Please turn in your Bibles this evening to Hebrews chapter 9 as we continue our study through the Word of God.  In this letter to Jewish Christians who were struggling with their faith, being drawn back into the legalism of Judaism, Paul masterfully shows them that Jesus is better than angels, He is better than Moses, He is better than Joshua, He is better than the Levitical priesthood and all that went with it. Now please understand that Paul is not putting down angels or Moses and the others but he is showing that Jesus is superior, and when you think about it, as these were magnified it only makes Jesus more superior!

            I truly believe that Hebrews chapters 5-10 are the pinnacle of Paul’s letter for the Jews held the Levitical priesthood, the tabernacle and later the temple in high esteem, along with all the sacrifices that went with it.  Thus, to show them that Jesus is superior to all this, as great as they were, he is going to have to prove it to them step by step.  Thus, we saw in Hebrews chapters 5-7 that Jesus came from a better priestly order – the order of Melchizedek and not Aaron.  Then in Hebrews chapter 8 we saw that Jesus has a better covenant for us, a New Covenant that does more than deal with the outward ceremonially cleansing, it cleans the heart, it deals with us inwardly and that covenant was made by the shedding of His blood, once for all sin!

Tonight Paul is going to show us that Jesus is a better sanctuary, which again, to the Jews was very important.  With that said, let’s begin reading in Hebrews chapter 9, starting in verse 1, and see what the Lord has for us this evening.

HEBREWS 9

VERSES 1-5

            There are two extremes regarding the tabernacle, that it was worthless or that it is everything.  Both of those are wrong, the tabernacle was important but it was only a picture of what was to come and what the throne of God was like.  In Exodus 25:8-9 we are told, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.  According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.”  (Also see: Exodus, 26:30, 39:32, 39:42-43, Acts 7:44).

            You see, God instructed Moses how this tabernacle was to be built; He gave Moses the blueprints to follow exactly.  In fact, we see only two chapters that are devoted to the creation story in the Bible and some 50 chapters focusing on the tabernacle, the majority being found in Exodus chapters 25-40. Why was God so detailed about the tabernacle?  Because it was a type, or a picture of Jesus who was to come and thus, once the substance has come, you don’t need the picture any more!  We will deal more with this picture of Christ in the tabernacle on Sunday but tonight, let me paint for you a picture of what this tabernacle looked like as you approached it.

            The tabernacle was like a giant tent. The courtyard was 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. There was only one gate that you could enter through located on the east side some 30 feet wide and 7½ feet high. As you moved from front to back you would pass the bronze altar where the sacrifices were made and then you would come to the laver or basin for washing.

            Continuing on you would come to the tabernacle proper, which was 45 feet long, 15 feet wide and 15 feet high.  Within this section was the holy place that was 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.  Only the priests could enter into the holy place and as they entered they would see on their left side before the curtain, a solid gold seven-branched oil-burning lamp.  On the right side was the table of showbread containing 12 loaves of bread representing the 12 tribes of Israel. And then in the center was the altar of incense.

            I do realize that it says that the altar of incense was located in the Holy of Holies but it probably is speaking of the censer the high priest carried into the Holy of Holies only once a year, on the Day of Atonement. It would make no sense to have the altar of incense in the Holy of Holies because you would not be able to attend to it, only the High Priest could enter once a year like I said.

            Now, as you entered through the veil from the holy place you entered a room that was 15 feet by 15 feet and was called the Holy of Holies, the place where the Shekinah glory dwelt, the presence of God.  And in this portion of the tabernacle only the high priest could enter and only once a year, on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur after he offered sacrifices for himself.

            In the Holy of Holies the Ark of the Covenant stood, which was a box made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold measuring 3 feet 9 inches long, two feet 3 inches wide and 2 feet high.  In the Ark were the tablets of the Law, a jar of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded.  On the top of the Ark was the mercy seat and two cherubim on either side.  And God dwelt above the mercy seat as Exodus 25:22 tells us, “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”

            You see, God does not meet with us upon the Law, which condemns us but upon His mercy seat where the high priest would sprinkle the blood on the Day of Atonement and thus, the blood covers the Law and God can have mercy on us because our sins have been paid by the blood of the sacrifice of another, a picture of what Christ would do!

            In I John 2:2 we are told, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”  The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “And He [that same Jesus Himself] is the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for [the sins of] the whole world.” And The Living Bible puts it this way, “He is the one who took God's wrath against our sins upon himself and brought us into fellowship with God; and he is the forgiveness for our sins, and not only ours but all the world's.”  John is saying that Jesus is our propitiation or mercy seat for the Septuagint or the Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures uses the same Greek word, HILASMOS, (hil-as-mos’) for mercy seat in Exodus 25:17 as John uses here in I John 2:2.

