ENTERING THE HOLY OF HOLIES
Leviticus 16
INTRODUCTION:
Picture this... It is a bright sunny day, a festive day when the city is filled with people, the streets are teaming with life and the Temple is filled to capacity. It is the 10th day of the seventh month on the Jewish calendar and this is the highest and most holy day of the whole year. This is the Day of Atonement. Today the Chief Priest, Aaron, will offer the annual sacrifices for the sins of Israel. It is the middle of the day and the preparations have been finished... Aaron has taken a bull as a sacrifice of atonement for his own sins and has offered it as a burnt offering to God. Then, Aaron took two goats and cast lots over them. One would be lucky ... the other.. .. not so lucky. One would become the sin offering for the sins of all of Israel. The other would become the "scapegoat" ... the escape goat. FIRST; Aaron would take both hands and lay them on the head of this scapegoat and pray a prayer whereby the sins of all of Israel would be placed on the goat. Israel would be forgiven and the guilt placed on the goat. Then the goat was taken outside the city, out into the wilderness, and there he was released... never to be seen again. One died for the atonement.. the AT - ONE - ment of the people ... the process whereby the people, God's people ... stained by sin and thus separated from God ... were forgiven of the sin and were no longer estranged from God. Then, Aaron would take the other goat, and tie his legs, lay him on the altar, take a sharp knife, slit his throat and catch the blood in a basin. Next, Aaron took the basin of blood, walked to the curtain, the veil that separated the rest of the inner court from the Holy of Holies. This Holy of Holies was the Place where God would, on this day, abide. Inside was the ARC OF THE COVENANT, a large ornate box with a super-ornate lid. 0 the lid were two cherubim, fashioned from gold, facing each other with their wings extended. In between them was an area where God was to sit... this was the MERCY SEAT. In front of the Ark was a large altar, the ALTAR OF THE BURNT OFFERING. There Aaron would burn the goat's body. One half of the blood in the basin would be sprinkled on the mercy seat. Then Aaron would go back outside the Holy of Holies to where the people were and would sprinkle the other half of the blood on the people. This half and half sprinkling of blood showed that the blood of the sacrifice had reunited God and his people.
So picture the scene there is absolute quietness in the inner court... everyone is waiting with bated breath listening to the ringing of the bell in the hem of Aaron's robe. They picture Aaron sprinkling the blood ... the eagerly await his emergence from the Holy of Holies... they long to hear from him because he has been where they never would, he had seen what they never would, he had been near enough to Almighty God to reach out and touch Him. They, however, were separated from the Holy place, from God's presence, by a curtain that was 14 inches thick. They longed to be Aaron, to be so close to the Almighty, to know what it was to walk in His very presence. They waited to see if God had accepted the sacrifice, they waited to hear that they were forgiven, they waited to hear from the Man of God.
A W. Tozer was right when he said, The world still "waits for the tender voice of the saint who has penetrated the veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the wonder that is God."
THE WORLD STANDS WAITING, SEPARATED FROM GOD, LONGING FOR
HIS PRESENCE, LOOKING FOR THE EMERGENCE OF ONE WHO HAS
BEEN INTO THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD, ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT IT
IS TO BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO GOD TO BE ABLE TO TOUCH HIM.
THE WORLD NEEDS AN AARON!!
Where is he?
The world is perishing while seeking a relationship with that God, but can't find an Aaron, someone who has actually penetrated the veil, can tell them what God is like.
THE WORLD IS DYING FOR SUCH AN AARON and, at the same time, THE CHURCH IS WONDERING WHY THOSE PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO KNOW HIM, TO WORSHIP HIM.
I am convinced that the reason that they are not coming to the church is that THEY
DON'T SENSE THAT WE ARE AARONS ... THAT WE HAVE BEEN ANY CLOSER TO GOD THAN THEY HAVE OR THAN OTHER RELIGIONS HAVE... THAT WE HAVE BEEN INTO THE HOLY PLACE.
What a shame... WHAT A SIN.
