God’s Curtain

Time: March 1406 BC, 40 years after the Exodus.
Setting: The nation of Israel is encamped on the Plains of Moab, awaiting the order to enter the Promised Land.
Characters: Priest Elnathan, High Priest Ben-Levi, 10-year-old Jerusha, and her two parents, Baruch and Deborah.
Previous Episodes: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8.

Elnathan the priest entered the Holy Place with the oil to replenish the golden lampstand. As his eyes adjusted to the smoky dimly-lit room he saw a shadowy male figure beside the thick veil which guarded the way into the Most Holy Place. The man was slightly bent over and seemed to be running his hand over the curtain material, as if examining it closely. He was muttering and sighing, maybe even praying. Elnathan coughed gently and who turned round but Ben-Levi, the High Priest! But why was he here, and why did he look so perplexed and puzzled?

“Shalom, Ben-Levi, are you well?” enquired Elnathan.

“O, Elnathan, you surprised me,” stuttered Ben-Levi, “Have you been standing there for long?”

“No, sir. I’ve just come to re-fill the lamp oil. But why are you here? Is there a problem with the veil? And…you’re crying! Ben-Levi, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, Elnathan, I’ve been here for hours; most of the night in fact. Just after falling asleep, I had a most disturbing dream. I was in the Tabernacle’s Holy Place, and as I approached the heavy curtain guarding the way into the Most Holy Place, it ripped right down the middle, from top to bottom. Elnathan, it was so real, so vivid, that I ran down to the Tabernacle to check.”

“Ripped? But that’s impossible, Ben-Levi,” Elnathan assured him. “Only you can touch the veil, and you only do it once a year on the Day of Atonement, when you enter the Most Holy Place and sprinkle the blood upon the Ark and the mercy-seat.[i] None of the priests would dare to even touch the veil, never mind rip it.”

“I know, I know. I was just so worried because God explicitly told us to make an especially thick and substantial veil so that the ark was always covered.[ii] And it’s my responsibility to ensure that no one ever sees within the veil. Look at the embroidered cherubim on the curtain, barring the way. Do they not warn anyone even thinking about looking or entering, ‘No entry! Stay out!’”

“Of course they do, Ben-Levi. No Israelite would even think of touching that veil or looking inside. We have always taught our classes that God designed the veil to conceal from sight and prohibit from entry. But you taught us also to tell our classes that the veil was temporary, that a time would come when the veil would be removed, that at that time the Messiah would open up a new way to God for everyone, not just once a year, and not just for the High Priest.”

“That’s why I was so perplexed, Elnathan. I wondered if that wonderful day had come. When I awoke from my dream, my heart was pounding. I thought, ‘Is God revealing to me that this is the day when the concealing and the barring will be over?’ I threw on my robes, ran through the camp, quickly washed in the brass laver, sacrificed a lamb from one of the pens, and entered the Holy Place. My eyes scanned the veil from top to bottom. No rip. I examined it all over with my hands. No rip. And since then, I have been here wondering, pondering, praying for understanding.”

Elnathan edged forward and embraced his distressed mentor. “Ben-Levi, you’re a good and godly man. I know that you yearn for all Israel to experience the access to God that you enjoy on the Day of Atonement. And I know that you yourself wish you could enjoy that access every day and not just once a year. But that time is not yet. We must wait in faith and patience. Maybe we will live to see it. Maybe not. But perhaps your dream gives us a bit more light on how the veil will be removed.”

“What do you mean, Elnathan?”

“Well, in your dream the veil was ripped without human hand. I’m thinking, perhaps that indicates that whenever the veil is removed it will be an act of God alone. It won’t be you or me, or anyone else, but God alone will open up the wider way to Himself.”

“Elnathan, that is a lovely, lovely thought. God has really blessed you with an ability to see the principles behind the pictures.”

“You are my teacher, Ben-Levi! Did you have any thoughts yourself?”

“Well, I’ll tell you what my mind was working on. What came to me was ‘mourning.’ You know how we rip our robes when we mourn the death of a loved one, I wondered if the ripping of the veil would be associated with the death of the beloved Messiah we look for and long for. What do you think, Elnathan? The sacrifices point towards his suffering and death. Maybe it will be his suffering and death which finally open up the way to God for all!”

Ben-Levi’s voice trembled as he spoke, and Elnathan sensed the sacred divine presence in their midst. These were holy moments.

“O, Ben-Levi! What a day! What a day it will be when the veil is removed and I, and all, will be able to see the glory of God in an unprecedented way.”

“Yes, I know, instead of ‘Keep back!’ it will be ‘Come to me!’ Instead of ‘Let us draw back!’ we will say ‘Let us draw near!’ Instead of one priest allowed, all sinners invited. Instead of once a year, 365/24/7!”

Ben-Levi’s words faded as tears began to run down his face. Elnathan could hold back his own emotions no longer, and they both sank to their knees, in the Most Holy Place, overwhelmed with Messianic hope and anticipation. As one, and instinctively, they both prayed, “Maranatha, Come Lord!”[iii]

THE BEGINNING