“The First Covenant’s Failure”
[Hebrews 9:1-10]
April 21, 2013 Second Reformed Church
The author of Hebrews continues his
look at the Covenant by taking us back to the Tabernacle – so let's go: we are standing in the Sinai desert looking
at a structure surrounded by tents – are you there with me? Close your eyes if
you need to – without falling asleep – and picture being in the midst of a
desert – the Sinai desert – looking at a structure surrounded by thousands upon
thousands of tents:
“Now even the first covenant had
regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was
prepared,”
Israel had escaped from Egypt and
received the initial words of the Mosaic Covenant. And God told Israel to make
a tabernacle – to make a place of dwelling for God – a place where God would descend
and be among His people – the place of worship.
God told Israel to make a courtyard
around the Tabernacle. The courtyard was to be one hundred and fifty feet by seventy-five
feet long. There were walls with no entrance on the North, South, and West sides
– there was no entrance to the courtyard. On the East there was a single gate thirty
feet wide. Are you picturing this? That
way, whenever anyone came to worship, they would have to enter the same gate –
there was only one way – and that way was to go West, not East – because many
of the pagan religions required that you worship – pray – facing the East. In designing the structure of the Tabernacle,
God did not allow any option but that the people would face west as they
entered His Presence to worship.
“So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly,
truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are
thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If
anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture’”
(John 10:7-9, ESV).
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way,
and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John
14:6, ESV).
As
we walk around the wall, we see that there are twenty bronze pillars on each of
the long sides and ten bronze pillars on each of the short sides equally spaced
from one another. Between each of the pillars – hung from silver hooks – there are
square hangings of fine twined linen – reach out with your mind’s hand and feel
the quality of the linen – look at the beauty of the weaving – that the people
had given and made their best for these sections of the wall surrounding the Tabernacle.
As
we make our way around to the east wall where the gate is, we find the hanging
gate – the screen – thirty feet long of blue and purple and scarlet yarns.
Finally twined linen embroidered with needlework. This gate is hung on silver
hooks as well.
Now as we walk through the gate, we
see the bronze altar – a structure made out of acacia wood covered with bronze
measuring seven and a half feet square and being four feet tall. Inside the
altar is a grate in which to place an animal sacrifice. Do you see the golden
metal? Do you see the screen set inside
the altar? The altar has for horns, one
on each corner, signifying the strength and sovereignty of God over all of
Creation. Around the altar are pots and shovels and basins and forks and fire
pans – all made of bronze to be used in the offering up of the sacrifice, the
eating of it, and the transporting away of its ashes.
Then
we would do as worshipers do upon entering the courtyard of the Tabernacle and
we would offer up a sacrifice for our sins. Can we picture the priest taking
the animals from us, draining them of blood, separating their parts, and
throwing them on the grill? Can we smell the smell of beef or lamb cooking on
the grill wafting up through the air and throughout the courtyard of the Tabernacle?
The altar is in look and use and smell like a giant barbecue.
“Jesus said, ‘I am the good
shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I
know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep
that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my
voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father
loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes
it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it
down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received
from my Father’” (John 10:14-18, ESV).
Just past the altar of sacrifice for
the forgiveness of sins, we see the enormous bronze basin filled with water. The basin sits on the backs of four bulls. And underneath this enormous basin there are
spigots so that after the priests have offered up the sacrifice on behalf of
the people the priests could go and wash themselves – because they would now be
drenched with blood. And so as part of the rite of the worshipers being
forgiven for their sins, there was also a washing with water.
“In [Jesus] also you were
circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of
the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in
baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful
working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your
trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with
him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt
that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to
the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame,
by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:11-15, ESV).
After we passed the enormous basin –
the laver – we find ourselves face-to-face with the main part of the Tabernacle
– the enclosed part. This part of the Tabernacle is only entered into by the
priests – so unless we were priests, we would never see the inside of this
section. It was walled with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue and
purple and scarlet yarns with cherubim woven into them. Can you see the images
of these angels decorating the curtains?
These curtains were clasped together with gold rings.
As a roof for the tabernacle, there are
also curtains, but these curtains are made of goat’s hair and they are clasped
together with bronze clasps, and then over them are curtains of ram’s skin, and
then finally curtains of goatskin over the top of them to keep the rain from
coming in. Can you picture this
three-layer covering over the structure of the Tabernacle, forming a waterproof
roof?
The
frame of the Tabernacle is made of acacia wood. And the Tabernacle is divided
into two sections – or rooms – under the water-proof roof. And between the two sections of this part of
the Tabernacle, there is a heavy curtain made of blue and purple and scarlet
yarn and fine twined linen. It also has cherubim skillfully woven into it, and
it hangs on four pillars of acacia covered with gold – with hooks of gold
holding it up. This separates the two sections of this part of the Tabernacle:
the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.
(This curtain will play a part on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion.)
“the first section, in which were
the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the
Holy Place.”
If we had been allowed to go into
the Holy Place, we would've seen on our left the golden lampstand: the lamp is
made out of a single hammered piece of gold and has seven lamps with one coming
up the middle and three going off to the left and three going off to the right.
It is the light inside the Tabernacle.
“Again Jesus spoke to [the
Pharisees], saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not
walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12, ESV).
On the right, we would've seen the
table – made of acacia wood and covered with gold – and on it we would see the
twelve loaves of bread – the bread of the Presence. Each week twelve loaves of
bread were baked and put on the table, signifying the provision of God and the twelve
tribes of Israel. At the end of the week, the priests were allowed to eat the
bread, and the bread was replaced with twelve new loaves of bread.
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread
of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall
never thirst” (John 6:35, ESV).
