Holy of Holies

The Holy of Holies was the place were God dwelt. The main furniture was the golden box containing a copy of the covenant between God and the Israelites. Just outside, but still within the tabernacle of this was the golden altar. Incense was placed on this altar as a pleasant aroma. There was not much blood in the Holy of Holies. A little was dabbed on the horns of the altar, once a year on the day of Atonement (Exodus 30:1-10). God is easy to please and a pleasant aroma was all he required.

The burnt offerings were offered on the bronze altar outside the tabernacle. The altar was bronze, because it was not directed towards God, but towards the spiritual forces of evil. The blood was for them too. The primary purpose of these offerings was to appease the spiritual powers of evil, who demanded blood for every sin. They love blood and gore, because they love killing and doing evil. They demanded the right to impose the curses of the covenant on the children of evil. The sacrifices were offered to keep them at bay. They were not entirely happy, but they had no choice but to accept them, because God said they must be satisfied with the blood of animals, because the animals belonged to humans.

The tabernacle court was a dangerous place to be, because the spiritual powers of evil hung round there, enjoying the death and gore. They would attack anyone who was not authorised by God to be there.

The tabernacle was not the centre of ceremonial religion, or a type to teach us mysteries. It was the site of an intense spiritual battle, in which God won and enforced a strategic victory that foreshadowed a much greater victory of Jesus cross and resurrection.

The Israelites had very little spiritual discernment, so they needed strict rules to keep safe in this situation. Following the cross, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, spiritual protection comes from the gift of discernment and walking in the Spirit.