By: Curtis Baker
One of the great privileges we have in our life in Christ is the gift of throne room access to God. The book of Hebrews is very careful to tell us that this access was obtained at great cost as Jesus had to give his own life and blood in order to make this available. But when one understands the historical context from which this came, it means even more to us that we now can enter God’s presence unhindered.
In Hebrews 9:1-10 the writer of that great book lays out for us all the details of the wilderness tabernacle. Along with telling us where the pieces of furniture go, he also describes the ministry of the priests who made sacrifices on behalf of God’s people. The most significant of those sacrifices, of course, was the annual Day of Atonement where the sins of all the people were forgiven for the previous year. It was only the High Priest who was allowed to enter God’s direct presence, and even then it was under the dense cover of incense smoke.
When the Israelites were traveling through the wilderness those forty years, the tabernacle was a constant reminder of God’s presence with them. The tabernacle was placed in the middle of the camp along with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night to symbolize God’s presence and power. One can only imagine what it would be like to see this view every day and night. As you tucked your children into sleep, the natural glow of God’s fire would have made shadows through the tent, and there would have been a constant awareness of who it was that was responsible for their freedom from slavery.
But despite the fact that God’s presence was very well known among the Israelites, the very structure of the temple itself taught the people that God was a holy God and was not to be approached casually. To even enter the courtyard of the Temple one had to be made clean by the sacrifice of bulls and goats, and only the priests themselves could enter the actual tabernacle. But access to the Most Holy Place, the inner sanctuary where heaven and earth came together, was a very guarded place. During the years of the wilderness wanderings, a veil distinguished the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Years later, when the temple was built permanently in Jerusalem, a set of sliding doors also blocked entrance into God’s presence. When you add to that the fact that only the High Priest could enter there, and only once a year under the blood of sacrifice for both his sins and the people’s, the message was very clear: God is to be approached very carefully!
While it remains true that reverence is required when entering God’s presence, the great news of the New Covenant is that throne room access is now open to all. Hebrews 9:11-28 goes on to tell us that Christ has entered the true throne room of God, for which the tabernacle was only a representative shadow, and because of his own perfect sacrifice, he has now made God’s presence suitable for us as sinners. Christ serves as our great high priest who made a once for all sacrifice for our sins. Christ continues his work as our high priest, but not in making sacrifice for our sin. Now he stands in God’s presence to intercede on our behalf.
What great blessings we have in Christ to come before God with every concern and need we have! No longer do our needs have to be mediated through an earthly priest, but we can take our requests straight to God! As we approach the holiday of Thanksgiving, take a little time this week to appreciate this great gift we have been given. And if you have not been taking advantage of your throne room privileges, what are you waiting for? Christ purchased this gift with his blood; it is your right to claim it!
(Don’t forget to join me for A Message from the Heart radio program Sunday evening at 8:00pm on KJAK 92.7FM, or streaming live at www.kjak.com)
(curtisbaker@hotmail.com)
Write to P.O. Box 157 Slaton, TX 79364
