The Veil

We're glad to once again come to the house of the Lord and Midweek University. Guys, it's a I think learning about God is probably one of the most desperate things that our generation needs. It used to be years ago, I'm just going to lay a little groundwork for tonight. Way back in generations prior, uh people just feared God.

the the greatest generation, the World War II veterans. They saw death face to face. They saw friends die. They saw family die uh on foreign soil.

And when they came home, they most of them had prayed that prayer. Lord, I just just want to go home. If I can go home, I'll love you and I'll have a little house and white picket fence and a farm and I'll just be nice. And so that generation just had an understanding of the awesome, incredible power bigger than them.

And then here we are today. Today's news saddens a lot of us, I'm sure. Agree or disagree, like or dislike, just the fact that we now live in a society that uh people are branding, brandishing, I should say, weapons and public spots and taking people's lives. Whoever it is, it's it's unfortunate.

The fact remains of course when when u when people don't follow God, when people don't have a love for God, righteousness, the Bible says does what to a nation exalts it. But sin is a reproach to any people. And that's where we are. So we need to be the church like never before.

Somebody say be the church. Eklesia. There we go. Coming from two.

Tonight we're going to continue lesson two on the veil. Last week uh we talked about why a veil um the mercy seat that was behind the um the veil. Uh we talked about how that God knew in his design that there would have to be a place of separation between him, his mercy, his power, his raw law and humanity. Okay, we talked about what was behind that veil inside the mercy seat and under the mercy seat in the ark was the reminder of God's provision of God's life able to live and God's law and his attributes.

Right. Tonight we're going to talk a little deeper about um the materials and why they used they used in assembling putting together the veil. Let's go to the book of Exodus chapter 36 verse 35. Um, Exodus 36 verse 35.

The Bible says, "And he made a veil of blue, purple, scarlet, fine twined linen with cherubams, made he of it, cunning it of cunning work." Verse 36. And he made there unto four pillars of shidum wood, overlaid them with gold, their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four sockets of silver. Okay, we're going to begin here. I if if if there's any information that you've been able to gather on the tabernacle congregation through this year, the specific dimensions, the width and the breadth, the length of it, the height of it of all parts of it was specifically ordained by God.

When you came from outside the tabernacle to the front curtain and you stepped through that with your animal of choice, depending on what transgression or what praise or what worship you were going to do, there was a curtain there. That curtain was to separate everything that was going to happen inside from everything that was already happening on the outside. We understand that. And then there was at the holy place five pillars that stood there, gold overlaid on shidum wood again.

And they would push back that curtain and go into the holy place. They would make they would minister every day there. Um they would check the oil, check the wicks. Uh on the Sabbaths they would swap out the bread.

They make sure that the incense constantly burned, that there was continuous fire, smoke, if you will, from the incense inside the holy place. When we get to the holy of holies, the most holy place, scripture tells us that there were four pillars of gold of shidum wood overlaid with gold. There were four bases of silver. The Bible says they were not bronze like the other pillars in the tabernacle were.

Bronze was a a an assembled, if you will, material, very sturdy, and it was used as the anchor points for the outside perimeter of the tabernacle, the white linen curtain that went around it. But in the holy place and the most holy place, the holy of holies, those pillars had a base of silver. And there was a reason for that. God had given the instructions to Moses.

And then through that, it was given to the wise men, if you will, as they assembled these these components to put together four bases of silver, not bronze, for the pillars to stand in. And then at the top of these four pillars, separate from the holy place curtain, if you will, there was a rod and from there hung on tacks of gold, hooks of gold, if you will, the curtain at the top of these four pillars. It's always interesting to know and to look into even deeper why why the details of this were were so important. Now, I I do believe last week, I think we talked a little bit about this.

I do believe that the more that we dive in deeper to the actual construction, the parts, the materials of the tabernacle of the congregation, I I think we understand better that with God, everything had a reason. Is that safe to say? really why was it why did it matter that silver was used here in in in lie of bronze? Why did it matter that 10 curtains were done at XYZ or 12 curtains were done?

