This turn is from the outer court on earth to the Holy of Holies in heaven (8:2; 9:11-12, 24). This reminds us of the arrangement of the furniture in the tabernacle. Firstly, there was the outer court. Then there was the tabernacle, which was divided into two parts—the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies where God’s presence was. Thus, there were three parts: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. According to the type, both the outer court and the Holy Place are for the Holy of Holies. The purpose in entering the outer court is to come through the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies. Both the outer court and the Holy Place are for the people to come into the Holy of Holies. The outer court is for people to enter the Holy of Holies, and the Holy Place is the threshold of the Holy of Holies. If you come to the outer court without entering into the Holy of Holies, you are aimless. If you remain around the altar and the laver for a long time, you have no aim or destination. Neither the altar nor the laver in the outer court is the goal. The goal is the Holy of Holies. Whenever you are at the altar or at the laver you must aim for the Holy of Holies. Even when you are in the Holy Place you should say, “Lord, I am not for this place. I am passing through this place to the Holy of Holies. My aim, my goal, is Your Holy of Holies.” The book of Hebrews firstly presents us the things in the outer court. Then, beginning at 7:1, it turns us to the Holy of Holies. This is the turn from the outer court through the Holy Place to the Holy of Holies.
This turn is also from the altar for sin in the outer court to the propitiation-cover for grace (the throne of grace) in the Holy of Holies (13:10, 12; 10:12; 4:16). Here we see two things—the altar and the propitiation-cover. The propitiation-cover is the throne of grace where God meets with us, speaks with us, and communes with us, and where we are one with God in His economy. The throne of grace is the very place where God and we, we and God, are one. The altar is in the outer court, and the propitiation-cover is in the Holy of Holies. The altar symbolizes the cross, which is dear and precious. The altar is dear and precious because it deals with our sins. But it is in the outer court. The cross, on which the problem of sin was solved is still on the earth, on the ground floor. While many Christians are occupied continually with the cross in the outer court, I doubt if many Christians properly touch the propitiation-cover hourly or even daily. We all need to learn to touch the throne of grace, the propitiation-cover, moment by moment. We need to pray, “Lord, I need to touch Your throne of grace every minute.” The throne of grace is the place where we must be. The cross is good, but it is not our goal or destination. It is not the place where we should remain forever. The place where we should remain forever is the propitiation-cover, the throne of grace. Where are you right now? We are around the propitiation-cover, around the throne of grace.
In the Bible we are never told that God speaks from the cross. According to the Bible, where do we hear God’s voice? At the throne of grace, the oracle in the Holy of Holies. If you are still around the cross, it will be difficult for you to hear God’s speaking. But whenever you come to the throne of grace, the propitiation-cover, you will immediately hear the divine voice. You will hear God’s voice because you are in the oracle, at the throne of grace. It is here that we hear God’s speaking, see His countenance, and enjoy His presence. It is here that we are one with Him in His economy. So the book of Hebrews turns us from the altar in the outer court to the place of God’s oracle in the Holy of Holies.
At the throne of grace, it is no longer a question of sin. Sin is under our feet. At the throne of grace, it is a matter of grace. Are you still occupied with sin? Are you still entangled and troubled by your temper? Forget about it. Although you might have lost your temper with your wife this morning, now, as you are reading this message, you can be at the throne of grace. A few hours ago you were under sin, but now you are with grace over sin. None of us should be occupied with sin any longer. Sin is over. We all need to be occupied, filled, saturated, and permeated with grace. Hallelujah for grace! Are you now around the cross or around the throne of grace? We need to be brothers and sisters around the throne of grace.
What is grace? Grace is God Himself flowing into, through, and out of us to do everything for us. Have you not enjoyed grace in this way, as the very God flowing into, through, and out of you to do everything for you? This is the grace that we enjoy around the throne of grace. We all must know grace in this way. The ministry of the book of Hebrews is simply to turn us to the throne of grace. Through the rich church life, the Lord has brought us to the throne of grace. I do not like to linger around the cross any longer. However, I am not saying that we should give up the cross. I am saying that we should not linger at the cross but stay at the throne of grace. I would like to linger here at the throne of grace for eternity.