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Leviticus 4 | Psalms 1–2 | Proverbs 19 | Colossians 2

Yahweh’s instructions for presenting a sin offering stretch across Leviticus 4 and 5, and as we study these rules, remember that the sin offering was not the primary sacrifice offered to make atonement for sins. As we discussed yesterday, the burnt offering—in which the entire sacrifice was burnt up on the altar to symbolize the worshiper’s complete surrender to Yahweh, as well as Yahweh’s complete acceptance of the worshiper—was the sacrifice that Israelites routinely made to atone for sins (Lev. 2).

The sin offering, though, was made for specific sins that had come to the attention of Israelites. So, the sin offering would be made for the kind of sin that people had been committing for some time, only to suddenly recognize their guilt before Yahweh.

We should not overlook the fact that the word “unintentionally” comes up four times in Leviticus 4:2, 13, 22, and 27. The sin offering was a sacrifice that could only be offered for sins that were made inadvertently, without deliberate intentionality to choose sin. Then, when the person (or the people) sinning recognized the sin, the blood of the sin offering would atone for that specific sin (Lev. 4:20, 26, 31).

But what about sins that wouldn’t qualify as unintentional? In fact, there was no sacrifice available for deliberate sins, which are called “high-handed sins.” Here is what Yahweh commands in Numbers 15:30–31: “But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is a native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”

Long-term, we should recognize that the limitations of the sin offering (and the guilt offering, which also only covered unintentional sins: Lev. 5:14, 5:17, 6:4) represent a major shortcoming on the part of the old covenant sacrificial system. The sacrifices held out a measure of mercy, but that measure of mercy only extended so far. If you had sinned with a high hand, you had no sacrifice to cover your sins.1

In this way, we see that the old covenant sacrificial system was good, but not perfect. Eventually, God’s people would require a better sacrifice—not only one that would need to be offered once for all, but one that could atone for the most egregious and high-handed of sins. And indeed, God provided a sacrifice capable even of atoning for the sin of murdering the Son of God himself.

Hear, then, the promise of the gospel for your high-handed sins: “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises” (Heb. 8:6).

1 Ligonier Ministries, “The Sin Offering.”

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Leviticus 2–3 | John 21 | Proverbs 18 | Colossians 1

The grain offering (Lev. 2) and the peace offering (Lev. 3) were sacrifices of praise, not atonement. They were made to remember and celebrate something that Yahweh had done for the worshiper.

So, the grain offering was often made as a way to honor Yahweh with the firstfruits of a harvest (Lev. 2:14–16)—God’s regular, ongoing provision in the life of his people. The “memorial portion” (Lev. 2:2, 9, 16) was burned up on the altar to remember God’s faithfulness in the harvest, and Yahweh gave the rest of the offering to the priests for food.1

The peace offering, on the other hand, was a feast in which all God’s people participated. A worshiper would bring a peace offering and tell the whole congregation what God had done for him. Then, all God’s people would eat in fellowship with one another in the presence of God to celebrate the peace that God had made with and for his people. The peace offering was the holy meal eaten by the elders in the presence of God in Exodus 24:9–11, and it foreshadows our meal with God during the Lord’s Supper.2

But the first sacrifice named in Leviticus—the burnt offering (Lev. 1)—was perhaps the most important in Israel’s worship. This was the primary sacrifice that Israel offered to make atonement for their sins, and it was the atoning sacrifice offered when Yahweh renewed his covenant with Israel on Mount Sinai (Ex. 24:5). Worshipers would lay their hands on the head of the offering they were bringing, ceremonially transferring their own sins onto the animal, and then the animal would be wholly burnt up as a sign that the worshipers were completely surrendered to God and that God had completely accepted the worshipers.3

Charles Spurgeon captures the essence of the burnt offering well:

When a man brought his bullock, or his goat, or his lamb, he put his hand on it and as he knew that the poor creature must die, he thus acknowledged that he, himself, deserved death. The victim fell in the dust, struggling, bleeding, dying. The offerer confessed that…death from the Almighty hand was due to him. And oh, when a man comes to that…when he confesses that he cannot deliver himself, but has so sinned as to deserve to be cursed of God and judged to feel the horrors of the second death, then is he brought into a condition in which the great Sacrifice will be precious to him! Then will he lean hard upon Christ and, with broken heart, acknowledge that the chastisement which fell upon Jesus was such as he deserved and he will be amazed that he has not been called upon to bear it!4

Today, acknowledge your deep guilt before God, lean hard upon Christ, and praise him for his goodness in giving you life through his Son.

