Worship in the Most Holy Place

Like we talked about Monday (http://www.davewernli.com/2014/09/living-in-holy-place.html), the temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon is a great model for a worship lifestyle. There were three parts – an outer court which is as close to God as the regular people could get, an inner court called the Holy Place where only the priests could go, and an inner inner room called the Most Holy Place, where only the High Priest could go.

The Most Holy Place was separated from the Holy Place by a veil 4 inches thick of really heavy material. The veil represented our separation from God due to our sin. The presence of the Lord actually physically rested behind that veil, on the atonement cover of the ark of the covenant.

It was off-limits. Not even the priests could go back there into the presence of the Lord. The High Priest would go back there once a year with blood from a sin offering to make atonement for the people's sins. They tied a rope to his ankle in case he messed up and God struck Him dead on the spot, so they could pull out the body. Hey, they weren't about to back there with God already in a bad mood! 

Ok, that aside, here's the really exciting part. When Jesus died, that 4 inch thick veil was supernaturally torn in half.

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27:50-51a NIV)

From top to bottom – because God did it. Jesus made the final sacrifice. His blood, once and for all, paid for our sin and opened the way into the Most Holy Place for us. No more separation between us and the presence of the Living God.

So here's the point. The way into the very presence of God is now open to us. And the way in is worship. Worship brings us from the Holy Place where we live into the Most Holy Place – to the very throne room of God. Now that's exciting!