Contents of the Tabernacle Hebrews 9:4

“A new covenant” brought in by God, according to the writer of Hebrews, included “ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary”, and “there was a tabernacle” that included “the candlestick, the table and the showbread” as well as “the Holiest of all” after “the second veil”. In chapter nine and verse four of Hebrews the writer shares how the “tabernacle” had more contents including a “golden censer, the ark of the covenant, the golden pot, Aaron's rod and the tables of the covenant” where we read:

Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

The verse begins, “Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold,...”. The writer began with the words, “Which had” or “that held, owned and possessed” “the golden” which means “made or overlaid with gold” “censer” which refers to “a utensil for fumigating or burning incense”, “and the ark” or “the wooden chest or box” “of the covenant” which refers to “the disposition, arrangement, compact or testament” “overlaid” which means “covered up or all around” “round about” or “from all sides and every quarter” “with gold” which refers to “valuable metal which lies imbedded in the earth and is dug out of it which has been smelted and worked”. Within the tabernacle of God was a “golden” “utensil for burning incense” and the “wooden box covered by gold” called the “ark of the covenant”.

The verse goes on to say, “...wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;”. The writer continued with the word, “Wherein” or “within and among” “was the golden” which means “made or overlaid with gold” “pot” or “the little jar laid up in the ark of the covenant” “that had manna” which means “what is it” and was “the food that nourished the Israelites for forty years in the wilderness”, “and Aaron's” whose name means “light-bringer” and was “the brother of Moses, the first high priest of Israel and head of the whole priestly order” “rod” or “staff and walking stick” “that budded” which means “that sprouted, brought forth new leaves and produced”, “and the tables” or “the flat, broad tablet, plane and level surface” “of the covenant” which means “the disposition, arrangement, compact or testament”. In addition to the “golden incense burner” and the “ark of the covenant”, the tabernacle also included “the golden pot with manna, Aaron's rod that budded” and bloomed in the wilderness and “tables of the covenant” or stone tablets whereupon God wrote the ten commandments.

When we think through these words in Hebrews, we discover how the writer is going through the contents of the tabernacle piece by piece. He is bringing his reader's attention toward familiar items within the “tent” or “temple” of God, so He can show their direct relationship to Jesus Christ. All of these items, as valuable as they may be, point in the direction of Jesus, and when we realize how God has this in His mind all the while, we shall discover how intentional He was in bringing salvation to people through Jesus Christ His only begotten Son.

Next time the writer shares about “the cherubim of glory” within the tabernacle, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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