Letter to the Hebrews Volume 84

 Limitations of the Earthly Service Part 3

Hebrews 9:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;  KJV

As we declared in the very last study/commentary, all of the furniture and items required by God the Father for the Hebrew/Jewish people to have in the tabernacle were just a figure or type of the great thing yet to come for them and for the rest of humanity when Christ came to take away humanities wall or barrier (sin) to the Throne of God, therefore, we now read these words next from the writer of Hebrews, "Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;" (Hebrews 9:9) (KJV). The English phrase at the very beginning of this verse 'was a figure' is translated by the Greek word parabolē which means a similitude ('parable'), that is, (symbolically) fictitious narrative (of common life conveying a moral), apoth gm or adage: - comparison, figure, parable, proverb. In other words, the tabernacle worship was a comparison or symbolic form of worship that pointed to the coming of something or someone much better in the future that would replace the similitude and in this case that someone being the coming of the Hebrew/Jewish Messiah our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. When the writer says that this figure was 'for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices', he means that the tabernacle worship during that present Old Covenant time came with the requirement of the worshipper bringing gifts and animal sacrifices to God that were spotless and the best of their respective herds, as it is written and documented for us with these words, "And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;" (Leviticus 9:1-3) (KJV). The rather lengthy English phrase "make him that did the service perfect' used in Hebrews 9:9 is translated by the Greek word teleioō meaning to complete, that is, (literally) accomplish, or (figuratively) consummate (in character): - consecrate, finish, fulfil, (make) perfect. The English phrase 'to the conscience' is translated by the Greek word suneidēsis meaning co-perception, that is, moral consciousness: - conscience. In other words, all of the observances of the detailed rituals that marked the tabernacle worship could not and did not cleanse any of the Hebrew/Jewish people of their guilty conscience concerning their sin and their continued sinfulness, for no matter how spotless or without blemish the lambs, goats, bullocks, or calves were, their blood did not have the power to cleanse the worshipper's conscience from guilt or from dread and therefore it required endless repition still without accomplishment.

Here is what Vincent's Word Studies had to say of Hebrews 9:9, "Having shown that the division of the tabernacle proved the imperfection of the worship, the writer will now show that the Levitical ritual did not accomplish the true end of religion. The radical defect of the Levitical system was its inability to deal with the conscience, and thus bring about the 'perfection' which is the ideal of true religion. That ideal contemplated the cleansing and renewal of the inner man; not merely the removal of ceremonial uncleanness, or the formal expiation of sins.' Here is also what Matthew Henry had to say of Hebrews 9:9, "That the first tabernacle was only a figure for the time then present. It was a dark dispensation, and but of short continuance, only designed for awhile to typify the great things of Christ and the Gospel, that were in due time to shine forth in their own brightness, and thereby cause all the shadows to flee away and disappear, as the stars before the rising sun. That none of the gifts and sacrifices there offered could make the offerers perfect as pertaining to conscience; that is, they could not take away the desert, or defilement, or dominion, of sin; they could not deliver conscience from a dread of the wrath of God; they could neither discharge the debts, nor resolve the doubts, of him who did the service. A man might run through them all in their several orders and frequent returns, and continue to do so all his days, and yet not find his conscience either pacified or purified by them; he might thereby be saved from corporal and temporal punishments that were threatened against the non-observers, but he could not be saved by them from sin or hell, as all those are who believe in Christ." Note: 'Let us never forget that all those Hebrews who died before the arrival of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) were saved by God the Father for believing in the Messiah and looking forward to His coming to deliver and liberate the Hebrew/Jewish people, just as now all are saved by looking back to His arrival and His sacrificial, soilitary, and substitutionary death on the Cross at Calvary for humanities sin."

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…