Why did it matter that this was bronze, this was gold, this was silver, this Why did it matter that those pieces were done the way they were done? I I don't know that in this room that we could safely say this is why. Now, I've done a lot of research. Perhaps you have as well.

I've done a lot of digging in here trying to figure out the what'ss, fours, and the wise. Suffice it to say, when we look at the tabernacle, um I I'm convinced that as much as you and I understand the goodness, the blessings, the perfectness of God, we also have to understand that our God is a God of detail. Now, when I say that, every one of us in here will say, "Amen. He's a God of detail." And in so doing, we pass along and pass over many times what that actually means.

We all know this from science class. Everybody in here has a fingerprint. Yours is different than your neighbors. I'll get past this in a minute.

That's the detail. The detail is is that God knew what he was doing when you were created. Even the writer in the scripture says that in my mother's womb, I was form shaped. I was put together.

If that's the case, then we have to understand that God's concerned about the details even of our lives. The whole purpose in us looking at the tabernacle in detail this year was for us to better understand not only that God could talk to people and tell them how to put together a place. But in our lives every single day, God can speak to us. The details matter.

How many are glad that you live a life that's haphazard without direction and you have no idea where you're headed? How many love that? You know, if that were the case, you wouldn't have a clock. You would never take pictures because it wouldn't matter.

You would never go to a funeral. You'd never understand weddings and birthdays. And none of that would matter because to you, it would be moment. Now, I think that some of us are better at moments than others.

I think some of us probably fret just for frets sake. Some of us are probably anxious just so nobody ignores anxiousness. I think that some of us want to be in control and the fact remains is the more you try to be in control, the more you are not in control. Now, I say all of that for this reason.

When we're looking at the tabernacle, we we have spent this year looking at all those details. And tonight, when it comes to the veil, the place that separated the holy from the most holy place, everything about that had a reason. And we understand. Now, we can get very sidetracked and and in a couple of weeks, we're going to talk about the specifics of the New Testament and how it relates to the veil.

But right now, I want to spend just a few moments here to get us to understand that the holy God of all of creation that spoke everything into existence that God wanted to be close to man and in a breath a hand breath thickness a cover was put between a holy place and the most holy place. God would not allow everybody to walk through as they wanted to, but God would allow with the specific details for the high priest to go in and in place of the people, God would show mercy to the priest and therein, God would bless what the priest represented. God had put all this into motion because he knew that without him, humanity would simply die and go away. I think we can all attest to the fact that there were times when men of God would stand before God and God would say, "Move out of the way.

I'm going to kill every one of them, right? What if I find 10?" Okay. What if I put a serpent? Okay, you know what I'm saying?

There's there's these times that God would say, "I'll wipe them all out." Now, here's a question. How would God wipe out all of humanity? That's a question probably the same way that he created all humanity with a word. Do you understand then the value of God's word and God's promise and God's commandments?

When we understand that mercy is what we were needing, we did not know that but God did. And God made a way that past that handb breath of a curtain. At that moment, the high priest could stand there and say, "I have blood. I have incense.

I stand here now for the people." And God would look at that and say, "I accept it." Go with me if you will. When we look at the four pillars, why four? Why four? doesn't matter.

I mean, there were five, but now there's four. There's 15 and there's 30. All these numbers are running around and we could go through a whole lot of education and knowledge and looking into and how come and what, why, and what for. Mercy works.

Mercy works as long as the attitude of fix and repair through the blood of Jesus is allowed to work. Look at this. Genesis chapter 1. Let's go all the way back to the beginning.

Notice something here. I I wondered why why were there four post there? Why does it matter? Four is a very important number for God.

Anybody know that? Genesis chapter 1 verse4. If it's on the screen, say amen. Well, you can turn around and it's that one.

Somebody read with a loud voice verse 14 through verse 19, please. Anybody at all in English would be great. Hold on. Use your teacher voice where they're really loud and obnoxious in your class.

