would you turn with me again
tonight to the 26th chapter of Exodus. Chapter 26 of the book
of Exodus. I don't have to tell you, I've
mentioned it to you several times how spiritually profitable these
studies have been to me personally. And I hope that they have been
to you also. As you already know, the tabernacle
consisted of the outer court and a structure with two rooms. Arthur Pink, in his book entitled,
Gleanings and Exodus, said that the structure was actually a
tabernacle within a tabernacle. One, the outer room, was called
the Holy Place, and the other room was called the Holy of Holies. And these two rooms were separated
by a curtain, a veil, it's called, And it was that veil that divided
the holy place from the Holy of Holies. The first compartment
was 30 feet by 15, and then the innermost compartment, a separate
room of 15 feet by 15. And in this innermost chamber
called the Holy of Holies is where Jehovah's throne upon the
ark where the Shekinah glory dwelt between the two cherubim.
And in these verses before us tonight, we find Jehovah giving
instructions to Moses concerning the veil. God told Moses what
material the veil must be made of, just as he did the four coverings
of the tabernacle. God instructed Moses the manner
of its workmanship and where and how to hang this veil. And
its presence before the Holy of Holies, this veil, made it
obvious that there was a divine separation between God and man. And the light from that lamp
stand, it shined upon this veil and it revealed this veil's various
beauties. And what a picture this veil
is of our Lord and Savior. Look at verse 31 with me, Exodus
26. And thou shalt make a veil of
blue and purple and scarlet and fine twine linen of cunning work. With cherubim shall it be made.
This was much like the, the first ceiling cover made of the fine
twined linen. It had the cherubims woven into
it and these colors, which all mean something. Verse 32, and
thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittum wood, overlaid
with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold
upon the four sockets of silver. And thou shalt hang up the veil
under the tatches that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil
of the ark of the testimony. And the veil, now look closely
at this. And the veil shall divide unto
you between the holy place and the most holy. This veil separated
the holy place from the holy of holies. And thou shalt put
the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony. in the most holy
place. And thou shalt set the table
without the veil and the candlestick over against the table on the
side of the tabernacle toward the south. And thou shalt put
the table on the north side." Now, as you noticed in verse
33, God commanded that this veil be hung to divide unto you between
the holy place and the most holy. And I'd have you first to notice
that this was a curtain, not a wall, not a wall of wood or
a wall of stone or even a wall of metal. And that should give
us much more than just a hint that the veil was only temporary. There would one day be a permanent
way of access to God revealed to God's people. The scriptures
are very clear. You know this, we talk about
this all the time. The scriptures are very clear
that sin has separated God's people from Him. Isaiah 59 too
says it very plainly and clearly. It says, but your iniquities
have separated between you and your God. And your sins have
hid His face from you that He will not hear. Friends, God is
too holy and we're too sinful. God can have nothing to do with
sin. Anything that we're to offer
to God in the way of a sacrifice or an offering must be perfect
to be accepted. God will by no means clear the
guilty. You know these verses well. The
soul that sins, it shall die. And as we saw this past Sunday,
the wages of sin is death. God's law not only demands perfection,
His justice requires it. So someone besides you and me
has to pay our sin debt in order to honor God's law and satisfy
God's justice and make us holy and accepted. And that's the
only way for us to enter into God's presence. The only way
to enter into God's presence and His glory was found above
the mercy seat. and you must go through the veil,
which only the high priest was allowed to do and live. So immediately
we see that this veil pictures Christ who has provided for us
a new and a living way to enter into God's holy presence. We'll
see that in a moment in the book of Hebrews. So first we see Christ
in the materials used to make the veil. Look at verse 31 again. And thou shalt make a veil of
blue and purple and scarlet and fine twined linen of cunning
work with cherubims shall it be made. And as I said a moment
ago, this veil was made much like the fine twined linen covering,
which again, pictures Christ's holiness. And remember, the white
of that linen pictured and pointed to the sinless purity of the
man, Christ Jesus, both in his inward thoughts and desires and
his outward ways and works. And the eye of God who is light,
could rest upon that Holy One, His beloved Son, and find every
ray of His own perfect being reflected in this lowly but lovely
Son of Man, Jesus of Nazareth. And as we've discussed in past
studies, blue is the heavenly color, which pictures Christ
as God from heaven. Jesus Christ is God. Scarlet
represents Christ, who was the only qualified man to shed his
own blood for his people's sin and forgiveness and be accepted
by God Almighty. And purple, made from the combining
of both the blue and the scarlet, is the color of royalty. And
it shows us that Christ is both God and man in one person, and
he is our royal high priest. This fine linen in which the
veil was made was the very best linen among all the fabrics in
the tabernacle. I was thinking how Christ is
the very best among all mankind, the only perfect man. And he
had to be in order to be pure and remain pure as he hung on
the cross with all the sin of all the elect of all God's people
throughout time. I love what Paul wrote in Hebrews
7, verse 26. He said, for such a high priest
became us, who's holy and harmless and undefiled, separate from
sinners and made higher than the heavens. He through the Holy
Spirit offered himself without spot to God, Hebrews 9, 14. Now
the linen being twined meant that it was strong and durable. Christ, who is God and man twined
together, is our holiness and our righteousness. Why, He's
the strength of His people. You know, every time that I think
about that, I'm ashamed. I should lean on Him in everything. He's able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that I could ever think or ask. This veil was made of
cunning work. Did you notice that? With cherubims,
this cunning work was much different than ordinary needlework. Some
of you ladies know more about that than I do, but needlework
would have only made the cherubims on one side only. But this cunning
work was embroidery that the cherubims were on both sides
of the veil, being woven into the linen and made one with the
linen. God the Father and Christ the
Son are one. And the most glorious thing is
that His people are one with Him. While the Lord Himself said,
Thou Father in me and I in them, that they may be made perfect
in one. So like the double-sided cherubims
and this fine linen of which the veil was made, we see that
Christ has rewarded His people double, making us both holy and
righteous. I love what Isaiah 40 verse two
says, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her that
her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned
for she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Now the typical significance
of the cherubim here, we also sees a double one. And I want
to try to make This is plain and simple as I can. We don't
try to force pictures out of the scripture, but I think this
is very applicable here. First, the veil sets forth the
excellencies of Christ's person as the incarnate Son of God.
