Sunday Night Bible Study Hebrews 9:4-14 May 29, 1994 Hebrews 9:4-14 Intro: We are reading a letter written to Jewish believers. People who understand the intricacies of the Old Testament Law and sacrificial system. 4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein [was] the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; :4 the tables of the covenant Missing in Action! By Solomon's time, the pot of manna and Aaron's rod were missing. 1Ki 8:9 [There was] nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made [a covenant] with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. What happened to the Ark? Who knows? There is no record of it being carried off by the Babylonians at the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. Some think that Jeremiah the prophet hid it. Some think that it was carried off posssibly by another army who raided Jerusalem, such as Egypt. These were the two stone tablets that contained the Ten Commandments, written out by God's own hand. This was actually the second set of tablets, the first were destroyed by Moses when he saw how the people had gone into idolatry while he was up on the mountain with God (Ex.32:19) Remember that the Ark was in a way the "foundation" of God's throne. The lid to the box was called "the mercy seat", or, God's chair. Ps 97:1 The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad [thereof]. 2 Clouds and darkness [are] round about him: righteousness and judgment [are] the habitation of his throne. The word "habitation" is literally, "foundation" (as in the song! - righteousness and truth are the foundation of Thy throne...). The stone tablets containing the ten commandments, being in the Ark of the Covenant, form a kind of picture of what God's throne is built upon. God's throne is built and established in righteousness and judgment. God expects everyone who comes to Him to meet His criteria, His prerequisites. Greg Laurie made a good point the other day on the radio: Some people think that God is going to relate to them based on what they think He should do. For example: I think that if I do enough good things, that it will balance out all the bad things I've done. Point: It doesn't matter what you think. All that matters is what God thinks. If God demands righteousness and judgment, then that's what's going to happen. Lesson: Has God's relationship with mankind changed any? Is God's throne still built on righteousness and judgment? Yes! But God's righteous requirement is now met in Jesus Christ, who has taken the judgment for our sins upon Himself. If we ever intend to stand before God's throne, we will not be able to do it without Jesus' help. We need Jesus! 2Co 5:19-21 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. :5 the cherubims of glory Cherubim are a class of angelic beings. Cherub is singular, the plural is cherubim. Let's look at one description of them. Do you picture in your mind little, cute, cupids? Ezekiel 1:4-14. And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness [was] about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 Also out of the midst thereof [came] the likeness of four living creatures. And this [was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. 6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7 And their feet [were] straight feet; and the sole of their feet [was] like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. 8 And [they had] the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. 9 Their wings [were] joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus [were] their faces: and their wings [were] stretched upward; two [wings] of every one [were] joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; [and] they turned not when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance [was] like burning coals of fire, [and] like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. Eze 10:20 This [is] the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they [were] the cherubims. We also see these creatures in Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 10, and in Revelation 4,5. These beings seem to be closely associated with God's Throne. :5 shadowing the mercyseat In the tabernacle, the angels were attached to the lid of the ark, facing each other, heads down, wings outstretched forward, touching each other. It kind of sounds like the picture in Ezekiel 1, where there were four cherubim, all touching wings together. It was there at the mercy seat that God would meet with His people. Ex 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which [are] upon the ark of the testimony, of all [things] which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. This was the model of God's throne in heaven. Lessons: 1. Others are present You are not alone We know that we are always in God's presence, even when we aren't aware of it. When we sing songs like, "Come into His presence", what we really mean is that we need to become aware ourselves that we're in God's presence. But even in God's presence, there are angels present, all around. Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, It's a lot easier to run the race when people are watching you. It's a lot easier to stay away from sin when somebody's watching also. 2. God's throne is an awesome place Often when one of the prophets had a vision of God's throne and saw the angels and all, they would fall on their face. These angels in the throne room aren't just the little sweet baby-faced cherubs we think of on Valentine's Day. Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. If we aren't experiencing a sense of AWE before God, we need to ask God to open our spiritual eyes a little wider. 3. God's throne is a place of MERCY God's throne is not a place where we are going to receive condemnation and rejection, but instead comfort, understanding, and MERCY. I'm glad that God's throne isn't called the "Damnation Seat". Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our] profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. God doesn't want us avoiding His throne because we're so sinful. He wants to take care of our sin and show us mercy. How can I come to God's throne? Acknowledge my sin. Ask God for forgiveness. Believe in God's forgiveness. Receive it. :5 of which we cannot now speak particularly The writer didn't want to take the time to go into detail, the readers already understood. 6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service [of God]. 