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Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 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. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 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. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

Hebrews 9:1-5

Chapter 9 opens with a brief description of the Old Testament Tabernacle and its contents which would have been quite familiar to the Jewish readers of this letter. As you can see, it is not the author’s purpose here to go into any great detail on this subject, for he is heading in a more important direction, however, I’ve included a chart that will compare the tabernacle contents with their New Testament counterparts:

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 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. 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. 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. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

Hebrews 9:6-10

Verses 6-7 continue with the author’s brief description of the scene in the tabernacle, culminating in the annual entrance of the high priest into the Most Holy Place; notice that he had an offering for his own sins, as well as for all of the people.  I point this out because it is a tell-tale sign that the ministry of Jesus is completely different than that of the Old Covenant priests, and should convey to us that Jesus is not, and will never be, an Old Covenant priest.

Verse 8 marks the point where the author shifts from his description of the tabernacle into his application of this information.  See the words “the Holy Spirit was showing by this…”?  The author is telling us that as long as the Old Covenant was in effect, the reality of Jesus was not yet in force.  Please take note that the opposite is also true: Now that Jesus has finished His work, the Old Covenant is no longer in effect, and never will be again. Why do I keep pointing this out?  Because millions of our dear brothers and sisters in Christ are looking forward to the day when the Old Covenant Temple is rebuilt, and the Old Covenant sacrificial system is once again practiced, with the understanding that Jesus Himself will one day be that high priest who enters the Most Holy Place… and that simply cannot be!

Look at the next verse: “This is an illustration for the present time…”  All of the things that went on in the Temple were illustrations, even the Temple itself was an illustration. An illustration represents the reality pictured, but an illustration is never the reality itself.  The gifts and offerings in the old Temple worship could never clear the conscience of the worshippers, because they could never take sin away, for in the final analysis, they only involve earthly things. Now pay careful attention to what he says next: external regulations applying until the time of the new order. These are very interesting “external regulations” for they have an expiration date.

Let’s think… these Temple ceremonies and sacrifices are meant to illustrate something. They illustrate an eternal truth that Man needs salvation from sin.  When that salvation was accomplished once for all time by Jesus on the cross, the illustration is no longer useful, but the truth they once illustrated remains: Man needs salvation from sin, only now, we have found it in the work of Jesus on the cross.

The illustration that was the Old Covenant is over because the eternal reality of what it illustrated has come to pass.

 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.

Hebrews 8:7-9; c.f. Jeremiah 31:31-32

Something was wrong with the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses. The prophet Jeremiah foretold of its end, and the author of Hebrews is telling us clearly and unambiguously that the end has come. So many Christian doctrinal traditions treat the New Covenant as little more than addendum to the Old; others add elements of the Old into the New almost on a whim― how clear does it need to be?  

This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

Hebrews 8:10-12; c.f. Jeremiah 31:33-34

This is the rest of the quotation from Jeremiah 31:31-34, note that he described features of the New Covenant that were never present in the Old.  Notice also that this entire quotation is cited by our author here in Hebrews as an accomplished fact, and not something still off in the future, as some would claim it to be today.  If you still aren’t convinced, there is one more verse in this chapter:

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

Hebrews 8:13

The Old Covenant is called “obsolete and outdated.” Some might suggest that it will “soon disappear but it still hasn’t; if you are thinking along these lines, think again.

Within just a few years of the time Hebrews was written, the Romans sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and scattered the people who were fortunate enough to survive the siege, and the Old Covenant has not been practiced from that day until this. Gone are the sacrifices, the offerings, the priests, the tabernacle, the holy place and all the rest of the system that was completely, totally, and utterly replaced by the work of Jesus Christ, our great high priest who reigns even now at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven… and all of that was foretold centuries before by the prophets.

In our last discussion of the concept of Biblical covenant, we focused on hesed or covenant-keeping.  This time, let’s go a little further into the subject of covenants and take a look at covenant as the central core of our theology…

It is extremely difficult to find a major religious theme in the Bible that is not related to covenant, and thus we say that covenant is the theological core of all Judeo-Christian philosophy and theology.  Consider the following:

God: the term used most often to modify the word “God” in the Old Testament is “covenant keeper. ” (Deut. 7:7-9)

Man:  was made in God’s image and given what no other creature was given, the ability to make moral choices.  Man can follow God or not… a dog has no such choice.  Man can choose to make a moral commitment (covenant) and to find ways to keep it.  Micah asked what God required of man, and the answer was, “To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.” (Micah 6:8) Note that all of these things are empty notions unless they are placed into the context of a previous moral commitment… a Covenant.

Righteousness: is keeping covenant. So it was with Adam, and in the Law (Deut. 6:25) and in the New Covenant (1John 3:7) What is “right” is what is stipulated in covenant.

Justice: in the Bible is deciding rightly (Deut. 33:21) What is right is stipulated in covenant.

