Read Exodus 26 at Bible Gateway.
“The veil shall be a divider for you between the Holy Place and the Most Holy. You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy …” Exo 26:33c-34
The Most Holy Place housed the Ark of the Covenant. It was over the mercy seat on the ark that God met with Moses (Exo 25:22), so that the place of His presence was above the mercy seat.
But access to His presence was divided off by a divider, the thick, heavy veil, which separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Tabernacle. The veil did not just “screen” God from the Tabernacle–it “screened” God from the entire world. Only the High Priest could enter behind the veil, and this only once per year on the Day of Atonement.
And after the Hebrew Bible was completed, the veil entered the biblical narrative once more. At the moment of Yeshua’s death on the cross, the veil was rent asunder from top to bottom so that it was torn in two (Mat 27:51).
Why This Matters: We can scarcely realize the monumental shock of that moment. Since the day of satan’s rebellion against God, He has been making separations in His “uni”verse (Gen 1 and following), until the damage to its unity with God could be undone. YHVH’s priesthood nation, which stood between Him and the rest of the world, could not even breach this separation without death. For 1500 years Israel had been ingrained with the concept of the holiness of the presence of God which must not be transgressed. But at the central point of history, at the crucifixion of Messiah, the dividing veil came down.
Now the presence of God, and the mercy of God which covers over our transgressions of the Law, rushed out from the Most Holy Place to touch the whole world through Yeshua. He is the way through the veil. Our High Priest has made atonement for our sins, and access to God and His mercy is now open, as is the door standing open in heaven (Rev 4:1).
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Rev 22:17
The Hebrew paragraphs for this chapter:
26:1-14 {p} The pattern for the curtains and coverings of the Tabernacle
26:15-30 {s} The pattern for the frame of the Tabernacle
26:31-37 {s} The pattern for the veil/ placement of ark, table, lampstand/ screen
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