Bible Study

Hello, everyone. Welcome to our weekly Bible study. As you probably know, if you've been following us along every other week, we're in the book of Hebrews right now. I'd like to say hello to those who are here, but also those on the webcast. We've even invited some of our readers and viewers to watch this Bible study every other week, too. If any of you are out there watching, welcome as well. Tonight, we'll be looking at Hebrews 8 and 9.

I'm here Peter Eddington with Darris McNeely. Before we start tonight, let me ask God's blessing upon the study, and then we'll get underway. If you bow your heads, please. Our great God and Almighty Father in Heaven, Father, we pause before Your throne here midweek, excited about the opportunity to study in depth a passage from Your Word. We thank You for Your Word that You've left for us. It gives us the guidelines for life, but also outlines Your plan of salvation. Great God, we pray for Your Kingdom to come. We pray for peace on earth. We pray, Father, for the time when all of mankind will understand Your plan and be offered salvation and understand the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is much of what is in the study tonight as we go through the book of Hebrews.

So, Father, we pray for Your inspiration and guidance upon Darris and I. We pray for Your blessing to be with us and for Your Holy Spirit to be upon us. We ask this and thank You for the opportunity in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. So, now I'll turn it over to Mr. McNeely. So, Darris, if you'd like to go ahead and begin with Hebrews 8. We're going to go about an hour tonight, maybe just a few minutes over. Just nearly to Hebrews 8 and I'll start into 9. So, go ahead and begin it. Alright, thank you very much, Peter. Good afternoon, good evening, everyone. Again, my greetings to everyone here and also those who are listening in on the webcam wherever you may be and those who will be listening in later on as this certainly will be posted to the web immediately afterwards.

We are going to mention, as Peter mentioned tonight, cover chapter 8 in the book of Hebrews tonight and part of chapter 9. And in looking at it, this part we are covering tonight, we are really at kind of the heart of the book and a section that begins back in chapter 7 with Hebrews and the subject of Christ as the high priest.

And chapter 8 and 9 really get into the heart of it, flows over again into chapter 10. But it seems as if the book is built to this point and what is in the verses that we'll talk about here tonight, there is the heart of the book which in and of itself, the book of Hebrews is a very, very significant book in the New Testament.

It is different from the other epistles and from the Gospels and the general epistles that are there. It is one book that doesn't have a name on it in terms of the author, but the content of the book is very, very dense in a way that's really kind of joyful. There's a note of joy, I think, that goes throughout the book of Hebrews as it touches upon the subjects relating to Christ and the Father and the role that Jesus Christ plays today. And I think it comes to a head right here in chapter 8.

So if you go ahead and turn over your Bibles to Hebrews 8, we will begin to talk about this here tonight. And let's look at verse 1, where the writer says, now this is the main point of the things we are saying. The main point. That's why I said it seems to come to a head at this point because he starts the chapter by saying, this is the main point, as if this is everything.

This is all that needs to be discussed. Other translations will look at this verse and they will say that this is the chief point. Or the word commentary says this is the crowning affirmation right here that he's going to get into. And it's really a carryover from chapter 7.

Because in chapter 7 of the book, he's already introduced the concept of the priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood, the changeover, and how Christ is a more perfect priest in that sense. And he's beginning to talk about the role of Jesus Christ as our high priest. And he gets down and he makes this as the main point. So if we were to kind of look at this as a diagram, we see a main point that is being made and it is Christ as the high priest.

That's what we are talking about in this chapter right here, the high priest. He says, We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. The heavens, as he refers to here, is just basically referring to the dwelling place of God. We don't have any further delineation of the heavens that exist, the first heaven, the second heaven, or the third heaven in here, but it's really talking about the place where God dwells. And he is such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. And for this picture and this image to be painted of Christ as the high priest, you see it in a sense in the same image that the deacon Stephen had in the book of Acts.

When Stephen gave this very spirited defense at the beginning, actually his debut sermon, which as it turns out in the book of Acts was his last sermon because he was stoned, if you remember the story of Stephen. But as he was coming to the end of his sermon there, he had this vision of the heavens being opened and Christ at the right hand of the Father. And he saw that vision which encouraged him at that moment as he was being stoned and he was ending his life. He was granted that unique vision. And the author of Hebrews brings that back in here with Christ being seated at the right hand of the Father of the throne of the majesty in the heavens.

