“These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties” (Hebrews 9:6 ESV).
The Gospel of Luke contains an element from Jesus’ birth narrative that relates to our passage here in Hebrews 9:6. That portion of Scripture chronicles the experience of a priest named Zechariah…
“One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God because his priestly division was on duty. Following the customs of priestly service, he was chosen by lottery to go into the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense. All the people who gathered to worship were praying outside during this hour of incense offering” (Luke 1:8-10 CEB).
The following verses tell us that an angel appeared to Zechariah during that time to inform him that he and his wife would become parents of a son. In accord with that promise, Zechariah’s wife bore a son who is better known to us today as John the Baptist. However, the tasks associated with Zechariah’s priestly ministry are of greater interest to us as they relate to this portion of Scripture from Hebrews 9:6.
We can begin by noting that Zechariah was engaged in the “ritual duties” that our author references in verse nine. In this instance, Zechariah was given the responsibility of burning fragrant incense before the Lord in the area of the sanctuary known as The Holy Place. This took place twice each day, once in the morning, and again in the evening. Although it is not mentioned in Luke’s account, Zechariah would have also been responsible for tending the sanctuary’s lampstand during that time as well (see Exodus 30:7-9).
Another ritual duty involved replenishing the showbread once a week, as mentioned earlier. Taken together, these ministries constituted the “religious duties” (Phillips) performed by these Levitical priests. These priestly ministers were the only ones who held access to these areas; everyone else was strictly prohibited from entering.
Yet even though these priests had held lawful access to the sanctuary, the author of Hebrews will soon remind us that “free access” and “unlimited access” are not necessarily synonymous. You see, our author is about to reiterate the fact that there was only one person on earth who could enter the inner portion of the tabernacle (or the Most Holy Place), and then only once a year.
Those Old Covenant limitations provide us with an object lesson concerning access to God. That lesson proceeds directly from the Holy Spirit, and we’ll examine its meaning in greater detail over the course of the next few studies.