The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was by all descriptions a very imposing structure. The Jewish historian Josephus reported that the Temple of his day was covered with gold that gleamed so brightly that when the sun was reflecting a person could not look at it. It was a showpiece. A place of wonder and majesty; a place where people felt as if they were in the very presence of God.Solomon made a very interesting comment as he was preparing to build the first temple. He noted: “The house that I am to build will be great - for our God is greater than all gods. But who is able to build him a house - since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?” (2 Chronicles 2:5-6).God was too big to dwell in a house made by human hands. Even the highest heaven could not contain our God! And yet, this Temple was spoken of as the place where God dwelt.Before the temple was built, God commanded that they construct a “tent of meeting.” This tent was very elaborate, so it is usually called the “tabernacle.” Now in God’s instructions he said that they were to make this tent of meeting to be a “sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8).Essentially God was telling them that He wanted to be with them, to dwell with them. Now we realizing that God could not be limited to such a small area, but the point was that this was a symbol of God’s presence. More than that, it showed that God cared; He wanted to be with them.But there was a problem. Sin! God’s presence was symbolized by His presence in one room. It was shielded by a massive curtain and no one was allowed to enter in that room. The only exception was that the High Priest would go in one time a year only after offering a sacrifice for himself.God wanted to be WITH His people, but they weren’t allowed to get too close to Him. God was INSIDE & the people were OUTSIDE! God wanted to be close to His people, but their sin made that impossible to allow them to get TOO close. How could God make it so sinful men could get close to Him?The ...
