The Old Covenant priests and sacrifices were shadows previewing & pointing to the ONE Who would offer Himself to establish a New Covenant and give us a clean conscience. Let’s bask in the beauty of what that means for us!

Jesus ascended to heaven (Lk 24:51, Acts 1:9), sitting at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens means. This comes from Psalm 110:1. 

Psalm 110:1 A declaration of Yahweh to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

An enemy as a footstool is ancient imagery for defeating an enemy just as Joshua had his leaders do to the kings who fought against the Hebrew people (Joshua 10:24). This is what will happen to the enemies of Jesus, forced to BOW before Him; defeated by the One who once offered them peace by shedding His own blood.

To sit at God the Father’s right hand is a metaphor for honor, authority, and power - sharing the honor, authority, and power of the Father without limitation.

That Jesus sat down shows the completion of Jesus’ work on the cross. The priests who worked in the Temple never sat (Heb 10:11) because their work was never complete. 

Jesus is the heavenly high priest of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle, not a manmade temple on earth, but set up by the Lord in heaven.

Like shadows that fade away, the earthly high priests, animal sacrifices, tabernacle (mobile temple in Moses’ day), and later temples were shadows that fade away in the Presence of our Heavenly High Priest, who offered the the perfect & complete sacrifice and then sat down in “the true tabernacle” - the throne room of God.

Jesus is the Better High Priest with Better Promises based on His Better Sacrifice.

Hebrews 8:8–13 But finding fault with his people, he says: See, 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—not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. I showed no concern for them, says the Lord, because they did not continue in my covenant. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And each person will not teach his fellow citizen, and each his brother or sister, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will forgive their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins. By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away. 

That the new covenant made the old covenant obsolete does’t mean the old covenant was bad, but that it was never meant to be COMPLETE…it pointed to a Better Covenant that God was bringing through Jesus.

Jerusalem Destroyed - The temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 so the earthly sanctuary, the ONE PLACE where sacrifices were to be offered on behalf of the people for forgiveness of sins…was GONE…and still is…2000 years later. The Old Covenant sacrifices & practices were obsolete and did pass away.

The author doesn’t give much detail about these furnishings, as most Hebrews would be familiar with them, but since we AREN’T, let’s do a deep dive to consider their significance. 

The only people who could come in here were priests. 

The lamp stand was constantly lit (Ex 25:31-40, Lev 24:1-4). This 7 branded candlestick made of pure gold, with 3 branches on one side and 3 to the other side, and 1 branch in the middle. This could represent the tree of life, but…

it also points to One who is perfect - represented by the number 7, the One who is “light of the world” (Jn 1:4-5, 8:12).

The table was made of acacia wood and was overlaid with pure gold and the presentation loaves on it were to be refreshed every Sabbath for the priests to eat from while serving (Ex. 25:23-30, Lev 24:5-9). 

Jesus later called Himself “the bread of life” and “the bread that came down from heaven” (Jn 6:35-42).

The author’s main point isn’t to focus on the articles in the tabernacle, but to spotlight the SEPARATION between Holy God and unholy man as represented by the 2 rooms. The first room, the Holy Place was a place that only priests could go. In fact, anyone else who attempted to come into the tabernacle was to be killed (Num 18:7).

The golden altar of incense was just in front of the curtain that opened to the Most Holy Place (Ex 30:1-10), but the high priest was commanded to bring the burning incense into the Most Holy Place to cover the mercy seat of the Ark (Lev 16:13) on the Day of Atonement. Incense represents the prayers of the priests ascending to God. 

This incense represents the prayers offered by Jesus - our Heavenly High Priest - mediator between God and man. 

MacArthur says it well:

From His heavenly place now, Jesus lights our path (pictured by the golden lampstand), He feeds us (pictured by the table of sacred bread), and He intercedes for us (pictured by the altar of incense).

Hebrews 9:3-6 Behind the second curtain was a tent called the most holy place. It had the gold altar of incense…and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. The cherubim of glory were above the ark overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now. With these things prepared like this, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry. 

Hebrews 9:3-6 But the high priest alone enters the second room, and he does that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

Hebrews 9:8-12 The Holy Spirit was making it clear that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed while the first tabernacle was still standing. This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience. They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of the new order. But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), He entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

Is your conscience clean? Do you APPRECIATE what Jesus has done for you? What evidence proves that you are grateful for God’s grace? ASK God for opportunities to share with others who need a clean conscience!

Are you CAUGHT in a sin you can’t get out of? Ask a believer who LOVES you for some help!

Do you have questions and need some answers? Call us or contact another follower of Jesus…we WANT to help!