And there he is set down in a place of highest honor. The right hand, whoever, several references in the Scriptures talk about the apostles wanting to set at Christ's right hand in the kingdom. And so that is the place of honor. Even to this day at a banquet or in a seating arrangement of dignitaries, the right hand is the place of honor. Christ is at the seat of honor of the whole universe in that sense. And it says, he is a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected and not man.

And so he is seated at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens and in a place of honor as a high priest. Now, here he begins to talk about the tabernacle, the true tabernacle, which God erected and not man. When you read in the Bible about a tabernacle, you're reading about the place where God placed Himself, His whole presence within the Old Testament. The tabernacle at first was a temporary dwelling place that was set up in the wilderness under some very meticulous directions given to Moses and carted around with the Israelites during the wonderings, later put into a place called Shiloh in a permanent location.

And then David later brought it into Jerusalem and desired to place that into a more permanent fixture of a temple, but was not allowed by God to do so. It was his son Solomon who did that. And Solomon eventually erected a tabernacle, a permanent temple. And that tabernacle, the remnant of it, essentially embodied by the Ark of the Covenant, was placed within the Holy of Holies of that temple.

But the meticulous plans that God first gave to Moses, later to Solomon in the building of that temple, in a sense is said to be right here, something built on a pattern of something that God erected and not man. And whatever man built, whatever man put together, was something completely a shadow of what is in the heavens. But that's to come later in the passage here.

In verse 3, he says, every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, that this one, both gifts and sacrifices. Every priest within the temple structure that was set up, the Levitical structure, there was a priesthood patterned after the family of Levi, those individuals were the priests. The family of Aaron supplied the high priest, and only a descendant of Aaron could be a high priest. And a high priest had to offer both gifts and sacrifices. He had to do that for himself. And this is one of the matters here that is important to note at this point as it is contrasted with Christ as the high priest. Every human high priest had to offer a sacrifice for himself before he could make a sacrifice for the good of the entire people. That's particularly so on the Day of Atonement. We find that in Leviticus 16.

But a high priest was human, and a high priest was fallible. He was not perfect. And he had to first make an offering for himself so that his sins were forgiven within that structure of that system. And then he could go into the sacrificial mode for the sins of the people. And that's the way it was set up. And that's the point that is being made here in verse 3. Therefore, going on, he says, it is necessary that this one, speaking of Christ, also have something to offer.

Christ had to have something to offer to for himself. What was it? Was it a lamb? Was it a goat? Was it some other meal sacrifice? What exactly was it that he had to offer for himself?

Verse 4 says, for if he were on earth, he would not be a priest since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law. That's the Levitical priesthood, the Aaronic priesthood in the office of the high priest. Christ had to offer something else. What he offered was his life. He was the perfect offering. What Christ offered was himself, his life. That was the perfect offering.

That's something no high priest could offer for himself. No other Levitical priests could offer for himself as well. But the point is moot because in verse 4 it says, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest since there were priests who offer the gifts according to the law. He would not have been a priest on this earth. Why would Jesus have not been a priest on the earth?

It's very simple. He was of the tribe of Judah. And no one from the tribe of Judah participated within the priesthood. And so Jesus Christ, in his earthly former of service, would not have been and did not function in the role of a priest.

But chapter 7 has already covered that as being shown to be transferred to the priesthood of Melchizedek. And he didn't offer any gifts at that particular time. Verse 5 shows that they who serve the copy and the shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. So again, Moses was given instruction by God as to the dimensions and materials, exactly how it would be set up, what would be within that tabernacle. This is all covered back in the book of Exodus, down to minute detail as to what that system was to look like. And it was divine instructions. One of the best books probably ever put together that describes that whole system is a book called The Law of the Offerings by Andrew Jukes. I could put that up here, I suppose. It's a classic book, still in print. And it goes into minute detail about all of this by Jukes to describe exactly what this whole system was all about and how it was patterned after the things that were of God. It says here, for he said, See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. Moses did that. And that was all a pattern of something that was of a heavenly matter. It's interesting to look at this when you read through some of the commentaries that comment on this part of chapter 8 and that whole system. They always invariably all of them go back to talk about certain thoughts from the Greek philosophers, particularly Plato, who had certain ideas about a shadow world and how this life, this physical existence, was merely a shadow of something else. And it's true that that's what the Greeks talked about in great detail. And yet, the Bible talks about it in the sense of the tabernacle being a pattern or a shadow of something in the heavens that is there by God.