1 Allen P. Ross, Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2006), 201–2.

2 Ibid., 271–75.

3 Ibid., 201.

4 Charles Spurgeon, “Putting the Hand upon the Head of the Sacrifice (Lev. 1:4, 5),” in The Complete Spurgeon Sermons on Leviticus, ed. Jacob D. Gerber.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Leviticus 1 | John 20 | Proverbs 17 | Philippians 4

Christians sometimes have a difficult time reading Leviticus. We tend to see Leviticus as a long book of rules that are entirely irrelevant to our lives, and then it becomes difficult to focus as we read yet another set of instructions on how to offer a sacrifice or seek purification for leprosy. If those rules don’t apply directly to Christians, why should we slog through this book?

The book of Leviticus actually has profound implications for understanding biblical theology. As we have seen throughout this study, the whole Bible proclaims to us how God has made a way to dwell with his people forever. But, if a holy God dwells with a sinful people, then he must ensure his consuming-fire holiness does not destroy his people in wrath.

While Leviticus is not the final answer about how God comes to dwell with his people, it is certainly one of the first parts of the answer. To put it another way, you cannot understand what Jesus came to do without understanding the theology of Leviticus.

So, Leviticus begins, in chapters 1–7, with instructions on how to offer sacrifices properly. Then, in chapters 8–10, the book moves into more instructions on the priesthood itself, capped off with the story of the death of Nadab and Abihu, the priest sons of Aaron who were struck down dead when they offered “unauthorized fire” (Lev. 10:1), profaning the holiness of Yahweh.

In chapters 11–22, the focus turns from the holiness of the sacrifices and the holiness of the priests to the holiness of individual people, with what kind of food the Israelites could eat, how a woman purifies herself after childbirth, how to deal with leprosy, diseases, and bodily discharges, what constitutes forbidden sexual relations, and which kinds of sacrifices Israel could offer to atone for their sins.

The last section of Leviticus, chapters 23–27, gives regulations for the nation as a whole, including the feasts that Israel was commanded to observe, the right ways to seek justice for the poor, and the significance of making and keeping vows. The climax of the book, in some ways, is in Leviticus 26, when Yahweh lays out the blessings he is setting before Israel for obedience as well as the curses he will bring against Israel if they disobey.

Leviticus isn’t a boring book of rules—it’s a drama with the highest possible stakes. If Israel walks in obedience, holiness, and purity, Yahweh promises blessings; if in disobedience, then Yahweh promises to pour out onto Israel the curses he had reserved for the nations. And yet, it is in the midst of Israel’s eventual failure—not their success—that Jesus makes his entrance into human history.

Leviticus illuminates the greatness of God’s holiness—and therefore the greatness of our sin—so that we can see the greatness of our Savior.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exodus 40 | John 19 | Proverbs 16 | Philippians 3

Now that all the tabernacle’s construction is finished, the final steps are to anoint the priests to prepare them to minister before Yahweh, to set up the tabernacle, and to consecrate the tabernacle to make it a holy place for Yahweh’s glory to dwell. In Exodus 40:1–33, we read about every careful task that Moses completes to ensure that this vitally important work is done correctly.

And when Moses finishes the work, we read that the cloud of the glory of Yahweh fills the tabernacle to such a degree that even Moses himself is not able to enter the tent of meeting. Keep in mind that Moses had no problem approaching Yahweh’s glory in the former tent of meeting (Ex. 33:7–11), so we are seeing a major step forward: Yahweh’s glory has come to dwell in the midst of Israel in a way that human beings have not known since the day that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

This has been the purpose behind everything we have read up to this point. Yahweh’s presence is no longer confined to a pillar of cloud or fire that goes before them, but his presence in the cloud has now filled up the tabernacle itself. Israel will actually pitch their tents to surround the tabernacle with three tribes camping on each side in whatever place Yahweh directs Israel to go on their way to the Promised Land of Canaan.

This is a glorious arrangement, but as we have talked about so often, this arrangement isn’t perfect. The people of Israel will continue to sin, rebelling against the God who dwells in their midst. The problem that will undercut this entire system is that, even though the tabernacle, the Levitical priesthood, and the sacrificial system will each make purification for the people of God to some degree, these cannot ultimately perpetually cleanse us from sin and change hard hearts.

