“Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.”

What follows is a description of the earthly place of holiness. By describing it in detail the writer makes sure we don’t get confused about his subject. If the first covenant had regulations concerning where, when, and what was involved in worshiping God, then we might well expect the replacing covenant to provide us with the same information.

We notice that the Hebrews author reverts back to the beginning of the place and regulations rather than to the temple. The tent or tabernacle was designed and authorized by God. David and Solomon designed and built the temple. God was not needing a “permanent” place to dwell. He already had one. The tent was symbolic that God’s use of it was temporary while a temple of stone and gold indicated He might be settling down with the Hebrews for the duration of the world. As we now know, that was not the case.

God had a different plan for a temple. He envisioned a temple built with live stones rather than dead ones. His new temple would be comprised of His people whom He had cleansed and purified for that purpose. This temple we will discover will not be limited to one race or one time. It will not be limited to the earth or earthly things.

Task for Today: Think about the concept of a non-earthly place. Vision yourself as the site God has chosen to make His home. If you are a redeemed Christian then God lives inside you and you are His temple. You are His current earthly place of holiness and one day you will be a part of the heavenly place of holiness.