Zachary was terrified. He knew the Day was fast approaching, and he didn't feel ready for it, not in the slightest. Once each year, he had to go in. He knew it was a privilege, but he was scared. As the months ticked by, Zachary could feel the tension in his shoulders. So many in Israel would have coveted his role, but he knew they'd be a bucket of nerves if in his shoes.
As high priest, Zachary knew the Day of Atonement was a glorious moment for Israel. The sense of cleanness and forgiveness he and the nation would experience was an off-the-charts emotional high. But there was the ominous side of things -- the sacrifices, the blood, the incense, and the Holy of Holies. Going into the throne room of God, seeing the ark of the covenant, and applying the blood to the mercy seat was an important responsibility, but Zachary could feel the pressure. He wanted to be near God, but whenever he dressed for the occasion, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the holiness of God.
Zachary often thought of how free he'd heard Moses was with the Lord. God spoke to Moses face to face, like a man speaking with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Moses went daily into the tabernacle of meeting to enjoy God. And he went to the mountaintop to engage with God. When Zachary read in Scripture of Moses' walk with God, he was moved with a bit of holy envy. He wanted what Moses had.
And when Zachary thought of the garden of Eden, he longed for the brand of friendship Adam and Eve had with God before sin corrupted the relationship. God walked in the garden in the cool of the day and talked and spoke with humankind. They were naked and unashamed. There was no blood, no sacrifice, no holy day to approach God. They had unencumbered friendship with and joy before God. They celebrated him. And he celebrated them.
Zachary wondered if there would ever be another way to experience God. He was one man, after all, and an entire nation had to experience their Lord through him. He was their proxy before the throne room of God. And as their representative, he only entered once per year. Would anything ever replace this trepidatious relationship with God? Could God become Father? Could people become free before God?
Zachary -- and others like him -- would have been blessed to read how "the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purifies our conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14). Jesus' perfect, once-for-all sacrifice made way for something better than a Day of Atonement, but "eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12). Zachary lived under the Old Covenant, but something new would come which would provide true inward "reformation" (Hebrews 9:10). The entire tabernacle system was merely symbolic, a copy and shadow of the heavenly reality (Hebrews 8:5, 9:11). One day, the final High Priest would come and, by His own blood, offer Himself as the only sacrifice humanity would ever need. He would then make a people for himself who were a kingdom of priests before God (1 Peter 3:4-10). Once covered by the blood of Christ, these people would be set free to "serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14).
But what is meant by this freedom to serve the living God? Your mind might run straight to signing up to help in children's church or work in a soup kitchen, but Zachary (and the recipients of Hebrews) would've thought of something entirely different. The author mentioned it when he detailed the elements of the tabernacle. The tent, lampstand, table, altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant were all emblematic of something better that God would one day call us into, a better priesthood, a better way to serve the living God. So, how does the blood of Christ set us free to serve the living God?
1. Jesus Sets You Free to Serve the Living God by Putting Him at the Center of Your Life
"...a tent was prepared..." (Hebrews 9:2)
The first item the author referenced was the tabernacle itself. He wrote, "for a tent was prepared" (Hebrews 9:2). Though Hebrews was written while the temple still stood in Jerusalem, the author refers instead to the tent. Rather than refer to the temple, the author went back to the pure and original tabernacle, the tent of God.
The tent was a humble structure. Forty-five feet long, fifteen feet wide and high, it was not a massive or ornate presence. What it was, though, was central. Israel camped around it during their wilderness wanderings. The Levites encompassed the entire tabernacle facility, while the other tribes camped to the north, south, east or west around them. And when the pillar of fire or smoke began to move, Israel moved, and the ark and tabernacle entrapments were at the center. Six tribes went out first, then the priests and the tabernacle gear, and six tribes followed. So, whether camping or journeying, God's stuff was in the middle.
All this was meant to represent God at the center of his people's lives. Unfortunately, before the New Covenant came into existence, I did not have the power to have God at the center of my life. Now, though, with the Spirit writing the law of God on my mind and heart, I can live with God at the center. He can now take his rightful place.
Believers must know, however, the challenge involved in having God at the center. Our flesh rages against the Spirit, and a constant war will attempt to keep God at bay. A life centered on things the world system tells us are important will always draw us. It's a battle to have God at the center.
In his book, Strange Days: Life In The Spirit In A Time Of Upheaval, Mark Sayers writes, "We are born for struggle, created for a cause, formed for a great battle. We as individuals find meaning in struggle. And the church is God's army. However, in the West, she has been away from battle far too long. Not only has she forgotten how to fight, but she's forgotten that she's in battle. What is more, she's come to expect peace. Resistance is foreign to her. 'What battle?' She says. The armor of God is gathering dust in the corner."
