came to do the work of sacrifice to make the atonement for sin, He took of the glory but he never took off the purity and He never took off the holiness. And so again, we have a perfect picture of Jesus Christ, and it’s interesting to note also that when the high priest was done with the sacrifice of atonement, he put the robes of glory and beauty right back on. Remember, Jesus after He’d come to the cross and He was preparing for the cross and His prayer in John 17 he said, "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." That’s exactly what the priest pictured. Christ’s death was a death satisfying to God. He bore all the fires of judgment.

 

Verse 8-10, "The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation."

 

The Holy Spirit was using this as an illustration to teach three things primarily, at least three of them that are listed here in 8, 9, and 10. First, that worship of God was limited in the old covenant. Second, the Holy Spirit wanted to teach them a sense of imperfect cleansing was connected with the old covenant. And, third, the Holy Spirit wanted to teach that the old covenant was temporary.In other words, the Holy Spirit was teaching the impossibility of access to God without a perfect priest and a perfect sacrifice and a perfect covenant. And, by allowing the people to go no further than the outer court and allowing the priest to go no further than the holy place, the Holy Spirit signified the old system was limited. The inability of the sacrifices to make the worshiper perfect in conscience did not mean that no Old Testament saint ever had a clear conscience, but he did not obtain it by the sacrifices.

That’s why the Bible says they remained in that place called Paradise, Sheol, or Hades. When Jesus died, he descended and he led captivity captive and brought them into God's presence. That’s the first time they could have full access to God, and it was provided because of Jesus’ sacrifice.  

 

Now, in verses 11-12, "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;  and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." Did you catch it? "a high priest of the good things to come."  We need good things to come, don't we? In other words, if all of that in the old covenant was so nice, then just imagine what Christ is able to do! We all think of the tabernacle as beautiful, it was beautiful on the inside, but outside, was those badger skins. So, it wasn't very pretty at all outside. But now, there’s a new one that isn’t even made with hands. It's heaven! The third thing He obtained was eternal redemption. Jesus purchased a redemption that’s not only a past, not only present, but future.

 

There was a ceremonial cleansing in the old sacrifices. Let's look at verses 13-14, "For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

 

This was a ritual for purification, especially if someone had been defiled by touching a dead body. The author argues from the lesser to the greater. If these rituals could cleanse the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Jesus Christ is the only one who could atone for man’s sin, because He alone was a man without blemish in all that He did. Therefore, His blood can act as the substitute for the penalty that we deserve. 

 

In Closing..

 

Scripture teaches that the conscience alone is not an infallible guide. Through repeated sin, the conscience can be defiled and seared. Therefore, our consciences need to be informed and trained through Scripture. As we learn Who God is and what His holy standards are, our consciences accuse us of how sinful we are. God’s commandments, applied as Jesus did to the heart, convict and condemn us all! Not one of us comes close to loving God with our entire being, or to loving our fellow human beings as we love ourselves. Part of God’s work in regeneration is to bring His holy Law to bear on our hearts, so that we despair of any way of trying to justify ourselves. We stand guilty!

 

Jesus Christ did it all, all we need to do is believe. Our salvation is based on a covenant that is final, a sacrifice that is once and for all, and a priesthood that is eternal. May this be the day of your salvation through Jesus Christ.

Mat it be so..

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 

 

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