Veil Of The Temple (part 2)

When the second tabernacle was built, that being Solomon’s temple, these curtains can be found again, though obviously larger and more elaborate than those that had been made for the tabernacle of the wilderness.  Though it is not mentioned in the descriptions of the temple in the first book of the King, when one moves to the continuing narrative (a purposeful, condensed version of the books of Samuel and the Kings) of the nation of Israel as presented in the second book of the Chronicles, it is found that Solomon “made the curtain out of violet, purple, crimson, and white fabrics” (3:14a). 

When the temple is rebuilt following the return of Judah from Babylon, as chronicled in the latter historical books, a detailed description of what was made for it, done in it, and placed in it, is not provided.  However, what is provided in the account of its rebuilding and dedication, is that those who saw the second temple, if they had seen the first temple before it suffered destruction at the hands of the Babylonian forces, wept. 

It is said that they wept, not only because the second temple paled in comparison to the first temple, but also because of what it did not contain, which was, among other things, the Ark of the Covenant and their Lord’s Shekinah (the presence of the Creator God of Israel, represented by a cloud filling the sanctuary, as had reportedly been the case with both the tabernacle and the first temple).  However, though it lacked these things, and lacked specifically that which was hidden by the veil, one can be assured that the second temple contained a curtain of division from the Most Holy Place similar to the first temple, which had been based on the pattern of the veil of the tabernacle. 

This temple was the same temple that would eventually come to be re-furbished and expanded by Herod the Great, which was the temple in which the veil was rent upon the death of the Christ.  As part of his building program, Herod the Great had sought to restore the temple to its original splendor.  This restoration, undoubtedly, would have included the creation of a veil that would have rivaled the beauty and majesty of the veil that had been crafted for Solomon’s temple.  

As one continues to make progress through the Hebrew Scriptures, there is another temple to be discovered.  This temple (now the fourth to be referenced in the course of the compiled story of Israel --- tabernacle, first temple, rebuilt temple) is what is known as “Ezekiel’s Temple.”  This temple, one notes with great interest, has no veil of separation from the Most Holy Place.  Though Ezekiel’s temple differs from the others in many ways, this is probably one of the more significant differences.  No mistake is made when it is insisted that the veil is an important feature of the temple.  Therefore, the absence of a veil much be considered to be an important feature as well. 

The veil of the temple is part of the consciousness of the covenant people.  So much so that in the ninth chapter of Hebrews, the author mentions the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, speaking specifically of the tabernacle in this case, though his audience could have easily connected it with the veil of the two temples, while also, as a believing community of Jesus-followers, remembering the purported tearing of the veil that was said to have occurred upon the death of Jesus.  Further demonstrating his understanding of the significance and importance of the veil as it pertains to the way in which the Creator God is to be understood and approached, he also writes about the fact that the high priest could only enter behind that veil but once a year, with the blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance (Hebrews 9:7).