This is why Jesus had to come. Since the blood of bulls and goats could not make permanent peace with Yahweh, Yahweh sent his only, beloved Son to shed his own blood on the cross for our purification. Then, he sent his Holy Spirit to the church to apply everything that Jesus had accomplished for us, giving us freedom to behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face and being transformed from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18).

But even this arrangement is preparation for the eternal weight of glory, when there will be no further need for any tabernacle or temple in the New Jerusalem that God has prepared for his people, for in that place, “its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Rev. 21:22).

And in that place, the story of the Bible will reach its climax: God will again dwell perfectly in the midst of his people.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exodus 39 | John 18 | Proverbs 15 | Philippians 2

With the construction of the priestly garments, all the plans Yahweh gave Moses were brought to completion. Yahweh had established a tabernacle in the midst of Israel where he could dwell. In Exodus 39:32–43, we read a final survey of all that was built and constructed, recording that the work was totally complete, just as Yahweh himself had commanded.

What we are supposed to recognize at this point is that Yahweh has given Israel a thorough and complete set of instructions for establishing pure worship. Yahweh wants his people to approach him through worship, and he has laid out comprehensive plans to ensure that they have a way to approach him without being consumed by the blazing fire of his holiness. This is a perfect system of worship in every way.

In every way, that is, except to accomplish lasting purification and lasting heart change.

Sometimes, Christians incorrectly suggest that everything under the old covenant was bad and misleading, as though God had attempted a massive experiment by giving the law but had failed miserably. That isn’t, however, what the New Testament teaches us at all. Jesus himself said that he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill every last bit of it, crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i’ along the way (Matt. 5:17–20). Then, Paul tells us explicitly in 2 Corinthians 3:7 that the old covenant had a very real glory—it was good and righteous and holy.

The problem was that its glory was the fading glory of a ministry of condemnation, not the glory of a ministry that could lastingly make people righteous (2 Cor. 3:9).

So, the correct Christian view of the old covenant is to hold it in the highest regard as a holy arrangement God made with his people. But, it is also correct to see the new covenant as so far superior to the old covenant that “what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it” (2 Cor. 3:10)—a new ministry of righteousness, by the Spirit, through Christ, that has a lasting, permanent glory.

This new covenant is a better covenant, enacted on better promises (Heb. 8:6). Again, this isn’t to say that the old covenant was bad but that it was simply incomplete. The ministry of the old covenant announced everything necessary for God’s people to be reconciled to him, but it wasn’t powerful enough to actually accomplish that goal. Everything we have read here has profound implications for Christian theology, since Yahweh uses this part of his revelation to us to give us deeper insight into the work of Jesus Christ.

Let us give thanks, then, that God has not only given us the shadows but that he has also given us the substance of his reconciling ministry through his own Son Jesus Christ (Col. 2:17).

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exodus 38 | John 17 | Proverbs 14 | Philippians 1

The court in Exodus 38 looked like a large yard with linen hangings all around it. On the west side of the court was the tabernacle, so that worshipers entered into the court with their sacrificial animals on the east side of the enclosed yard, facing the entrance to the tabernacle across the yard, since the entrance to the Garden of Eden was also from the east (Gen. 3:24).1

Between them and the tabernacle, they would see two fixtures: the bronze altar where the priests offered their sacrifices to Yahweh and the bronze laver where the priests would cleanse themselves with water before entering into the tabernacle. These two fixtures in the court of the tabernacle announced the same theological message in two different ways: God’s people have been defiled by their sinfulness, and they need cleansing if they are to approach the holiness of Yahweh.

So, the first stop of the priests (normal Israelites were not permitted to come any closer to the tabernacle) was at the bronze altar to offer the atoning, substitutionary sacrifices, since there can be no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22). But beyond sacrificial blood, the priests required further cleansing with water, and so, closer to the entrance of the tabernacle, the priests would continue on their journey east to west (ultimately, toward the Most Holy Place, the furthest western point of the tabernacle) by stopping next at the laver to wash themselves clean from the defilements of the world.2

These fixtures in the court teach us much about the ministry of Jesus. First, the bronze altar reminds us that the death of Jesus Christ is of primary, foundational theological importance as our atoning, substitutionary sacrifice to forgive us from sin. The author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us plainly that in Jesus, we have a far better altar than the bronze altar ever was (Heb. 13:10), so that the purpose of the bronze altar was always to point forward to Jesus’ altar at the cross.

