Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Exodus 26:30-37
The Making of the Veil and the Ordering of the Dwellingplace (Exodus 26:30).
Exodus 26:30 is regularly connected with what precedes, but it is very different from Exodus 25:40, and the chiastic pattern connects it with what follows. Furthermore it fits in well with this following passage which deals not only with the veil but also with the ordering of the furniture in the Dwellingplace
The Most Holy Place was to be separated from the Holy Place by a large veil. This would keep the Most Holy Place in darkness except for when the light of Yahweh shone there, apart from a glimmer of light from the Holy Place. It was to prevent access to all men, even including the priests, apart from on the Day of Atonement when ‘the Priest' (the High Priest) alone could enter to make final atonement for the people. It symbolised that while men could approach God they could not enter directly into His presence. He must always be veiled from them because no man could see God or enter His immediate presence and live. We can imagine the awe with which the priest approached the veil aware that beyond it was the Presence before Whom no man could enter and Whom no man could see and live.
When the holy veil was made no one could have even dreamed that over a thousand years later that veil would be torn in half by God Himself, but in the death of Jesus the veil was torn apart for Him (Mark 15:38), symbolic of the fact that through it went our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, to act as Mediator on our behalf, and to represent us in God's presence for ever (Hebrews 9:12; Hebrews 9:15; Hebrews 9:24; Hebrews 10:12) with the result that we too can spiritually enter through the veil by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19).
But this is only partial, for the final glory still awaits when our great High Priest returns from within the veil (Hebrews 9:28) and we then have access not only spiritually but literally to behold His full glory (Revelation 21:23; Revelation 22:4).
This passage may be analysed as follows:
a The Dwellingplace was to be set up in accordance with the pattern shown on the mount (Exodus 26:30).
b A veil was to be made of bluey-purple, purpley-red, scarlet and fine twined linen embroidered with cherubim, all to be done by skilled workmen and was to be hung on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, supported by four sockets of silver (one per pillar) (Exodus 26:31).
c The veil being held up with clasps the Ark of the Testimony was to be brought within the veil (Exodus 26:33 a).
d The veil will divide between the Holy of Holies (the Most Holy Place) and the Holy Place (Exodus 26:33 b).
c The mercy-seat (place of propitiation) shall be put on the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:34).
b Outside the veil in the Holy Place are to be placed the table on the north side and the lampstand on the south (Exodus 26:35).
a The Dwelling place was to be set off from the people by a screen for the door of the Tent, of bluey-purple, purpley-red, scarlet and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer, and was to be hung on five pillars of acacia overlaid with gold by means of golden hooks and supported by five sockets of brazen copper (Exodus 26:36).
It will be noted that in ‘a' the Dwellingplace is set up and in the parallel the screen which separates the people from the Dwellingplace. In ‘b' the veil is made and hung, and in the parallel the table and lampstand are set outside the veil. In ‘c' the Ark of the Testimony is brought within the veil into the Holy of Holies, and in the parallel the mercy-seat is put on the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies. In a sense central to all (in the passage) is the veil which separates the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place and thus guards the Ark but gives access to the lampstand and the table of showbread.
“And you shall rear up the Dwelling-place in accordance with its pattern which has been shown you in the Mount, and you shall make a veil of bluey violet, and purpley red, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skilful workman. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks of gold, on four sockets of silver. And you shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring within there, within the veil, the Ark of the Testimony, and the veil shall divide for you between the holy place and the most holy.”
When the Dwelling place was raised up in accordance with the pattern shown to Moses in the mount, the Holy Place was to be separated from the Most Holy by this veil. This was to be made of multicoloured cloth and fine linen and was to hang down from the top of the hooks on the four pillars. The four pillars would be in sockets of silver. It separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies). Within the Most Holy Place were set the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh called here the Ark of the Testimony because it contained the Covenant tablets, and it testified to that covenant. It may also have contained the ancient covenant tablets from which the narrative of Genesis was obtained. It was the most sacred of all the furniture in the Tabernacle, and was seen as the place from where God dispensed justice and mercy.
The veil acted as a barrier between it and man, through which no man might pass, apart from ‘the Priest' (the High Priest) once a year under special restrictions. The cherubim designed on it were a reminder of the cherubim who guarded the way to the tree of life and would not allow man to approach it. They signified the extreme holiness of the Most Holy Place, that a man could go so far and no further in his approach to God.