Thank you, sis. I can do it. Go. Verse 19, fourth day of creation number four.

Now, this might just simply be a happen stance. It could be a flip of the coin. It might be a roll of the dice. I don't think it is.

I think when God said to Moses, "You need to build this place that I can come to. You need to make this place separated, distinguished, different from anybody else on planet Earth." The fourth day, listen to this, God finished and established light and dark and the rulers of both of those. The great lights were placed into their position and the motion. Listen to this.

The motion began. Day, night, hours, seasons, weather, life, birth, death, start, stop, begin, end. All of that was established. What has all of humanity ever talked about when they talk about themselves?

Go to all history books. Go all the way back through Genesis forward. What do we find? We find years.

We find the sun comes up. The sun goes down. We find the birth of an animal. We find the death of the animal.

We find the time, the season. We find systems that have been in place. It was the fourth day that God put all of that in order. Fifth day is when the stuff came up.

I began to study this and I said, "Lord, why why was it so important that you told Moses, I need you to make me four pillars and we're going to put a veil on that and it's going to hold up everything between mercy and death." The more I looked at it, Brother Herb, I noticed that God has always done this. When the high priest would stand by the altar of incense with the blood and the incense that would go behind the veil, he was standing there saying, "All of time is here at this moment with you, God. You are not in our system of time. I mean, you know, God doesn't have a beginning, nor does he have an end.

God is the beginning and he is the end. That high priest standing there by that in front of that veil with four pillars, he was looking straight at the fact that God is outside of his time. man's time. Could it be that that's why God said, "I need you to put four pillars because I want to remind you that I'm in control of everything from the first day until the end." Could it be also for those New Testament likers?

There is when you pass out of the Old Testament and you come into the New Testament, we have what's called the Gospels. How many gospels are there? So I begin to look at that. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Now, some of you may say to me, "Pastor, you have no biblical foundation on any of that. God out of time, you out of time, him in time, him out of time." No, but what I do have is I understand the character of God. And God does not do things by coincidence nor happenstance. I want to remind you sitting here tonight under the sound of my voice, you are not here tonight by accident.

If you believe that you are, then something in your clock got messed up and you ran out of gas in the parking lot or your tire got flat and you didn't have any where else to go and you showed up here in this room and I've come to tell somebody that's not an accident all encounters with God he is aware of so why New Testament why did why weren't there five gospels there were five pillars the holy door but now there's four at the holy of holies So, I'm looking at this and okay, why four gospel writers that told the entire story that we have account of of the life of Jesus Christ? Could it be that God actually knew that there would come a day when his mercy and grace would no longer live behind a curtain, but that the death on a cross would tear that veil and say, "Now you're coming in here." Could it be that the Matthew, Mark, the Luke, and the John were put into place and in the position to be able to write about exactly what Jesus would bring into humanity. I think we all need to understand something. the mercy seat behind the veil.

The only way to get to God's mercy was one man one time on the Yam Kapur, the day of atonement, and the entire camp received the blessing because of what he did. But when the veil was torn, when Jesus died on a cross and that veil was ripped top to bottom, some would say, "Well, That don't mean nothing. Why wasn't it bottom to top? Oh, why wasn't it left to right or right to left?

Why wasn't it top right corner to bottom left corner? Suffice it to say, what God knew was that when Jesus died, everything that God put into place in the tabernacle of the congregation was exactly put in order then for what was happening when Jesus died. All of the rights of man simply were to die. We should have died.

Sin should have killed us. We had a debt we could not pay. But as the songwriter said, he paid a debt he did not owe. So for you and I, four pillars.

It could very well be that the fourth day of creation, God put all the systems in order and God was telling humanity, you're on that side of system, I'm on this side creating the system. New Testament very well could be four pillars indicate that all of the mercy and grace that would come to us because we understand how the tabernacle was assembled and all the things that happened there. then we could understand that Jesus Christ is what brought that to us. Now aside from the four pillars of Shidamwood covered in gold, the Bible said there was a veil curtain.