We sin against God robbing him of the relationship with us and with them
We sin against Others robbing them of a Priest, a first-person, witness/guide/leader
We sin against Ourselves... robbing self of the joy of drawing near, being in the
presence of The Almighty
we are content to dwell on the outside of the Holy place
growing old in the outer courts
growing Cold in the outer courts
we never lead others to know the joy of life in the Holy Place
BUT THE BIGGEST SHAME The experience of going beyond the veil, standing at
the deepest level of intimacy with God, living in the Holy of Holies is a privilege that is
open to every child of God and yet so few take advantage of the opportunity.
WHY... WHAT HINDERS US?
THE VEIL Our fleshly, fallen nature, living on in us, unjudged within us, uncrucified and unrepudiated.
It is the barrier created by secret sins of which we are to ashamed to admit even to
ourselves, which we have never truly acknowledged, and which we have never brought to judgment.
You know the thing... All you have to do is to take an honest look inside your heart and you will see the veil. ... the un-acknowledged, un-crucified, un-repented sin.
Oh, sure, the veil is patched because you have made earlier and half-hearted attempts to tear it down.
But those attempts failed and the veil was patched with repeated surrenders to that old sin.
So, there it stands, patched and repaired and still, effectively blocking our spiritual
progress, or experience of the Holy Place.
The veil of the temple was INTENDED TO HIDE THE FACE OF GOD
SO IS THE VEIL OF OUR SIN
How can it be removed?
HOW WAS IT REMOVED?
1. THERE MUST BE A TRIAL
There must be a bringing of the sins to the light of scripture.
We must be honest with ourselves about the existence of the sin
We must allow it to be judged by the Word of God.
The Word must pass sentence.
THERE WILL BE PAIN
It hurts to come out of the darkness into a bright light
It hurts to admit to ourselves, and maybe others, that we are sinners
2. THERE MUST BE A CRUCIFIXION
Jesus' crucifixion consisted of the tearing of flesh and the shedding of blood.
When I was in the fourth grade I was riding a horse and fell off My head struck a large rock. My skull suffered multiple fractures. It was such a severe injury that doctors felt there was no way that I could survive. I still have a prominent scar up the back of my head. When I left the hospital I began to remove the bandage. It had been two weeks and the hair, which had been shaved, was beginning to grow back. The bandage, which had been on for a whole week had those little hairs growing through it. There was also blood and tissue grown to the bandage. I worked for hours to try to get it off but all I had to show for two hours of pain and suffering was one small loose corner. Every single hair had to be painfully dealt with. It never got easier, I never grew immune to the pain. Several times I would decide to be a man and tear it off quickly and completely. I would grit my teeth, grab hard and pull .... but just before the bandage got taught. .. I would let go or stop. I got angry at my inability to just pull it off. So, back and forth I went between trying to methodically and painlessly work it off slowly and trying to muster the courage
and strength to rip it off Finally, after several more hours of fruitless labor, I told my Mama that I wanted it off. She put me in the tub, washed my hair, rinsed it for a long time «allowing the bandage to soak)) and then with one quick tug, she pulled the whole thing off.
Yes... it hurt. It felt like she pulled my toe nails out through the top of my head. I
screamed, I cried and I pouted. But ... it was gone.
There may be a veil in your life that you have tinkered with... sometimes trying to
get rid of it slowly and painlessly and other times trying to muster the strength and
courage to just rip it out.
And all you have to show for your numerous well-intentioned efforts is a veil that is torn and patched, but still very much there and very much effectively blocking your spiritual progress... blocking you from the Holy place, the intimacy that you wish for.
Those old sins are living tissue, very much a part of our life.
To get rid of them, to tear them away is like pulling the bandage off of a sore where the living tissue has grown to the bandage ... to tear away the bandage means the tearing away of living tissue.
The best way is to do it quickly and completely...
It will hurt like the devil but it will stop
You have to take hold, make up your mind, grit your teeth, and pull hard.
You may have to do as I did with that bandage...
realize your inability
go to your Father and admit your desire and weakness
submit to Him and let Him do it