And sometimes the deduction that is drawn by certain commentators is that the Hebrews or the Jews were influenced by Greek thought. It's rare when you see anybody speculating that it might have gone the other way, that the Greeks were actually influenced by Israel and some of their thoughts.

And that's a line of thought that's not often looked into and taken into account. But I would suppose that that could be a very, very real likelihood for a number of reasons. Just because Greek philosophers had an idea of this world being a shadow of something spiritual doesn't mean that Israel adopted that from them. It could have just as easily been the other way around.

When you understand what the Bible is talking about in the detail that the priesthood, the tabernacle, and that entire system was patterned after, you will see very quickly that it is a far cry from anything that any Greek philosopher ever imagined about as an explanation for the physical world as opposed to a spiritual dimension. What God reveals in Scripture is far more detailed, far more logical, and certainly far more satisfying in the long run than anything that is put together by Greek philosophy. But Moses was given a pattern, and he was shown to do that, which he did. Verse 6 tells us that he has obtained a more excellent ministry in as much as he is also a mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better principles.

We have this introduction, then, of the idea of a better covenant.

And here is this put not in opposition, but in contrast to the covenant that was the Levitical covenant or that time of Moses that can be called the Old Covenant as opposed to something that is a better covenant based upon better promises. This is what Christ has obtained and brought together. And this is where, then, the line of thought begins to flow into verse 7, which gets us to the real, again, keeps us focused upon the main point of why Christ is this high priest and the position that he has seated at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens and this important point. Let's go on into verse 7. As he says about that first covenant, if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

All right? So we have the contrast of a covenant. This is being really a second covenant as opposed to the first covenant that had something that was lacking. But verse 8 tells us exactly what was lacking in that covenant, and that's the critical thing. It was not by itself the covenant or even the terms of the covenant. Finding fault, it says in verse 8 with them, he says, The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The fault of the covenant was found with them.

Them being the people. The problem was with the people. And that's readily seen back in the book of Exodus when you see the covenant being ratified between God and Israel and Mount Sinai. In chapters 21, 22, 23, 24 of Exodus, you find that covenant laid out and the people agreed to it. God says, I will be your God, you will be my people. They agreed to it. And then within just a very short time, they began to break that covenant because you have the story of the golden calf with Moses being up on Mount Sinai. The fault was not in the covenant. The fault was with them. And the inability to actually follow through on all of the terms of that covenant, which he's going to go on to begin to show what is really at the heart of that. In verse 8, he says, 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. Both houses of what eventually became the two nations of Israel, Israel and Judah, after the death of Solomon when the nation split, this covenant is promised to be made with their descendants in a future time. I will make a covenant with them. And he's quoting from Jeremiah 31. This is where the writer brings it together from the very famous passage in Jeremiah 31 that first speaks to it as the only place in the Old Testament where this new covenant is promised. This is now brought into the story flow here of Hebrews. Verse 9 says, Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, and today, 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. That was a different covenant. It was made with promises that did not also include certain promises made in the new covenant. The old covenant did not have the promise of eternal life. It did have the promise of blessing. It did have the promise of national greatness. It did have the promise of God's guiding hand in their lives in many ways, but it never had the promise of either God's Spirit or the promise of eternal life, just to name two features, and the lack of God's Spirit was a prominent one right there.

Verse 10 gets back to this. He says, For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. This is the covenant, and this is a different covenant, and it will be made with the entire house of Israel as a united people that, even at the time of the writing of the book of Hebrews, did not exist. The only recognizable remnant of the entire house of Israel was the tribe of Judah in the nation of Judah at the time of the first century. The other tribes had long since been scattered, having lost their identity, and were no longer a nation. This covenant, even at the time of Jeremiah and now in the first century, and as it applies to today, is a promise that extends into the future.

And from other writings that we know, particularly Paul's in Romans, chapters 9, 10, and 11, we know that the promise is not just to Israel, but it is also to those who would be grafted upon that stop. And that is speaking of all nations, all Gentiles. And so, when you put all of the Scriptures together, this new covenant that is described here that is going to be made will be specifically with the house of Israel, but Paul's writings also show us that it is going to be with Gentiles and all nations ultimately. But it is going to be a better covenant with better promises. And it goes on to say here that, after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Now, if we can say that the main point is Christ as our High Priest, perhaps we could take a little bit of license and show that what is said here in verse 10 is the main point and the heart and core of this covenant and what is promised and why it is a better covenant with better promises. Because God says, I will write my law upon their heart, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. That, perhaps, is the one element that was not done under the other covenant. And that's why there was fault with them, as it says, or with the people. Because God's law was not written upon the heart. Where was God's law written under in the Old Covenant? So two tablets of stone. And those two tablets of stone that Moses brought down from Sinai were placed within the Ark of the Covenant, along with a few other items, we're told. And that's where it was. Now, that's not that it didn't have application and benefit for anyone who followed those laws even under the Old Covenant. That's not the point.

