#5
“The Tabernacle”
Series
"THE HOLY OF HOLIES!"
TEXTS: Heb.
9:1-15; 10:1-25 (supporting texts from the
Gospels)
INTRO: There is no
place where we run into God more than in the final room of the tabernacle! This room was called the HOLY OF HOLIES
because in it was found the very presence of God Himself! It was the place of God's dwelling under
the Old Covenant ... and so the room held great awe and fear; the people felt a
sense of marvel towards it. Only
the High Priest was allowed to enter this room and then only once a year, and if
any sin was in his heart he would be killed on the spot! During certain reigns they had learned to
put bells around the ankle of the High Priest and to even tie a rope around him
in case he died when he entered they would remove his body by pulling it
out! If they suddenly heard the
bells stop they knew he had died in the presence of the Lord and they pulled his
body out! The people would hold
their breath to see if the High Priest returned from the Holy of Holies some
years.
While
the outer court represented the believer's separation from the world, and the
Holy Place represented the place of fellowship with God ... this room called the
Holy of Holies represented the place of Worship! This room was veiled off by a thick
curtain under the Old Covenant, it was torn in two in the great earthquake when
Jesus died inaugurating the New Covenant, now through Christ the room is open
for all, not restricted to one!
This
room was a perfect cube 15' by 15' by 15' ... one room with 3 equal dimensions,
perhaps a symbol of the Trinity of God.
The room was blocked by a large veil or curtain. Since the golden altar was placed
directly in front of this curtain it was often considered as part of the
furniture of the Holy of Holies though it stood in the Holy Place. To enter you had to be the right
person, at the right time, and in the right way, or death
resulted.
In
Christ we now can enter anytime as the right people, always the right time, and
with our sins washed away by Christ we can enter always in the right way ... the
result; LIFE, not death!
PROP. SENT:
The Bible teaches us through the
Holy of Holies that through Christ we now have access to God; the way is open to
those who come through Christ our High Priest!
I. THE ARK OF THE COVENANT Heb. 9:1-5; 10:20
A. Heavenly
Provision! Heb. 9:4; Jn. 6:28-35a
1. One of the 3 items within this ark
was a gold jar full of the manna Israel had during their desert
wanderings.
a. The gold again was the symbol of
deity ... Jesus.
b. The manna was the heavenly bread
... again Jesus!
2. The unique feature of this sample
of manna was that it never spoiled ... as long as it remained a part of the ark
it was fresh forever! It was
EVERLASTING BREAD!
a. The symbol of Jesus here is
powerful ... HE IS THE EVERLASTING BREAD OF LIFE!
b. This bread symbolized God's
heavenly provision for their life!
3. This ark was a symbol of LIFE to
God's people, but when treated improperly it was an ark of death ... like the
time the Philistines possessed the ark, they began to die from tumors ... so
much death resulted that they gave it back to Israel!
a. It was life to those who respected
it and handled it properly ... death to those who misused
it!
b. God had provided for them
everlasting bread ... now fulfilled in Christ!
c. In John
6:28-35a Jesus is called the "BREAD OF LIFE."
B. Heavenly
Power! Heb. 9:4
1. The next item in the ark was a rod
that had buds, flowers, and ripened almonds on it ... the symbol of Aaron as
High Priest.
a. This symbol of the High
Priest having been chosen by God ... Jesus is the ultimate High Priest chosen by
God Himself for us.
b. The rod was the symbol of
God's authority as well as God's choice for High
Priest!
c. When Aaron's priesthood had
been challenged, Moses had been given instructions by God to have all those
who thought they were to be the High Priest (1 from each tribe) bring a rod and
the rod that budded and had fruit on it would be the one God had chosen ... it
had been Aaron’s rod that budded ... and this was placed in the ark as a
constant reminder that God chooses His servants ... ultimately His ONE servant
Jesus!
d. Heb.
2. Like this rod ... He appeared to be
at first a dead stick suddenly brought to life in a miraculous manner ... always
having fresh buds and ripe fruit on it, like the manna, always
alive!
a. This is Jesus; though at the
cross He appeared dead He came alive again and is still alive bearing much
fruit
b. In John 15:5-8 we are also likened as dead branches,
but in Christ we are grafted into the vine which is Christ and alive we become
branches bearing fruit also!
C. Heavenly
Principles!