Pericote was it's the only place in scripture that this Hebrew word is used is when it concerns the veil. Basically it means separation. The beauty of the veil is this. The blue represents divinity and heavenly connection.

The scarlet represents sacrifice, atonement, and redemption. The purple represents royalty, luxury, majesty, sovereignty of God. The white represents purity and holiness emphasizing the need to be clean. intertwined within this blue, scarlet, purple, and white curtain that was woven together.

God gave them wisdom on how to do this. But in the midst of this curtain, the Bible says, with gold they wo in cherubams. Somebody tell me what a cherubam is. Come on, somebody knows.

Angelic being If you look at the front row right here, this little guy, no, I'm joking. Not so the gold cherubams. Why was it important to put those there? Again, I'm I'm researching this and I'm trying to figure out for the sake of instruction, why does this matter?

Four pillars, four gospels, four days, creation, and then there's blue and purple and scarlet and white, gold cherubams put in it. Does it really matter? Does it really have an effect on the things that happened at the tabernacle? Step into 2025.

is the way you handle the things of God today. Are they important? Why are they important today? I thought grace and mercy took care of everything.

I thought we could act like we wanted to and act like heathens and somehow in the midst of it all, we're all God's children and it's going to be okay. Isn't that what our world culture is trying to teach us? Come on. We live in a world today.

If Jesus is coming, he's coming soon. We're living in a world today where religions are being propagated that it's okay to kill. It's okay to believe in cows. It's okay to not love your neighbor.

It's okay to be mean. Nothing's different from when it was before. But the more we understand about the things of God today, friend, we have something that we can use to establish who we are. Teach it to our children, to our grandchildren, and they too can become strong and secure in the things of God.

Look at look what happened here. Isaiah Isaiah was a prophet. This guy was so cool. He had so many things.

Isaiah was a prophet, man. He would talk about Jesus and he didn't even know him. Huh? We read Isaiah stuff at Christmas.

We read Isaiah stuff all the time. Chapter number six. Somebody help me. Isaiah 6 verse 1 through3.

Can somebody read that with another mad loud voice? Come on. Chapter 6 verse number one, two, and three. Loud, please.

As if the children are rowdy in your classroom. No, it's not. Loud. Loud.

Sister Mandy. One. Go. She's meaner.

I'm joking. There we go. Verse two. Fabulous.

No, right there. That's it. Thank you. With a loud voice.

Thank you. Thank you. How's that? So Isaiah is talking about what it's mentioned here a big chair called a high and lofty place called a throne.

We'll go there. And this throne was high lifted up and there was a a a following that filled the whole place where this was. He even referred to it as temple. Notice here saraphim.

What's another word for saraphim? Cherubam, angelics. And they flew. They cried holy.

They covered themselves. The angels surrounded the place where God is. When Isaiah wrote about this, he saw it in a very desperate time because their king had just died. And in this particular place, we we see kind of an insight, if you will, on what it would look like around the position of God angels.

I don't think that surprises us. Again in our minds we have the ability to assemble a a plan or a pattern or an image and then we can somehow reflect to somebody else. This is what a angel Sarah from cherubam is. But it's interesting to note that in Isaiah's vision that he saw of this temple with this throne, the Bible says that the whole earth is full of his glory.

And what fills the temple? smoke fills. So when we see the colors of the veil represented with royalty, splendor, loyalty, divinity, commitment, purity, holiness, all those traits, all of those characteristics about God, it would only stand to reason then that in the midst of all of those things are angels. Does anybody recall from several months ago when we were talking about the tabernacle in the wilderness inside of the holy place, the holy of holies, there are planks of wood covered in gold that stand and make a wall left, right, and the back.

They have these tapestries then that cover in layers that particular building. You can see it over here if you'd like. I could pass it around. No, never mind.

Imagine if you will the four post standing there this veil purple, blue, scarlet, white. And in the midst of that material are woven in out of gold thread angels, chair bones, saraphim. You can imagine then how Okay. Who in here has gold walls?