But it is to contrast with what is said here that instead of tablets of stone under the different, better covenant that God sent promises to Israel and to all nations, that law, which is God's holy, righteous law that Paul later described in Hebrews as holy, just, and good.

Keep in mind, a spiritual law. Paul also talked about in the book of Romans, he said that he talked about the righteous requirement of the law. There's a righteous requirement of the law.

And that is the spiritual intent of the law, which in part is described right here in verse 10, being fulfilled by that law being written on our hearts.

So that's where we are. I said, okay, I have to put one up here. Kendra will understand what that means. So I'm working on getting okay out of my vocabulary. So I don't know anybody, any money as a result of that, though. Okay. That's two. I'm counting now.

I can see my pay being docked on this one.

I will put my laws in their mind and write their laws on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And none of them shall teach his neighbor, verse 11, 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." And their lawless deeds, he said, I will remember no more.

God promises mercy and forgiveness. Now, you cannot say that mercy and forgiveness was not made possible under the old cup. That was part of the sacrificial system. And there was mercy and forgiveness. Later in the book of Hebrews, it's going to show that even at that, none of those animal sacrifices cleansed the conscience, which is another key part we will not be able to get into tonight. Some future presentation will have to hit that very important part right there, that the cleansing of one's conscience of guilt and the stain that is there because of sin is also another feature of the Spirit of God and the actual role of Jesus Christ as High Priest that is made possible. But under the terms of this new covenant that ultimately is going to be extended into all people, the truth of knowing the Lord and all knowing me from the least to the greatest is a promise that is even beyond our own time today. That people will know and understand God once the veil of deception has been lifted that's been put there by Satan, who is the great deceiver of all the world, but that's for a future time. And so in that verse 13, he says, a new covenant he has made the first obsolete. Now that, now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away, which it was at the time of the writing of Hebrews that was vanishing in that entire system. Even though from the time of Christ's death, his sacrifices, his resurrection, the need for any of that was finished, the temple still stood, there were still sacrifices, and for those at the time of the writing of Hebrews, it was becoming obsolete, it was ready to vanish, and soon afterwards it eventually did. But the reality is that with the death of Christ and His resurrection, that covenant relationship was already in place. And that's what we read about in the book of Acts especially as God's Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost to the people there. And then the church began to grow and a spiritual organism began to develop, as the book of Acts tells us there. So this brings us down to the end of the chapter, but to recap, if you come back again to what it says in verse 1, the main point. And the very fact that this better covenant, based on better promises, could even be made possible is because of this very fact right here, that Jesus Christ is the high priest seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. And with that, if you will, as the main point and the central focus of perhaps even the entire message of the book of Hebrews planted in a sense right here in the middle of the book and everything kind of revolving around that, you begin to understand, you have the basis to understand why the new covenant can be something that is written upon the hearts. Because that is a spiritual relationship. That is a spiritual matter, God's spiritual law being written by His Holy Spirit upon the heart of anyone who is a believer, who yields themselves in sacrifice and obedience to Jesus Christ as their high priest.

What is it that we say to a convert as we are binding them into the spiritual body of Christ through the act of baptism? One of the things that we always say to them when they're in that pool of water about to be immersed in baptism, we ask them if they've accepted Jesus Christ as their high priest, among other things. But we ask that question because that's at the heart of the beginning of this process of the law being written upon our hearts. We must understand the role of Jesus Christ as our high priest. Because what he did, as Peter will show when he gets into chapter 9 here about Christ entering with His blood into the Holy Place, when Christ was accepted as the wave sheaf offering and He entered the Most Holy Place and sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, that began the process by which anyone from that point forward could then become or have a part of this covenant and this relationship in God's law written upon our hearts. And that's the better promise. That's why it's a better covenant because of this very fact right here. And that makes it possible then not only the forgiveness of our sins, but a life of righteousness. Because the resurrected Jesus Christ accepted as the wave sheaf offering and His blood making atonement for all sins once for all times.

