The holiness of God would undoubtedly be found in the tabernacle of meeting. In 2 Samuel 6 we read the rather difficult to understand story of David going to fetch the Ark of the Covenant which carried God’s Holiness, Glory and Presence in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle. We see how the ark was transported on an oxcart and when the oxen stumbled, Uzza put forth his hand to stabilize the ark to prevent it from falling, but he instantly died. At first glance this sounds unfair to us. Surely Uzza had good intentions, why the harsh reaction? Until we understand the nature of God’s Holiness.
Consider the following scriptures:
Exodus 33:18-23 AMPC
18 And Moses said, I beseech You, show me Your glory…. 20 But, He said, You can not see My face, for no man shall see Me and live…. 21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place beside Me, and you shall stand upon the rock, 22 And while My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away My hand and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.
Leviticus 16:2
2 The Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron your brother he must not come at all times into the Holy of Holies within the veil before the mercy seat upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.
There are numerous other scriptures I can quote as an illustration of the fact that a mere human being cannot just enter into the Holy Presence of God at will and in any way, and live.
But God…wanted to make a way for us to enter His Holy Presence. In Moses’s instance He hid him in the cleft of a rock and covered him with His hand so that Moses could see and experience at least something of His glory. Once a year Aaron could enter the Holy of Holies after he brought the sacrifices and the people repented of their sin - God allowed him into that Holiest of Holy places because God is a merciful, loving God that desires us to enter into His presence.
In Ex 25:14 we read that there were specific instructions for how the ark was to be transported. It had to be transported with wooden poles and rings, ensuring that the Ark would not be touched directly. After Uzza’s death, David was scared to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, but after three months he went to fetch the ark again – and this time the Levites were carrying the ark in the proper manner, with sacrifices and much praise and worship to God.
God made a way for us to enter into His Holy Presence, but even with the best of intentions it does not come through our own efforts, wisdom or strength. However good our intentions are, there is only one way to enter into the Holiness of God and live and that is through the blood of the lamb.
When Jesus died, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn and God invited us to enter into His Holiness, into His throne of grace with boldness (Heb 4:16). In John 14:6 Jesus declared “I am the way the truth and the light no-one comes to the Father but through Me”.
Jesus became the sacrifice brought so that we could enter into the Holiness of God with boldness and live. In Is 61:10 we read that He clothed us with garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness. Without His covering we cannot enter into His Holiness. If we try to do this in our own ways, strengths or making our own plans we are sure to fail, but let us go to Him asking for His covering, His hand, His garment, His blood, His robe of righteousness, so that we can boldly enter into His Holy Presence.
Consider the following scriptures:
Exodus 33:18-23 AMPC
18 And Moses said, I beseech You, show me Your glory…. 20 But, He said, You can not see My face, for no man shall see Me and live…. 21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place beside Me, and you shall stand upon the rock, 22 And while My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away My hand and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.
Leviticus 16:2
2 The Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron your brother he must not come at all times into the Holy of Holies within the veil before the mercy seat upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.
There are numerous other scriptures I can quote as an illustration of the fact that a mere human being cannot just enter into the Holy Presence of God at will and in any way, and live.
But God…wanted to make a way for us to enter His Holy Presence. In Moses’s instance He hid him in the cleft of a rock and covered him with His hand so that Moses could see and experience at least something of His glory. Once a year Aaron could enter the Holy of Holies after he brought the sacrifices and the people repented of their sin - God allowed him into that Holiest of Holy places because God is a merciful, loving God that desires us to enter into His presence.
In Ex 25:14 we read that there were specific instructions for how the ark was to be transported. It had to be transported with wooden poles and rings, ensuring that the Ark would not be touched directly. After Uzza’s death, David was scared to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, but after three months he went to fetch the ark again – and this time the Levites were carrying the ark in the proper manner, with sacrifices and much praise and worship to God.
God made a way for us to enter into His Holy Presence, but even with the best of intentions it does not come through our own efforts, wisdom or strength. However good our intentions are, there is only one way to enter into the Holiness of God and live and that is through the blood of the lamb.
When Jesus died, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn and God invited us to enter into His Holiness, into His throne of grace with boldness (Heb 4:16). In John 14:6 Jesus declared “I am the way the truth and the light no-one comes to the Father but through Me”.
Jesus became the sacrifice brought so that we could enter into the Holiness of God with boldness and live. In Is 61:10 we read that He clothed us with garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness. Without His covering we cannot enter into His Holiness. If we try to do this in our own ways, strengths or making our own plans we are sure to fail, but let us go to Him asking for His covering, His hand, His garment, His blood, His robe of righteousness, so that we can boldly enter into His Holy Presence.
He invites us into His Holiness, are you and I ready to enter in?
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