Don't Go In There (Except In Christ)!

The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.” [Numbers 4.20] 

Think about this: once the Tabernacle was set up, no one looked upon the sacred objects except the priests. Furthermore, no one ever saw the Ark of the Covenant except the High Priest once a year. Since the Kohathites were the ones who actually physically moved these objects, imagine how critical and dangerous this procedure this was!

This means that, in all the moving Israel did, all the setups and teardowns, that life-dependent care was taken in covering the sacred objects by Aaron and his sons in such a way that they were not looked upon.

For all the graphic imagery we have enjoy today of nearly everything we can conceive, it is difficult for us to understand that these sacred objects were simply not seen. They remained cloaked in mystery; they were holy.

What this highlights is the significance of the veil being torn when Jesus died on the Cross. 

We MUST NOT take lightly Jesus' words commanding His followers to "take up their cross" and follow Him. If Jesus tore the veil and entered the Most Holy Place via His Cross, the meaning of us "taking up our cross" just got much deeper!

Contrary to popular belief, God's throne room is NOT for everyone! It is only accessible by those who, in Christ, enter in Him.

Here's a thought... When Jesus died on the Cross, the veil in the Temple was notably torn from top to bottom. This can only say that it was no man from the ground who tore the veil. The veil was torn from an elevated position... probably about the same height as someone elevated on a cross!

Jesus invites all to enter God's presence, but He effectively says, "Come on up and make My Cross your cross, for it is from here we get to God."

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? [Luke 9.23-25]

God's presence is just as holy, and therefore just as dangerous, as it ever was. There is only one Way, one portal to God; His name is Jesus and His footsteps lead to a cross for it was via His Cross He entered God's throne room. Oh, the significance of Jesus walking to Calvary! If we are truly followers of Him, His footprints will lead us nowhere else but to His Cross - our cross!

The revelation of just how holy and dangerous God is, is seen in Numbers 4.20. The path Jesus walked to get to God from the earth to the cross, from the cross to the veil, and from veil unto God, shows us the dangerous but only way to God. No one should attempt to get to God any other way than from their cross in Christ (His Cross).

I hope this ignites as much meditation and reflection in every reader as it has me in writing it!

Father, thank You for Jesus Who showed me the way to You. May I more fully understand each and every day that there simply is no other way to You ...where Jesus' footprints lead me to His cross, and therefore, my cross, so that I might enter Your presence every day! So be it.