And through that process as our intercessor, our high priest, our mediator, once we make confession, once we desire to move away from and put out sin from our life, that's made even possible because we have Christ as our intercessor. And when we go to God in prayer and we begin to wrestle in a sense with Jesus Christ as our high priest and wrestle in a spiritual sense, asking forgiveness, asking for help, all of that is part of that process of that law and that way of life being written upon our hearts. That's why it's a better covenant with better promises. That's why it's the main point, the crowning achievement of this whole process that we're talking about in the midst of a very, very important section of the Bible.

That in a nutshell is chapter 8 of Hebrews. Peter's going to pick up with chapter 9 and go from there and cover a few verses to fill in a bit more of the detail around what we've talked about here. Okay. Thank you, Darris. So chapter 8 expounded upon the new covenant, the better covenant, and now chapter 9 goes back and reminds us of some of the symbolism of the Old Covenant.

As we get into chapter 9, you'll see that the first half of the chapter is about the tabernacle that Darris was referring to and the holiest place in the tabernacle. And then the second half of chapter 9 is about our new high priest again and the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

And what I hope to cover here tonight in chapter 9 is the first half, which is the part about the tabernacle. Let's read verse 1 of chapter 9, where the writer, who I believe appears to be the apostle Paul, said, then indeed even the first covenant, so now he's going back, had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.

The first covenant is what we have come to know as the Old Covenant, and now in God's church we're under the New Covenant. The earthly sanctuary, mentioned here in verse 1, is being contrasted with the true sanctuary or the true tabernacle. You may recall Darris mentioning verse 2 of chapter 8. Verse 2 of chapter 8 said, the true tabernacle which the law directed and not man.

Chapter 9 said, the writer says, I'm not talking about the true tabernacle now, I'm talking about the earthly tabernacle, the earthly sanctuary, the one that was made with men's hands.

And here, the ordinances of divine service that are mentioned, the ordinances of worship.

What we're about to read about are the things that God wanted included in worship of him under the earthly sanctuary under the Old Covenant. And if you want to go back and read about the earthly sanctuary or the tabernacle in more detail, it's mostly described in Exodus chapters 25, 26, and 27. We can go back to Exodus 25 through 27. But the earthly sanctuary is in contrast to the heavenly sanctuary which is God's abode. So Hebrews 9, now as we move forward, recounts the key elements of that tabernacle, of that earthly structure. But then, as we'll see, we are once again pointed to our new high priest.

And a new high priest accomplishes infinitely more for us than did the high priests of old, beginning with Aaron. Verse 2, for a tabernacle was prepared, the first part in which was the lamb stand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary. Now what I have here for you today is a handout, and I hope I have enough copies for everybody here. But maybe, Eileen, could you grab this and pass this out, please? And make sure everybody gets a copy. I made a larger version that I can put up on the board here. I'll just go ahead and erase those two.

Make some room for a few notes.

Yeah, very, very good, Daris, actually, but we're going to replace it now with the earthly stuff here. Just while that's being handed out. And I do have a copy being shown on the webcast as well.

The top one, or the first one I've got here on the board, which is showing an overview of the whole tabernacle complex, is from Logos Bible Software. It's copyrighted by Logos Bible Software. And this one here, the tabernacle tent, which is a close-up of the tent, is copyrighted from Crossway Bibles. So if you want to get a copy of these, go to their websites at Logos Bible Software or at Crossway Bibles, and go ahead and download your own copy, especially those are on the webcast. We do have a low-res version that we're showing on the webcast.

But the one that says the tabernacle is an overview of the entire tabernacle complex. In the top right, you'll see an American football field for comparison. And then below that is how big the actual tabernacle area would have been, the whole court itself. And then, like I said, below is a close-up of the tent.

So then as we get into verse 2, what we see mentioned the lampstand, the table, and the showbread. And so, as you look at the close-up here of the tabernacle tent, you'll see a lampstand shown. And it consisted of a central shaft and then six side arms for a total of seven.

And each one had a bowl on the end, made in the shape of an almond, with a flower there on each branch. And then you'll see a table that has some bread on it in the graphic. And the showbread, or showbread, means literally the setting forth of the loaves, or the loaves are set forth, or the show of the bread. So that table was put there to show the bread.

