A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
Hebrews 9:2-5
Think about the last time you ran out of time. You had some goal in mind, but you had to stop before you could do everything you wanted. There was more to do, but you had to finish before everything on your list was accomplished.
You’ve got company coming to your place, and you want to get everything ready. The floors must be vacuumed and mopped. The furniture needs to be dusted. Food needs to be bought and cooked. The list goes on and on. No matter how well you plan, something doesn’t get done. As they walk through the door, they see this ball of dust roll across the floor.
But not having enough time is more than just getting stuff done. Many times, there’s not enough time to say the important things. My brother left for work one Monday morning and then fell over dead at his desk. His wife, my sister-in-law not only mourned the loss of her husband, but grieved over what she didn’t have a chance to say as he walked out the door for the last time.
The writer to the Hebrews is in the same place. There’s lots and lots of stuff to say about all the great things that God had done for his people. And one of those things that he had done was to give his people the tabernacle.
When God told Moses about the tabernacle, he didn’t just tell him to go figure out how to build a tent for worship. Not on your life. God gave a whole lot of details about what it was to look like. How the tabernacle was to be built. What materials were to be used. Even who was to be in charge of building it[1].
So, the question is why was it so important that God would go to all the trouble of all this detail? Why not just have them pile up some rocks and throw any old animal on top for a sacrifice? The answer is that the tabernacle was more than just a place to worship God. It was a copy and shadow of what was in heaven[2].
This meant that every time the Hebrews looked at the tabernacle, it was trying to teach them something about who God was. It was telling them who they were and how far they’d wandered from God. The tabernacle and sacrifices were screaming how unworthy they were and that they needed someone to reunite them with their loving creator Father.
The writer just couldn’t spare the time to write down all the details about the tabernacle. Heck, he might have run out of ink. My hand starts to cramp up just thinking about trying to re-write all the details about the tabernacle. The sacrifices. The priests.
He wanted to remind the Hebrews that God had already told them a lot about who he was and who they were. They can’t plead ignorance. They can’t go to God and say, “Well, we really didn’t know who you were. Yep, we might have some problems, but that’s not our fault. It’s just the way we are.”
I can’t speak for you, but I totally get this. After all, it’s easy to blame someone else. This makes it someone else’s fault. So, all the pain and punishment really belongs on someone else.
But God loves us too much to let us get away with this lie. If we’re not responsible for our words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes, then we’re worthless. Our lives have no meaning. There’s no difference between helping someone cross the street and pushing them into traffic. There’s no difference between helping someone pick up something that they’ve dropped and robbing them blind.
We were made in the image of God. This means that we’re to treat everyone with respect. They have eternal value. They are someone that Jesus came and died for. They are someone worthy of our loving and faithful service.
And like the writer to the Hebrews, there’s not enough time to talk about all the parts of life that this truth touches. All the things that this means to you and me. How this could change the world.
So, we have the responsibility to take what God’s said and carry it with us. We can’t get everything there is in this truth right here and now. There’s no app that we can download to answer all our questions. There’s no eternal search screen that we can get immediate answers for all our questions. But God is patient with us. He wants each and everyone of us to change our ways[3]. He’s calling us to himself. We need to make room for God in our lives. But not just in some corner over in the back. No. He deserves to be front-and-center in everything we do. In all that we are.
Noodling Questions
What causes you to feel like there’s not enough time?
How much effort do you put into not wasting time? Explain.
Explain your feelings about the truth that God always has time for you.
[1] Exodus 25-31, 35-40
[2] Hebrews 8:5
[3] 1 Peter 3:9 ERV
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