²³ Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

Heaven had no sin and therefore did not require cleansing in the same sense that the earthly tabernacle needed cleansing. In reality, sprinkling blood in the tabernacle, on the mercy seat or any of the other furniture did not change the essential nature of those things. Their chemical composition did not change, nor was it a matter of killing the germs on them. But sprinkling with blood did, however, change the nature of the relationship with God as symbolized in those things. When blood was applied God responded in a new way to the individuals who applied the blood.

In the same way, when Scripture says that the heavenly things are cleansed with a better sacrifice, those heavenly things do not essentially change. But God changes how He interacts with His people as a result. The sprinkling of blood in the earthly tabernacle pictured this change with God, not just in time-space when the Jewish high priests applied the blood, but when Christ returned to His Father in the heavenly places. Now there is a “better” change in God’s relationship with His people.

We must speak to the notion of God being perceived as changing. The Scripture makes it clear that He is a God “with whom there is no change” (Psalm 55:18, see Hebrews 13:8). Yet, the Scripture does use language that seems to indicate the God changes His mind, as seen in His response to prayer or repentance. For instance, with the Ninevites, God “relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it” (Jonah 3:10). So what do we make of all this?

The answer is found in our human perspective and God communicating using what might be called phenomenal language. A simple illustration will suffice. On a windy day, a bike rider perceives the wind being “with” him, when he pedals in one direction, but then if the bike rider changes direction, the wind now is perceived as “against” him. The wind hasn’t changed, but the rider has changed, relative to the wind. So then, when the “better sacrifice” that “cleanses” the heavenly things was made, God didn’t change. But the relationship by which we can now approach Him has changed. The change, in reality, is in us who believe in Christ. God, who was formerly against us, is now with us. But it is not He who changed, but us. And Jesus made that possible.

Lord, thank You for the unchanging sacrifice of love that was made from eternity past, and exhibited on the cross of Christ, the cleansing of eternity.