The double-sided image of the cherubim would set forth and
make known that no matter how you saw the man Christ Jesus,
you would have to see him as God. When Aaron the high priest
looked upon the veil and saw the color of heavenly blue, he
was reminded that the foretold redeemer was God in the flesh. Aaron, in looking at the veil
and picturing the type, saw Christ the God-man and saw his heavenly
citizenship. After all, heaven was his home.
When Aaron and his sons looked at that veil, and they saw the
beautiful scarlet thread, they in picture and type saw Christ
on the cross as his people's sacrifice for sin. That color
of scarlet constantly refreshed their memory of God the Son shed
blood. And when Aaron and his sons looked
upon the veil, and saw the purple, they were reminded that Christ
carries in His own person the complete judicial authority of
the eternal God. God made Christ the judge over
all. God gave Him power over all flesh,
that He should give eternal life to as many as God had given Him,
John 17 to. And then secondly, the veil signified
that the perfections of Christ only serve to emphasize the truth
that sinful men and women have no access to God. Not by nature
we don't. This solemn fact would be even
more set forth by the cherubim wove into the veil. As the priest
in the temple gazed upon the veil and saw those mystic figures
of the cherubim standing out in the vivid colors of the veil,
it would cause their thoughts to turn quickly to what is recorded
in Genesis 3.24. It's there that we find the account
of God driving Adam out of the Garden of Eden and placing there
cherubims and a flaming sword, which turned in every way and
direction to keep Adam from returning to partake of the tree of life.
Friends, sin has separated us from our great God. And we do
not and cannot look to ourselves for any righteousness or holiness. Christ must be made both unto
us if we're ever to be redeemed. And we see Christ, secondly,
in the hanging of the veil. Look at verse 32 with me, Exodus
26. And thou shalt hang it upon four
pillars of shittum wood, overlaid with gold, and their hooks shall
be of gold upon the four sockets of silver. Now this veil was
thick and heavy, so it took four pillars to hang it. And we're
told in Hebrews 10, verse 20, that the veil typifies Christ's
flesh. Now first, the pillars of Shittim
wood, overlaid with pure gold, as we've seen, and everything,
most everything else in the tabernacle was made of Shittim wood and
covered with gold. Oh, what a great type of Christ's
humanity and deity, divinity. The way Christ remained faithful
and holy when God laid on him the iniquity of all his people
is because as God, he upheld his humanity, like as these pillars
of gold and chitimwood upheld the veil. And then secondly,
the arc of the testimony was placed inside the holiest of
holies within the veil. Look at verse 33 again. And thou
shalt hang up the veil under the tatches that thou mayest
bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony." The
veil was placed right over the entrance of the Holy of Holies
and thus, effectually shutting out all those or shutting out
those who ministered in the holy place. God dwelt behind the veil. Its very location then furnished
the key to its significance here. As the veil sets forth the flesh
of Christ, we are specifically taught that his humanity was
the veil, the hiding of him as God. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world unto himself, 2 Corinthians 5.19. And most effectively, did
the perfect person of the Son of Man bear the sinner's way
unto God. It was the perfect humanity of
Christ that's the standard by which God will dwell with a man. And it's the only humanity that
can enter into glory. So as long as Christ walked this
earth, he was a witness to us concerning the separation of
the natural man from God. For no man in his fallen state
can please God in their flesh. Paul made that very clear in
Romans 7. For in the flesh of a man, there
dwells no good thing. No man or woman in the flesh
can please God. Therefore, the Lord Jesus stood
forth as the perfect man, and he alone was the only fit one
to appear before God. He was the perfect standard by
which man could be accepted. When any sinner is weighed in
the balances of justice compared to Christ, they'll always, I
repeat, always be found wanting. We've been weighed in the balances
of God's justice, friends, been found wanting. We've come short
of the glory of God, but His perfect righteousness revealed
the uncleanness of all men and women by nature. And the measure
of His stature declared the utter insignificance of all human attainments. We have nothing to brag about
before God and everything to be ashamed of. Christ's fullness
proved our emptiness. The white and glistening purity
of his character, which was exceeding white as snow is seen in this
veil. And his purity put to shame the
filthiness of all who were born of woman. Therefore, the very display of
the perfect one on earth, showed the impossibility of any man
or woman to approach God in and of themselves. And unless some
way could be provided by which the sinner could draw near unto
God, clothed in garments of perfect righteousness, all would be lost. The Ark of the Covenant pictures
Christ, our mercy seat, our propitiation. Looked at that in great detail
in past studies. So as we behold the ark of the
testimony going inside the holiest of holies, we can behold Christ
entering into the holiest into God's presence on behalf of his
people. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
nine, if you would. And I want you to pay close attention
to these verses. I believe we can learn something
here. Hebrews 9, verse one. I'll give you a moment to get
there. Hebrews 9, verse one. Then verily, the first covenant
had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made,
the first wherein was the candlestick and the table, and the showbread,
