Letter to the Hebrews Volume 81

 The Earthly Sanctuary Part 2

Hebrews 9:3-5 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 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; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. KJV

The writer of Hebrews continues his description of the worship place of Jehovah God by the Hebrew people by now further detailing the arrangement or the layout of the interior of the tabernacle with these next words in verse 3, "And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;" (Hebrews 9:3) (KJV). After the Hebrew worshipper would open the first veil from the outside to enter into the sanctuary or the holy place, then they would see a second veil that divided the sanctuary from within and behind this second veil was called the 'holy of holies' or 'the most holy place' where none other than the high priest was allowed to enter, as documented for us by Moses with these words, "And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy." (Exodus 26:31-33) (KJV). Here is what Albert Barnes said of Hebrews 9:3, "The second or inner veil, here referred to, divided the holy from the most holy place. It was made of the same materials as the other, though it would seem in a more costly manner, and with more embroidered work. On this veil the figures of the cherubim were curiously wrought. The design of this veil was to separate the holy from the most holy place; and in regard to its symbolical meaning we can be at no loss, for the Apostle Paul has himself explained it later in this chapter. 'The tabernacle', that is, the inner tabernacle; or what more properly was called the tabernacle. The name was given to either of the two rooms into which it was divided, or to the whole structure. It was called 'the Most Holy place;' 'the Holy of Holies;' or 'the Holiest of all.' It was so called because the symbol of the divine presence - the 'Shekinah' - dwelt there between the Cherubim."

The writer of Hebrews now describes, delineates, and details exactly what was placed behind the second veil always and at all places where the Hebrew/Jewish people would sojourn and at all times with these next words, "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;" (Hebrews 9:4) (KJV). The 'golden censor' was that which contained the incense used in the worship of Jehovah God by the high priest only on the great day of atonement, as written for us by Moses with these words, "And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:" (Leviticus 16:12) (KJV) and these words, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God." (Leviticus 23:26-28) (KJV). The 'ark of the covenant' contained the tables or tablets of the covenant, wherein, the Ten Commandments were written on those stone tables or tablets by the very 'Finger of God' and also was the golden pot that had manna and also Aaron's rod that budded, it was a box or chest overlaid with solid gold that was four (4) feet long and two and a half (2.5) wide and high, as it is written for us again by Moses with these words, "And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat." (Exodus 16:15) (KJV), and with these words, "And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds." (Numbers 17:7-8) (KJV), and finally with these words, "And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee." (Exodus 25:10-16) (KJV).  

The last significant thing that was kept behind the second veil wherein was the 'holy of holies' was the mercy seat, as written for us with these words, "And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly." (Hebrews 9:5) (KJV). Over the top of the 'ark of the covenant' were the 'cherubims' of glory, which signifies two in number and it is translated by the Greek word cheroubim (used this one time in the New Testament) which is the plural of Hebrew origin [H3742] which means also imaginary figure; 'cherubim' (that is, cherubs or kerubim): - cherubims, see Exodus 25:17-22. The English word 'shadowing' is translated by the Greek word kataskiazō (used this one time only in the New Testament) meaning to overshade, that is, cover: - shadow. The English word 'mercyseat' is translated by the Greek word hilastērion meaning an expiatory (place or thing), that is, (concretely) an atoning victim, or (specifically) the lid of the Ark (in the Temple): - mercyseat, propitiation, see Leviticus 16:2 and Leviticus 16:13. We see then that these physical items that were overlaid with solid gold testified to their supreme importance in the worship of Jehovah God in the earthly tabernacle and they were a picture of the real and true 'holy of holies' in heaven where the Throne of Jehovah God/Yahweh resides in actuality for all time, as we get a glimpse of this reality from these words by the Apostle John, "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a Throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the Throne. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the Throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the Throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the Throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the Throne, and round about the Throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne, who liveth forever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the Throne, and worship Him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the Throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." (Revelation 4:1-11) (KJV).  

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…