When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.
Hebrews 8:13
The Old Covenant: Regulations and Place of Worship
1That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. 2There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. 3Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. 4In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.
Hebrews 9:1-5
Access to Perform Priestly Duties
6When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. 7But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.
Hebrews 9:6-8
A Better System is Coming
9This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. 10For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.
Hebrews 9:9-10
I have laid out Hebrews 9:1-10 for you in three parts just as the author has written them. I have given them the titles as above because that is the clearest way to indicate what each of the parts are about. Notice that the last verse of our previous segment, Hebrews 8:1-13, which I have spent four Gems unfolding, is the bridge to this new section. But I’m sure you can see it is a bridge which spans far more than two small segments of the letter to the Jewish Christians in Rome at the time of the writer.
The gap spanned is between:-
- Two Covenants or Testaments
- Two Tabernacles
- Two Priestly Systems
- Two Great High Priests
- Two Eras
Have you noticed before that the author does something similar to what he did in chapter five where he wrote:
There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.
Hebrews 5:11
But we cannot explain these things in detail now.
Hebrews 9:5
Why does he make these comments about not stopping to explain? It is clear in each case he has the ability to explain what he tells the readers he is not going to explain. However, his reasons are different. In the first case (5:11), he doesn’t stop to explain the depth of what he would like to say because the recipients are not capable of receiving it. In this second case (9:5), he seems to feel he doesn’t need to explain the details or parts [meros] because the detail is too involved to go through point by point. That is exactly what the word [meros] means – a point, a detail to be explained. The writer seems to be saying at this juncture, there is no time to go through all the detail of the old system for you Jewish believers who are very familiar with the details. The Old Covenant, the religious system which outlines its practices, the regulations and the divisions of the place of worship; namely the division of the Tabernacle into the Outer Court, the Inner Court which divides further into the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
Once more I am going to take my cue from the author and follow his lead by not becoming side-tracked into the details of the layout and the religious duties of the practices under the Levitical priesthood. Unless I receive a howl of protest from you my readers, I will, like the author of the letter, say nothing more about it. I have given you the diagram of the layout of the Tabernacle to remind you.
It is my intention to spell out what I believe the author was doing when he gave us this ten-or-eleven-verse bridge in order to lead into the big picture points he was making. In order to do that I have given you the above segments, divided as they are, and then I have paused in order to give you time to gather your thoughts before we follow the author of Hebrews into the next major point he made. It is my opinion, or my conclusion from the flow of text the author has given us, that that is exactly what he was doing for his readers and by extension for us. So once more I will follow his lead.
Take the time now to read this section carefully and gather your thoughts before I explain what I have seen in the text and the way the author of Hebrews has put this section together. Already this Gem has grown too large to make any more comment. Pause and ponder before we progress.
Understanding is the bridge between two minds.
Ian
We build too many walls and not enough bridges.
Isaac Newton
The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridges to cross and which to burn.
David Russell
Let’s cross this bridge with the author of Hebrews so we can take in the bigger picture God put in his mind.
Ian
I know you don’t intend explaining this section in detail and I concur. However, there is one small detail that might need some comment. The diagram given of the tabernacle lines up with the description given in Exodus BUT the Hebrews writer puts the altar of incense inside the Most Holy Place. Surely the only thing in there was the Ark. Why would he do that?
Just me pondering.
Mike.
As usual you are sharp today Mike. You have picked up an apparent discrepancy which many commentators refer to. The altar of Incense was placed in the Holy Place not the Most Holy Place. Why does the author not make that clear?
There are varied responses to this “error”. But many commentators feel the author is making a point. Most think that he knows full well where the altar of incense was in the tabernacle but that he was emphasising its close connection with the Holy of Holies and not its position as such. Somehow this strange wording highlights the role the altar of incense played in relation to the Most Holy Place while not actually being in the Most Holy Place. Full marks to you for noticing the strange use of the wording while not actually knowing the Greek.