God with us ... through the curtain | Dec. 17
2 Chronicles 3:10-14 | Genesis 3:24
Kristal Toews | Discipleship Pastor
In the days before rolling blinds and tinted windows, people guarded the inside of their home from outsiders by hanging curtains. Curtains stopped people from trespassing into private and sacred spaces.
When the temple was constructed, Solomon had a beautiful curtain created to protect its most private and sacred space: the Holy of Holies, where God’s spirit dwelled. 2 Chronicles 3:10-14 describes this space and it’s curtain as follows:
“10 In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of wood and overlaid them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub; 12 and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, facing the nave. 14 And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it.”
In Genesis 3:24 God placed “the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” and here, in the temple, cherubim guarded the Most Holy Place and were sewn onto the curtain which stopped people from trespassing into this private and sacred space. Why? Because cherubim were angelic beings associated with protecting the holiness of God.
When Solomon built this temple, God desired to be with His people but they needed to be protected from stumbling into His holy presence, so He warned them by hanging a curtain.
The need for this physical partition remained for about 1000 years until the day that God’s son died. As Jesus gave up His spirit, the temple curtain was torn in two (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). Now, because of Jesus’ perfect life, death and resurrection, “We have confidence to enter the holy places… by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh (Hebrews 11:19-20)!
PRAYER: We praise you Jesus for your perfect life and substitutionary death on our behalf, which paid for our sins and grants us access behind the curtain, into the very presence of God!