Um Herb you. No. No. Anybody here have gold walls besides Elvis?

Imagine the walls laden with gold. The light that would come from a candle would reflect in there. So incredible because of the reflection. It wasn't like um hickory smoke brown is what we have.

And for those who don't know, the walls are requisite gray. Okay, that's kind of the thing for CAC has been for a while. It's not like this, but it's gold. The covering that went over was also tapestry of colors.

It had angelic beings formed into it. Can Can anybody here imagine? Or I know we're mostly adults in here and our imagination's probably been a while since we've used it. Can anybody imagine what a flicker of light in a gold room would do?

Would that not be one of the most all inspiring moments? To be standing in the holy place with the seven lamps burning, incense smoke coming up. That reflection in there would be out of this world. Imagine now the high priest standing once again at the altar of incense, day of atonement, blood, incense.

He's about to transfer himself through this veil. When he steps, however he gets in there into the Holy of Holies, do you know what he's going to see while he's in there? by the light of the mercy seat. The mercy of God is still surrounded by angels.

It's no accident that God told him to build it that way. Because even in gross earth, in messed up humanity and all the sin and garbage that people can get into, if you'll come to God, you can see him and who he really is. full of mercy, full of love, full of grace. Everything about this veil was so intentional.

So intentional. I've often wondered, and I'm I'm going to study it out before next week's lesson. When they tried to repair the veil at the crucifixion and it tore, they were all freaking out because everything had changed. I wonder if they sewed it back with red, scarlet, blue, white, or gold thread.

That's the question. Did it matter? I think it matters. I I'm not a real good seamstress, but I can sew a button on.

Anybody else? They tried to teach me that basic training, but I already knew it because my dad would make me do it at home. Fix your own sock. Fix your own shirt.

iron it too. Anyway, I know that when I put a button on sister Candy that it may or may not stay. Yeah. I'm getting Watch this.

Look here. Look what I found. What I found? So, I can see the little hole in needle.

Tim, you know where I'm at? Feel me? My grandma used to go and I'm I don't know what she I don't know what she did. Just I don't know what she did.

I just There it was. I'm not a good sewer. Anybody? Some of y'all are good ser.

I'm sorry. Old school had to pedal it. Imagine what they tried to fix it with. All because humans could not understand the divinity and the perfectness of God.

For tonight's lesson, four pillars, God's perfect way of establishing who he is in completeness with humanity. Fourth day, four gospels. The connection between this side and this side. The goal overlaid, the curtain with its dimension, the purpose.

There is no way None, zero, nil, nada, no way that somebody could say their God ain't holy. Those Israelites, they don't they don't have a holy, perfect God, man. All they had to do is walk into there and just see this and go, "Oh my goodness." Anybody ever heard of the Queen Sheba. What was her response to the wealth of Solomon?

What' she say? Y'all don't even know. There ain't a volume two and half couldn't even be talked about what was in there. One man for the king.

Imagine what she would have said if she would have had the opportunity to walk in to this place. I'm going to bring it home and I'm watching my clock. It's right there. This ain't working, but that clock is.

Thank y'all. Listen to me. If there was ever a doubt in your mind the perfectness and exactness of God, if you'll take a few minutes and look at the tabernacle, you will find God loves you. God cares about you.

God's plan is exactly right for you. If you think for one moment that you can find him bigger and better somewhere else, go try. And when all the gods of this world fail you, you'll come back and say, you know, I have searched and found none like him. There's none beside him.

He seeks counsel from no one. He didn't ask anybody how many stars to put out there. He didn't inquire of any committee of how many planets should be spinning. He never did say how many times you think a heart should beat in a minute to anyone.

But every one of us tonight are sitting here with life perfectness because of a God that had it all established. If he cares enough about these details, then the more we understand them. Can I want to help somebody as I bring us to a close? You could honestly make a list of the simple attributes of God that you discover in the word and how he applies to your life and you can sit in a chair and at any prayer chain for one hour, you could not cease to simply mention the things of God, not ask for anything.

