Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 1. The holy of holies was the dwelling-place of Jehovah, where He manifested Himself in visible glory. Even so in the upper sanctuary does Jehovah manifest the brightness of His glory to the innumerable hosts of holy angels and blessed spirits, by whom He is unceasingly worshipped. 2. The ancient holy of holies was the most splendid and magnificent part of the tabernacle and temple. In this respect also it was but the type and shadow of heaven. "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God! " It is represented as the paradise of God, where grows the tree of life. It is spoken of as Mount Zion, the antitype of the earthly hill on which were erected the temple of Jehovah and the palace of Judah's kings, and which David celebrated as "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth." It is described as a city, the New Jerusalem, the city of the great King, whose foundations are garnished with all manner of precious stones. A still more impressive idea of the unrivalled magnificence of heaven is given us when it is described as the peculiar workmanship of the Almighty — as a place which His infinite power has been exerted to beautify, and which His boundless beneficence has been called forth to gladden and bless. Unlike the holy places in the ancient tabernacle and temple, this sanctuary has not been "made with hands"; it was not erected by any creature, neither was it formed out of any pre-existent matter, but created immediately by God Himself. It is the " true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man"; the sanctuary, "not of this building"; the "city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." 3. The ancient holy of holies was, by Divine appointment, entirely concealed from the view of those who worshipped in the outer courts. With the most vigilant care it was kept sacred from all intrusion. Even from the holy place where the priests were wont to minister, it was separated by a thick curtain or veil of curiously embroidered tapestry, while the holy place itself was hidden from the people at large, who worshipped in the courts without, by means of a second veil of a similar description. There can be no question that all these arrangements were primarily designed to be emblematic of the particular character of that dispensation with which they were directly connected, as "signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing." At the same time, however, they present us with a beautiful type of the physical concealment which invests the heaven of heavens. For "no man hath ascended up to heaven but He that came clown from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." Between these, the outer courts of the temple, and that loftiest shrine of this vast universe, God has been pleased to stretch an impervious and impenetrable veil. It is a great and glorious reality; but it is only by the eye of faith that it can be described on " this dim spot which men call earth." Even with all the light which the gospel has shed upon it, it is a glory that yet remains to be revealed. 4. In pursuing the analogy subsisting between the holy of holies and the heaven of heavens, it may be added that the office performed by the Jewish high priest in the former was a most significant emblem of the function to be discharged in the latter by Jesus, the anointed High Priest of our profession. (Peter Grant.) Parallel Verses KJV: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. |
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