Despite the plea for intimacy and communion, the Old Testament still created several barriers between God and His people.
The most obvious is the tabernacle itself. Although Israelites (not gentiles) were able to enter the courtyard area, only those who were ritually pure were able to do so. Moreover, there was only one gate that provided access to the Tabernacle, preventing the casual viewer from meandering into an area meant solely for sacrifice.
One level deeper was the holy place, an area of about 450 square feet where the tables for showbread and incense were located, along with the candlestick. This was accessible only by the priests and only to take care of certain rituals, like replacing the showbread.
Deeper than that was the most holy place, or the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest could enter here a few times a year to commune directly with God—or as directly as a human can commune with divine.
Heavy curtains partitioned off all these areas, but arguably the heaviest curtain was the one that separated the holy place from the most holy place. Although Exodus 26 doesn’t give an exact size or weight, Josephus records that the veil for Herod’s Temple—constructed several hundred years later—was the “width of a palm of the hand.”
If Josephus is right, then it must’ve been remarkable for the priests ministering in the Temple during the crucifixion of Jesus to watch it torn in two (Matthew 27:51). A garment of that thickness could barely be sliced open with a chainsaw, much less tear completely on its own.
The veil represents the natural division between people and God. The subsequent tearing in Matthew 27:51 shows that that division is gone, and that all people have access to Jehovah.
But relative to Exodus 26, that’s all in the future. Because of the veil, none except the High Priest had a full understanding of the nature of salvation. Everyone else sacrificed and worshipped God, but did so at a distance. Even the High Priest’s knowledge was muted compared to what we have.
The veil didn’t just mask the glory of God, it also masked the glory of the heavens. All throughout the inside of the Tabernacle, images of the Cherubim lined the curtains. In a sense, as the high priest went deeper behind the curtains, they might have felt that they were leaving the physical world behind and entering more into the spiritual world.
Even though the Tabernacle and the Temple were destroyed and the separation they created are no more, we still don’t have the experience of “moving into the Heavens” as they did. I’ve stood in some beautiful cathedrals in the world, but none of them were designed by God. Only the Tabernacle and Temple were created by God for His purposes.
As we go into our assemblies today, our worship consists of singing songs, reading Scripture, taking communion, and praying together. For the vast majority of us, these are done in relatively simple buildings (or in some cases, no buildings at all). Our worship is designed to be simple to keep the focus on God, instead of us.
The challenge then, is to not rely on physical manifestations of God’s presence to drive our worship. We shouldn’t need the curtains as they did because we have direct access to God—greater than even the high priest. And if that’s the case, our worship should be driven by that intimacy, yearning every day to get closer and closer to Him.
With the veil removed, all that’s required of us is “boldness to enter the holy place” (Hebrews 10:19). Are you confident enough to spiritually move into the presence of God?
