Walking With Christ

The holy temple, from the time of Moses onward, was built in three different areas. The temple of Solomon added an outside wall that surrounds the courtyard where anyone was allowed to come to pray and worship. It still kept the same components that the original tabernacle used.

There was an outer courtyard that would have the bronze altar for burnt offerings and the bronze washing basin for ritualistic purification. Anyone was allowed to come to the outer courtyard.
The Holy Place held the Golden Lampstand where a menorah constantly burned to symbolize God’s eternal light, the Table of Showbread always had twelve perfectly made and daily fresh loaves of bread that represented the provision God had for each tribe in the wilderness, and the Altar of Incense where burning incense symbolized the prayers of the people ascending to God.

Inside of the Holy Place was the Holy of Holies. This was the single most holy place to all of Israel and anyone who believed or believes in God. This is where the Ark of the Covenant, the vessel for carrying the ten commandments (the very holy physical evidence of God’s commandments and promises – made with the very finger of God) rested. It wasn’t the Ark the made this place holy. No, it was the very living presence of God the Father on earth. His divine presence, in full glory, would come down and be in this place. This is where Moses would speak directly with God. This is where only the most high priest on one single day of the year would perform rituals for the atonement of all of Israel for the previous year. I could write several messages just on the rituals and meanings behind things that were done in that small room, but that isn’t where I want to focus today.

The Holy of Holies had to be closed off from anyone who wasn’t completely clean and ritualistically pure. Just being in the presence of God would cause them to fall down dead. The high priest who performed the annual atonement rites had to have a rope tied around his ankle just in case he hadn’t fully cleansed himself and dropped dead. The other priests would pull him out by the rope because they couldn’t get close to the door without risking death.

How do you make sure that someone doesn’t accidentally open up the Holy of Holies and expose everyone in the Holy Place to certain death? Make a veil that is thick enough and heavy enough that it takes actual effort to move it aside when you intentionally want to go in.

The Talmud is a central text for Rabbinic Judaism and it says that the veil had to be made of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. It had to be big enough to cover the entire opening and then some. It had to be thick enough that it was difficult to actually move. According to the Talmud it was a handbreadth thick. That’s about four inches.

I went through all of that to point out the extreme efforts that went into creating a separation between holy and unholy, God and us, respectively. Why is that important?

Matthew 27:51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.(ESV)
Mark 15:38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.(ESV)

The moment of Jesus’s death on the cross changed the world. The veil was torn, not thrown aside or pulled down, but torn from top to bottom. Top to bottom. The barrier between God and us had been removed in a violent and quite dramatic way. It wasn’t just that the earth shook. That shouldn’t have cause any actual damage to the veil considering that the building itself remained standing. No, it was that the veil itself was broken so as to say that it was no longer needed.

There is no barrier between us and our Father, in heaven. The relationship has been repaired by the blood of Jesus paying the wages of death. Because that price has been paid, we no longer have to offer blood sacrifices or burnt offerings. We no longer have to go to any third party to have our sins forgiven. We can go directly to God. Yes, we are still supposed to confess our sins to one another. That’s part of the personal accountability relationship that we have with fellow believers. That accountability partner will walk with you through the struggle of sin without shame or judgement. That isn’t for the forgiveness of sins. That is more about altering future behavior.

The door is open. He is there, waiting for us to turn to Him in prayer and praise. He opened the way for us to come into His throne room and sit on His lap and be vulnerable like children all over again. He made a way where there was no way. He gave His only son, Jesus. Now that is love.

Father,
We thank You for making a way for us to return to You. We thank You for hearing our prayers and praise. We thank You for the endless mercy and grace that You show us. We celebrate our weakness because that exemplifies Your strength when we rely on You and Your holy plan for our lives. As we turn to You, Lord, we sing Your praises all the more knowing that this was planned before the first stone of the earth was laid. We are in awe of Your works and Your ways. We thank You for the fellowship we share through this thread and the lessons that You send.

Father,
Never let me grow so bold as to try to take credit for the good works that You are doing through this ministry. To You goes all the glory and praise. My best is but dirty rags. I know that the light that others see was never my light to begin with. Let others who see that light not see me but, rather, see You and Your perfect love for each of us where we are and as we are. Let us love each other in the same manner that You love us. Let that love be perfect and complete. Let the light shine bright and true to show the beauty of our flaws and the perfection we find in the refining process that You have for each one of us. Let us not fear this process. Let us now shy away from You and Your tender mercies. Let us lean in to Your voice and Your will.

In Jesus name we pray, amen!