The battle for supremacy within is real. God must be central, but it takes war to keep challengers off the throne of our hearts.
2. Jesus Sets You Free to Serve the Living God by Bearing God’s Light for Others
"...the lampstand..." (Hebrews 9:2)
Hebrews next mentions the first piece of furniture inside the tabernacle, the lampstand. There is no mention of anything outside the tabernacle, but that which was within, in the spaces only the priests of Israel could go. And when a priest entered the tent, if they looked to their right, they would see a massive, golden menorah with seven lamps upon it. The priest was responsible for keeping the oil topped off so that the fire could unceasingly burn.
The lampstand was representative of the light of God. He wanted Israel to bear that light to the nations around them, but their execution was clumsy at best, nonexistent as a norm, and hate-filled at its worst. They did not bear the light of God to the nations. The attitude found in Jonah's heart was the attitude in the nation's heart. They wanted to keep God for themselves and didn't see a way or reason to declare him to the world. They had no vision of the tabernacle as a house of prayer for all nations (Mark 11:17).
So Jesus came along and said, "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). He is the one who illuminates God, humanity, individuals, others, and your path. He also said, "You are the light of the world... .let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16). So Jesus is the light, but his church is to reflect his light to the world around them. This truth is seen in the book of Revelation, where local churches are represented by individual golden lampstands, giving God's light to the dark world (Revelation 1:20).
Under the New Covenant, today's believers can do what the priest (and Israel) often failed to do. We can bear the light of God to the world around us. We must keep this fire lit. Like Paul told Timothy, we must "keep ablaze the gift of God that is in" us (2 Timothy 1:6).
3. Jesus Sets You Free to Serve the Living God by Receiving God’s Sustenance for Yourself
"...the table and the bread of the Presence.." (Hebrews 9:2)
The next element of the tent mentioned was "the table and the bread of the Presence (Hebrews 9:2). Upon entering the tabernacle, if the priests looked to the left, there was a small golden table where twelve loaves were placed every week before the Lord (Leviticus 24:5-9). Weekly, the priests ate the bread, a symbol of partaking of the sustenance the Lord had provided for them. Years later, Jesus came, and when he did, he proclaimed, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).
Jesus' ministry opens up the door for you to be entirely sustained by God. You see, God does not merely call you away from the old life, but he grants a new life. He can sustain and fill and satiate you. Unfortunately, many think of Christianity as the mere repression of desire, when in actuality, it is a way to have your deepest desires met directly by God. He wills to bless you with better desires, and then fulfill them.
C.S. Lewis expressed this idea in his book, Weight Of Glory: "It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased."
One example of the satiation God provides is found in the Ethiopian eunuch of Acts 8:26-40. There, God called one of the earliest deacons, a man named Philip, to leave a revival in Samaria and go down to the desert of Gaza. Obediently, Philip went and saw a chariot returning from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. An Ethiopian official was in it, heading home after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he had likely acquired a copy of the book of Isaiah. As he sat in his chariot reading Scripture, the Spirit told Philip to overtake the caravan. "Do you know what you are reading?" Philp asked. "Without an interpreter, how can I?" the man replied. Philip saddled up next to the Ethiopian and shared Christ from Isaiah and other Scriptures, the man was converted, and subsequently baptized.
But the reading the man engaged with is telling. He read from Isaiah 53:7-8 which says, "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth" (Acts 8:32–33).
We know these verses are about Christ, and once Philip hopped in the chariot so did the eunuch, but before Philip's interpretative work the man must have pondered, "Who is this man who has his generation cut off? He's like me. He has no marriage, no family, no offspring, no lineage." As the eunuch continued to read Isaiah, he would have seen Isaiah 56:3-5, which reads: "Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from his people'; and let not the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord: 'To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.'"
Amazing. Every time this man looked at a married couple, romantic love or little children, he might have felt like an outsider. But when Philip got into that chariot, he introduced the man to the One who could sustain him. Jesus would come into his life and heart, cleanse him, make him new, and give him a heritage and identity that lasts forever. He would not be a "dry tree," as Isaiah said. He would have "a name better than sons and daughters." This man received his sustenance from the Lord, and so can we. He sustains us.
