Last week we looked at Hebrews chapter 8 which was a review of chapters 5,6, and 7.

Chapter 8 drives home these very important truths about Christ.

First: He is a better High Priest because He was appointed by The Father.

Second: We live under a better covenant based on better promises because He performed a better sacrifice.

Third: We have better relationship because He has written His law on our minds, and hearts.

Our scripture reading this morning looks at the tabernacle according to the pattern given to Moses.  This pattern was mentioned in Hebrews 8:5.

Starting in chapter 9 verse 1 through  chapter 10 verse 18 we will be looking at the details of how Christ’s offering is better than the offerings made under the old covenant.

Hebrews 9:1-10 describes the pattern given to Moses.

One of the things that stands out in this description is that there is a veil between the holy place and the holy of holies.

The holy of holies is where God manifest his presence and it was this place that was separated from the rest of Israel.

The priests went into the holy place to perform their offerings but only once a year was the high priest able to go into the holy of holies.

So even though the priests were offering sacrifices throughout the year and the high priest offered a sacrifice for his sins and that of the nation of Israel once a year on the day of atonement, God was still separated from them because all of these sacrifices were ineffectual and could not cleanse anyone from their sins.

Hebrews 9:8-10 say it this way.

8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, 9 which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, 10 since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.^[1]

Hebrews 9:1 through 10:18 gives three reasons why Christ’s offering is superior to that of the Old Testament high priest.

These three reasons are 1 the place of the offering was in heaven rather than on Earth, 2 the blood of the offering was Christ’s rather than the blood of animals, and 3 the offering of the Heavenly High Priest was eternal and only needed to be done once where the offerings of the Old Testament priests were being continuously performed.

I am going to deal with these three reasons as separate messages.

Today's message will be Christ offering was better because it was in a better place which is the Heavenly Tabernacle.  We will continue this series with a better substance which is the Blood of Christ, and a better Priest which is Jesus our Heavenly High Priest.  

Hebrews 9:11

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;^[2]

This is in stark contrast to what was described in Hebrews 9:2-5.

2 For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. 3 Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, 4 having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; 5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

Notice the author of Hebrews does not give any physical description of the Heavenly Tabernacle.

In fact the closest we come to any description of this is in Isaiah’s vision as he described it in Isaiah 6:1-5

Isaiah 6:1-5

1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,

The whole earth is full of His glory.”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

5 Then I said,

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I live among a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”^[3]

This is the place Jesus presented His blood as a sacrifice for our sins.

This is a place so holy that when Isaiah got a glimpse of it he reacted by saying woe is me for I am ruined, or as the King James Bible puts it Woe is me! for I am undone.

This is a place so holy that to even look on it was something that would make any sinner react the same way.  Isaiah would not have survived the experience If it were not for God’s grace in cleansing his lips with a live coal from the altar.

This is a place that will not tolerate any sin because it is in the direct presence of The Father.

This is the place where The Father invited Jesus to sit at His right hand.

And this is the place where we come before God in prayer.

Skipping down to 9:21-25 we see that the Heavenly Tabernacle is not like the old testament tabernacle which needed to be cleansed with the blood of animals.

Hebrews 9:21-25

23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. ^[4]

Hebrews 10:11-17

11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”
He then says,

17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.”

This Heavenly Tabernacle where Jesus presented His sacrifice is the very throne room of God.  This is where He sits waiting for His enemies to be made a footstool for His feet.

This speaks of a judgement that is coming for His enemies, but God continues with the promise that He would put His laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds.

This is actually a repetition of the promise quoted in Hebrews chapter 8.

This quotation comes from Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Remember Jeremiah was called to preach judgement on Israel for their idolatry.

Even though God called Jeremiah to preach to Israel of the coming judgement,   He also told him to include these promises to give them hope for the future.

This hope was fulfilled when Jesus came to preach the good news that His kingdom had arrived.

When Jesus went to the Heavenly Tabernacle to offer His sacrifice He made the way for the Holy Spirit to be His laws written on our hearts.

John 16:5-7

5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.^[5]

Back when the priests were performing the old testament sacrifices the location of the temple was a very important component of their worship.

When Jesus confronted the woman at the well she asked Him about this very important issue.

John 4:15-24

15 The woman *said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” 16 He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” 19 The woman *said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”^[6]

When Jesus answered this question He did not equivocate.  He told her straight out you don’t know what you are worshiping. We do because salvation comes from the Jews.  He then continues by telling her that the time is coming and now is when true worship will not be on this mountain, or in Jerusalem.

When we worship The Lord it is not at this church, or any earthly location.

When we worship The Lord in spirit and truth we are coming before Him in the Holy Tabernacle.

When we pray;  when we worship in spirit and truth our eyes may see the outward trappings of a church building, but our spirits are in communion with Him, and we are in His presence in the Heavenly Holy of Holies.

The location of this Holy Tabernacle should inform our prayer lives.

All the time I have been working on this message there has been this question at the back of my mind.  

That question is this is nice to know but how does this affect me.

Is this something I can use to impress my friends with, or maybe win a Bible trivia challenge with?

As I kept thinking on these questions one word kept coming to mind.

That word is reverence.  You may say that’s such an old fashioned word.

Nobody uses that word any more.

Actually I was reminded of this word recently because it is the 12th point of the Scout Law.

Scout Law

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

The Webster’s dictionary defines reverence this way

“honor or respect that is felt for or shown to (someone or something)”^[7]

This is how we might think of this word today but it is not what the Bible means by reverence.

What was Isaiah’s reaction when he saw The Lord in the temple.

It was fear.  The root understanding of the words translated contain the idea of fear.

Solomon reminds us in Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.^[8]

Paul reminds us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

It’s not like if we do one little thing wrong God will strike us down.

He loves us.  He went to great lengths to redeem us.

Ask yourself this when all is said and done do you want The Lord looking at you with disappointment in His eyes?

When we come before The Lord in His Heavenly Tabernacle are we just going through the motions?

When we worship The lord we must remind ourselves we are standing on holy ground because we are standing before Him in His Holy Tabernacle.