285 The T11bern11cle "The High Priest Alone" Entered the Holy of Holies Christ Suffered Alone! God said to Moses, "There shall be no man in the tabernacle of the con- gregation when he goeth in to make atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atone- ment for himself, and for bis household, and for all the congregation of Israel" (Lev. 16:17). When Christ drank the bitter "cup," He drank it alone! There was none to help! His disciples "forsook him, and fled." Even His Father in heaven had to turn His face away in that dark moment; for a holy God can not look upon sin-and in His death the holy Son of God took upon Himself the sins of the whole world! "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He cried. And yet, knowing beforehand that this would be, still He had prayed, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matt. 26:39). He willingly went to Gethsemane and to Calvary alone. The Two Goats-A Type of "Eternal Redemption" In Chapter VI of these studies we considered the sig- nificance of the burnt offering and the sin offering, both of which were made on the Day of Atonement. There was a God-ward and there was a man-ward aspect of Calvary. There was the sweet savour offering, when the Son pre- sented Himself without spot or blemish to the Father as the whole burnt offering, delighting to do His will. And there was the non-sweet savour offering, when, as the sin
284 The Tabernacle The Affliction and Humiliation of the High Priest A Picture of the Suffering of "The Man of Sorrows" Seven days prior to the Feast of Atonement the high priest in Israel had to be separated from family and home; and on the day of the feast he had to divest himself of his robes of "glory and beauty," putting on a white linen robe. How marvelously this speaks to us of how our Great High Priest was for thirty-three and one-half years separated from His Father and Home-a self-denying Servant! He laid aside His garments of glory and beauty-not His deity -and was "fashioned" like unto His brethren, «that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things per- taining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2: 17). "Being in the form of God," He "thought it not rob- bery to be equal with God: but made himself of no rep- utation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obe- dient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2: 6-8). "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through bis poverty might be rich" (II Cor. 8:9). Yet He was stiJl God, the spotless, sinless God-Man. Of His holy nature, the white linen coat of Aaron speaks. For us He wore the crown of thorns and the purple robe, put upon Him in derision and mockery by wicked men. The affliction and humiliation of the high priest in Is- rael on the Day of Atonement was but a faint "shadow" of the affliction and humiliation of Jesus, our Great High Priest, when He made atonement for our sins upon the cross!
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