Then as we get into verse 3, we read, and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all. And so that's when we go here into the left side of the graphic, of holies, we call it, Hebrews calls it the holiest place of all.

This tabernacle structure was carried around the wilderness for 40 years by the Israelites as they conquered the land and as they paid the penalty for their grumbling for 40 years. The graphic from Bible Software's logo says, this portable temple was built in a wilderness by the Israelites around 1450 BC after they were freed from Egyptian slavery. The tabernacle was the first temple dedicated to God in the first resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. And so as we look inside, we see the Ark of the Covenant depicted as well behind the second curtain that led into the holiest place.

And so behind that second veil, verse 3, is the part of the tabernacle called the holiest of all. And as Darragh said, that area there came to represent the holiest part of heaven, which was God's throne. And as we'll see, not everybody was allowed to access that throne under the Old Covenant. Verse 4, talking of the holiest place, so the holiest of all, says, which had the golden censor and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that butted, and the tablets of the Covenant. The golden censor that was back in the Holy of Holies was only used on the Day of Atonement.

There were other censors for other days, but there was one reserve that could only be used on the Day of Atonement. And that's what's being referred to in verse 4. And it's associated with this holiest place and taken into there on the anniversary each year by the high priest and the Day of Atonement. What is the significance of the manna in a gold jar being placed inside the Ark of the Covenant? And Aaron's staff is rod that was also put in there with the Ten Commandments.

Aaron's budding rod occurred at the time of the Rebellion of Korah.

It's interesting to go back and read the story.

The budding rod was used to show who God was using as priest for the nation.

And it turned out to be Aaron and his sons, not any other family or tribe.

We can go to Numbers chapter 11. Actually, Numbers chapter 17.

And I'll just note for you, verses 1 through 10, just as a little bit of a history lesson here, about Aaron's rod that was put right there into the Ark of the Covenant. Of course, people today think they can search and try and find the Ark of the Covenant and maybe have some magical powers if they find it, but God has not allowed that to be so. Number 17. 1, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, this is right after the Rebellion of Korah, speak to the children of Israel and get from them a rod from each father's house. So each tribe, each leader of the household got to put forth a rod, or their leaders according to their father's houses, 12 rods. Write each man's name on his rod.

You shall write Aaron's name on the rod of Levi, for there shall be one rod for the head of each father's house or each tribe. Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before the testimony where I will meet with you, and it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom. Thus, I will rid myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you. And you remember what happened to Korah and his family before the Rebellion. They said, you know, we want to be in charge. Who put you in charge? So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod of peace for each leader according to their father's houses. 12 rods in the rod of Aaron was among the rods. Moses placed the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses were into the tabernacle, and behold, the rod of Aaron of the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel, and they looked, and each man took his rod, and the Lord said to Moses, bring Aaron's rod back before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from me, lest they die. I think if you read on further, a bunch of people said, oh no, I think we're going to die. This is really bad.

And so it was that rod that budded that showed that the tribe of Levi was to represent the priesthood of God, that was right here, putting the Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies, along with the Ten Commandments, the Two Tablets of Stone, and then the manna.

Manna was called the bread of the wilderness, which God gave to the children of Israel when they were going from Egypt to the promised land. Numbers 11, verses 7 through 8.

Just read a couple of those two verses for you. Moses said, now the manna was like coriander seed, it's color like the color of bdellium. People went about and gathered it, grounded on millstones or beat it into the mortar, cooked it in pans, made cakes of it. This taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. So that's a description of the manna from Numbers 11. The manna placed in the ark was to be a witness to later generations that God provided for His people in the wilderness.

God provided for His people in the wilderness.

Exodus 16, verse 32. Exodus 16, verse 32.

And I think through verse 33 says, this is the thing which the Lord has commanded. Philanoma, with it, with the manna, to be kept for your generations that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. And Moses said to Aaron, take a pot and put an oma of manna in it and lay it up before the Lord to be kept for your generations as the Lord commanded Moses. So Aaron laid it up before the testimony to be kept.

So Exodus 16 here talks about this bit of manna being kept as a reminder that God provides for His people. It was a reminder to them and to us that God takes care of His own and Israel was His people. Psalm 37, verse 25 is a passage in this regard. Psalm 37, verse 25.

The Psalmist says, I've been young and now I'm old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor His descendants begging for bread. God's people will not have to beg for bread, and that's the symbol of the manna. You know what Matthew 6.31 says?

