Exodus 26 — Thoughts

Is God the Wizard of Oz?

God is not the Wizard of Oz. He does not tell us to “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” But there once WAS a curtain.

God tells His people to divide the space inside the Tabernacle with a curtain. One side will be the Holy Place, with the lamp and the bread table. The other side will be the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies, where God’s Spirit will dwell over the Ark of the Covenant.

About 400 years later, the Israelites would build a permanent Temple for God and gave it the same general layout — including the curtain.

But why the curtain? Was God hiding from his people?

The issue was our sin. A sinful person cannot stand before holy God any more than a human being can walk on the surface of the sun — it would kill them. The curtain was for their protection.

So the curtain came to represent how our sin separates us from God. We cannot know Him intimately while sin stands in our way.

But when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the Temple tore from top to bottom! Jesus’ sacrifice washes us clean from sin, so there is no longer anything to stand between God and us. Because of the cross, we can now come to God with freedom and confidence.

Instead of saying, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” God rips the curtain in half and says, “Come home."

(Originally written June 9, 2022)