which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the
tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the
golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid round about
with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna and Aaron's
rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant, Verse five,
and over it, the cherubims of glory, shadowing the mercy seed
of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now, when these
things were thus ordained, the priest went always into the first
tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the
second went the high priest alone once every year, not without
blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors or the sins
of the people. For our sake, the Holy Ghost,
this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not
yet made manifest. Just a picture in time. while
as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure,
a type for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts
and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service
perfect as pertaining to the conscience, which stood only
in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances
imposed on them until the time of reformation." Now look at
verse 11. but Christ being come and high
priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say not of this building
and neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. when Christ on the cross cried,
it is finished. He declared that he had fulfilled
the law of God for his people. He declared that he had satisfied
God's holy justice. Now, do you remember what happened
when he cried, it is finished? In three of the four gospel accounts,
we're told that the veil, the very veil that we're talking
about, the veil in the temple rent in two from top to bottom. Beloved, our sins are put away
by the sacrifice of Christ. No other way could they be. We're
risen with Him and we're perfectly righteous in Him. And the rent
veil declared that there is now access into the Holy of Holies. There's now access for God's
people into God's presence. There's only one way to enter
and that is through faith in Christ who made His people perfect
by His one offering. Turn over a page to Hebrews chapter
10 with me. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 14. You know these verses well. For
by one offering, he, Christ, had perfected forever them that
are sanctified, whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. For after that he had said before,
this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
saith the Lord, I'll put my laws into their hearts. and in their
minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will
I remember no more. Now where remission of these
is, there's no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest. How? By the blood of Jesus. And by a new and living way,
which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is
to say his flesh. That's the verse I've mentioned
earlier. And having a high priest over the house of God, let us
draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering for he is faithful but promised. It's not your faithfulness that
will enable you to one day stand face to face with Christ our
Lord, but it's His faithfulness. Aren't you glad? Oh my. What
good news that is. Christ is the end of the law
for our righteousness. The Holy God of heaven and earth
will receive us only one way, and that's in and by and through
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and
the life. Truly, this gives even greater
meaning to God's people. The words of Paul in Ephesians
chapter two, beginning in verse four. But God, who is rich in
mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace,
ye are saved. and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ." Who did that? God did that. That in the ages
to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace. and His
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved
through faith. And that's not of yourselves,
it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. I love verse 10, don't you? For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus under good works,
which God had before ordained that we should walk in them.
Let me say this to those of you who are yet without Christ. Oh,
I pray that God may be pleased to send forth the Holy Spirit
right now and make you His lost child enter through Christ who
is the door into faith in Him and Him alone. You see, the veil
has been rent. It's been torn in two from top
to bottom. the ceremonial law, the moral
law, all written commandments of God, all those handwritings
of ordinances that were against us, which was contrary to us. Christ took them out of the way,
nailing them to the cross. And Christ said, it's finished. And God said, that's enough.
I'm satisfied along with my law and my justice, and now every
believing sinner has access to come boldly into the throne of
grace. For what? To obtain mercy and
to find grace to help in time of need. Friends, Christ is not
only now the believer's high priest, but he himself is the
perfect sacrifice that God has accepted. He's our message. He's our everything. Christ is
all in it all. And rejoice, child of God. In
Christ, you now have direct access to God. His law will by no means
clear the guilty, but now you have direct access. If God has
cleared you, That can only mean one thing, and that is that you
have no sin. And since you have no sin, you
have no barrier to keep you from God. We know that it must be
perfect to be accepted. And if you who are accepted in
the beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ, that can only mean one thing.
That means that you're perfect, perfect in Him. Oh, may God enable
you and I to rejoice in Christ, our mediator and our only access
to God. I encourage you, brothers and
sisters, to continue to trust in Christ alone. He'll never,
ever let you down.