In the Temple, doors separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, but the veil was hung over the doors so as to continue to fulfil its purpose. It was this veil that was torn in two at the time of the crucifixion of Christ. For Him there could be no veil to hide Him from the Father and He entered directly into His presence. And it symbolically opened the way of access spiritually into God's presence for all who came through Him (Hebrews 10:20; Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:45). But in the end that rending of the veil is also the declaration that one day we shall enjoy the glory of His presence in its fullness (Revelation 21:23; Revelation 22:5).
“And you shall put the mercy seat on the Ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.”
Thus while the Ark contained within it the Testimony (the ten words), the covenant and all the moral requirements demanded by a holy God that revealed the sinfulness and failure of man, above them was the place of propitiation, the mercy seat, where propitiation and atonement could be found. In the midst of judgment there was always mercy through the shedding of blood. It was the place where men's sins were finally done away.
We might suggest that the Mercy-seat represented the opening words of the covenant, ‘I am Yahweh your God Who delivered you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage', and the chest the commands which followed required by their Overlord.
“And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand opposite the table on the south, and you will put the table on the north side.”
The table and lampstand were set in the Holy Place, the table to the north side and the lampstand opposite it on the south side. Thus as a priest entered the Holy Place through the entrance from outside he saw ahead of him the table on the left and the lampstand on the right. The fact that they were outside the veil confirms further that there was no thought of Yahweh eating the bread. It was their provision, not His requirement, and they partook of it themselves through their priests. It was a sign of God's provision for them, not for Himself.
“And you shall make a screen for the door of the Tent, of bluey-violet and purpley-red and scarlet and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five sockets of brass for them.”
The way in and out of the Holy Place from the courtyard outside was to be covered by a screen of multicoloured cloth and fine linen, hung on five pillars. This suggests that it was wider than the inner veil, (with its four pillars), and extended at each side of the entrance. It prevented access by the unauthorised and those not duly sanctified. The gradation of entry emphasised that the nearer men came to God the more holy the ground, and the more thorough the preparation needed for the approach, and that between man and God there was a great gulf that could only be dealt with by atonement and cleansing.
Note that there were no cherubim on this curtain. Their representation was only allowed within the Sanctuary, for they spoke of the heavenly. Such representations must not be seen by ordinary people for they could result in wrong ideas.
The outer screen had sockets of brazen copper to hold the golden pillars. It was where the more holy ground came in contact with the even less holy ground. It should be noted that gold never touches the ground, (apart from the furniture in the holy Sanctuary) and that even within the Sanctuary, when contact with the ground is made by the pillars it is by silver sockets. The ground is more holy where they are but not most holy, for there the more holy connects with the less holy.
Notes for Christians.
Here in this picture of the construction of the Dwellingplace we have a symbol of how sinful men can through Christ become the temple of the living God by the indwelling of the Spirit, and what it means. There were differing qualities of cloth within and without the Dwellingplace. Outwardly we portray the Porpoise skins and the goatskins, for we are rough hewn and have to be tough to face the world. But that roughness and toughness, if right, comes from the inner harmony and beauty, the blue cloth which symbolises heaven in our hearts, the purple which reminds us that we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), the red which reminds us that we are constantly cleansed by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7), the pure linen cloth which is indicative of the righteousnesses of His people (Revelation 19:8). And the intricate details are a reminder of God's perfect work within us as He ‘fitly frames us together' (Ephesians 2:21) in order to make us a suitable dwellingplace. The very detail of the description is a reminder of the care with which He goes about His work. Bezalel is a novice in comparison. God's frames support us, His pegs hold us secure, His loops and clasps hold us together. And not one is unimportant. We may see His pegs as faith, hope and love, His loops and clasps as the intricacies of His word which speak to every need, and His frames as the great promises in which we trust. For all is His provision. But in the end it speaks of all that He provides for our spiritual growth.
Alternatively these different parts of the Dwellingplace may be seen as representing the part played by different Christians in the whole united ‘temple of God' consisting of His people, each having a part to play, some larger, some smaller, but all essential to the whole.
And the veil reminds us of the sin that prevents men's access, but for us it has been torn asunder by our great High priest and sacrifice, so that through Him we can enter humbly but joyously within the veil (Hebrews 10:19 ff), ever aware of the glory of the One Who awaits us there.
End of note.