Free Bible Commentary
“Hebrews 9:1-10”
Categories: Hebrews“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.”
---End of Scripture verses---
The most holy and revered items of the inner sanctuary, and therefore the entirety of the religious system of Judaism, were the ark of the covenant and its cherished contents: a golden jar of manna, Arron’s rod which budded, and the tablets of stone on which were written the Ten Commandments (verses 1-6). When this epistle was written, the ark and its precious contents had gone missing for 700 years. The Babylonians had confiscated “all the articles of the house of God, great and small” (2 Chronicles 26:18), and the last we read about the ark in the Old Testament is in 2 Chronicles 35:3 (around 620 BC).
The fate of these holy articles of worship are emblematic (a symbol – verse 9) of the entire system of the Jewish religion. They were all only temporary in nature by design, and therefore destined to be removed and replaced (Jeremiah 3:16). As a matter of fact, the tabernacle was itself, by its very nature a temporary structure, and the yearly ceremonies and services performed by the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement offered a very limited access to God by His people (verse 8). As long as that physical structure of the “outer tabernacle” was in place, access to the Holy Father in the true “holy place” of heaven itself was really not available to the average person. But Jesus changed all that and corrected that problem at “the time of reformation” (verse 10).
Quoting David McClister on the significance of verse 9 and “perfecting the conscience”: “One of the chief problems with the sacrificial system of the old covenant was that it failed to sooth the guilty conscience (see 10:1f). Even when the offerer complied with God’s requirements that promised forgiveness…the worshiper was still left with a sense of inadequacy because what was offered for sin did not match the guilt of that sin. How could the blood of a dumb animal forgive the sin of a rational human being? Technically, it could not (see Heb 10:1)…This lingering sense of incompleteness (imperfection) is what is meant when the author says the old system was not able to perfect the conscience.” (Commentary on Hebrews, page 308, Florida College Press, 2010).
What the blood of bulls and goats and lambs could not do, our perfect Lord and Savior more than adequately accomplished for us when He offered up Himself as the perfect, spotless, sinless, human, divine sacrifice. When we draw near to the blood of Christ we draw near to God on the throne of heaven. All praise be to our loving Savior!
Please read Hebrews 9:11-14 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
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