Thoughts for the Day

[High Priests] serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. Hebrews 8:5

In looking for a scripture that might help us appreciate the utter holiness and otherness of God, I suddenly realised the answer was not a scripture but a building.  The temple in Jerusalem.  Because by his death Jesus made the temple obsolete, we tend not to give it much thought.  And, let’s face it, the detailed biblical descriptions of the temple building and before that the tabernacle construction make pretty hard reading.  But let’s consider it.

Herod’s temple of Jesus’ time was largely a copy of Solomon’s temple, which was essentially a copy of the tabernacle, which we are told was constructed exactly according to a pattern that God gave Moses.  Today’s scripture adds an astonishing perspective, which surely must be a candidate for one of those “Did God really say?” questions.  The plan that God gave Moses was a ‘copy and shadow’ of heavenly things. It is the language of mystery, but seems to be saying that the temple design is not simply a revelation about God but reflects a more tangible heavenly reality.  What might that reality be?

These buildings spelt out the unapproachableness of God.  Specifically, the main building consisted of a holy place where only priests were allowed to minister, and beyond that the most holy place, a holy of holies where only the high priest could enter just once a year and only in a very strict and prescribed manner.  To do otherwise was to expect death, because this was the dwelling place of the presence of a God too pure, holy and righteous for man to look upon and live.

So, although from the perspective of God’s love we may wonder how anyone can perish, from the perspective of such holiness surely we should wonder how anyone can survive.  Fortunately for us, into this conundrum steps Jesus!