The Need for a Veil
Veils have a double function. The term Hebrews uses for veil (kate-
petasma) could refer to the screen of the court (Exod. 38:18), the screen
at the entrance of the outer apartment of the sanctuary (Exod. 36:37),
or the inner veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies
(Exod. 26:31–35). These three veils were both entrances and boundaries
that only some people could cross.
Read Leviticus 16:1, 2 and Leviticus 10:1–3. What warning do we have
in these passages?
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The veil was a protection for the priests as they ministered before a
holy God. After the sin of the golden calf, God said to Moses that He
would not accompany them in the way to the Promised Land lest He
consume them because they were a “ ‘stiff-necked people’ ” (Exod. 33:3,
NKJV). Thus, Moses moved the tent of meeting and pitched it far off,
outside the camp (Exod. 33:7). After Moses interceded, however, God
agreed to go with them in their midst (Exod. 33:12–20), but He estab-
lished several measures to protect the people as He dwelled among them.
For instance, Israel camped in a strict order that created a hollow
square in the middle, where the tabernacle was pitched. In addition, the
Levites camped around the tabernacle in order to protect the sanctuary
and its furniture from encroachment by strangers (Num. 1:51, Num.
3:10). They were, in fact, a kind of human veil that protected the people
of Israel: “ ‘But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the
testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the
people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle
of the testimony’ ” (Num. 1:53, ESV).
Jesus, as our Priest, also has been our veil. Through His incarnation,
God pitched His tent in our midst and made it possible for us to con-
template His glory (John 1:14–18). He made it possible for a holy God
to live in the midst of an imperfect people.
Think about what it meant that the Creator God, the One who
made the universe, would dwell among His people, who at that
time were a nation of escaped slaves. What does that teach us
about how close God can be to us?