4. Jesus Sets You Free to Serve the Living God by Enabling Prayer
"...the golden altar of incense..." (Hebrews 9:4)
The next element in the tabernacle was the "golden altar of incense" (Hebrews 9:4). Three feet high, no animal sacrifices were offered on it. Those were reserved for the larger outside altar, but this altar was for incense. Daily, the priests would offer incense on it along with their morning and evening prayers for the nation (Exodus 30:7-8). It was to serve as a reminder of their continual dependence upon God and serves as a reminder for us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). On the Day of Atonement, the priests would take some incense from the altar, put it in a censer, and take it with them into the inner sanctuary of the Holy of Holies, into the presence of the Lord.
Jesus' better ministry paves the way for you to pray to God, and the altar of incense is representative of this beautiful truth. The author of Hebrews, in his recounting of the altar, placed it inside the Holy of Holies, even though, as I mentioned, it was only in the first room in the original tabernacle. But the fact the High Priest brought some of the incense into the Holy of Holies once each year highlights the ultimate will of God. He wants the prayers of his people. He desires communion and fellowship to flow. He wants the altar stationed inside the Holy of Holies. He wants us to freely cry to heaven while here on earth.
In the daily prayers offered by Israel, represented by the altar of incense, we find a template for our prayers today. First, they prayed regularly, and so can we, for with the Spirit within us we can cry to our Abba, Father at any moment of our lives. Second, they prayed according to God's will, for the ingredients and recipe for the incense they coffered was authorized and designed by God, and we are to pray in submission to his purposes and will. Third, they put the blood of the sacrifice on the altar for atonement. It was necessary, and we must also pray by the blood, for it is not our works that get us heard by God. We get to pray, not because of our works, but Christ's work.
5. Jesus Sets You Free to Serve the Living God by Making a Way for Grace and Mercy to Flow
"...the ark of the covenant..." (Hebrews 9:4-5)
The last piece of furniture mentioned is the ark of the covenant (Hebrews 9:4-5). Hebrews gives many details in recounting its presence. Inside was an urn with some manna, Aaron's rod which had budded, and the tablets of the ten commandments. On top was the lid of the mercy seat, on which golden angels sat. This ark, the author already told us, was representative of the throne of God, and we are to, because of Jesus, "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
Let us think, for a moment, about the elements which were originally housed inside the ark. Each item detailed a piece of Israel's past failures. First, there was a golden urn filled with manna. God had provided daily manna for the people of Israel to eat. Each morning, before sunrise, they could go out and gather it for their nourishment. They weren't to store up any for the next day, lest it breeds worms and stinks, except on the sixth day when, in preparation for the Sabbath day of rest, they would collect enough for two days. But what did some of them do? On the seventh day, they went out to collect the manna, though God had said it would not be there on that day (Exodus 16:27-30).
Second, inside the ark was Aaron's staff that budded. This recalls a time in Israel's history where they grew jealous of Aaron and his sons. The people did not like that only a select group were called to serve as priests. "We are all priests," they said. Not so, said God, and he said it by bringing down a severe judgment upon the rebelling group. Subsequently, though, Israel was not repentant but upset that things were as they were. So God told Moses to collect a staff from every tribe. For Levi's tribe, Aaron's staff would do. Moses put all the staffs into the tabernacle overnight and, the next day, they were returned. Each one was just as it had been, but Aaron's staff had blossomed and ripe almonds grew on it. The rebelling group was silenced.
Third, inside the ark were the tablets of the ten commandments. Israel had, of course, received these commandments twice, because the first time they received them Moses was angered at discovering them worshipping a golden calf, so he threw them down in frustration. It was a way of saying, "you've broken every single law already!" And, of course, time and time again, they had. The law was good and perfect, but they (and we) were not. This is why Christ had to come.
So each element within the ark recalled a time of failure in Israel's history. But the New Covenant of Christ turns all that on its head. Where I used to struggle to trust God daily, as they struggled with the manna, now I can trust the Lord each day of my life. Where I used to be fruitless, like all the other staffs, now I can become fruitful for Christ. Where I used to be a lawbreaker, unable to keep the ten commandments, now he writes his law on my mind and heart, changing me from the inside out. Now, when I come to his throne, I am not reminded of failure but empowered for success. I receive grace and mercy to help me in my time of need. He builds me up for everything he's asked of my life.
Close
Remember Zachary? As high priest, he badly wanted to freely engage with God. Now, as believers in Christ, we can. We are able to center our lives upon him, cry out to him, and live in the joy of a free relationship with God. He has purified our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). He is ours. And we are his. The trepidation is gone, for God has become our loving Father.