7 But into the second [went] the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and [for] the errors of the people: :6 these things were thus ordained NIV: When everything had been arranged like this :6 the priests went always into the first tabernacle Every day the priest would trim the lamp, keeping it burning. Are you (the lamp) in God's presence? Is your light burning bright? Once each week the priest would change the bread on the table. Is your fellowship with God fresh or stale? Twice a day the priest would offer up incense, the prayers of the saints. Where was the altar of incense? In the holy place, or the holy of holies? How could he offer up daily prayers if he couldn't go into the holy of holies? Was it in front of the veil? Possibly just behind it? All we know was that the priest had access to it twice daily, and yet the incense rose before the throne of God. Are you keeping up with your prayers? :7 into the second [went] the high priest alone once every year... This happened once a year on the Day of Atonement, or, Yom Kippur (Lev.16) The High priest could only go in with the proper "password", or the proper, acceptable sacrifices. Leviticus 16 - the Day of Atonement First the high priest had to wash and put on his special priest clothes. Then he took a bull for his own sins, and a goat for the sins of the people. He would take coals from the altar, and burn a cloud of incense inside the holy of holies, after which he would first sprinkle the bull's blood for his own sins on the mercy seat, then the blood of the goat for the sins of the people. The he would confess the sins of the people over another goat, which was taken and let loose to carry the sins of the people away into the wilderness. Then he was to offer up a burnt offering of a ram for himself, and another ram for the people, consecrating them all to God again. All this could only take place once each year. These commandments were given after the incident with Nadab and Abihu, who kind of stumbled their way into God's presence. God is awesome, holy, and is to be feared. 8. The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: :8 the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest Because only the High Priest could go in, and only once a year. It was off limits to everyone else. 9 Which [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 [Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed [on them] until the time of reformation. :9 that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience These Old Testament sacrifices Just how much good did they do? RWP: This was the real failure of animal sacrifice (#10:1-4|). At best it was only ritual or ceremonial purification (#7:11|), that called for endless repetition (#10:1-4|). Heb 10:1-4 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those [sacrifices there is] a remembrance again [made] of sins every year. 4 For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. They couldn't really cleanse your conscience. They were just looking forward to the real thing, to Jesus. 11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Jesus entered into the heavenly tabernacle, heaven. The real thing. 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]. He had a much better sacrifice. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: :13 the ashes of an heifer Numbers 19 A special red heifer was offered and burnt, and the ashes were kept. When someone became "unclean" because of touching a dead person, they would go to the priest, who would mix the ashes with water and sprinkle you with them. :13 sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh There was a kind of outward, ceremonial kind of cleansing that these things offered, but that's it. They did something on the outside, but not on the inside. Note the contrast between "the flesh" here and "the conscience" in verse 14. 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? :14 How much more... If these things which were just a shadow of a greater thing offered some kind of cleansing, just imagine what kind of cleansing could be had from the real thing? :14 purge your conscience from dead works What's the answer to guilt? Jesus! It's not therapy. It's not regressing, or blaming your parents. Purge: katharizo 1) to make clean, cleanse Some kinds of therapy talk about having a "catharsis", or a purging. But it can only come by the blood of Jesus. It's the blood of Jesus. Some "enlightened" people talk as if they like Jesus, but when you talk about the blood of Jesus, they shiver and get turned off. "Don't talk about something so morbid", they say. But the truth is, all that we have we owe to the blood of Jesus. 1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Your ability to receive complete and total forgiveness and release from guilt depends completely and solely upon the blood of Jesus and it's ability to appease God on behalf of your sins. Re 12:10-11 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. The old hymn writers understood it: Look at the Hymnal: #266, 263, 259 15. And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. :15 he is the mediator of the new testament The "new testament" refers back to the quote in Hebrews 8 Heb 8:10-12 For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Since Jesus died for our sins, He makes is possible for our sins to be forgotten forever. 16 For where a testament [is], there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament [is] of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. 18 Whereupon neither the first [testament] was dedicated without blood. 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20 Saying, This [is] the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. :20 This is the blood Quoting Moses: Ex 24:8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled [it] on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words. But look at what Jesus said: Mt 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. :22 almost all things are by the law purged with blood Blood is usually the means of dealing with sin, but not always. There is one bloodless sin offering Le 5:11-13 But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put [any] frankincense thereon: for it [is] a sin offering. 12 Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, [even] a memorial thereof, and burn [it] on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: it [is] a sin offering. 13 And the priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: and [the remnant] shall be the priest's, as a meat offering. 23. [It was] therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. :27 it is appointed unto men once to die This is a good Bible verse to use with those who are dabbling in reincarnation. Can a man die and then be born back in another body? No! You die, then comes judgment. :28 unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time Look - eagerly wait apekdechomai 1) assiduously and patiently waiting for We need to be eagerly looking for the second coming of Jesus! 2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.