This week, while reading quietly through Hebrews 9, I was convicted of my lack of reverence for the throne of grace. Coming into God’s presence, entering into the Holiest of All, should be done with nothing less than humble reverence for His goodness, His grace, and His glory.
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Now when these things had been this prepared, the priest always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. (Hebrews 9:6-8, emphasis added)
In the book of Hebrews, the author is writing to a group of Jewish Christian who needed to understand and believe in the perfect sacrifice of the true High Priest Jesus Christ. The book describes how the old tabernacle, the Jewish high priest, and the sacrifices made under the old covenant had their limitations and how they pointed to our need for Jesus — who, being fully God and fully human, was able to be the One to bring forgiveness once and for all.
As I read these verse, the words Holiest of All caught my attention. I did a quick word study and found that in Greek Holiest of All refers to “things which on account of some connection with God possess a certain distinction and claim to reverence” or “places sacred to God which are not to be profaned” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon).
Claim to reverence.
Not to be profaned.
Because we now have Jesus as our true High Priest, we can come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). When we are in trouble or have a need we can go to the Father. When Jesus was nailed to the cross and willing gave his life, the veil that separated us from the holy of holies was torn, making it possible for each of us to have an intimate and personal relationship with our Father God.
We may no longer need a Levitical priest to make sacrifices on our behalf. We may no longer need the blood of animals to make atonement for our sins; however, we are still to come humbly into the throne room, recognizing that our sin cost Someone their blood.
When we come to God in prayer— when we step into the place called Holiest of All, the place where Jesus sits at the right hand of God — we are still to have reverence. It is not a place for us to profane with our complaints, our lack of thanks, or our list of selfish desires. The Holiest of All is is the place where Jesus mediates for us and reminds (for lack of a better term) our jealous and holy God that He has paid our debt — that we have been washed clean by His blood and are viewed as spotless because of His blood.
This Holiest of All is not a place about us, it is a place that is brilliant with God’s goodness, His grace, and His glory. And though we have been given the privilege to be able to come boldly to His throne, we should also come in humble reverence. When we enter in we need to remember that it is all because of His master plan — His will to rescue us from our filth and yuck — that we can have never ending communion with Him.
And this, my friends, should inspire nothing less than our deepest respect and gratitude for our Savior — the Lamb who shed His blood because He loves us.
Lord, so often I come to your throne of grace without reverence. My lack of respect and awe for You is profanity. Please, I beg You, forgive me. Teach me to come boldly, yet humbly, into your throne room. When I have unconfessed sin, please reveal it to me and lead me in confession, so that I may be washed by the blood of the Lamb. For your glory I pray. Amen.
Friends,
As with all #QuietlyThrough posts, this was written while reading quietly through God’s word. If you’re looking for a simple Bible reading plan that moves at an easy pace then the Quietly Through reading plan may be for you.
Only by grace,
Kelli
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