The Holy Place is the next section after the water laver in the Tabernacle. The Holy Place has a curtain that separates the courtyard from it. Only the priests are allowed to enter the Holy Place through the curtain to take care of the seven-branched lampstand (menorah), the bread of the presence (shewbread), and the altar of incense. The Holy Place is the closest place on earth to the very presence of God in the Holy of Holies. The priests who enter the Holy Place must be holy and without sin, or else they will be judged by God. As a result, before the priests enter the Holy Place, they must offer animal sacrifices for their sins and wash their hands and feet at the water laver, and this is the limitation of the Tabernacle: not everyone is allowed in the presence of God. If you are not a priest, you will never enter the presence of God. There was only one person in the Bible who entered the Holy Place who was not a priest, and God judged him. When King Uzziah, one of Israel's kings, went to the Holy Place to burn incense to the Lord as though he were a priest, God judged him with leprosy, and he died as a leper 12 years later (2 Chronicles 26).
God's holiness cannot be taken lightly. The holiness of God is what makes us guilty of our sins. The entire law of God is based on his holiness. We have to be perfect in order for us to meet the standard of God's holiness, and humans can't meet God's standard because we are all susceptible to sin. Only God can make us holy so that we can enter His holy presence. Heaven is free of sin because God's holiness filled it, and this is the reason when we get to Heaven, there will no longer be sin there. Since there is no longer sin in Heaven, there will no longer be death, for death is a result of sin, and God's holiness produces eternal life. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, "God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin."
Jesus made us holy by dying on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead, and put His righteousness in us. Jesus is the only God who can make us holy, and this is why he said, "I am the (only) way, the (only) truth, and the (only) life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) Can I be holy with my good works? How did Jesus make me holy? How can I have access to God's presence?
Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them up to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.
Prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for making me holy through my Lord Jesus. I can now go before your presence because of what Jesus has done in my life. Please give me holy fear before you and revere you always in everything that I do. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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