Hebrews 9:1-5: a reflection

1Now indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and an earthly sanctuary. 2For a tabernacle was prepared. In the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the show bread, which is called the Holy Place. 3After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, 4having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, of which things we can’t speak now in detail.

The writer of Hebrews describes the old tabernacle and its furnishings: the Holy Place with its lamp stand, table, and bread; and beyond the veil, the Holy of Holies, with the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat overshadowed by the cherubim of glory. He is setting the scene for a larger point: that this earthly sanctuary, with all its careful arrangement, was a picture, a shadow, of something greater, pointing beyond itself to the true access to God that would come in Christ.

Notice that the writer treats the old sanctuary as a picture of something greater. Its arrangement, the outer and inner rooms, the veil separating the Holy of Holies where God's presence dwelt, was not an end in itself, but a sign. The veil that shut off the Holy of Holies pointed to the barrier between sinful people and a holy God; and the whole sanctuary pointed forward to Christ, who would open the way into God's presence that the old arrangement kept closed.

That is worth seeing, for it shows how the details of the old worship pointed to Christ. The barrier the veil represented, between us and the holy God, was real; and the whole apparatus of the old sanctuary could not finally remove it, only picture the need. But Christ has opened the way that the veil kept closed, giving us access to God that the old sanctuary only foreshadowed. Do not read the details of the old worship as mere history; see how they pointed forward, picturing both the barrier of sin and the need for a way through it, a way now opened in Christ. What the earthly sanctuary shadowed, Christ has made real; through him you have the access to God that the old arrangement, with its closed veil, could only foreshadow. Draw near through him, into the presence the veil once shut off.

Lord, the writer of Hebrews describes the old tabernacle, the Holy Place and, beyond the veil, the Holy of Holies with the ark and the mercy seat, and treats it all as a picture of something greater, pointing forward to the access to you that would come in Christ. Help me see how the details of the old worship pointed to him. The veil that shut off the Holy of Holies pointed to the barrier between sinful people and you, a holy God; and the whole sanctuary could not finally remove that barrier, only picture the need. But Christ has opened the way that the veil kept closed, giving me access to you that the old sanctuary only foreshadowed. Keep me from reading the details of the old worship as mere history; help me see how they pointed forward, picturing both the barrier of sin and the need for a way through it, a way now opened in Christ. What the earthly sanctuary shadowed, Christ has made real; through him I have the access to you that the old arrangement, with its closed veil, could only foreshadow. Help me draw near through him, into the presence the veil once shut off. Thank you for opening the way to you, Lord, in Christ.