In Hebrews 8:6-13, the apostle Paul attempts to lay out a divine argument to the Jews concerning the second covenant made by God. He explains the passage found in Jeremiah 31:31 prophesies the coming of the new covenant which would do away with the old covenant. In the next chapter of Hebrews, Paul explains the old and new covenants using the tabernacle as his masterful example. In verse 6, Paul explains that the first part of the tabernacle was used for accomplishing the service and works of God, being a shadow of the law or the old covenant; but the holiest place was veiled, darkened, and smoky due to the golden censer, in order to conceal the glory and presence of God from men's eyes due to their sinful nature.

However, in verse 8, Paul states "that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing;" meaning, that the way into the holy presence of God could not be yet revealed while the first part of the tabernacle was still in operation, or, in other words, the glory of the holiest of all could not be revealed while the old covenant of the law was still in effect. Only when Jesus Christ died on the cross, providing His blood shed on the cross for the sacrifice for the remission of all our sins, could anyone come boldly into the mercy seat of God and obtain forgiveness for all sins, as well as obtain other promises obtained by the new covenant.

With the blood of Christ as the way into the holiest place of God, we as the church may partake of the promises of God, as well as partake of the oaths with which He has promised all mankind. Three of those oaths can be found in the ark of the covenant, which was the token for the old covenant. According to Hebrews 9:4, the ark contained, "the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant.."

In the new covenant, we have three promises which have their shadow in the ark of the old testament of God. We may partake of the manna which came from heaven in Jesus Christ, and this is done through faith in Jesus Christ as being the eternal author of immortality by His resurrection from physical death, which we may partake of if we hold fast to the faith of His bodily resurrection, as well as our own when He returns.

Through the authority of Christ's priesthood, we also are priests in His Kingdom, for we can offer prayers of intercession for others, as well as offer the sacrifices of praise from our lips and offer the sacrifices of love through our actions towards those whom Christ will lead towards Himself through His love shed abroad through the cross of Calvary, where He enabled us to love others through our own sacrificial gift of giving out our lives for others regardless of the cost to our own safety, comfort, and life.

And, finally, we have the law written on our hearts, enabling us to obey the Lord Jesus Christ with a pure heart by the circumcision of our hearts through the gift of the Holy Ghost, which occurs at the moment of the softening of our hearts at the sight of Jesus Christ nailed to the old rugged cross that fateful afternoon, breaking our hearts at the thought of the Son of God dying on the cross, suffering for the actions of sinful man, dying on the cross to provide us with salvation when we should be the one who should die such a horrible death to appease God's wrath over our own sin. With the love we have for the Lord Jesus Christ's gift for us, we will love each other honestly, without looking at the law as our guidepost, but instead to the love which Christ gave to us from His sacrifice on the cross, and His love will be the guiding light for all our actions towards one another and towards God, which is a better way to live rather than trying to keep track of laws and ordinances which could never make a man righteous.

With these three promises: the life of Christ as found in His resurrection; the priesthood of the believer bestowed upon us by His authority, power, and word; and the law written on our hearts through the testimony of His crucifixion, we as Christians may enter into the holiest of all and obtain grace in the time of need. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, the risen Son of God!