Hearing: the Lord was doing what He said to do, and He said it in the covenant. (Deut. 28:2, 13, 15)

Sin: was breach of covenant or disobedience. (Deut. 28:58-61) John also said it was disobedience. Offerings were made for breach of the Law (covenant) whether one knew it or not. (Lev. 4:2, 13, 22, 27)

Sacrifices were made to atone for sins committed. The sins were defined by covenant, and the atonement was prescribed by covenant. When the Old Covenant was done away with, so were the sacrifices. (Heb. 10:1-10)

The Law was the statement of stipulations of the Old Covenant.

The People of God were those who were parties to covenant.

Blessings were stipulated by covenant (Deut. 28:1-14)

Curses were stipulated by covenant (Deut. 28:15ff.)

Prophets were not crazies running around predicting the future. They were lawyers of the covenant sent by God to press His case against a law-breaking nation; to warn the people what will happen if they do not change their ways. They confessed that their teachings were based upon the Law of Moses (Dan. 9:7-19)

The Lord’s Supper is a covenant renewal ceremony, as were the Old Testament sacrifices.

Loving the Lord is used in parallel with covenant-keeping

Called, Elect, Elected, Chosen: All of these are words that trace back to the Abrahamic Covenant.

Determinate, Predetermined, Predestined: All trace back to God’s plan to bless all mankind through Christ, the seed of woman and of Abraham… beginning with the call of Abraham.

Grace: This word deals with God’s forbearance toward mankind. Through His hesed God offers grace to us when we fail. Paul’s approach to grace was as an example of covenant love that breaks down all barriers.

Inheritance traces back to Genesis 12 where God set forth the land promise as an inheritance in the Abrahamic covenant.

Kindness is used 36 times in the Bible as a translation for hesed.

Loving kindness is an English rendering of hesed.

Mercy is shown by God to His children (who are established by covenant) as an example of His covenant keeping.

Obey means to keep the covenant.

Peace is established by a covenant relationship. It is the opposite of rebellion and enmity.

Promise is normally used to refer to covenant promises of God.

Final Thoughts

If the concept of covenant is not the core of Biblical interpretation, then what is?  The Old Testament contains the writings and story of the people of God. Being one of God’s people is determined by being a party to a covenant.  Everyone else is in opposition to God.  This point is made repeatedly in the Bible, thus, how can there be any other central core?

We have the same problem in the New Testament.  What is the church?  The church is the Body of Christ on earth… but how do you get into it?  You get into it by becoming a party to the New Covenant that Christ established by the shedding of His blood.  Therefore, the New Testament also has a covenant as its central core.  There is no other logical possibility.

Sorry that this post is a bit lengthy, next time we’ll take a look at how a person enters into a covenant relationship, a subject that should be a little bit shorter!

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

Hebrews 8:1-2

This section is one that is often a surprise to people not familiar with the relationship between Old and New Testaments.  As we go through this chapter, we will be challenged to see things the way God views them, and to be quite candid, things aren’t always what they at first appear to be.  These first two verses give us a bit of that; notice that there is a difference between the tabernacle that Jesus is serving in as high priest, and the earthly one.  For starters, Jesus isn’t in Jerusalem, nor is He serving in a place made by human hands, but by God Himself. Finally, notice that the tabernacle He is in is “true”. If Jesus is in the true sanctuary, what does that say about the one in the Old Testament?

Fasten your seat belts, we are about to find out!

Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.

Hebrews 8:3-4

The offerings and gifts that the earthly priests sacrificed were prescribed by the same Law that established their office and Jesus, because He is from the tribe of Judah, could never have been a priest, and since He is an entirely different kind of priest, He has a different kind of offering. Jesus did not offer sacrifices consisting of animals for atonement to put off the penalty for sins, He offered Himself, and took sin away entirely.

They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

Hebrews 8:5-6

How surprising it would have been for those first recipients of this message to learn that their beloved Temple in their beloved Jerusalem was only a shadow of the real thing.  I am often amazed today when I listen to people discuss the rebuilding of this Temple in the future, as though the Temple were the real thing… but it was never the real thing; it’s but a mere copy or shadow of the reality that is in heaven… and do you know what?  So were the sacrifices, the priests and even the Law itself. Of course, Jesus is superior to the Levites; He is the real thing, while they were shadows of what would come one day.  Of course, Jesus was the superior sacrifice; for His was the one that takes away sin.  Of course, the New Covenant is superior to the Old, for the New Covenant is the real deal and the Old Covenant was but a shadow of the reality that was to come, and it was set to pass away.

None of this should really be a shock to anyone, for the Old Covenant Law was entirely earthly; physical. It never promised to take away our sins, it never promised eternal life.  These things weren’t even ideas that were in play anywhere at that time.  The rules and regulations are but a shadow of the reality of having God’s laws written on our hearts. Most importantly, the Old Covenant and its system of laws and sacrifices and the Temple all speak of Jesus Christ who was to come one day.

And that day came!

Our author will continue to explain all of this from this point through 10:18…