But second, the laver foreshadows the cleansing waters of baptism. Christian baptism symbolizes both our cleansing through the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ, and also the cleansing with water that is foreshadowed in the laver—and both point us to the washing and renewal of the Holy Spirit, who personally applies the work of Jesus Christ to us to purify us and prepare us for the holiness of God.

Let us listen, then, to the charge we receive in Hebrews 10:22: “let us draw near [to God] with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean [with the blood of Jesus] from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water [in baptism].”

Through the atoning blood of Christ and the cleansing ministry of the Holy Spirit, let us draw near to our holy God.

1 G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2004), 74.

2 Allen P. Ross, Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2006), 193.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exodus 37 | John 16 | Proverbs 13 | Ephesians 6

In Exodus 37, we read about the construction of four pieces of furniture for the tabernacle: the ark of the covenant, the table, the lampstand, and the altar of incense. Today, we will explore the significance of the first three of these pieces of furniture. (For more on the altar of incense, see the meditation from Exodus 30.)

The ark of the covenant featured a cover called the mercy seat (Ex. 37:6) on which two golden cherubim sat. For this reason, the ark of the covenant was the place where Yahweh was “enthroned upon the cherubim” (Ps. 80:1, 99:1) in his throne room on earth, the Holy of Holies.

Allen Ross points out that the ark of the covenant is both the place where the blood of sacrificial death was sprinkled on the lid to propitiate for the sins of Israel (Lev. 16:14) and also a symbol of life, since we read in Hebrews 9:3–4 that the ark contained tablets of the law (the way of life), a container of manna (God’s provision of life in the wilderness), and Aaron’s budded staff (a symbol of new life).1 So, Ross writes, “In the New Testament fulfillment of these things, Paul declares that God sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, so that through faith in his blood we might have the remission of sins (Rom. 3:25) and new life in him (5:17–19).”2

The table was the place where the priests would regularly place the bread of the Presence before Yahweh (Ex. 25:30), and it functions similarly to the lampstand, which was also to be lit regularly (Lev. 24:3). By laying out the showbread every Sabbath day (Lev. 24:8), the people of Israel acknowledged that God was the source of their physical (and spiritual) provision, and by lighting the lampstand regularly, Israel acknowledged that God was their source of light (and truth).

Jesus very deliberately, then, claims to be both the bread of God sent down from heaven (John 6:22–59) as well as the true light who has come into the world (John 1:9, 8:12). We come together to worship each week, recognizing that only Jesus can satisfy our hunger and quench our thirst. Furthermore, we listen intently to his word, recognizing that Jesus is the truth of God in the world (John 14:6).

The worship of the old covenant was true and good, but it was temporary and incomplete. None of the furniture of the tabernacle was sufficiently powerful to save anyone, but it accomplished a critical function by pointing forward to the One who would be powerful in himself to save the world.

Our study of the tabernacle should both deepen our worship of Jesus and make us all the more thankful that Jesus accomplished for us what the tabernacle could not.

1 Allen P. Ross, Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2006), 195.

2 Ibid.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exodus 36 | John 15 | Proverbs 12 | Ephesians 5

Exodus 36 is written to describe the work of constructing the tabernacle, but this passage is also rich with insights about church leadership and ministry in the context of the new covenant church of Jesus Christ.

First, the text makes it clear that not only do Bezalel and Oholiab have significant skill, intelligence, knowledge, and craftsmanship to do everything needed for the construction of the entire tabernacle—working gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood (Ex. 35:31–33)—but also that Yahweh had filled these two with the Spirit of God (Ex. 35:31).

The work of building God’s tabernacle was not merely human artistry and craftsmanship—God himself was intimately involved in this work by his Holy Spirit. And in the same way, we should learn from this that there is not a single part of ministry—not even construction projects—that we can faithfully accomplish apart from the Spirit of God.

Second, Bezalel was from the tribe of Judah (Ex. 35:30) and Oholiab was from the tribe of Dan (Ex. 35:34)—in other words, these craftsmen were not Levites. Furthermore, Exodus 36:1 makes it clear that Yahweh was also calling other craftsmen to take part in building the tabernacle as well: “every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.” As we talked about in yesterday’s meditation, Yahweh is graciously giving everyone (not just priests) a role in building his holy tabernacle.

Third, Yahweh not only had inspired Bezalel and Oholiab to lead this group of people whom God had given skill and intelligence (and whose hearts God had stirred; Ex. 36:2) to do the work, but he also called them specifically to teach (Ex. 35:34) the other people how to do this work.

