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Hebrews 8:1-2
As we begin the eighth chapter of Hebrews, the author brings us to what he describes as the “main point of the things we are saying” (Hebrews 8:1, NKJV). What is this “main point”? That Jesus is our High Priest and is seated at the right hand of the “Majesty”/Almighty God in heaven (Hebrews 8:1). We learn in Hebrews 8:2 that the tabernacle in which Jesus is a Minister is a tabernacle in which man did not design, create, or build; but that the “true tabernacle” is a “sanctuary” designed and erected by God.
This is a promise of our eternal High Priest Jesus, a Minister of the true tabernacle and sanctuary of God.
Moses built the tabernacle for worship and sacrifice to God. He built the tabernacle by direct instructions from God – it was not an idea derived from man, but from God. It was a copy of the true tabernacle in heaven designed and built by Almighty God – it was through His will that it be done, and not by the will of man. It was a model of worship and sacrifice that God intended for man to see, physically, so that we would be able to grasp the true nature of our broken relationship with Him and the need, along with the requirement, for returning to a right standing with God which would reign throughout our entire being, heart, mind, soul, and strength. The temple, in all its beautiful adornment and design was a reflection of a body, a body which has a Most Holy place within its innermost spot, being the heart, where man’s true intentions and beliefs cannot hide or be covered by our outer appearance.
In the Old Testament, no man was allowed to enter the Most Holy place, other than the High Priest once a year to offer sacrifice for the sins of himself and for the sins of the people. But this sacrifice was temporary and reflected only an outwardly cleansing that could still yet have hidden sin within one’s heart; it was a following of rules and regulations in which a man’s word was his authenticity. This still allowed for Satan to rule one’s heart through his master trickery of boldface, confident, arrogant, self-centered lies. It allowed one to “appear” holy while the heart remained sinful.
Jesus came to cleanse our hearts from sin. Jesus came to cleanse our Most Holy place within our hearts that cannot hide our true intentions and motivations. God desires sincerity of heart, and the necessity of a sincerely pure heart was required for the sacrifice that would cleanse the heart forevermore. That purity, that sincerity, that sacrifice was only found in Jesus. He died for me, and He died for you; and through His resurrection in victory over sin, death, and Satan, He offers us true cleansed heartfelt life. That if we will put our faith in Him and follow His ways, He will save us from our sinful hearts and give us a new heart, cleansed from within through His Holy Spirit. Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:23-24 (NIV), “But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” True worship in spirit and truth comes from the heart, and before we can truly worship God as He desires us to be, we must submit to Him and open our hearts to Him in true sacrifice of our selfish worldly desires and welcome His cleansing of our hearts by humbling ourselves to ask of His forgiveness – in Christ.
Dear LORD,
Please help us to see the picture that You have provided for us in the need for a pure, cleansed, forgiven heart that is only through an opening of our hearts to Jesus in accepting that He died for this very reason, and You raised Him from the grave victorious over sin, death, and Satan for us, that if we will believe in Him and confess Him to be our Lord and Savior, it will be so. In Jesus name I pray, amen.