This room was strictly off limits. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter and only once a year. When he did enter, he had to take a blood sacrifice.
The Israelites knew it as the Holy of Holies, God’s earthly dwelling place. To enter into this room was a death sentence. What sinful man could survive in His holy presence?
A thick curtain blocked the entry. It stood for 1500 years as a warning sign to the people of Israel. “Do not enter” was the message. No one dared to go in. As long as the Mosaic Covenant stood, so did the curtain.
But that covenant came to an end. Christ’s death brought it to its completion and marked the beginning of the New Covenant. This was not an ordinary day. The earth shook, the dead came out of their graves, the curtain tore from top to bottom.
If you had been at the temple that day, you would have witnessed a supernatural event, an invisible power ripping through the thick veil. Think about standing there and seeing the inside of the most Holy place for the first time, that opening enticing you to go in. Would you have had the guts to enter?
Did anyone? The Bible doesn’t say. Some thirty years the later the Temple was destroyed, the Holy of Holies was gone. But, as the writer of Hebrews wrote, this temple was merely a copy of the heavenly throne. Christ’s blood grants us access to this throne of grace. We are encouraged to go boldly in.
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22 NIV)
The blood of Jesus opened the way. He is our confidence to enter into the true Holy of Holies and experience the presence of God. We have nothing to fear, or any barriers to overcome. God is there welcoming us with open arms. In this holy place, we receive grace and mercy to help us in our time of need. Be courageous, draw near to Him in full assurance of faith.
When Aaron’s two sons, Abihu and Nadab tried to approach the Lord in a manner that was contrary to the command of God, they died. No one but the high priest could come into His presence and they only after they had gone through complex rituals to cleanse them outwardly.
But because of the work that Jesus has completed, Anyone can now come into God’s presence by faith in Him. Aaron’s son’s approached God and died, we can now draw near to God and LIVE!
I think, if I were back in that day, I would NOT have the guts enough to enter the “forbidden place” Knowing what happened to Aaron’s sons, like William reminded us, I would have been of the mindset, “Better safe than sorry”. Even today, knowing full good and well that God has put that resurrected life in me, I still find myself going, “Wait… just in case…” Thankfully the more we learn, the more we trust in His provision and love.
Lisa, Hebrews 7:18,19 reads “The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a new hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.”
It was the former regulation that Aaron’s sons violated resulting in their deaths. That regulation was set aside and a new hope was introduced so that we COULD draw near to God.
That was the purpose of the work of Christ. As Peter put it in 1Peter 3:18: “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, TO BRING YOU TO GOD……..
William,
True, but if I were alive back then (yes, this is just all meaningless supposition) I don’t think I would have had the guts to go behind where the curtain used to hang. Too many years of, “This is the way it’s always been done,” and “look at what happened to Rabbi Aaron’s sons” would have been enough to keep me from approaching.
I’m thankful that I live WAAAYYY on this side of the New Covenant.