“Behind
the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the
golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with
gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that
budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory
overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.”
Once
a year, on the day of Yom Kippur, the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies
to plead forgiveness for himself and the nation according to the rite which God
had commanded. If we had been able to go in, we would've seen that before him was
the golden altar of incense in which he would offer up incense to God –
symbolizing the prayers of the people.
“And
when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four
elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of
incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Revelation 5:8, ESV).
Central
in the Holy of Holies is the Ark of the Covenant – inside the Ark are three
items: a gold urn holding some of the manna with which God fed the people of
Israel for forty years in the wilderness – symbolizing God's Providence and the
call of God on the people to trust. Aaron’s staff, which, though being dead,
came to life and bore buds when Aaron’s authority was challenged: all of the staffs of those challenging Aaron
were gathered together at God's command, and God told them that whichever staff
budded in the morning would be the staff of God's choice for high priest, and Aaron’s
staff was the one which budded – symbolizing God’s Sovereignty in the affairs
of men. And, most famously, the tablets on which the Covenant was written –
that Covenant which pointed forward to the Savior that God would send – that Covenant
which showed anyone who has an ear to hear that it is not possible to earn
salvation – that Covenant, which can only fail us and condemn us if we use it
for a purpose for which it was not intended.
“For
this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on
their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Hebrews
8:10, ESV).
The
cover on the top of the Ark, which was covered with gold, signified the
presence of God among the people, and the cherubim standing on top of the cover
indicated the joyful observance of the heavenly creatures of the Glory of God.
“And
the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped
God who was seated on the throne, saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’” (Revelation 19:4,
ESV).
After
having looked through the Tabernacle, itself, the author of Hebrews now calls
our attention to what the priest did in the tabernacle:
“These preparations having thus been
made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual
duties,”
Again, if we had been allowed into
the first section of the Tabernacle – the Holy Place – we would have seen the
priests going in day after day fulfilling their calls on behalf of God and the
people that God called them to represent.
They would have seen that the candlestick remained lit and the bread was
replaced every Sabbath. They would have
offered up prayers and read the Scripture.
Can we imagine them filling the candles with oil and replacing the
bread, eating the old bread, and praying before God?
“but
into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not
without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional
sins of the people.”
If
we had eyes into the Holy of Holies, we would see only the high priest entering
once a year to plead for the forgiveness of his sins and the sins of the
people. We would see him offer up incense
– can you imagine the room becoming thick with incense? And then he would spread blood on the Ark –
can you imagine blood being spread over the gold?
“Then
[the high priest] shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the
people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with
the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the
mercy seat. Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the
uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all
their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them
in the midst of their uncleannesses” (Leviticus 16:15-16, ESV).
“In
[Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in
all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to
his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time,
to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians
1:7-10, ESV).
“By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the
way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is
still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this
arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the
conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various
washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.”
We
are now ready to conclude the first Covenant’s failure – if you are seeking
salvation through it: what we have seen
is sinful people coming to sinful men to offer up animals for the forgiveness
of sin – and we have seen some parallel verses to the structure and work that occurred
in the Tabernacle, which shows us that the sacrifices of the Tabernacle were
not the end, but pointed to the Final, Perfect Sacrifice in Jesus.
Despite
the beauty of the Tabernacle – with its acacia wood and colorful, fine linen
walls, bronze and gold implements – designed by God, and the sacrificial rites
and rituals instituted by God – in considering the first Covenant, we
understand that it could not bring about salvation for a number of reasons:
The
debt that was paid through the offering up of animals was never adequate to pay
for the sins of humans. Only a human
could properly pay the debt of a human.
The
debt that was paid through the offering up of animals was never enough to satisfy
the Wrath of God for sin – the offering was too small – it didn’t take into
account the seriousness and the greatness of the affront of sin to God.
The
debt that was paid through the offering up of animals never removed the
dominion – the slavery – to sin which humans are born under. Although God really forgave in the moment for
the sins confessed, there was no forgiveness or deliverance from the sin nature
through the first Covenant’s offerings.
The
debt that was paid through the offering up of animals did not lead towards
sanctification – it never got beyond forgiveness of the sin of the moment.
The
debt that was paid through the offering up of animals was never meant to go on
forever. Not only could it not go on
forever if the Tabernacle – and the Temple – were destroyed – as they were – eternal
sacrifices of animals would prove fruitless – vain – for salvation for the
reasons we have already stated.
Our
text this morning ends: “By this the
Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as
long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present
age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that
cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and
drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of
reformation.”
If
animal sacrifices were still being offered in the Temple – which they were,
according to the author of Hebrews – at the time he wrote his letter – “which
is symbolic for this present age” – then the book of Hebrews had to have been
written before 70 A.D., when the Temple was destroyed.
We
are now in the age of reformation that he wrote about – there is no Temple, we
cannot offer animal sacrifice’s according to the first Covenant – so there is
all the more reason to say that the first Covenant – in all the things regarding
the ceremonies of worship in it – is “obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13, ESV).
Let
us let the shadows recede, except to see that they pointed forward to Jesus
Christ and His Covenant – the Gospel.
And let us hear these familiar words of Paul:
“And
you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following
the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once
lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and
the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by
grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in
the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show
the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For
by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10, ESV).
Let
us pray:
Almighty
God, we thank You for giving the first Covenant and for the signs and shadows
that it contains which point ever towards the coming of Jesus Christ and His
Gospel. Help us to believe the Gospel
and put aside our works as ways to merit salvation. Help us to understand that the Old Testament
Ceremonial System of sacrifices is done away with through Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice that we have seen even more
than the author of Hebrews through the destruction of the Temple, pointing all
the more to the end of the first Covenant’s sacrificial system. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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