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The Tabernaclt "Stay back; do not draw near My holy Presence, lest ye die. The one perfect Sacrifice has not yet shed His blood. Full atonement for sin has not yet been made. Only the high priest, as your representative, may draw near for a moment, as it were; but even he may not sit down-the work of redemption is not finished. And even he may approach Me only because of the blood-sprinkled mercy seat, which hides from view My broken law." But the day came when Jesus died! And as He hung upon the cross, "the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom" (Matt. 27:51; cf. Mark 15: 38; Luke 23:45). God did that! They tell us that "the veil was so woven together that two pairs of oxen attached to either edge and driven in opposite directions could not tear it asunder. It was not stretched, drawn tight and fixed. It hung in a loose fold. It could not be cut or torn by a direct stroke; it was too soft and yielding for that" (I. M. Haldeman). Josephus, the great Jewish historian, tells us that the veil was six inches thick. God rent asunder that veil-from top to bottom; not man, from bottom to top. They tell us that the unbelieving Jews sewed the rent veil together again; but their vain attempts could never, never close "the way into the holiest of all," even heaven itself, which had been forever opened by the broken body and shed blood of the Son of God! The veil was rent in twain while hanging between earth and heaven, even as Christ was crucified, lifted up between heaven and earth on a Roman cross. When He cried out in triumph over sin and death, saying, "It is finished!"- even at that hour the passover lamb was being sacrificed upon the brazen altar in the temple court. (See Matt. 27:46, 50; John 19:30.) It was the time of the evening sacrifice; and Christ Himself was the Passover Lamb!
117 The Tabernacle Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-all are careful to tell us that He was crucified on the feast of the passover; and Paul says plainly that "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (I Cor. 5 :7). By the rending of the temple veil, God was saying to His redeemed children something like this: "Draw near unto Me, My children, even unto the throne of grace. Do not be afraid. Above the broken law is the blood-sprinkled mercyseat ; for your Passover Lamb has sprinkled His own blood before the throne of grace. Your perfect Substitute has died in your stead. A full atonement has been made for sin-'once for all.' N o longer need you go to an earthly priest; the priesthood has been done away! Christ is your Priest-your Great H igh Priest. His blood is efficacious to cleanse from all sin. His prayers at the throne of grace avail! He is deal- ing gently with you. My children, draw near unto Me by faith, through prayer and worship and praise, 'through the veil ... that is to say, bis flesh'!" Standing in His Presence, by faith, we are unafraid; our souls shall never die; for the broken law is covered by His precious blood. And one day we shall see Him "face to face"-to worship Him forever for His unspeakable love! "What a wonderful Saviour!" "Let us draw near.... Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 10:22; 4:14-16). Saved to Serve As we bring this lesson to a close, we are overwhelmed at the thought of the goodness and the grace of God. We have but touched the fringes, as it were, of the depth of spiritual truth, foreshadowing the glories of our Lord Jesus
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