The veil was torn in the middle, and all the burdens of the ceremonial laws were nailed to the cross.

The Book of Covenant in Hebrews 9:1-28

Hebrews 9:1-28
1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
4 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;
5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Summary:
The book of covenant contained ordinances, sacrifices, and offerings that could not make the worshipper perfect but pointed forward to Christ. It was kept beside the Ark of the Covenant, separate from the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments of God

Difference from the Book of Covenant

• The Ten Commandments are entirely different from the 613 laws of the book of covenant.

• The Ten Commandments were written by God Himself on stone tablets and kept inside the Ark of the Covenant.

Exodus 24:18

And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 31:18

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

• This shows the Ten Commandments were directly written by God, not dictated.

• Moses spent forty days and forty nights receiving them.

The First Two Tables of the Ten Commandments

Exodus 32:1-35 (Summary)

1. The people grew impatient with Moses’ delay and demanded Aaron make gods for them.

2. Aaron fashioned a golden calf from their earrings.

3. The people worshiped it, offered sacrifices, and celebrated.

4. God informed Moses of Israel’s corruption and angered.

5. Moses pleaded for mercy, and God relented.

6. Moses descended with the two tables of the testimony in his hand.

7. Seeing the idol worship, Moses broke the tablets in anger.

8. He destroyed the golden calf and punished the people, with the Levites executing judgment.

9. Moses sought atonement for their sin and interceded with God.

Conclusion:

• The first tables were destroyed because of Israel’s idolatry.

• This emphasizes the holiness of God’s law and the seriousness of obedience.

1. The Book of the Covenant vs. the Ten Commandments

• Book of the Covenant: This refers to the collection of laws given to Israel after the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20, 21-23). It contains civil, ceremonial, and moral ordinances, many related to sacrifices and offerings. Hebrews 9 refers to these laws as part of the “first covenant” with its ordinances of divine service, the tabernacle, priests, and blood sacrifices (Hebrews 9:1-10). These were temporary and symbolic, pointing to Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

• Ten Commandments: These were written directly by God on two stone tablets, not dictated like the other laws (Exodus 31:18; 34:1). They were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant and represented the covenant directly between God and Israel. The Ten Commandments are permanent, moral laws, given by God Himself, and are distinct from the sacrificial ordinances in the Book of the Covenant.

2. The Ark of the Covenant

• The Ark contained the Ten Commandments, the stone tablets God wrote (Exodus 25:16; 31:18).

• It did not contain the Book of the Covenant; that was kept by the side (Hebrews 9:4).

• This distinction emphasizes that the moral law (Ten Commandments) comes directly from God, while the ceremonial law (Book of the Covenant) mediated God’s relationship with Israel until Christ.

3. Christ and the Fulfillment of the Law

Hebrews 9 emphasizes that the blood of animals in the first covenant could only purify the flesh and conscience temporarily (Hebrews 9:13-14). Jesus, as the ultimate High Priest, enters the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood to cleanse our conscience and fulfill the covenant perfectly (Hebrews 9:11-12, 24-28).

• The Ten Commandments, written by God, were not abolished; rather, Christ fulfills their purpose by writing them on the hearts of believers through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:4; 2 Corinthians 3:3).

• Believers now live by God’s moral law internally, not just externally, through the Spirit, not through sacrificial ordinances.

4. Teaching the Ten Commandments

• God commanded Israel to teach the commandments to their children, display them on doorposts and gates, and not add or take from them (Deuteronomy 6:1-9; 12:32).

• This shows the permanent and universal nature of the Ten Commandments—they are moral truths meant to guide life, not just ceremonial observances.

5. Practical takeaway

• The Book of the Covenant: external law, sacrificial, temporary, pointing to Christ.

• The Ten Commandments: moral law, permanent, written by God, now written on believers’ hearts by the Spirit through Jesus.

• Hebrews 9 shows the shift: Christ’s sacrifice replaces the old sacrificial system, but the Ten Commandments continue to guide the moral life of believers through the Spirit.