Hebrews 10:19

THE FOURTH EXHORTATION

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:19)

The intensely doctrinal part of the epistle now being completed, there follows at this point an urgent exhortation, the fourth thus far in Hebrews; and this begins with the repetition of a plea already made (Hebrews 4:16), the basis of that one being that our great High Priest can be touched with the feeling of human infirmities and is enthroned on high; the basis of the appeal here, on the other hand, is the further consideration that the great High Priest has offered a perfect and totally efficacious sacrifice of his own blood before the very presence of God and has opened up a way into that same holy presence, not merely for himself, who has already entered there, but for us as well.

Christians are here spoken of as entering "into the holy place"; and this is based upon the typical nature of the court and sanctuaries of the old order. The court was a type of the world, the holy place a type of the church, and the most holy place a type of heaven. An elementary representation of these types is given in the accompanying sketch.

In a progression from the gate Beautiful into the Holy of Holies, the following analogies are discernible in the various types. The gate itself stands for the beautiful innocency and joy of infancy and childhood, during which time, as William Wordsworth said, "The rainbow comes and goes; and lovely is the rose."[28] In the outer court stood the altar and the laver, both of them standing thirty feet in height and dominating the enclosure. The altar stands for the sacrifice of Christ, and appropriately, it was near the entry, suggesting that man's first concern in life should be the knowledge of that sacrifice. The laver was near the doors into the sanctuary and when the ancient worshiper had first paused at the altar to have his right ear, his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice, he proceeded to the altar where, after being washed all over, he received clean linen robes, symbolical of forgiveness, and then passed through the automatic doors into the sanctuary. Just so, the Christian worshiper learns and accepts for himself the sacrifice of Christ, receives forgiveness of sins, and is automatically added to Christ (Acts 2:47).

Automatic Doors

Laver

The Court North

Altar

Beautiful Gate

Within the sanctuary, the only light was from the candlestick which represented God's word. The table of showbread suggested God's providence; and the altar of incense stood for prayer. The black and white checkered squares of the floor told of the lights and shadows of life, its joys and sorrows. The veil suggested many things; but in the large view it stood for death by which man passed to the higher and better world.

The most holy place with its ark and mercy seat symbolized heaven and the presence of God. For a more detailed study of the various analogies in all these things, see in Hebrews 9.

Several lessons of vast importance appear in the overall dimensions and arrangement of the three compartments. The court was larger than the sanctuary, and it was larger than the most holy place, suggesting that the church is smaller than the world and that heaven, in turn, will not have as many citizens as were in the church. The only entry into the most holy place was through the sanctuary, suggesting that the only entry into heaven is through the church for which Jesus paid his blood (Acts 20:28).

Boldness to enter the holiest place of all is in sharp contrast with the timidity and circumspection by which the ancient priest entered it. Such boldness must not be thought of as brashness or arrogance, for it specifically honors the command of the Lord for his disciples to exhibit boldness, the means of acquiring which are given earlier by our author (Hebrews 3:6,13), and which include a constant glorying in our hope through repeated affirmations of our faith, not merely for the personal benefit of ourselves in so doing, but also for the benefit of others, also included is a constant and energetic campaign of exhorting close associates in family, business, recreation, or wherever in the private sector of life. See notes on Hebrews 3:6,13.

The holy place in view here is not the sanctuary but the most holy place, the identity of which being determined by the placement of the veil mentioned a bit later. This same usage was observed in Hebrews 9:8.