(Tablets - lO commandments) 9:4
1. The 3rd item which this ark had in
it was the 2 tablets of stone with God's laws written on them, the ones Moses
brought down the mountain!
a. These laws had been written
by God Himself ... not man!
b. Man will never be able to
improve upon these.
c. These were God's principles
of LIFE!
2. Any man who would keep these laws
would find life, these were God's eternal laws, His
Word.
3. Again we see Christ here who
fulfilled the law fully ... whose obedience to this law of God brought the gift
of life to us!
D. Heavenly
Pardon! (Mercy
seat) Heb. 9:5
1. The lid of the ark was called the
mercy seat ... this lid has great significant spiritual dynamics to
it!
a. It literally kept a lid on
God's judgment from pouring forth to anyone who looked into the ark to see the
contents ... anyone who did so without being Holy were
destroyed!
b. 1
Sam. 6:13-20 after the Philistines returned the ark to Israel some of the
Jews looked inside the ark to check out the items within ... when they lifted
off the lid they were immediately struck dead!
(1. Why? They had failed to apply the blood to the
mercy seat and so had negated the application of God's mercy; they thus felt the
impact of God's holiness without cleansing! Without God's mercy ... judgment
destroyed them!
(2. For us mere mortals without
making application of God's mercy the Holiness of God would bring destruction
and judgment ... thank God for the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat ... Jesus
Himself has done this so that we can freely partake of that mercy inside the ark
of safety!
c. Thus the mercy seat literally
kept a lid on God's judgment! This
seat was a constant reminder of God's love for us sinners ... a way to save us
by His great mercy ... the blood of Jesus having cleansed away the
judgment!
2. A pardon however of blood on the
mercy seat is no good if it is not accepted by us!
ILLUS: The
president of the United States has the power to pardon any criminal of their
sentence. During Andrew Jackson's
term in the white house a strange thing happened; A postal clerk by the name of
George Wilson had killed a guard while attempting to rob a federal payroll from
a train. He was convicted and
sentenced to death. Because of
public sentiment against capital punishment at the time ... and being George
Wilson's first offense, President Jackson intervened with a pardon ... then the
strange thing: Wilson refused the
pardon!! Since this had never
happened before, it went to the supreme court to rule on whether someone could
indeed refuse a presidential pardon! Chief Justice John Marshall handed down the
court's ruling: "A PARDON IS A PARCHMENT WHOSE ONLY VALUE MUST BE
DETERMINED BY THE RECEIVER OF THE PARDON IT HAS NO VALUE APART FROM THAT WHICH
THE RECEIVER GIVES IT." George
Wilson has refused to accept the PARDON; therefore, George Wilson must die! And so he was hanged! Declared "PARDONED" he refused to accept
the gift of life ... and so with us & Jesus! If the blood is not applied to the mercy
of seat ... the contents of God's ark of safety brings death; blood applied, it
brought life & blessing!
– SOURCE UNKNOWN
3. The two thus balanced each
other: The mercy of God provided a
lid to His judgment of sin & the sinner ... KEEP A LID ON
IT!
4. On this mercy seat were 2 other
creatures ... Cherubim!
a. They were the type of angels
that stood at the entrance to the Garden of Eden to keep Adam & Eve out
after they had sinned.
b. WHY? To keep them from eating of the TREE OF
LIFE and living eternally in a dammed condition!
c. They stood as guardians of
God's holiness ... and were thus a symbol of guarding man from damnation; they
were both warning symbols of the Holiness within, and protectors of man from
improperly entering and thus dieing!
5. They stood on this mercy seat
facing each other, God's messengers to us!
E. Heavenly
Passage! (The
veil) Heb. 10:20
1. This is what separated the Holy
Place from the Holy of Holies ... a curtain held up by 4
posts:
a. Perhaps symbolic of the 4
Gospels that upheld the life & work of Christ!
b. This curtain was unique ...
it had embroidered on it images of Cherubim according to Exodus 26:31-37.
c. Again this pointed to the
uniqueness of this room ... the place of God's very presence and the holiness
associated with it!
d. Their design reminded the
High Priest that within was the place of holiness, the place of worship! Their image was a reminder that they
were guardians of God's holiness, not man’s!