But when you start down a list of things that you know you are perfect, pure, holy, righteous, strong, mighty, powerful, resilient, longsuffering, gentle, meek. All of the things that you could think about, all of the things about your God that you could wonder. Genesis tells us this. I am going to make man.

How? In my image. I'm going to establish humanity like me. The issue comes, of course, through disobedience.

Anybody ever heard of sin, rebellion, transgression? And God knew that about humanity. But in the midst of that, God says, "Moses, I want you to build me a place. Moses, in that place I will give you my law.

Moses, if you'll follow the commandments and statutes I give you, I will be to you a God, and you will be to me a people. 2025, the command still stands. Be holy, for I'm holy. Seek my face, you'll find me.

Look after, run after me. I I can be touched by the feeling of infirmity in every way that you were tempted. I was tempted as well, but I didn't have sin when I did. And at the end of it all, on a nasty, gross cross, Jesus would say, "Father, forgive them.

They don't know what they're doing. Don't lay this charge to them." And when he gave up the ghost that day, When he died on that cross that moment, all the plan of God said, "I'm about to blow this thing wide open. It is finished." Watch it. Come on in.

Mercy is for everybody, man. The Holy Ghost is here tonight. The veil is such a perfect place for us to understand that God knows how to be with us, to love us. He reflects it in all of the things that we study about.

He shows it to us every day. You get out of bed and breath enters your lungs. Man, you didn't do that. God did.

You're going to lay down tonight and in somewhat of your slumber and your stoop or laying there trying to go to sleep, the last thing you can think of is the goodness of the Lord. And every step through the day on your job, on the store, with your family, with your children, in a court of law, in a jail cell, in a palace, on the street corner, you can feel that love and mercy of God work. I'll ask you this. How many of us honestly How many of us deserve it?

How many of you were born just perfect? There's probably a class I need to teach with the youth, huh? Um, every detail was exactly intentional, purposed to provide meaning, to protect man, and to protect God. God wants to be with his creation.

God's desire is to be with us his way. Would you pray with with me tonight? I want us to pray that we would understand, truly understand and desire to understand that God's plan for us is right. Lord, come on, church.

Would you pray with me? Lord, you're perfect. Everything about you, Lord, is correct. Everything you do, Lord, has a purpose and a reason.

When we look, Lord, at every aspect of the tabernacle, we are reminded of of your plan for humanity. And in that, Lord, we are humbled to simply know that you love us enough to care. And through all of the generations, you would bring hope and life to us tonight. Lord, I pray that you would breathe into this room.

The blood of Jesus, Lord, applies. The blood of Jesus makes a way. The cross of Calvary is our answer. Thank you, Lord.

Intentionally, we thank you. We ask you, Jesus, to be to all of us, Lord, what we need tonight. Come on. Do you feel like you can lift your hands, church, and just love the Lord?

We're going to transition here. time of worship. But before that, can we just spend a few moments loving the Lord and thanking him for his plan? Perfect plan.

Come on. Perfect in every way. The details, the specifics, the way, how, come on. Perfectly correct.

Come on, somebody. You might be in the trial of your life, but if you'll simply pause and reflect on the goodness of God, he will meet you where you are right now. Come on. The veil is the representative of what his goodness and mercy is to us.

Come on, somebody love him. Thank you, Jesus, for truth, for the word, for the promises in your word. We love you for it. We love you for it.

We love you for it. We love you for it, Jesus. We thank you for it in the name of Jesus. As we transition, why don't you stand to your feet?

They're coming in. Just lift a praise and a hallelujah to the Lord. I love you, Jesus, and I thank you for all of your goodness and mercy to us. Your loving kindness is greater than life.

Your love, Lord, is perfect and it's for us. Help us, Jesus. Lead us, Lord, every day in the plain path. Show us the way, God, that leads us to you.

We'll thank you for it. We'll love you for it. We'll believe you for it. Every day with Jesus.

Every day with Jesus. Thy kingdom come, Lord. Thy will be done. Thank you for Jesus.

Amen.