TABERNACLE SERVICE
Opening Prayer
Father, speak to me through your Word. Give me greater vision for ways that I can reflect the love of Jesus with those around me.
Read HEBREWS 9:1–10
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle
9 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.’1
Think Further
These verses explain the suggestion in Hebrews 8 that temple and tabernacle worship was in some way symbolic of the work of Christ. The first paragraph describes the shape of the wilderness tabernacle and the second describes its ritual. It is important to note the play on the words ‘first’ and ‘new’ (or ‘second’), introduced in 8:7, 13 and appearing several times in today’s reading. Sometimes (8:7, 13; 9:1, 8) they have a temporal sense and sometimes (9:2, 3, 6, 7) they have a spatial sense.2
The tabernacle and its ritual, with things happening daily in the first (outer) tent and annually in the second (inner) tent, symbolically anticipate the time of the new order. Since the second tent was situated within the first, a reader encountering verse 8 for the first time might be tempted to think that the second tent was hidden away from view by the first,3 but the reference to the time of new order in verse 10 shows that the temporal sense is back. The Most Holy Place of verse 8 is the true tent of 8:1, 2 and the way into it was not disclosed while the tabernacle was functioning. The (first) tabernacle’s role was symbolic, anticipating the new covenant ministry of Jesus that would ultimately come to pass.
Tabernacle worship was an important part of God’s revelation of himself to his people, as Exodus 25:8 shows (‘make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them’). The reason it was so important was that it anticipated how God would eventually dwell with his people in Christ. Now that he has been exalted to God’s right hand and the new covenant has been inaugurated, the reality has come, and the symbols have been abolished. We have open access to God’s presence.
Apply
The torn temple curtain4 symbolizes the truth explained here. Thank God for the welcome we now have in his presence through the death of Jesus.
Closing prayer
Lord God, thank you that as Christ gave his life and the temple curtain was torn top to bottom, we were invited to come boldly into your presence to receive grace and mercy.
1 Ps 100:4 2 ‘Outer’ and ‘inner’ in vs 6, 7 are ‘first’ and ‘second’ in Greek 3 ‘tabernacle’ (v. 8) is the same word in Greek as ‘tent’ 4 Mark 15:38
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