The work of Christ on the cross was a work unlike any other in history. One powerful aspect of what He accomplished was the once for all nature of His atonement. He, unlike His shadows in the Old Testament, did not have to repeat His work over and over again. Even that which was a picture of the completed atonement had to be repeated on an annual basis. Given the shadows only, the conscience never could have rest. But if one looked in faith beyond the shadows . . .
“Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tablernacle, performing the services. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience — concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the great and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason he is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance” (Heb. 9:1-15).
We begin with the tabernacle furniture. The tabernacle in the Old Testament had two parts. The outer sanctuary contained the lampstand, the table, and the showbread. As the priest passed through this outer sanctuary, he came to the second veil which closed off a place called the Holiest of All. This inner sanctum contained the golden censer, the ark of the covenant which in turn contained a golden pot of manna, Aarons rod, and the Ten Commandments, overshadowed by the cherubim of glory. These cherubim were sphinx-like winged creatures — great winged bulls — quite unlike anything you have seen represented on top of the ark of the covenant in Sunday School pictures. They covered the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant.
The author of Hebrews lets us know he could go into a long discussion of the tabernacle furniture, and he could so do in great detail (and we might wish that he had). But he chooses not to do so, and, like the priest he is discussing, passes on to greater things in verse 5.
The whole thing was a living parable. In verse 9, he says that the entire Levitical system was a parable. The time of reformation (v. 10) was the time of the Messiah. The entire Levitical system (including the high priest and his annual entrance into the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement) was the outer sanctuary. In other words, in the Old Covenant, both outer and inner sanctuary are to be considered part of the outer sanctuary of the New Covenant.
The priests always went into the outer sanctuary (v. 6). But they did not go into the second part — the Most Holy Place. That was the annual duty of the high priest, who entered there with blood. The Jews used to tie a rope around his ankle if he died while in the Holy of Holies, no one could go in to bring him out, and so they made arrangements to be able to drag him out. The annual entrance into the holiest place of the tabernacle was a type of the once-for-all nature of Christ’s priestly intercession. Each year represented all of history, and in the course of that time, the priest only went in once.
In all this, the Holy Spirit was teaching us that both outer and inner sanctuaries were themselves an outer sanctuary. They were the sanctuary the one High Priest came through on His way to the true Holy of Holies. This outer sanctuary had its tabernacle furniture too — foods and drinks, various baptisms, and fleshly ordinances until the time of reformation.
But then Christ came as the great High Priest of the good things to come. In His priestly work, He brought countless blessings to us. First, He brought the good things to come. The new world, redeemed by His blood, has been ushered into the time of reformation. That is the task we are engaged in. Second, He brought eternal redemption into the true Holy of Holies. He did not purchase a potential redemption if you do something. He purchased eternal redemption, and He did it with His own blood. This means that the salvation of His elect is settled beyond question. Third, the Levitical law brought external cleansing (v. 13). Christs work washes the conscience clean (v. 14). Interestingly, the ingredients of soap were a by-product of the sacrificial system — wood ash and animal tallow. This is a likely meaning to the reference of the ashes of the heifer making men externally clean. This becomes even more apparent when we consider how the ashes of the heifer were used in Numbers 19. Just as the rituals of the Old Covenant made a man externally clean, so Christ washes the inside. And not only does Christ cleanse the conscience, He cleanses it from dead works. Christ came, in part, so that decent religious people could repent, and be set free. In the fourth place, just as the high priest made atonement for those sins committed outside the Most Holy Place, so Christ made atonement in a similar way. He made atonement for the sins committed under the first covenant. And last, those who were called among the Jews received an eternal inheritance. As with our sharing of this inheritance, this was based upon the eternal redemption, to which a sinful mortal may add nothing.