This beautiful curtain is to hang on a stand that will reside within the tabernacle. It will act as a partition wall to create a separate room to house the most holy object of Israel. "Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the Ark of the Covenant behind the curtain." (Exodus 26:33a) Our current chapter won't go into much detail about what takes place behind this curtain (or "veil" as the Bible sometimes calls it) but no one will be allowed behind it except the high priest of Israel. He will enter the space behind the veil once a year, on the Day of Atonement, to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. He will go behind the veil to intercede with the Lord on behalf of himself and the people. The Lord will accept the sacrifice and the prayers of intercession and will "roll back" the sins of the people for another year until the Day of Atonement comes around again and the process is repeated.
This same process took place in the temple Solomon built. The temple, though a solid immovable structure with far more expense and workmanship poured into it, had the same type of layout as the wilderness tabernacle. It had an outer courtyard and on the inside it had a larger compartment and a smaller compartment. A veil hung in the temple, separating the Most Holy Place and the Ark of the Covenant from the view of the people. The temple veil (believed to have been about sixty feet tall during the lifetime of Jesus) is the veil God the Father reached down and tore in two from top to bottom at the moment God the Son died on the cross. "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." (Matthew 27:51a) The Bible tells us that Jesus died at 3pm, which was the time of day when the daily evening sacrifice was made. So when God tore the veil, the priests were at the temple going about their work, many people were gathered at the temple for worship, and the shofars (rams horns) were blowing loudly. Picture the drama of this moment, with so many witnesses present to see the tearing of the veil (which no one but the high priest could touch or go through, which no one could reach from the top much less tear in two by hand---the veil was four inches thick according to the historian Josephus). The sacrificial lamb was being slaughtered in the courtyard while just a short distance away the Lamb of God was giving up His spirit on the cross. The rams horns were sounding their loud call to prayer and repentance, and if you've never heard a shofar I can tell you that the time I heard just one of them being blown it sent chills down my spine. And, at the moment the veil was torn in two, a great earthquake shook Jerusalem. (Matthew 27:51b)
Why did God the Father tear the curtain in two? Because after Christ---the eternal and perfect high priest of God---took His own blood into the Most Holy Place in heaven, a new and living way was opened up for man to enter into the presence of God. We no longer need an earthly high priest to carry blood behind the veil once a year to intercede for us with the Lord. God's own Son went behind the veil in heaven with the blood He shed on our behalf, and His sacrifice was enough to cleanse us from sins once and for all, and through Him we can each come to God for mercy and forgiveness. Because of our faith in His Son, God hears our prayers and forgives our sins. For the sake of His Son, God grants mercy to all who believe in the power of Christ's blood. There is no more need for a temple, or for a high priest, or for an earthly mercy seat, or for the daily and yearly sacrifices. God tore the veil in two to signify that the Old Covenant was fulfilled and set aside. God tore the veil in two because the New Covenant---the eternal and perfect covenant that depends on Christ's work and not man's work---was now in effect.
I'm inserting this detailed diagram below so we can see how the interior of the tabernacle was laid out. There is a line showing us where the curtain would have hung that separated the Most Holy Place (otherwise known as the Holy of Holies).
"For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen---the work of an embroiderer. Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them." (Exodus 26:36-37) On the diagram above, we see the entrance on the right hand side, which would be placed on the eastern side. We could spend a whole study session discussing nothing but the significance of the eastern side but we'll save that for another day.
For now I think we'll close by taking a look at the significance of the terms "Holy Place" and "Most Holy Place". The larger space inside the tabernacle (and inside the later temple) was called the "Holy Place". It is a space devoted to the Lord and consecrated to the Lord's service, therefore it is considered a holy area. We might compare it to the sanctuary space in our modern churches. The smaller, curtained-off space called the "Most Holy Place" was so holy and so close to the presence of God that only the high priest could enter it once a year, and he could never under any circumstances enter it without the blood of an atoning sacrifice. He would have dropped dead instantly if he'd gone behind the veil without blood. In fact, anyone other than the high priest who dared to go behind the veil would be struck dead, for only the high priest was considered consecrated enough to perform this duty and even he could only enter after making a sacrifice for his own sins. A rope would be tied to his ankle in case he died while in the Most Holy Place (whether due to a natural physical ailment or whether due to being found unworthy by the Lord to enter behind the veil). I am not certain what might cause him to be found unworthy unless, to use the words of King David, he "cherishes iniquity in his heart" in which case the Lord "does not hear him". (Psalm 66:18) The high priest had to have a rope tied to him in case he perished in the Most Holy Place because no one could go in to retrieve his body. Upon the death of a high priest, another would be appointed who would take over his duties behind the veil.
In the original language these two spaces within the tabernacle and within the later temple would literally be called "Holy" and "Holy Holy", but this was translated as "Holy Place" and "Most Holy Place/Holy of Holies" for the sake of this being easier to say and to understand. But did you know there is a place not made by human hands that is called the "Holy Holy Holy"? This is the ultimate of holy places---the Most Most Holy Place, the Holiest Of Holies. And where is it? In the throne room of heaven, for whenever someone in the Bible is given a glimpse of God seated on the throne, that person hears the angelic beings who surround the throne calling out, "Holy, holy, holy!" (Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8) The Holy Place in the tabernacle and in the temple could not begin to compare to the glory of God's throne room in heaven. That sacred space known as the Most Holy Place, where the presence of God dwelt on the mercy seat, could not begin to compare to God's dwelling place in heaven. Someday we are going to see the Holy Holy Holy with our own eyes and nothing we've ever seen or heard on earth will have prepared us for what we'll see and hear then. I think we'll fall to our knees before Almighty God and add our voices to that of the angelic hosts and cry out, "Holy, holy, holy!" There will be no veil hanging between us and Him, blocking from our view the sight of the One who created us and loves us. There is already no veil hanging between our hearts and His, for Christ made a way for us to bow down in the here and now and approach God's throne of grace in our hearts. "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
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