HeBrews: A Better Blend
We are continuing our journey through the book of Hebrews in a Bible study that I have called HeBrews: A Better Blend. In our time together we are learning all about BETTER things offered to believers in Jesus Christ. Today we come to a passage detailing the better tabernacle. The author of Hebrews hop-scotches around from topic to topic, making it difficult to study the chapters sequentially. As I write the HeBrews Bible study I am writing topically, rather than sequentially, which allows me to deal completely with a topic even though the material is taken from several different chapters. For our Monday studies, however, I have been moving sequentially through the book so we will study about the tabernacle a bit today then move to another topic next week, coming back to the tabernacle later. I hope it doesn’t confuse you.
Consider Hebrews 8: 1-5 (NIV).
1 The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest,who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. 3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Let’s summarize everything we learn about the tabernacle from these five verses:
- It is the TRUE tabernacle
- It is set up by the Lord, not by man
- It is in heaven
- The earthly/Old Testament tabernacle was a copy and shadow of the new/BETTER tabernacle
- The heavenly tabernacle was the pattern for the earthly tabernacle