Matthew 6.31, therefore do not worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink?

But seek first the kingdom of God, because God will provide for His own, just like He provided manna in the wilderness for 40 years for the Israelites. So that symbol was put into the Ark of the Covenant along with Aaron's rod that buttered. I might add that additionally, Aaron's rod or his staff represents protection and protection to those who are obedient to God.

Psalm 23, verse 4.

Yeas, though I walk to the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

So there's additional symbolism to the rod, not just showing who God was put in charge as far as the Levitical priesthood went, but that God was providing comfort and strength and protection symbolically through that rod. If we go into verse 5, and above it, above the Ark of the Covenant, with a caribbean of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat, and of these things we cannot now speak in detail. The mercy seat was the top of the Ark that was also covered in gold upon which the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled by the high priest on the David Tournament.

All of these symbols in the Holy of Holies, in the holiest place of all, were representative of God's throne. Even the caribbean overshadowing it.

All these elements show the attributes of love that God has for us, care, protection, comfort, and even bread that our Heavenly Father provides for all of us.

You notice here that the Rite of Hebrews says we cannot speak in detail.

And I think that what it means is, in addition to what we see there, in addition to what meets the eye, there are additional spiritual realities symbolized that would take a lot longer to describe here in Hebrews. And so the Rite of Hebrews says, I want to get onto a more important point now without spending any more time describing what's inside the tabernacle.

He said, I'm not going to speak about the details of this anymore, because he wants to get to another point here in verse 6. And when these things had thus been prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle performing the services. Well, the first part of the tabernacle was the front part of the tent, not going into the Holy of Holies.

And, of course, you had the whole court here of the tabernacle as well. And so that's where the sacrifices were made and held. But verse 6 says, the priests always went into this first part of the tabernacle performing the services. And by always, if you look back in the Old Testament, you'll see that they went into the tent, the tabernacle tent, at least twice a day.

And depending on if it was the Holy Day of Sabbath, they may go in there even more often with additional sacrifices. So at least twice a day, even on an off day, they went there to care for the morning and the evening sacrifices, the care of the evening lamps that had to be lit, and the offering of incense every day. Then verse 7, but then into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, and not without blood, which he offered for himself, as Dara said. He had to ask for his own sins to be forgiven before he could go in there, but also for the people's sins that may have even been committed in ignorance.

So the second part, as we've said, the Most Holy Place represented the throne of God, and only the high priest could go before the throne of God, and he could only do it once a year.

So it was Aaron, and then later the other high priests, that went into the Most Holy Place on one day a year, and was on the Day of Atonement. That says that he went in once a year.

What that means is that he went in on just one occasion a year, which was on the Day of Atonement, because he actually had to go in and out of it a couple of times to perform the rituals. In fact, he had to go in at least twice during that day to follow through on what had been prescribed.

But it just means on one occasion, which was the Day of Atonement, that he slipped in and out of the curtain a couple of times.

You notice that at the end of verse 7 it says, the blood had to be offered even for people that had committed sins in ignorance, or inadvertent errors. What we're seeing here is that ignorance of the law is no excuse.

And of course, ancient Israel should have known the law. They were carefully taught the law for many years. But even if they'd forgotten something, their ignorance was still culpable, still required a sacrifice and a penalty. Even if you do something wrong and didn't realize it, you still may have sinned, and a sacrifice is still required. So the high priest went in there, even just to cover the sins of people they may not have even known they'd done, committed ignorance.

And Leviticus 16, if you want to do some study, talks a lot more about this ritual undertaken by the high priest on the day of atonement and the killing of the animals that went along with those sacrifices. We read Exodus 30 verse 10, just one verse. Exodus 30 verse 10, And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns, that's the horns of the altar, once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement, once a year he shall make atonement upon it through your generations, it is most holy to the Lord. It's in verse 10 of Exodus chapter 30.

If we move on to verse 8, the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

So what does that mean? It means that while this whole complex was still being used, which later even became more permanent with Solomon's temple, as Daris mentioned, and then the temple that Herod restored in Jerusalem, Herod's temple, became known as, as long as this earthly tabernacle was still in place.

The Levitical system was still in effect. It wasn't until Jesus Christ's sacrifice, and that this was then done away with, that the Holy Spirit made it possible for more than just the high priest to enter the Holy of Holies. Direct access to the throne of God by anyone but the high priest was not yet made manifest.

