Chapter 9 in the book of Hebrews revisits something that its first-century audience of Jewish Christians would have probably already known.
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 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.9.1-5.NIV
So, while this might be something that Gentile Christians in the 21st century need to read about and study, we might ask ourselves, “Why would the author of Hebrews recap something that the initial readers already knew in detail?” After all, this book of Hebrews seems to have been written to Jewish Christians, who would have been taught the Old Testament from childhood. (Having said that, even after choosing to follow Jesus, continuing to study the Old Testament is still a really good idea.)
As you might imagine, this reminder is setting the stage for what comes next. And, as is often the case in the New Testament, you might correctly guess that what comes next is going to connect Jesus into this example from the Old Testament. Still, even if we have studied the tabernacle before, let’s make sure that we have a clear picture of the key elements described in these first few verses of Hebrews 9:
- Verse 1: There were “regulations” for worshiping God (specific practices and rules that God Himself established), as well as for the physical place where aspects of that worship would take place.
- Verse 2: The tabernacle (before the first temple was built) had an outer – or “first” – room, “the Holy Place”, which had certain furniture for worship.
- Verses 3-5: Separated from the Holy Place by another veil was “the Most Holy Place”, which contained the “ark of the covenant” and an altar of incense.
(By the way, while the author of Hebrews refers to the tabernacle here, I suspect that first-century Jewish Christians could also picture the similar design of the temple that stood in Jerusalem at the time that Hebrews was written. Because the pattern of the Holy Place and Most Holy Place was copied for the temples in Jerusalem, the corresponding teaching will likely apply to both. However, since the author of Hebrews chose to refer to the tabernacle, let’s stick with that for this lesson.)
Do you have that picture in mind? We may have learned more about the tabernacle’s design from other studies, but today, we’re focusing a lot on the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. And, a key point here is that, in order to get to the Most Holy Place, one must enter through the Holy Place. That is, you go through the first room to get to the second room. Got it? Good!
Once we have a picture in our minds of certain places in the tabernacle, verses 6-7 get into some of the practices and the people participating in those regulations of worship in the tabernacle:
- In the Holy Place – the first room – priests could enter regularly, whether to maintain the bread on the table, for instance, or to keep the lampstand lit.
- In the Most Holy Place – the second room – only the high priest could enter, and only once per year. As part of this process, he had to offer a sacrifice for his own sins before offering a sacrifice for the people’s sins.
Then, in verses 8-10, we learn what you probably already knew: All of those regulations (and what might seem to be complicated practices that God gave Moses for tabernacle worship) served as a symbol for what was to come. They provided insight – driven home over centuries of practice – into what Jesus would bring to the world.
I see it like this: As long as someone holds to the “tabernacle” (whether literally or metaphorically) – as long as someone seeks to make their way to God and seek atonement for sins only through things in the physical, material world – they are still in the metaphorical “first room”, signified by the Holy Place. Our world is full of all kinds of practices that people follow to try and make up for what they’ve done wrong, from doing good things, to giving money to charities, to giving up something to “pay” for their sins.
And, certainly righteous acts, generosity, and abstaining from things that pull us away from God aren’t wrong; however, no sacrifice offered in this world – literally, nothing we can accomplish on our own – can pay for our sins and make us innocent again. So, if we want to enter the presence of God, with our sins paid for, through a sacrifice that addresses everyone’s sins, then we need something else.
We might feel a sense of pity for those whose consciences can never be truly clear because they don’t know Jesus, including people who are stuck in the metaphorical “first room”, trying to get right with God through what they do here on earth. However, those people aren’t for us to just feel sorry about. Instead, they are for us to tell the good news to, and to show them how much better it is to accept Jesus and enter with Him into the very presence of God, with our sins atoned for and our souls justified before Him.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for March 15, 2026
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Hebrews, by Jim Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse. © 1997 College Press Publishing Co.
