The stated purpose of the veil is to separate the Holy Place in the temple from the Most Holy Place wherein God Manifests His Presence. As God gives remarkably clear instructions regarding this veil from His choosing the specific materials, to construction to placement, there must be a good reason for this separation. And, of course, there is. As human beings, we’ve never done or seen anything perfect, so complete understanding of perfection is impossible. Suffice it to say we know that God is perfect and cannot be approached with sin. Sin must necessarily be dealt with in the most severe terms. As such, the veil serves a dual purpose. The first, of course, is to keep the prefect Presence of the Lord free of contamination. And, secondly, to protect us from the just consequences of our sin, that is God’s wrath.
As a simple illustration, consider a bride, moments before her appearance on her wedding day, all adorned in traditional white gown—the symbol of purity. Just at this time, her nephew comes in after playing in the mud covered head to toe wanting to give his beloved aunt a hug. No way! Someone or something would have to come between the bride and her nephew to protect the integrity of the gown as well as protect the child from a certain “bridezilla” outburst. We can understand that this has nothing to do with any lack of love the bride has for her nephew and everything to do with disaster prevention under the circumstances. Likewise, instructing us to place the veil in the temple is an act of love, allowing God to draw near to us, as is His deepest desire, while providing the protection we need.
What is it keeping us from God’s presence? Hint: read Romans 3:22-26, 6:23 and 8:31-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39