2. This veil was a constant reminder
to man that access to God was limited to a very careful plan, only the High
Priest could enter and only once a year, and in a very precise and careful way
with blood for the mercy seat!
3. In the Old Covenant this curtain
was a reminder of how removed we were from God's presence, lest we die in coming
with our sinfulness ... however, under the New Covenant in Jesus this access has
been made wide open!
a. In Matt. 27:50-53 we are told that when Jesus died the
veil in the Temple was rent in two ... from TOP to BOTTOM! Jesus the High Priest entered Heaven
(the Holy of Holies) with His own blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat of God ...
and when accepted by God the way was now open to all WHO COME IN CHRIST. The only proper way to enter now is in
Christ's holiness and this gives us instant access to God Himself! WHAT A BETTER COVENANT we live
under.
b. The veil ripping TOP TO
BOTTOM was unusual, God tore it from heaven to earth ... a symbol of His desire
to open the way ... God WANTS FELLOWSHIP WITH YOU!
II. THE ACTION OF THE COVENANT 9:6-10; 10:1-18
A. Humanity's Problem! (Old Covenant) 9:6-10; 10:1-10
1. The Mercy seat had to be constantly
sprinkled with blood ... the lid could not be removed thus the blood of bulls
and goats only COVERED up their sins for the moment, until the next time. Their sins thus were not removed from
their conscience, only covered for the moment! 9:9
a. The constant need for
repeated sacrifices showed a covenant that accented
"death."
b. The repetition reminded them
of the temporary nature of their sins covering!
ILLUS: Like
a leaky pipe ... you can replace the pipe or do what some of us "fix-it" genius'
do -- duct tape the pipe's leak!
Putting tape around the leak might work for while ... but you will need
to replace it constantly ... what is really needed is a master plumber who can
repair the leak by a new section of pipe!
The taped pipe even while temporarily working would leave you in constant
fear of it giving out ... the new pipe would give you assurance and peace of
mind! This is the difference in
this Old Covenant that spoke of death ... and the New Covenant in Christ which
speaks to us a better way of life!
– SOURCE UNKNOWN
2. The Old Covenant was only meant to
be a temporary fix for humanity's problems, only until the Master-Plumber would
come and repair the error!
3. Without Christ's blood applied to
your life death rules.
B. Heaven's
Peace! (New Covenant) Heb. 9:lOb;
1. In Christ our sins are not just
covered over, they are literally removed!
2. It was a "once for all sacrifice"
-- there is no repetition of sacrifice to remind us of the constant need to KEEP
covered our sins year to year!
3. They are removed in Christ once and
for all! We are free to be HOLY in
Christ ... and thus FREE to enter into God's very presence, even with
boldness!
a. We need not fear death when
we enter with Christ!
b. The cherubim will not keep us
out ... they will join us as we enter!
c. In this new covenant we are
free even from the GUILTY CONSCIENCE of sin! No more reminders of guilt by routine
sacrifices.
4. How much better the New
Covenant!
a. This new covenant didn't
destroy God's laws ... it fulfilled them, and opened them up for us to live in
power!
b. Fear is replaced by
Faith!
III. THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE COVENANT 9:11-15; 10:19-25
A. Heavenly
Passport!
10:19-25
1. There is nothing to stop us from
coming into the presence of God except 2 things:
a. Our own
will.
b. Our desire to ignore God's
pardon ... His sacrifice for us.
2. Access is gained by confession of
sin and acceptance of Christ.
3. We can leave our dead efforts of
righteousness behind ... and through Christ enter freely and holy ... eternal
life is at stake, COME ON IN!
B. Holiest
Place!
1. You don't have to wait until heaven
to get close to God ... the Holy of Holies is open right now, you can enjoy
fellowship with a real God in a real way, and experience His Holiness even on
this side of eternity!
2. Jesus quite literally left the door
open! Why stay on the outside in
darkness when you can enter in through Christ into the light of God's mercy and
salvation!
3. You don't have to wait until a
certain time of the year, now is the day of salvation!
4. What's keeping you from the Holy of
Holies and the presence of God?
a. Only if you cling to your
sins ... you thus cling to death.
b. Release those sins to Christ
who will not just cover them, He will remove them!
CONCLUSION: The Holy of Holies was the place of
worship before the very presence of God. Before it was sealed off from man, but
through Jesus the way is open for you to come. Have you come yet?