            It wasn’t Paul’s point to give every detail of the tabernacle here and it wasn’t really necessary, they should have known these details because they were Jews!  And Paul’s point is that the Old Covenant and the sanctuary were only divine pictures, you couldn’t have access to God because sin separated man from God. And Paul is going to show them the limitations of the earthly service of the priests and what their service pointed to.

VERSES 6-7

            Once the tabernacle was set-up, the priest’s work was never done. Every day the priest’s went into the holy place to perform their duties, tending to the oil-burning lamp by trimming the wicks, adding oil to the lamp.  With the altar of incense they would have to add the coals and add incense to it. Every week, on the Sabbath they had to change the loaves of bread on the table of showbread. That was just in the holy place, their work never ended!

            That all took place in the holy place, but behind the veil, in the Holy of Holies only the high priest could enter and only once a year, on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. Thus, fellowship with God was severely restricted, in fact, even for the high priest. It wasn’t real fellowship with God; they couldn’t sit down with Him because sin still separated man from God. These sacrifices never cleansed a person inwardly, but only outwardly, a ceremonially cleansing!

            Here was the problem for the Jewish people. They knew when they sinned they needed to offer a sacrifice for their sin. But what about sins of ignorance, how can you atone for them? What about those sins you committed and were not aware of?  And over time you can imagine how they could accumulate!  What could be done for that?  The Day of Atonement was intended to do just that, to cover those sins of ignorance for the nation. In Leviticus 16:29-34 we are told, “‘This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father's place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year.’  And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.”

            What is this Day of Atonement all about, what happens on this day?  I think it is important for us to see for out of it is a picture of Christ that will be painted. Thus, let’s take a few minutes and look at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which you can read about in Leviticus chapter 16.

            During the time of Jesus the high priest would spend the week before Yom Kippur on the temple grounds, going over what he was going to do, preparing himself for this day. Then, on this day he would ceremonially cleanse himself and put on his high priestly robes, the breastplate with the 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel and it was showing that he held the nation close to his heart before the Lord.  The ephod also had 12 stones on the shoulders representing the 12 tribes of Israel and it was showing that he carried the nation before God on his shoulders.  Then he had to offer a sacrifice for his sins.

            Before he did this he took the coals from the bronze altar where the sacrifices were made and put them into a gold censer with incense and brought it into the Holy of Holies before the Lord. Then he came out and sacrificed a bullock and another priest collected the blood from the sacrifice and some of it was placed in a small bowl and it was carried into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled upon the mercy seat seven times.  In the presence of God he did not linger long as the people listened for the bells on his robe to keep ringing and as he came out they breathed a sigh of relief as God accepted his offering.  And I bet he did too!  If the bells on his robe stopped ringing they would know that he was struck dead and they would pull him out by the robe tied around his ankle.  This offering was for the high priest, not the people yet.

            As he came out of the Holy of Holies two goats were waiting for him at the bronze altar.  On one of them would be written “For Jehovah” and the other “For Azazel” or the scapegoat.  To determine which one was which, the high priest would cast lots and from these lots that were cast they would determine which would be used for the scapegoat and which was for the Lord.  Thus, in a small urn the two lots were placed and as each one was drawn it was tied to the horn of one of the goats.

            The goat that was “For Jehovah” was slaughtered on the altar and it’s blood was caught the same way as the bullock, and swished into a bowl and carried into the Holy of Holies. The blood of the goat was sprinkled on the mercy seat once again but not for the high priest this time, but for the people.  He did not spend much time in the Holy of Holies once again, he did his work and he got out!

            Now the other goat, “For Azazel” or the scapegoat had the hands of the high priest placed upon his head and the sins of the people were confessed over him. After that the goat was taken out into the wilderness and turned loose, to be lost and never to return.

            One interesting note regarding this is given to us in Fausset’s Bible Dictionary. It says:

            The lots were first of boxwood, latterly of gold, put into an urn, into which he put both his hands and took out a lot in each, while the two goats stood before him, one on the right, the other on the left; the lot in each hand belonged to the corresponding position: when the lot “for Azazel” was in the right, it was a good omen. He then tied a tongue shaped piece of scarlet cloth on the scapegoat.  The Gemara says the red cloth ought to turn white as a token of God’s acceptance or the atonement; which illustrates Isa 1:18, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” No such change took place for 40 years before the destruction of Jerusalem; a singular testimony from Jewish authority to Messiah, as His ministry was precisely 40 years before the destruction of the holy city; the type ceased when the Antitype came.

- Fausset’s Bible Dictionary, Day of Atonement

            Just to clarify what the Gemara is all about.  The Gemara is the second part of the Talmud that consists primarily of a commentary on the Mishna. The Mishna is a collection of early oral interpretations of the scriptures that was compiled about 200 A.D.

            So what do these two goats mean to us?  The first goat, “For Jehovah” represents the justice of God being satisfied, the shedding of the blood of this animal had paid for sin.  The second goat, “For Azazel” represented the satisfaction of our conscience as they saw symbolically the goat disappearing into the wilderness never to be seen again and it points to God forgiving us of our sins, casting them as far as the east is from the west, to be remembered no more!  They didn’t have to dwell on those past sins is the thought.  

