Entering the Throne Room
Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain (Exodus 19:16-17 NKJV)
In the Old Testament, God drew a very clear demarcation between Himself and the Israelites. He was God and there were rules for approaching Him. These decrees were not to be taken lightly, they were literally a matter of life or death. A sinful people could not stand in the presence of a holy God and survive.
A good example of this was at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19). Three months after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites arrived at the mountain. Mt. Sinai must have been an awe-inspiring sight. Shrouded in cloud and darkness, thunder roaring and lightning flashing, a mighty God was declaring His presence. God gave Moses clear instructions that anyone touching the mountain would be killed.
Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:18-19 NKJV).
The structure of the tabernacle also emphasized man’s sinfulness and God’s holiness. There was a fence around the tabernacle, which ensured that entry was only gained by using the gate. A veil separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. The High Priest alone was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement. Only the priests, descendants of Aaron, were permitted to minister in the tabernacle and there was a prescribed path for moving through the tabernacle. The tabernacle, a type of Christ, could only be accessed by one gate, just as the only way to God is through Christ.
You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 NLT)
Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu ignored these instructions and were struck down by God (Leviticus 10). They did not follow God’s instructions and paid the ultimate penalty.
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1-2 NLT).
They should not have been handling the incense, that was the job of the high priest, Aaron their father. They used their own censers, instead of the censer designated for the high priest, which was sanctified with anointing oil (Exodus 40:9). They used the wrong fire, the coals for the fire had to be taken from the brazen altar (Leviticus 16:5), and it wasn’t the Day of Atonement. To top it all, they may have been drunk as God followed up in verse eight instructing the priests to “never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle.”
Striking them dead may seem extreme, but this shows how seriously God took entry into His presence.
Some synagogues inscribe the words Da Lifne Mi Atah Omed above the cabinet at the front of the synagogue that contains the Torah scroll. It translates “Know Before Whom You Stand” – a reminder that you are standing in the presence of God Almighty.
In Isaiah chapter six, Isaiah shares his vision of God with us:
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke (Isaiah 6:1-4).
We are entering the throne room of an all-powerful God who created the universe, who hung stars in inky blackness, who made the magnificent Blue Whale, and yet holds the small sparrow in His hand.
In the New Testament, we have the unbelievable privilege of being able to enter directly into the throne room of God. We are encouraged to “draw near” to Him. But we need to take this privilege seriously. Our entrance to the throne room is paved with the blood of Christ.
For the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God (Hebrews 7:19 NKJV).
But Christ came as High Priest ... Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:11-12).
For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, … But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, … to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:18-29 NKJV)
How dare we take His sacrifice lightly and casually stroll into His presence. Jesus tore the veil on the day of His crucifixion and allowed us entry into the Holy of Holies, but let’s not take that privilege lightly. It was bought for us at an enormous cost.
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh (Hebrews 10:19-2 NASB)
