The Holy of Holies

Bible Study
Day three
Sunday 22 August 2010

You will soon see I am easily distracted by shiny objects. This post is not on the names of God, but I do not want to put limitations on what the Lord wants to do and felt this was important.

Take Me into the Holy of Holies.

Please listen to and enjoy this song. (Take Me In by Kutless, rock and roll version)



or (Take Me In by Petra, the not rock and roll version)



God so very much wants a relationship with us that He went to a lot of trouble to get it. This is a very good description and explanation of what the Holy of Holies entailed by A. W Tozer in his book I Talk Back to the Devil:

“God has seen fit to give us a powerful Old Testament illustration of the necessity for a divine illumination, an experience of supernatural transformation and understanding in the quickening of the soul. It is in the account of the progress of Israel’s high priest into the Holy of Holies. First in the order which God established was the Outer Court, over which there was no roof or covering. When the priest was there, he was aided by the natural light of the sun.

“Then he passed through a veil into the Holy Place. Here there was no light of nature, but an artificial light was kept kindled by the priests themselves.

”Still beyond was the Holy of Holies where there was neither natural light nor artificial light. There was only the Shekinah glory, the supernatural light of God shining from the mercy seat. When the priest came into the Holy of Holies, there was nothing human upon which he could lean. The intellect was of no consequence. There was no ecclesiastical light, nor associate preacher in long tails intoning in a ministerial voice.

“Think about that man chosen to minister as the high priest in those days. He came into the Holy of Holies knowing that the God who made heaven and earth was dwelling in fire between the wings of the cherubim. He knew that this was the great and living God with His thousands of attributes and His sea of endless and boundless Being. This man, a human, knew that God dwelt there and that as priest he was to move into that Presence.

“In the Outer Court, there was the light above to help him. That could represent our church and denomination – the natural things upon which we often depend.

“Moving into the Holy Place, there was still the artificial light, and perhaps that could be a representation of our theology.

“But he had to go on until there was no natural or artificial light – only a supernatural shining! There in that Presence he had nothing to assure him but the character of God, nothing to protect him but the blood which he presented.

“Furthermore, he was all alone. No other person could go in with the priest. His helpers could aid him in getting the veils apart, but then they had to back away with their eyes averted. Only the high priest with the blood could enter into that holiest place of all. Without the protection of the blood he would have burned as a leaf burns in fire. There was no human reassurance, no human to pat him on the back, no one to show him the text, no one to help. He was all alone – but he had the character of God to assure him!

“Brethren, when we finally have our meeting with God, it has to be alone in the depths of our being. We will be alone even if we are surrounded by a crowd. God has to cut every maverick out of the herd and brand him all alone. It isn’t something that God can do for us en masse.”

This is what happened when Jesus died for us:

Matthew 27:50 – And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Matthew 27:51 – And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split,

This is a description of the veil,

Exodus 26:31 – “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.

Exodus 26:32 – “And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also being of gold, on four sockets of silver.

Exodus 26:33 – “And you shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies.”

Josephus reported that the veil was four inches thick, renewed every year and that horses tied to each side could not pull it apart; yet, when Jesus died it was torn from the top to the bottom. God did it; only He could. He made it possible for us to come into His presence.

He then says,
Hebrews 10:17 – “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Jeremiah 31:34 – “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, “ declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Hebrews 10:18 – Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Hebrews 10:19 – Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,

Hebrews 10:20 – by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,

Hebrews 10:21 – and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

Hebrews 10:22 – let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:23 – Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

Amen!

Please listen to this song again and realize where you are and how you got there, by the pure, sweet, holy blood of Jesus – His sacrifice for us. Remember when you are in His presence it is just you and Him. If you have not accepted the gift salvation and forgiveness Jesus offers you, pour out your heart to Him and know that He is indeed faithful!