This calls to mind Paul’s charge to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2: “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Paul had taught Timothy personally in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and here he explains that Timothy’s own call as a pastor was to teach other leaders in the church who could also teach other people the gospel. Personal training for ministry is the method that God has laid down to raise up new leaders for every succeeding generation.

As God builds his new covenant temple in the church, Exodus 36 offers us practical wisdom. We cannot be the church apart from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We need everyone’s contributions to be the church God has called us to be, and we need to focus on training the next generation for faithful ministry.

What role has God appointed to you in the construction of his holy temple in the church?

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exodus 35 | John 14 | Proverbs 11 | Ephesians 4

Throughout Exodus, we have seen Yahweh drawing clear boundaries that separate his holiness from everything that is common: to a high degree from the wider world, but also from different groups of Israelites in varying degrees. Only the priests are set apart for holy ministry, but Yahweh also calls the rest of Israel to enter into his holiness in two specific ways, which he lays out in Exodus 35.

First, the Sabbath day was a day that was holy to Yahweh (Ex. 35:1–3). Just as the space of the tabernacle was holy so that the presence of Yahweh dwelt in it, so also the time of the Sabbath day was holy, and anyone who violated the Sabbath by doing work was guilty of a crime just as though they had profaned the tabernacle—they would be guilty of profaning the very holiness of Yahweh.

Second, the Israelites were given an opportunity to contribute the materials that would be used for the construction of the tabernacle (Ex. 35:4–29). Part of the reason the Israelites were called to contribute raw materials was practical—no tabernacle supply companies existed in that day. Still, much more of the reason for asking Israelites to contribute was theological: Yahweh was calling all his people to play a part in constructing the tabernacle.

This theme gets picked up in the New Testament, but with a twist. In the New Testament, believers in Jesus Christ are also called to bring contributions that will help construct the temple of the new covenant, but we aren’t asked to bring gold, silver, bronze, or fabrics: we are called to bring ourselves. In the new covenant, we are the raw materials that God is using to build his temple.

So, Paul explains that all of us who are in Christ are now being joined together with other saints into a structure built on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ “in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21–22). Peter then explains why God would want us to be his temple: “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).

As Christians, we are called to walk in God’s holiness because he dwells in us and because he asks of us spiritual sacrifices that we offer through Jesus Christ. We are a holy priesthood whom God has called not to mediate for the sins of others—only our Great High Priest Jesus Christ can do that. Rather, we are called to worship God as his dwelling place and through the spiritual sacrifices we bring to him—especially when we gather together in holy time every Lord’s Day.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exodus 34 | John 13 | Proverbs 10 | Ephesians 3

At the very end of Exodus 33, Moses had gone for broke. In the face of Yahweh’s threat to abandon Israel by withdrawing his own personal presence from their midst, Moses pleaded for Yahweh to go up to the Promised Land with them, and Yahweh had granted Moses’s request (Ex. 33:17). But then, Moses made another, greater request: “Please show me your glory” (Ex. 33:18). While Yahweh told Moses that no man could see his face and live, he nevertheless granted Moses’s request in part, agreeing to place Moses in the crevice of a rock to see the trailing part of his glory as Yahweh passed before him (Ex. 33:20–23).

So, what does the glory of Yahweh, the living God who created the heavens and the earth, look like? Fascinatingly, the description we are given of what Yahweh looks like isn’t visual, but creedal. Moses sees what Yahweh proclaims about his own character: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Ex. 34:6–7). What Moses saw was more than a really bright light—it was a description of the full, glorious character of Yahweh.

Two results came from this vision of Yahweh. First, the reward of revealing his glory to Moses came as a confirmation of the fact that God had heard Moses’s prayer, relented from his wrath, and decided to renew his covenant with Israel. Second, this encounter with the glory of Yahweh transformed Moses personally, so that his face shone, causing fear among the people of Israel. From that point, Moses wore a veil that he only removed when he went to speak with Yahweh in the Tent of Meeting, a precursor of the Tabernacle (Ex. 34:29–34; cf. 33:7–11).

But as great a mediator as Moses was in interceding to ask Yahweh to renew his covenant with Israel and remain in their midst, Moses was still not able to bring other Israelites with him into the Tent of Meeting. Today, we too have a mediator who speaks face-to-face with God the Father, interceding on our behalf in the heavenly temple—the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:34). Our mediator, however, has entered into the presence of his Father behind the veil, and by doing so he promises us that we too can enter into the holy places of God along with him.

Meditate on Hebrews 10:19, 22: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.