Hebrews, Chapter 9
1 Now [even] the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was constructed, the outer one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of offering; this is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies, 4 in which were the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant entirely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar containing the manna, the staff of Aaron that had sprouted, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the place of expiation. Now is not the time to speak of these in detail.
6 With these arrangements for worship, the priests, in performing their service, go into the outer tabernacle repeatedly, 7 but the high priest alone goes into the inner one once a year, not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people. 8 In this way the holy Spirit shows that the way into the sanctuary had not yet been revealed while the outer tabernacle still had its place. 9 This is a symbol of the present time, in which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper in conscience 10 but only in matters of food and drink and various ritual washings: regulations concerning the flesh, imposed until the time of the new order.
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, 12 he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
Suggestion: A Bible with footnotes, such as the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) or the Revised Standard Version 2nd Catholic Edition (RSVCE2), can be quite helpful for reading chapters 9 and 10 of Hebrews. (Footnotes are often helpful. They are not infallible!)
Today when we think of the central place of worship of the Jews in Jesus’ day, we naturally think of the (2nd) Temple in Jerusalem. Our Preacher, though, speaks in terms of the very first central worship space of the Jews—the tent or “Tabernacle” in the desert in Moses’s day, which provided the template for the larger, more elaborate Temple under Solomon and the re-built or 2nd Temple after the return from the Exile.
There was space outside the Tent for the people to gather (but only so close). A veil hung across the opening into the tent. Then there was the “outer” area inside the tent, where the priests had daily duties to perform. These included burning incense (imaging the prayers of the faithful ascending to heaven), providing oil for and tending the lamps on the 7-branched golden candle stand (God’s light always with them) and replacing and showing the 12 loaves of bread that represented the 12 tribes (called “the bread of the Presence” or “the bread of the Face”) along with bowls of wine for libations. This corresponds to the “Holy Place” in the later Temples.
Finally, there was the “inner” area, behind another veil, with entrance restricted to the High Priest once a year, corresponding to the “Holy of Holies” in the later Temples. This is where the stone tablets with the Commandments rested in a box covered with pure gold and decorated with the cherubim. (The jar of manna and the staff of Aaron are not mentioned in God’s directions about how to build the tent, but other statements by Moses seem to indicate their presence in the Holy of Holies.)
We need to remind ourselves that all this was not some sneaky priesthood power play to restrict access to God and keep the people away. The Creator, who made the mountains and the seas, the weather, the heavens, etc. was immensely, incomprehensibly powerful. One did not approach Him lightly, particularly with a burdened conscience. From the Israelites’ point of view, the High Priest was taking his life in his hands to enter the inner tabernacle. God is awesomely powerful, and he is good, but “not safe” as C.S. Lewis has Aslan, the Lion/God of Narnia described in his book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. One thing the Israelites thoroughly understood was that they did not thoroughly understand God. Imagine a four-year-old gazing up at her large, strong, and immensely tall, immensely wise father–there is joy, and just a bit of apprehension at the same time.
The one day in a year when the High Priest did enter the Holy of Holies, he took in an offering for his own sins (the blood of a large offering, a bull) and another offering (the blood of a smaller one, a goat) for all the people. One for him alone because he was going to be so close to the Presence.
Even with that, the Israelites knew the sacrifices did not atone for serious sins—only for lesser, inadvertent sins, or sins of ignorance. For serious sins requiring a penalty of death (death of the human sinner, not an animal sacrifice) mercy could only be asked for. The blood of bulls or goats were symbols for something greater that must happen. And that greater thing, the Preacher says, was Christ in his humanity offering his own blood to cancel all those penalties of death for anyone who becomes a “member,” that is, a part, of his Body. (“Membership” in the Body is open to anyone who repents and believes.) Jesus brings his offering to the actual throne room of his Father in heaven, not to a copy of it on this earth. Not once a year, but, simply, once—for all time. He offers his life—for you and for me.
Begin your prayers today with this thought: He gave his life for me.
A second thing to consider: accepting Christ means the story of your faith life is grafted onto the entire history of God’s interaction with the world he created. You may have found God a year ago–but now your line of spiritual ancestry goes back through Christ to David and Moses and Abraham.
I was once fortunate enough to have an author I admired sign a book for me in a store in San Francisco. When it was my turn to hand my book over, I was literally speechless on seeing this famous person whom I so admired. She didn’t waste a minute, took my book, and signed “Gay, loves speaks”…..I imagine I will be this way on seeing My Lord…..