Beautiful & Costly

The house that God told Moses to build for Him was BEAUTIFUL! It was a portable building, but this was no ordinary tent. Its frame was overlaid in gold. Its entrance had golden pillars with bronze bases & a beautifully embroidered curtain. Inside, the walls were made of linen curtains with angels woven into them & so was the roof. When in the Holy Place, you would feel as if you were surrounded by angels. “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” Psalm 34:7

The room was lit with 22 candles on a lampstand hammered from 70 pounds of gold. Aaron tended the lamps every day & every night. Their light burned continuously to remind the priests that there is always light in God’s Presence. In 1 John 1:5 it says, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Jesus told the disciples that He is the light of the world & whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. When John describes the new heaven & the new earth he says, “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” Revelation 21:23

The candlelight bounced off the other 2 golden pieces of furniture in the room. The table held 12 cakes of bread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Each week the bread was replaced with fresh cakes & the priests ate the meal in the Presence of the Lord, in His Holy Place. The bread for the following week, was provided before they ever ate that week’s bread. This reminded them that God was meeting the needs of His people. Jesus calls Himself the bread of life. He says that whoever comes to Him will never be hungry & whoever believes in Him will never be thirsty. Unlike the showbread that fed their bodies, Jesus feeds our spirits. When we take Him into our lives, He sustains us. When we feed on Him, we will live eternally.

Then, in the center of the room, was the altar of incense. It continuously burned the sweetest, most special, perfume. Because different aromas affect our senses in different ways, this incense held only the specific ingredients prescribed by God, sweet spices, gums, & frankincense. I am told that frankincense is supposed to increase our spiritual awareness & I suppose that these others did as well. Each smell was specifically chosen to burn when the priests were in the Presence of the Lord.

In the back was the Most Holy Place. It was separated by 4 golden pillars, with silver bases, & a veil with angels woven into it. Behind this curtain sat the ark of the covenant, which was the golden chest which held the 10 commandments. There the Lord met with the High Priest between the 2 cherubim of hammered gold that were attached to the lid, the mercy seat. King Hezekiah praised the Lord by saying ,“O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” Isaiah 37:16

The mercy seat covered the ten commandments that had been broken by the people, just as Jesus’s blood covers our sins. God showed His mercy there to the people. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven. Whose sin is covered.” Psalm 32:1

Can you picture what the Holy Place & the Most Holy Place could have looked like? This was a beautiful & costly place! It was God’s dwelling place, HIS HOLY HOUSE. It had to be beautiful, because He is beautiful. It had to be costly, because His value is beyond measure. To be in His Presence is more valuable than any created thing! When the priests walked into that room, they were supposed to see God in their minds eye: His BEAUTY; His WORTH; His LIGHT; His SACRIFICE; His GLORY. After-all, it was His house & they were in His Presence!

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” Psalm 27:4

This is the2nd Excerpt of Episode 71 “Beautiful and Costly” on Podcast & YouTube