            It is as Paul said in Hebrews 9:14 of Jesus, “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”  Thus, the work of Jesus is far greater than the work that was done on the Day of Atonement by the high priest for the work that Christ did on the cross of Calvary is completely sufficient to atone for the sins we do in ignorance and those we do knowingly!

VERSES 8-10

            Through this all, through this type, the Holy Spirit is teaching us something, but what?  First of all the Holy Spirit is teaching us that an intimate relationship with God was limited in the Old Covenant. It was the high priest who could enter through the veil into the Holy of Holies, into the presence of God and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur and then only for a short time after he had made atonement for his sins by the blood of a sacrifice!

            The second point that the Holy Spirit is teaching us is that their sins were never forgiven. Yes, the scapegoat was let go, he traveled into the wilderness but he could come back, there was no guarantee!

            And the third point that the Holy Spirit is teaching us is that the Old Covenant with the sacrificial system was only temporary. The sacrifices needed to be repeated over and over again, daily there were the sacrifices, thus, the Old Covenant was limited, it was not complete.

            So we see that there was no access into the presence of God because sin had separated them and us from God. Isaiah 59:1-2 tells us that, “Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”  Thus, even with the sacrifices, sin remained because these sacrifices could not take away a persons sin, but only covered them for a time. They could not cleanse you inwardly, but it was more of a ceremonially cleansing.  Thus, this covenant was only temporary, until the New Covenant was established.

            That is what Paul was saying back in Hebrews chapter 8, staring in verse 6, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.  Because finding fault with them, He says: ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”  Hebrews 8:6-13.

            The Old Covenant, with the temple and the priests and the sacrificial system was “ready to vanish away.”  In fact, in just 4 to 6 years, depending on the writing of this letter to the Hebrews, the temple was going to be destroyed, the sacrificial system over and thus, why go back to that which is passing away when you have a better covenant established on better promises, those based upon the faithfulness of God!

            Now, in verse 9 Paul tells us that this is symbolic; he uses the Greek word, PARABOLE, which speaks of setting something side-by-side to make a comparison.  Here’s the thing.  The Old Covenant with the tabernacle and the priests and the sacrifices are being set alongside of the New Covenant with Jesus being our Great High Priest who offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Now, as the two are compared you can clearly see that the Old Covenant comes up short, it was never intended to cleanse us of our sins, but it was symbolic of the cleansing that was to come, and the Old Covenant pales in comparison to the New Covenant!

            Today, for the Orthodox Jew who has been without a temple, without sacrifices for sins for almost 2,000 years, you would think that was a huge problem, but they have come up with a solution.  Now the Day of Atonement has become a day of reflection where you reflect on the good and bad things that you have done throughout the year and if your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, God accepts you, you are forgiven for another year. Thus, hopefully your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, but just in case, a week or so before this day, they make sure they are doing many good deeds so they can be sure of God accepting them, forgiving them.

            That is a problem because the Bible does not teach that our good works save us, but Jesus does. If fact, the Bible teaches that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins!  Yes, good works are evidence of our salvation, but they can’t take away our sins.  Think about it, if you get pulled over for speeding and the officer writes you a ticket and you decided to go to court to fight it.  You tell the judge, “Your honor, yes I was going 100 mph in a area that had a speed limit of 20 mph but this is the first ticket I have received. I have been good all my life and thus, all the good I have done must account for something, right?”  The judge would answer, “Son, the law has no forgiveness, no mercy, all it can do is show you that you broke the law. It doesn’t matter how good you are, you broke the law, pay the fine. Next!”

            Paul, in Romans 4:2-8 tells us this very thing, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’  Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.’”

            You see, it is not our good works that save us, but our faith in the Savior. The Old Testament saints were not saved by their works, that is Paul’s point. But they were saved as they had faith in the coming Messiah and because of that they lived lives that were pleasing to God.  Again, imagine the same court case and this time you have a lawyer with you and as the charges are read, as the prosecutor is ready to prove his point, your lawyer says to the judge, “Dad, I have paid the price of his fee for breaking the law, it is taken care, it is paid in full!”  What would the judge say? He would say, “Case dismissed!”  And that is what Jesus has done for us, He paid in full the penalty for our sin and because of that the Father accepts us, case dismissed!

            Paul, in Galatians 2:16 tells us, “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”  You see, they looked forward to the coming Messiah and we look back at His finished work and we both are saved by grace through faith and not by the Law through works. We are saved by His finished work!

            Obviously we are not going to finish up tonight, so next week we will conclude this chapter as we look at Jesus Christ who is a better sanctuary!  Thus, because of all that Jesus has done for us, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”  Hebrews 7:25.  May we not forget that or lose sight of that or go back to the type, the symbols instead of the substance, which is Jesus Christ!