That's what verse 8 says. Verse 9, it was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience. So verse 9 is saying, actually, the blood of bulls and goats and these gifts and sacrifices didn't actually purge your conscience. Until 70 AD, when the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, there was some crossover, where new Christians learned that Jesus Christ was now the Lamb of God, he was now their sacrifice, and that the Levitical system of animal sacrifices and rituals was no longer in effect. So the temple was there for a short time before it was actually destroyed, and the animal sacrifices were stopped.

The new covenant with Jesus Christ can clear your conscience, something the sacrifices of old could never do. That's what verse 9 is saying. Those services that were performed could not make you guiltless as far as your conscience went, or before God. Verse 10, concerned only with food and drinks, various washings and fleshly ordinances, imposed until the time of Reformation.

So what are listed here in verses 9 and 10, all these sacrifices and gifts and foods and drinks and washings and ordinances, are the rituals and sacrifices that are no longer imposed upon us because of the Reformation that took place when Jesus Christ's blood was shed.

So this is a detailed explanation here in Hebrews of how the old tabernacle, the earthly tabernacle, became replaced by the heavenly.

The sacrificial system, the sacrificial type, is now superseded by the reality of Jesus' shed blood. The type is now superseded by the reality. The reality of what? Verse 11. The reality that Christ came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is not of this creation. It's kind of a throwback then to chapter 8, verse 2 again. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

The presence of God remained shielded from man behind a thick curtain here that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the holy tent. This front part was considered a holy place.

Behind the veil was the holiest of all.

God was...or mankind was shielded from God by that second curtain. However, Jesus' sacrificial death changed that. When He died, you remember that the curtain in the temple in Jerusalem was torn in two from top to bottom, something that only could be done supernaturally. The Jerusalem temple was a much larger replica of this. It had a Holy of Holies as well, but it was, like I said, much larger. The curtain in the Jerusalem temple was 60 feet high.

What's the ceiling in here? 10 feet? 60 feet high, 30 feet wide. They said the curtain was four inches thick with fabric. That was supernaturally torn down and ripped in two.

As the veil was torn, and you can imagine it here if this was taken down, the Holy of Holies would have been revealed to everybody, and it would have been a shock to those who knew they were supposed to protect that place.

But it was a very huge symbolic event that took place when Jesus Christ drew His last breath.

The age of animal sacrifices was over. The ultimate offering had been sacrificed.

And we can now walk right through there, symbolically, into the Holy of Holies, which means we can now approach God's throne of grace anytime we wish.

We prayed this evening before the study, asking for God's presence here at the study. That wasn't possible for just anybody to do when that veil was in place in times past. Let me conclude by reading two passages from Hebrews, one that was covered last Bible study and one that will probably be covered next Bible study. Hebrews 6 verses 19 and 20.

Let me just note these for you. Hebrews 6, I think it's a good place to end the study tonight. Hebrews 6, 19 and 20.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

And that's the central point that Daris is talking about earlier tonight. Then Hebrews 10. Let's go ahead to Hebrews 10 verses 19 through 22.

Therefore, brethren, and so that's addressed to us, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

That's why we're told to boldly come before the throne of grace.

Having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way, which He consecrated for us through the veil, that is His flesh, which He sacrificed. And having a high priest over the house of God is a high priest over the church.

Jesus Christ is our elder brother and a high priest. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. And that's a very inspiring place to conclude, I believe.

It's the Holy Spirit that washes us clean and makes us possible.

So, some symbolism here tonight with how the old tabernacle was carted around the wilderness for 40 years and even used for longer after that, until a permanent temple was established by King Solomon. But this is earthly. We have now moved to the spiritual tabernacle and can approach God's throne of grace through the Holy of Holies. That curtain is gone now, and Christ is the central theme, really, of the book of Hebrews, which is what we've been talking about here tonight. Any comments, Darius, as we conclude?

No, I think that's a pretty good summation, because I think so.

It's a beautiful section of Scripture to contrast what was and why it was, and as it has been superseded fully with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Can't end with any better words, probably, than what chapter 8 and verse 1 says, and that is this is the main point.

Get the point? Good. That's it, right there. All right. Well, thank you for joining us tonight, everybody. We hope it's been helpful and maybe enlightened you a little bit more on the Scriptures. We look forward to seeing you again. Is it in two weeks, Mr. Myers? Are we up at two weeks' time again?

July 10th. So we'll see you again then. So thanks very much for your kind attention.