Hebrews 9:5

Hebrews 9:5

3 ^aand behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,

4 which had the ^agolden censer and ^bthe ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were ^cthe golden pot that had the manna, ^dAaron’s rod that budded, and ^ethe tablets of the covenant;

5 and ^aabove it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

Limitations of the Earthly Service

6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, ^athe priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.

7 But into the second part the high priest went alone ^aonce a year, not without blood, which he offered for ^bhimself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;

8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that ^athe way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered ^awhich cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—

10 concerned only with ^afoods and drinks, ^bvarious washings, ^cand fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

The Heavenly Sanctuary

11 But Christ came as High Priest of ^athe good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

12 Not ^awith the blood of goats and calves, but ^bwith His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place ^conce for all, ^dhaving obtained eternal redemption.

13 For if ^athe blood of bulls and goats and ^bthe ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean,¹ sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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over it—over "the ark of the covenant."

cherubim—representing the ruling powers by which God acts in the moral and natural world. (See on Ezekiel 1:6; Ezekiel 10:1). Hence sometimes they answer to the ministering angels; but mostly to the elect redeemed, by whom God shall hereafter rule the world and set forth His manifold wisdom: redeemed humanity, combining in, and with itself, the highest forms of subordinate creaturely life; not angels. They stand on the mercy seat, and on that ground become the habitation of God, from which His glory is to shine upon the world. They expressly say, Revelation 5:8-10, "Thou hast redeemed us." They are there distinguished from the angels, and associated with the elders. They were of one piece with the mercy seat, even as the Church is one with Christ: their sole standing is on the blood-sprinkled mercy seat; they gaze down at it as the redeemed shall for ever; they are "the habitation of God through the Spirit."

of glory—The cherubim were bearers of the divine glory, whence, perhaps, they derive their name. The Shekinah, or cloud of glory, in which Jehovah appeared between the cherubim over the mercy seat, the lid of the ark, is doubtless the reference. THOLUCK thinks the twelve loaves of the showbread represent the twelve tribes of the nation, presented as a community before God consecrated to Him (just as in the Lord's Supper believers, the spiritual Israel, all partaking of the one bread, and becoming one bread and one body, present themselves before the Lord as consecrated to Him, I Corinthians 10:16-17); the oil and light, the pure knowledge of the Lord, in which the covenant people are to shine (the seven (lights), implying perfection); the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God's kingdom in the old covenant, and representing God dwelling among His own; the ten commandments in the ark, the law as the basis of union between God and man; the mercy seat covering the law and sprinkled with the blood of atonement for the collective sin of the people, God's mercy [in Christ] stronger than the law; the cherubim, the personified [redeemed] creation, looking down on the mercy seat, where God's mercy, and God's law, are set forth as the basis of creation.

mercy seat—Greek, "the propitiatory": the golden cover of the ark, on which was sprinkled the blood of the propitiatory sacrifice on the day of atonement; the footstool of Jehovah, the meeting place of Him and His people.

we cannot—conveniently: besides what met the eye in the sanctuary, there were spiritual realities symbolized which it would take too long to discuss in detail, our chief subject at present being the priesthood and the sacrifices. "Which" refers not merely to the cherubim, but to all the contents of the sanctuary enumerated in Hebrews 9:2-5.

**Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Hebrews 9:5:**

Psalms 80:1-2
1 Corinthians 11:26
Hebrews 9:1
Hebrews 9:5

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