Perhaps the Hebrew Christians were asking themselves, “If we leave behind all that we were taught about the law and traditions of Judaism, how are we supposed to know how to live?” Ceremonial foods, teachings about meats and drinks, washing, and religious observances controlled the lives of the Jews. Additions to God’s word by those who had a strange doctrine that came from their imagination were to be completely rejected.
Outward ceremonies and observances of human rules and ideas do not come from the hearts of those who have been born again. The hearts of believers are established by the Holy Spirit and the grace of God, not by what we eat or don’t eat. Whatever is from God is confirmed in the minds and hearts of those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. He is the One who guides us into all truth, not those who claim spiritual superiority and authority over others. Strange doctrines often add to or claim authority over the written word of God.
God’s grace has come to us from an altar far greater than the ceremonial altars that point to something greater. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross has provided the grace we needed to free us from the sacrifices at the tabernacle, which foreshadowed the “one sacrifice for sins forever” that Christ made on our behalf. The priesthood of Judaism and the old sacrifices have been fulfilled and are done, finished. Their value and meaning to us now provide insight into the importance of what we have when we enter the Holiest with our spiritual sacrifices and worship.
The altar did not make the offering valuable, nor was the sinlessness of the innocent victim on the altar what gave it value. God’s word and obedience to it were what mattered in the types and shadows. We worship today in the Holiest, in heaven itself, where we come before God with our sacrifices and present them to Him through our Great High Priest, who intercedes for us. We gather to Him, give Him our worship, and He grants us access to the divine presence of God. Now, as priests, we can partake of the blessings Christ has provided because we have received Him.
The Old Testament priests could not eat of the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement because faith in Christ’s sacrifice is what gives us real access to God. By way of personal application, the children of God have “an altar” to frequent, in the sense of a “possession” that belongs to us and to which we belong. Those who serve the tabernacle are excluded from this altar because they have no part with Christ, the true sacrifice.